these are real people. i'm trying to bring in the human element as well. fort toten today is not doing so well. the entrance is closed off. when i first started taking pictures 15aries ago this gate was closed and hasn't been opened since. it's beautiful land. it's huge, too. it would be a magnificent park. it needs staffing and it needs resources and programs. it needs what the park service does best, run parks. fort slocam is in manner park as i mentioned before. this is all farm land around it. the u.s. colored infantry is there. behind it is ncos that were african-american. there's nothing left at fort slocam is no defenses there but a great park.

if they could get a canon there and have a ranger give a talk about it, they could learn about it. this is part of the fort circle drive land that was never built around it. fort de rucy. it's so beautiful. you come up to oregon avenue and you just drive in and pull off. it's very easy to find. when you go to the nature center and walk down, sometimes when they got cut off, the trees grew back. it still 150 year old. here the earth works there they are massive. you can go all the way around. this picture doesn't do justice and some hiking trails. terrific park. again fort reno is the highest point in d.c. and on top of that

to boot they had this tower so up here they could see the bust, f confederates were in trouble. similarly when they looked at fort reno said it is well fortified. here is the modern fort reno. if you climb up to the top and take this picture, that's virginia in the distance. you can really feel like what it might have been like just kind of close your eyes and it's definitely worn eye visit. i took this just a couple of

weeksing weeks down thinking what a beautiful wilderness. this is more kaniccures. i thought maybe people don't use it. he so this is a park. battery kambell. parks don't like this. communities love it for dog walking. there are some defenses that remain. it's a beautiful area. that was to guard the chain bridge the only fixed bridge between d.c. and the ferry. across the riff is the only fort that the park service has today that's in virginia. it was built again to protect leesberg park.

if you know where you are going u you can enjoy it. crossing it to the other side of the river. before you're going this beautiful land up here, that is -- those are all the fort circle parks. i often give this to the national capital planning commission when they had a hearing of the expansion of that of think people and how terrible it would be to destroy this great vista. here is the one on the side. anacostia. i will not show you every one. at least you'll get a flavor how beautiful they are. how historical they are. we will start at the bottom and

fort foot and work my way up. here is fort foot. this is one of my favorites. it's high over the river. you can see the beautiful vista there. president go out and seize are the real canyons. they had fallen down the ravine but put back up in the 80s. it's a wonderful place to go. halfway between washington d.c. and fort washington. here is fort stanton. some of the earth works. this is the view in p2003 when started getting involved in the park servie i services on some .

this is not part of the fort circle parts or civil war defenses of washington but nobody can go up to fort stanton and not drop by and see the douglas national park. fort ricketts. behind in the trees are defenses there. here is fort davis. this is the only part of the fort drive that was ever constructed. it was done during the ccc area in 1935. here is a picture of it being built. you can still go there and see

what the defenses like like. here is fort dupont which is the second largest park in d.c. it has problems with exotic vegetation so our hope is -- i'm not the kind of person what can tell you what to do about exotic vegetation so something should be done. here in the hills all over in the area east, these beautiful plants, native plants, endangered species that are up there. the ranger told me people drive all the way up there to see the mountain loral in the spring and you can walk up the hills and see those. it's well worth the visit. this is a hike i went on with the sierra club. they dove quite regularly and if you would like to join them go to the nature center at the park service at rock creek.

fort chaplin is more of a park than a historic site but it's more of a park. here are the ones owned by local governments this is battery bailey. it was a place where they had a platform where they could put a canon there. they weren't garrisoned. it was charming. there was display about what it did look like. 48th and allen, they did a wonderful job improving the e earth works but also improving the interpretation. they had a fabulous event. this is there now. they also have bathrooms. we don't have those at fort

stephens. fort war, this is the gem of them all. it's been and restored. it has a great museum. it's in alexandria who owns and runs it. terrific. the displays are great. they are doing a lot of history in the african-american story there. it's very controversial. they are trying to make up for past wrongs. look what the they did. here is a canyon. squint your eyes and you feel like you're back then. this is fort stephens. this is what it was the last couple of years. every year we have an event. the thoalliance group, the

