Fort Tillinghast was a small

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

that the Union Army constructed in Alexandria County (now

Arlington County Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, as part of the

Civil War defenses of Washington The Civil War Defenses of Washington were a group of Union Army fortifications that protected the federal capital city, Washington, D.C., from invasion by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Some of these fortifications ar ...

(see

Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States, was the center of the Union (American Civil War), Union war effort, which rapidly turned it from a small city into a major capital with full civi ...

). Fort Tillinghast stood about 0.6 miles away from

Arlington House Arlington House may refer to: * Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial *Arlington House (London), a Rowton House, originally a homeless hostel, England * Arlington House, Margate, an apartment block in Kent, England *Arlington House, the demo ...

, the Union-occupied estate of Confederate General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

History

Fort-lyon-alexandria-virginia-vhs00032-1-

Following the Union Army's rout at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in late July 1861, the Union Army constructed Fort Tillinghouse in August of that year. The lunette was part of the

Arlington Line The Arlington Line was a series of fortifications that the Union Army erected in Alexandria County (now Arlington County), Virginia, to protect the City of Washington during the American Civil War (see Civil War Defenses of Washington and Wash ...

and tied into

Fort Craig Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico. The Fort Craig site was approximately 1,050 feet east-west by 600 feet nor ...

approximately to the south and

Fort Cass Fort Cass, named for U.S. Secretary of War Lewis Cass (1782–1866), was a fort located on the site of the U.S. federal agency to the Cherokee Nation (present-day Charleston, Tennessee). Established in 1835, the fort served as the U.S. Army he ...

approximately to the north. Along with Forts Cass, Woodbury, Morton, and

Strong Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United ...

, the fortification covered approaches to the

Long Bridge Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

and the Aqueduct Bridge (near the modern Key Bridge). The lunette was named in honor of Captain Otis H. Tillinghast, Quartermaster, killed at the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

on July 21, 1861. Oriented to the west, it had a perimeter of , emplacements for 12 guns, and two

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

as well as a bomb-proof. The fortification's armaments included four 24-pound guns, one 24-pound field howitzer, four 30-pound Parrott rifles, two 20-pound Parrott rifles, and two 24-pound

Coehorn mortar A Coehorn (also spelled ''cohorn'') is a lightweight mortar originally designed by Dutch military engineer Menno van Coehoorn. Concept and design Van Coehoorn came to prominence during the 1688–1697 Nine Years War, whose tactics have been s ...

s. Units garrisoned at the lunette included the 16th Maine Infantry, 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, 4th New York Heavy Artillery, and the 145th and

138th Ohio Infantry The 138th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 138th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 138th OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 138th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Oh ...

. A May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery (see Union Army artillery organization) noted the following:

''Fort Tillinghast, Major Rolfe commanding.''–Garrison, two companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery– 7 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 220 men. Armament, one 24- pounder field howitzer (smooth), two 20-pounder Parrotts (rifled), three 24-pounder siege guns (smooth), one 24-pounder F. D. howitzer, four 30-pounder Parrotts (rifled), two 24-pounder Coehorn mortars. Magazines being rebuilt; at present unserviceable; work progressing slowly; ammunition kept in bomb-proof. Ammunition, full supply and serviceable. Implements, complete and in good order. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient for the work.

In June, 1865, Fort Tillinghast was ordered dismantled and the site returned to its previous owners. The fortification stood near 205 North Wayne Street in Arlington, but no sections remain today. A historic marker, near the intersection of Arlington Boulevard (U.S. 50) and North 2nd Street in Arlington, shows the location where the fort once stood. The marker depicts the fort's position on a map of the city's defenses and states:

Here stood Fort Tillinghast, a lunette in the Arlington Line constructed in August 1861. It had a perimeter of 298 yards and emplacements for 13 guns. A model of this fort, typical of all lunettes in the Arlington Line, can be seen at the Hume School museum of the Arlington Historical Society.

Notes

External links

* National Park Service
A Historic Resources Study: The Civil War Defenses of Washington
{{Civil War DC forts Government buildings completed in 1861 Military installations established in 1861 Tillinghast 1861 establishments in Virginia 1865 disestablishments in Virginia