The Fort Stevens annual commemoration is held on the Saturday nearest the dates of the battle that occurred July 11-12, 1864. This was the only Civil War Battle that occurred in the Nation's Capital and the only time in the nation's history that a sitting President (Lincoln) has come under direct enemy fire.
The battle engaged other Civil War Defenses, including Forts Reno, Bayard, DeRussy, Slocum, Totten and Bunker Hill. Sites around DC were all on high alert. After heavy fighting, the Confederate troops slipped off overnight to return to Virginia and, after many small battles and skirmishes, were finally defeated at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Oct. 1864.
Battleground National Cemetery, a few blocks north of Fort Stevens on Georgia Ave., holds the remains of 41 of the Union soldiers who died at Fort Stevens.