president susan cla if, if, y and our treasurer gary thompson and me. it's really important to have advocates. that's what we are for the alliance to preserve the civil defenses of washington. we're six years old. fighting very large for that legislation. we hope you'll help us support it. i thank you for the chance to speak. [ applause ] >> well, again good afternoon. i just want to again thank our host the national archives for hosting us and having all of these folks here today to talk about the civil war forts of washington i'd like to thank our sister agency the nccp. i'm going to click this button

here. it's been alluded to my colleagues here have said we have a lot of great things going on in these forts and we're ready to tell this story. this is an important place in history. the 150th anniversary battle of fort stephens the only battle fought in washington d.c. we will have a lot of activities planned in fort stephens. we will have some events there some coming sunday. i did want to point out that many of you all have gotten this kmem ra commemorative program. it's just not fort stephens. the attack on washington is all here. if you have an opportunity to come out and visit with us, please do so.

as we've noted, just this week tomorrow, today and tomorrow, we've got a lot of great things going on. we just learned that cspan will be out tomorrow evening on fort stephens to cover of the historian's round table. we're looking at fort stephen's day which we've been hosting for the past three years. fort stephens on steroids with mr. lincoln, mrs. lincoln. we will be firing a canon from fort stephens. the first time in 150 years a canon will be fired in a d.c. fort. you've got to come out and share with that. as i mentioned on sunday, we'll have the memorial program at the battleground national cemetery where we will pay respect to the 38 soldiers who are buried there and the others who have given their sacrifice for this

country. we didn't have a lot of time but i do encourage you all to tell your friends about it. visit us on our website at www dot nps.gov. again, thank you all so very much. [ applause ] i think we have time for just one or two questions. if people would like to come to either of the microphones if folks have questions. we will go ahead and take them in turn. hi, david, thank you for all three of you for your presentations. i'd like to ask a little bit more about the legislation. you alluded to it but i wonder if you could get into it a

little bit deeper and maybe focus on how local owned virginia forts will be incorporated into that plan. >> thanks is this on? i take it you're from virginia. what we try to do is making rechb ne revenue neutral. it also provides for a cooperative agreements with the other locally owned forts so that the one in virginia and airy land. also prief private owners. we'd like to get better signage. for example i went out with my husband and said there's a fort bennett. they have a lovely sign there that says fort bennett.

there's a ravine on the side there. so we will study ways to have a place in washington to study and commemorate the entire civil war on both sides, confederacy and union. >> i'd like to ask about the compensation for folks land when we set up the forts. i've talked to the ranger and she was saying she wasn't compensated. i'm interested to know how we got the land then to set up the forts and what practices were in place at that time. what law -- >> she alluded to the fact a free black woman by the name of elizabeth thomas who owned a

little over 11 acres of land. that's what we considered today to be imminent domain. you can do that in time of war. that's exactly what happened. >> and all of those other forts, the same practice. >> this was called necessity in time of war. yes. descendants have always said that president lincoln promised her a great reward and she never got one and the descend ants will say they never saw a reward and so forth. the property owners would

receive it back if it was there land and the timbre remaining in the forts. the claims after the war in archives and many record groups is where you go to fine the records of what had happened. this was universally used in the south wherever the military had occupied land and destroyed property. fences, barns, everything else. that is kind of the story there. f some of these forts were retained with garrisons and gradually the fears of any resergeants of the rebellion or the threat from the french in mexico or the british, the army realized they were taking up a lot of money keeping these

things so they would get rid of them. fort washington even more recently was still an active post. >> sir, i think you'll be our last question. >> i was wondering if you were familiar with a question i've had for years and years. when earlie approached washington cavalry patrols were sent out but the one that will always intrigue me was a cavalry regiment on the western side of washington who really were a little lost and didn't know where they were reported that they entered one of the forts, found it completely unmanned.

went up top and could see the capitol and the white house in the distance. do you think there's any credibility to that report? there's three legends you've wrapped into one. john mcausilin's army came down the pike and were not sure why he deviates over to the 7th street road in georgia avenue. you should go up there if for no other reason there's a match that's on display out of the library of congress dated april, 1864, it is obviously taken from a union corp of engineer map, et cetera but whether or not he had this and presented it to earlie so he could come and see where to get into washington, we don't

know. it's a great mystery. mysteries are still surging. he had on his staff a man by the name of luffborro. live johnston a washington lawyer who had taken a diary of that family, he auftencibley ha dinner at his family's place and they looked down on quote unquote the dome of the lights of the capitol. mcauslin was happy to tell this story to general grant when he was in the white house after the war. you can imagine him chopping on a cigar.

