Fort Stevens Park

In a raid on July 11, 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early attacked Fort Stevens, the northernmost of the defensive ramparts ringing the city. A small but fierce battle raged – the only time the Civil War touched District soil – until Early’s men withdrew across the Potomac. Abraham Lincoln himself was drawn into the shooting: the president, observing the battle from Fort Stevens’ parapet, popped his head up so many times that Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, then a Union captain, yelled ‘Get down, you damn fool, before you get shot!’ The fort has been partially restored, and 41 Union men who died in its defense are buried at tiny Battleground National Cemetery (6625 Georgia Ave), a half-mile north. Information on the battle can be found at http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/dc/dc001.html.