Norton Introduces Bill to Preserve D.C. Region Civil War Defenses

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to recognize and preserve the Civil War Defenses of Washington, located in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, by redesignating them as a national historic park.

“This bill would redesignate the 22 Defenses of Washington currently under National Park Service jurisdiction as a national historical park, and allow other sites associated with the Defenses of Washington that are owned by D.C. or a unit of a state government to be affiliated with the national historical park through cooperative agreements,” Norton said. “This bill would also require the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the history of the Civil War, including the history of the Defenses of Washington and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, being assembled, arrayed and conveyed for the benefit of the public for the knowledge, education and inspiration of this and future generations.”

Norton's introductory statement follows.

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the Introduction of the Civil War Defenses of Washington National Historical Park Act

July 6, 2026

Today, I introduce the Civil War Defenses of Washington National Historical Park Act, which would recognize and preserve the Civil War Defenses of Washington located in the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland.  The Defenses of Washington, including forts, unarmed batteries and rifle trenches, created a ring of protection for the nation’s capital during the Civil War. 

This bill would redesignate the 22 Defenses of Washington currently under National Park Service jurisdiction as a national historical park, and allow other sites associated with the Defenses of Washington that are owned by D.C. or a unit of a state government to be affiliated with the national historical park through cooperative agreements.  This bill would also require the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the history of the Civil War, including the history of the Defenses of Washington and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, being assembled, arrayed and conveyed for the benefit of the public for the knowledge, education and inspiration of this and future generations.  

The Defenses of Washington were constructed at the beginning of the war as a ring of protection for the nation’s capital and for President Abraham Lincoln.  By the end of the war, the Defenses of Washington included 68 forts, 93 unarmed batteries, 807 mounted cannons, 13 miles of rifle trenches and 32 miles of military roads.  The major test of the Defenses of Washington was the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, when Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early, directed by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, sought to attack the nation’s capital from the north, causing Union forces threatening to attack Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, to be withdrawn.  General Early was delayed by Union Major General Lew Wallace at the Battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864, and was stopped at the northern edge of Washington at the Battle of Fort Stevens on July 11-12, 1864.  The Shenandoah Valley Campaign ended when Union Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan defeated General Early at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia on October 19, 1864. 

Nearly all the individual forts in the Defenses of Washington—on both sides of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers—were involved in stopping General Early’s attack, and the Battle of Fort Stevens was the second and last attempt by the Confederate Army to attack Washington.

Taken together, these battles were pivotal to the outcome of the war and the freedom and democracy that the war represented for this country.  It is therefore fitting to recognize the Defenses of Washington by redesignating them as a national historical park. 

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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