no fears nobody believed it. the confederate soldiers claimed to have seen the dome of the capitol. there's no place you can see the dome of the capitol. you can see it is below where a visual would have gotten it out in silver spring. probably saw the lights georgetown. john b. gordon claims to have rode up on the lines in broad day light. no way of substantiating that. again, old soldiers have vivid memorie memories. >> one more little comment, i was land surveyor in washington

d.c. it was a cool set of maps. i think the library of congress has them. >> with that i'd like to again, thank the national archives for hosting this really wonderful event. our speakers, dr. frank cooling, neumann, kym elder. please join me one last time in a round of applause for them. thank you. [ applause ] >> with live coverage of the u.s. house on cspan and the senate on cspan 2 here on cspan 3 we compliment the coverage by showing you the most relevant public affair events. on weekends, we are the home to american history tv with programs that tell our nation's story, including six unique series. the civil wars o150th anniversary, touring museums and sites to discover what they mean

about our past. the presidency looking at the policies and leg assies of our nation's commanders in chief. l lectures in history. our new series real america featuring archival government and education aal films from th 1930s through the [ applause ] "american history tv" airs every weekend here on c-span 3. this month while congress is on recess, we're featuring highlights of our history programming. and tonight we continue our look at the civil war and the battle of fort stevens. coming up, officials from the national park service commemorate the 150th anniversary of the battle of fort stevens. we also tour the battlefields as well as visit several survival forts in the nation's capital.

now officials from the national park service and washington, d.c. commemorate the 150th anniversary of the battle of fort stevens. the battle took place july 11th and 12th in 1864 when confederate forces probed washington, d.c.'s defenses before turning back. speakers discuss the battle's significance and contributions by african-american troops. this is just over an hour. >> good morning, and welcome to fort stevens. my name is kim elder and i'm the program manager for the national park service for the civil war defenses of washington. i'd like to welcome and thank each of you all for joining us this morning for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the battle of fort stevens.

ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of colors and the singing of the national anthem by anita frasier.

♪ o say, can you see by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly

streaming? ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air ♪ ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ [ applause ]

>> you may take your seats. the invocation will be delivered by the senior pastor of st. luke's baptist church, the reverend aubrey lewis. >> let us bow our heads. eternal father, this morning we come to celebrate a historic occasion, one that has tremendous significance in the life of african-americans and to the life of washington, d.c. we thank you for the opportunity to be here, and we ask our blessings on this gathering. we ask, lord, that you continue

to be with each of us as we go about doing the things that we do on a daily basis, and continue to allow us to be a shining beacon as we travel throughout the city. bless this occasion and all those that are part of it. . in jesus' name we pray, amen. >> please welcome rock creek park superintendent tara morrison. [ applause ] >> good morning, everyone. on behalf of the national park service, welcome to rock creek park and the historic fort stevens. we are pleased that you have joined us today as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the battle of fort stooens. the national park service has been commemorating the ses kwi

centennial with programming that have enlightened not only the visitors but the national park service. the fort stevens commemorative programs held over the last few months would not have been possible without the program manager kim elder and our friends from the alliance defenses of washington, specifically president and vice president. they worked together over the last two years to plan a series of events that would not only interest and engage those already knowledgeable about the civil war, but would also include themes that would appeal to new audience. that is the key, ensuring that we are creating opportunities for new audiences to become engaged and informed about our nation's history. thank you kim, susan and loretta for your hard work in creating those opportunities. [ applause ] i'd also like to thank the

national park service employees and volunteers who worked and are working today to execute the plan here this weekend. we'd also like to thank council member mary bouzer who has been supportive of our efforts to ensure that the residents of the district of columbia are aware of the battle of fort stevens and the role of the neighboring community during the war. we're pleased to have with us today mr. c.r. gibbs and mr. bars. both will discuss the battle of fort stevens and will share why this battle played a pivotal role in our country's history. we again thank you for joining us this morning and hope that you stay for this afternoon's events and also for tomorrow's events at the battleground cemetery. thank you. [ applause ]

