Fort Worth, Virginia
| Fort Worth | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C. | |
| Alexandria, Virginia | |
| Coordinates | 38°48′54″N 77°05′56″W / 38.815°N 77.099°WCoordinates: 38°48′54″N 77°05′56″W / 38.815°N 77.099°W |
| Type | Earthwork fort |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Union Army |
| Condition | Dismantled |
| 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 |
Fort Worth was a timber and earthwork fortification constructed west of Alexandria, Virginia as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War.
Built in the weeks following the Union defeat at Bull Run, Fort Worth was situated on a hill north of Hunting Creek, and Cameron Run, (which feeds into it). From its position on one of the highest points west of Alexandria, the fort overlooked the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, the Little River Turnpike, and the southern approaches to the city of Alexandria, the largest settlement in Union-occupied Northern Virginia. In modern times, the site of Fort Worth sits within the boundaries the City of Alexandria (the land west of Quaker Lane, was annexed from Fairfax County in the 1950s) just off Seminary Road. Fort Worth Ave, a residential street approximates Fort Worth's Civil War location.
It was named for William Jenkins Worth.
The occupation of Northern Virginia was peaceful, with the sole exception of the town of Alexandria. There, as Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, commander of the New York Fire Zouaves (11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment), entered a local hotel to remove the Confederate flag flying above it, he was shot and killed by James Jackson, the proprietor. Ellsworth was one of the first men killed in the American Civil War. Throughout the remainder of the war, Alexandria would lean strongly towards the Confederate government, necessitating continued occupation by a Union garrison.
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