Reference Entry
LINCOLN UNDER FIRE AT FORT STEVENS
Just days after Monocacy, on July 12th, 1864, Confederate forces under Jubal Early probed the northern defenses of Washington near Fort Stevens. As skirmishers traded fire and Union troops manned the earthworks, President Abraham Lincoln came to the front lines to see the situation for himself, standing on the parapet within range of enemy rifles.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Lincoln Under Fire at Fort Stevens
Just days after Monocacy, on July 12th, 1864, Confederate forces under Jubal Early probed the northern defenses of Washington near Fort Stevens. As skirmishers traded fire and Union troops manned the earthworks, President Abraham Lincoln came to the front lines to see the situation for himself, standing on the parapet within range of enemy rifles. Officers reportedly urged him to take cover as bullets snapped overhead, an extraordinary scene in which the commander in chief personally risked his life while observing the capital’s defenses. The Union troops, stiffened by fresh veterans from the Eastern theater, held their ground and convinced Early that an assault on Washington would be too costly. The Confederate force withdrew, ending the last serious Confederate threat to the city. Fort Stevens stands in memory as a rare moment when a sitting president physically shared the dangers of the soldiers guarding the nation’s capital.
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