>> good morning. my name is doug jimmerson and i'm going to sing a few very significant period songs that remain wonderful songs in our american musical heritage. the first was called at the time "red, white and blue", columbia the gem of the ocean. ♪ ♪ ♪ when born by the red, white

and blue ♪ ♪ when born by the red, white and blue ♪ ♪ when born by the red, white and blue ♪ ♪ thigh banners make tyranny tremble ♪ ♪ when born by the red, white and blue ♪ ♪ the wine cup, the wine crumb bring hither ♪ ♪ may the reeds they have won never wither ♪ ♪ nor the star of their glory grow dim ♪ ♪ may the service unite never sever ♪ ♪ but they to their country so true ♪ ♪ the army and navy forever ♪ three cheers for the red, white and blue ♪ ♪ three cheers for the red, white, and blue ♪ ♪ three cheers for the red,

white and blue ♪ ♪ the army and navy forever ♪ three cheers for the red, white and blue ♪ >> thank you, there you go. [ applause ] i want you to participate. that's wonderful. all right, and this one honoring national hymn and please join me on the chorus. the battle hymn of the republican. ♪ he is trample iing out the vintage where the grapes of wrath have store ♪ ♪ of his terrible swift sword ♪ his truth is marching on

♪ his truth is marching on ♪ i have seen him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camping ♪ ♪ they have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps ♪ ♪ i can read his righteous sentence ♪ ♪ by the dim and flaring lamps ♪ his day is marching on ♪ glory, glory hallelujah ♪ glory, glory hall lie lieu ya ♪ ♪ glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ his day is marching on ♪ he have sounded forth the

trumpet that shall never call retreat ♪ ♪ he has lifted out the hearts of men before his judgment seech ♪ ♪ be jubilant my feet ♪ our god is marching on ♪ glory, glory, hallelujah ♪ glory, glory, glory, hall lie lieu ya ♪ ♪ glory, glory, glory, ha hallelujah ♪ ♪ his truth is marching on [ applause ] >> thank you very much. you know, during the civil war that tune was probably sung more than any other, but not with those words. they sang john brown's body and it wasn't about the john brown of harper's ferry. it's about some obscure person in massachusetts. but the glory, glory, glory was

from the original. that was not written by julia ward howe. that was in the original song. very interesting. and so i am going to make this a ra rather brief program. i'm going to do two more. and i think this next one is arguably our greatest patriotic song and the one least remembered, unfortunately. but it was a significant come o composition for the civil war and when the union bands played this and the soldiers sang this, it just struck terrible fear in the hearts of the reds. the battle cry of freedom.

♪ ♪ ♪ down with the traitor, up with the star ♪ ♪ while we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again ♪ ♪ shouting the battle cry of freedom ♪ ♪ we are springing to the call for 300,000 more, shouting the battle cry of freedom ♪ ♪ and we'll fill the vacant ranks ♪ ♪ of our brothers gone before ♪ shouting the battle cry of freedom ♪ ♪ the union forever hurrah, boys, hurrah ♪ ♪ down with the traitor, up with the star ♪ ♪ while we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again ♪

♪ shouting the battle cry of freedom ♪ [ applause ] >> hurrah! thank you. and then i have discovered in my research, i'm a muse kolgs and historian. i have a real passion for the life of lincoln, of course. and what i have discovered is that during lincoln presidency, you know, the marine band was at every significant occasion, and usually they closed their program with "yankee doodle." so we'll close with "yankee doodle" ♪ ♪ along with captain gordon ♪ we saw the men and boys as

thick as hasty pudding ♪ ♪ yankee dood l, keep it up ♪ yankee dan and whip the girls be handy ♪ ♪ and there was general washington on a snow white charger ♪ ♪ he looked as big as all outdoors and said he looked much larger ♪ ♪ yankee doodle, keep it up ♪ yankee doodle demandy and whip the girls me handy. ♪ ♪ yankee doodle went to town riding on a point pony, stuck a'er in his hat and called it macaroni ♪ ♪ yankee doodle, keep it up ♪ yankee dandy, mind the music and the step and with the girls

be handy ♪ [ applause ] >> thank you. thanks so much. enjoy your wonderful day here at fort stevens. >> our first speaker this morning is mr. cr gibbs. mr. gibbs is noted local historian, international lecturer, author and historian of the african dees. he's also among the scholars at the smithsonian featured on its online academy. he has conducted research on black civil war units as well as served as technical adviser to 9 francis thomas company on a film. he has written numerous books, and friends of frederick douglas. his articles have appeared in numeral respected journals in. colluding the bulletin and african-american inventors.

