Fort Woodbury

Fort Woodbury was a lunette fortification built in 1861 by the 4th Michigan Infantry Regiment during the early American Civil War. It was part of the larger Arlington Line, an extensive network of fortifications erected in present-day Arlington County, Virginia designed to protect Washington, D.C. from Confederate attack. Like the other 3 lunettes in the Arlington Line, Fort Woodbury occupied highlands in Arlington that had a direct line of sight towards Washington DC.

Fort Woodbury
Part of the Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C.
Court House, Arlington County, Virginia
Lithographic print of Fort Woodbury by Lieutenant Charles Ferdinand Gruner of 4th Michigan Infantry
Site information
Type	Lunette
Controlled by	Union Army
Condition	Residential Area
Site history
Built	1861
Built by	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
In use	1861–1865
Materials	Earth, timber
Demolished	1865
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Construction and use

Fort Woodbury and adjacent defenses

In 1861, four earthen lunettes, including Forts Cass, Craig, Tillinghast, and Woodbury, were built in the heights of Arlington overlooking Washington.^[1] Colonel B. S. Alexander and Major D. P. Woodbury were charged with the design and engineering of all the lunettes.^[1]

Fort Woodbury was constructed in August 1861 by the 4th Michigan Infantry Regiment, who were commanded by Colonel Dwight A. Woodbury (no relation to D. P.).^[2] The fort was either named for D. P. Woodbury or Dwight A. Woodbury.^[3] Located on a hill, Fort Woodbury had a 275-yard parameter with placements for up to 13 guns, 2 magazines, a barracks, and an abatis.^[4][5] Its armament consisted of five 24-pounder guns, three 30-pound Parrott rifles, four 6-pounder guns, and one 24-pound Coehorn mortar.^[4] Trees in the forested area surrounding the fort were widely slashed, and half-sunk field gun placements were positioned in between each lunette.^[1] The lunettes collectively formed a defensive line on Arlington's high ground between Forts Richardson and Albany to the south, and the shore of the Potomac opposite Georgetown to the north.^[6]

Soldiers with mounted gun at Fort Woodbury by Mathew Brady, ca. 1861

The following regiments were garrisoned at Fort Woodbury between 1861 and 1865:^[7]

• 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery Regiment
• 4th Michigan Infantry Regiment
• 88th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
• 4th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment
• 16th Maine Infantry Regiment
• 128th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
• 2nd New York Infantry Regiment
• 1st Maryland Light Artillery
• 164th Ohio National Guard
• 145th Ohio National Guard
• 1st New York Light Artillery Battalion
• 2nd New York Heavy Artillery Regiment

Like the rest of the Arlington Line, Fort Woodbury never saw any major engagements.^[8] It was abandoned after the war's end.^[9]

Post war

The hill where Fort Woodbury stood was selected for Arlington's first courthouse in 1898,^[10] and eventually became the location of Arlington's Court House neighborhood. No visible remains of the fort exist; it was located at intersection of Troy Street N and 14th Street N.^[4] Fort Woodbury is commemorated by a historical marker on the corner of 14th Street N and Courthouse Road.^[11] The marker reads:

During the Civil War, the Union built a series of forts to defend Washington, D.C. By 1865 there were 33 earthen fortifications in the Arlington Line. Fort Woodbury (1861) was part of this defensive strategy. Built east of this marker, this lunette was named for Major D. P. Woodbury, the engineer who designed and oversaw the building of the entire Arlington Line.^[12]