Skip to main content

Norton to Speak at the Battle of Fort Stevens 155th Anniversary

July 12, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will speak at the Battle of Fort Stevens 155th anniversary celebration this Saturday, July 13th, at 10:00 a.m. This week, Norton introduced a bill to recognize and preserve the Civil War Defenses of Washington located in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. These defenses were constructed at the beginning of the war, in 1861, as a ring of protection for the nation's capital and for President Abraham Lincoln. In the summer of 1864, Fort Stevens became the battlefield where Major General Horatio Wright held off Confederate attacks attempting to take the nation's capital. The battle was personally observed by President Abraham Lincoln.

"Taken together, these battles were pivotal to the outcome of the war and the freedom and democracy that the war represented for this country," Norton said. "Particularly considering Sunday's commemoration of the Battle of Fort Stevens, it is very fitting that we recognize these sites by designating them as a national historical park as we remember and commemorate the Civil War."

Media attending may RSVP to jack.miller@mail.house.gov.

WHAT: Congresswoman Norton speaks at the Battle of Fort Stevens 155th anniversary celebration

WHEN: Saturday, July 13th at 10:00 AM

WHERE: Fort Stevens, 6001 13th Street NW (corner of Quackenbos and 13th Street NW), Washington, DC

Please enter the site from Georgia Avenue NW