please welcome mr. c.r. gibbs. [ applause ] >> good morning, everyone. i will leave it to my esteemed colleague to describe the ebb and flow of battle that occurred here. what i want to do for a few minutes today is to offer some reflections on the contributions of african-americans to the defenses of washington. frr all too often, our understanding of what happened here and the movement within the city is that, okay, we know about elizabeth thomas whose house was destroyed by lincoln. the fort itself sits on part of an african-american neighborhood called vinegar hill. but the story is actually much larger than that, and i think perhaps the best way to begin is by sharing with you a portion of

a letter written on june 7th, 1862 from the engineer in charge of the defenses of washington to the military governor of the district of columbia. general, i had the honor to request a detail of contrabands for work on the maryland side of the potomac. as the government insists, it would be advisable to get some return for the expense. i could easily employ 250 and discharge the hired laborers now working on these forts and thus very much diminish the expense of finishing the work. posted as follows. at forts franklin, alexander and riply, at fort gaines and pennsylvania, massachusetts and slocum, 30. totten, 20. bunker hill and saratoga, 20.

lincoln, 20. migs, dupont and davis, 20. and it goes on and on. the point here is that by june of 1862 only the most ardent folk seemed to be against. the use of black men in at least building the forts and securing the gair sons that helped to fortify the city. in fact, this very same request would ultimately not go filled because the other authorities were reluctant to give up their contrabands to work on forts north of the potomac. there was much. greater use of contraband later made on the outside of the potomac. these men, these self-emancipated black folk who would decide they wouldn't necessarily wait for a federal executive decree and proclamation, but they took it upon themselves to risk life and

limb in order to answer the clarion call that beats in the hearts of all of us. the desire to be free. to be self-determining, to be independent. and in fact, when these laborers came to many of the forts surround i surrounding the district, many of the soldiers were happy to see them. a member of the 50th regimen reported that a detail was sent in every morning to work on the forti fortificatio fortifications, but from north carolina was sent to take our places in the ditches and we willingly turned over our picks and shovels. one soldier who had done duty in fort lincoln and here at fort stevens who served at the search regimens said the time for drafting as come. speaking of fort stevens, everyone around here, from fort

lincoln, walker wrote our first work will be to dig or help dig a chain of pits connecting these forts. though we hear 500 nebrasgros w be here soon. they were not spectators during the earliest attack on washington, d.c. for example, a unit of the colored troops marched up streets tailing alongside and black men in the neighborhood were in the services. for this unit of colored troops on 12th street we have no authority than the daughter of joseph henry, the director of the smithsonian at the time. also e we know in addition to 500 white troops called up to defend alexandria, 800 colored men were also called up with the journal adding these men will no

doubt do good work should their services be required in the defense of the city. no less authority than noah brooks in washington and lincoln's time says, quote, contraband were also thrust into the service. and at 12:00 on july 11th, there were in the fortifications of washington 60,000 men armed and equipped for fight. you must understand that this desire to be free, this desire to participate did not simply occur at this, but all throughout the forts and batteries and camps that comprise the military defenses of washington. we are amazed at the black people that were able to across the potomac and make their way to battery. those who took life and limb in hand and went to fort stanton or port dupont or fort carol and

this is part of the untold story of the importance of the defenses of washington. you see, these installations typified hope, but not simply hope, not simply freedom or security, they also sim bymbol liezed opportunity. a black men was caught on the navy yard bridge trying to get into d.c. he told the union troops he had walked 60 miles just to come here. he believed that under the capital dome, there would be freedom as well as justice, as well as opportunity. but we don't have to go to the capital to find that out. if you were to walk with me down georgia avenue about half a mile, quarter mile to the intersection of georgia and missouri, we'd probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of another camp. and in that camp, we would find

