Pointless Prize #CivilWarForts
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During the American Civil War (1861-1865) Washington was surrounded by a chain of fortifications. Mostly in DC and northern Virginia, I think maybe a couple in Maryland.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to ride to as many of them as possible, take a photo of your bike there, and post the hashtag #civilwarforts on Strava.
Note – there does NOT have to be remains of a fort there. A plaque will do. There is at least one fort location where there is no plaque, and that is fine (you can find a list of the forts, other info, at https://www.nps.gov/cwdw/index.htm
You will get one point for each fort, but no more than one point a day.
Note, this is forts only – NOT streets named after civil war officers, or historic places that aren’t forts. Places listed on the civil war defenses website that do not have “fort” in their name (like Battery Garesche) are okay. This prize is inspired by a prize given in 2021 that was for all civil war sites, but this prize is different.
Note to those unfamiliar with ACW military tactics – the forts are all, or almost all, at the tops of hills – sometimes the tallest hill in a wide area. Have fun.
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1/10/2025 Fort Runyon
Fort Runyon once stood on this site.Built by Union troops at the start of the Civil War, the fort guarded access to the Virginia end of the Long Bridge, which led directly across the Potomac River to the heart of Washington, D.C. The fort strategically sat astride two major thoroughfares, the Columbia and Washington-Alexandria Turnpikes, and adjacent to a major railroad line. No visible remains of Fort Runyon exist.
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