in the book when this crew war was over, the touching story of a place called camp wrightwood and how this union officer, this man from the tenth massachusetts was changed when he met a freedom-seeking black men just a quarter mile down the road who came in and worked for him, he's a bright-looking group that described him, 17 years old and since his master paid $40 for him six years ago, he was the only slave his master had and his master will never get him again if i can help it. ladies and gentlemen, you must understand that this person to person connections between freedom-seeking black folk and the soldiers in the union army forged bonds that would not be forgotten once the guns were over. and we find out, in fact, that black folk in defense of the

city is actually nothing new. we know that free blacks wielded pick axes and shovels to help guard the nation's capital. in fact, one commenter would say that the free people of this city speaking of the war of 1812 acted as it becomes patriots. there's the exception of any failing to be on the spot conducted themselves with us most order and priority. and indeed when news of the war struck this city, when what had happened reverberated back to the district, a black explorer, a man who had served and explored with john charles fremont offered the services of the black men in the war to protect the city. finally, it's important that we acknowledge not simply the activities of free blacks or contraband to the defenses of washington, but that we also

acknowledge members of the united states colored troops for we also had this idea that they were somewhere missing in terms of this great contest and yet we have evidence now of only the sixth u.s. city or 28th or the wonderful job the 45th u.s. colored troops did as they helped to repair fort mcpherson on the grounds of arlington national cemetery. but i have an article from the evening star from december 14th, 1865 that also mentions u.s. colored troops after the end of the war when these posts were still important. i know many of you will recall george patten that a soldier does his duty. he goes where he is told and that's what these men did. so we find colored troops in slocum and lincoln and mayhem and baker and stanton and carol, according to the evening star from december the 14th, 1865.

these men, freedom-seeking black folks, self-emancipated contrabands had all one thing in common. they were willing warriors. willing workers and willing defenders of their national capital in times of crisis. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, mr. gibbs. please welcome d.c. council member were ward four, moour y'all bouzer. [ applause ] >> good morning, everybody. and welcome to ward four and i'm certainly delighted to be here with you to celebrate the 150th

anniversary of the battle of fort stevens. there's really so much great history here in our capital city, and i am often and proud to celebrate the part that ward four played in the history of our city and certainly in the history of our nation. we're very proud of it. we know that the only civil war battle to take place in the district of columbia took place here at fort stevens. the only time a sitting president in the united states in the history of our country has come under hostile fire from an enemy combatant was here at fort stevens. and we know at the battle of fort stevens, the nation's capital was saved from eminent attack. you may also know that even before fort stevens was built to detective the capital from confederate soldiers, this land fgs taken from a free black

woman named elizabeth thomas. we were very proud here in ward four and in the district of columbia to recognize elizabeth thomas forever and ever here at this land by naming this street in her honor, the elizabeth thomas way. we know, too, that she was never fully kpcompensated for her lan or for her sacrifice for our great country, but fortunately today we in this city have a wonderful relationship with our federal partners and we really want to acknowledge the hard work that they have done to acknowledge this great anniversary and to build a great relationship with our community so that our parks, our national monuments are really a part of the communities and the people they serve. so i hope you will join me in acknowledging really two great women who are leading the national park service in d.c. and fort stevens and right here

in ward four. our superintendent, give her a round of applause. [ applause ] and our park manager kim elder, give her a round of applause. [ applause ] they have -- and i know the difference between leaders who want us in the parks and leaders who don't. and we have people that want to keep these parks alive and we need to acknowledge their service. we have 150 great years of history to celebrate here, and i wanted to calm not only to represent the 75,000 people of ward four and the 20 great neighborhoods i have the privilege to serve, but also our

city. i went to the council and there was unanimous decision to acknowledge today with the resolution. so superintendent morrison, may i present you with the following. i'll read a few of the statements here. this resolution says, whereas fort stevens originally named fort massachusetts from the home state of the soldiers who constructed it was built to defend the district of columbia against attacks from the confederate army from the north along seventh street pike now known as georgia avenue. whereas fort massachusetts was renamed fort stevens after the death of general stevens at the battle of chantilly on september 1st, 1862. whereas in the summer of 1864 general grant moved most union troops to the south leaving only 9,000 troops to defend the district of columbia. whereas on july 11th and july

12th, 1864, the battle of fort stevens occurred and was the only civil war battle to take place in the district of columbia. whereas the union army's sixth corps brought reenforcements to fort stevens where president lincoln met them and became the only sitting president in our history to come under hostile attack. and whereas on the evening of july 12th, 1864, confederate troops began to withdraw from fort stevens and from the district of columbia. this victory saved the nation's capital, helped ensure president lincoln's reelection and aided in the preservation of the union. following the battle of fort stevens, the military road school, one of the first schools in the district to educate african-american children was established on the grounds of fort stooeevens. whereas the military road school although closed in 1954 remains

an essential part of the history of fort stevens and the civil war history of the district of columbia. fort stevens now serves as one of many civil war defenses operated and maintained by the national park service and the district of columbia as a place of enjoyment and a memorial to all those who served and saved our country. be it resolved by the council of the district of columbia that this resolution be cited the battle of the 150th anniversary recognition resolution of 2014. [ applause ] >> thank you, council member. please welcome members of the 2014 civil war junior ranger

campers. >> as i mentioned earlier, part of our responsibility is ensuring that we are engaging new audiences in sharing this history. so for the first year and in honor of the 150th anniversary of the civil war, we conducted our first civil war junior rangers camp and we today would like to pin our three representatives here today, cooper, na veed, and nita.

>> they are now officially junior rangers. [ applause ] thank you, ladies.

>> our next speaker today is mr. ed vars, he's a united states marine corps veteran of world war ii. in military historian and author known for his work on the american civil war and world war ii eras. he's especially known for his historic tours and extremely popular tour guide with historic battlefields for the smithsonian associat associates. he served as chief historian of the national park service from 1981 to 1994. please welcome mr. ed vars. [ applause ] >> first off, i want to thank my colleagues of the national park

service and the people in the neighborhood for working so well together to commemorate the battle of fort stevens. an important milestone in the reyun any indication of our country and the emancipation of american blacks. let us turn back the clock to the last days of june 1864. at that time it was not a given that the union will triumph in the civil war. in fact, things were not going well. the new general chief of the

union army has in his campaign against general lee's army has lost over 100,000 men in a period between the third day of may and the 18th day of june. that is twice as many men as robert e. lee had in his army. and the first lady of the land who referred to general grant as a butcherer. even worse than the disaster at pearl harbor had been the disaster that befell the union army on the 18th day of june at petersburg. at this time the president of

the united states is confronted by a number of problems. his great army in the east are undoubtedly not accomplishing their mission, which is to give the union victory by the time of election day in november 1864. general sherman is not doing much better in georgia as the union army is licking their wounds following the battle. so things were not going well on the military front. things were not going well on the political front. the president had felt well when

the republican convention meeting in baltimore had renominated him for a second term. they had dumped maine who had been his vice president of first administration to replace him with governor johnson of tennessee. and the ticket that they will go to the voters will be the union ticket, not the republican ticket. as the president and his family prepare to move from the white house to the sumger white house located about one mile from where we are on the grounds of the soldiers home the president is confronted with other

problems politically. egotistical and o -- opinionated twice submitted his resignation and on the last day of the old congress, which it turns on the 4th day of july, he hands in his resignati resignation. lincoln is going to take great courage because he has a revolt in a radical wing of the republican party, which is passed the wade davis bill that is taking the steps of reconstruction of the south out of the president's hands and

transferring it to the congress and the president shows great courage as he vetoes the wade davis bill. things are not getting well in virginia. general lee has detached too early with the second corps, and they have dealt with general hunter and lynchburg. early in his 15 to 16,000 men are now sweeping down the shenandoah valley. they well remember the valley of humiliation, the shenen do away valley from what happened there in 1862 and it had been the

route that the confederate hs followed to their defeat in gettysburg in '63. it looks like a repeat as his men march through lexington on the 26th day of june. on the 1st day of july they march through winchester, virginia, and on the 5th day of july they will cross the potomac river. is it going to be another repetition of what had happened in '62 and '63? general grant seemed to not be overly concerned about the threat to washington by the