July 10
Living History at Ft. Stevens, Washington, DC
Federal.

Co. H, 3rd Mass. Heavy Art'y at nearby Ft. Lincoln, Washington, DC.

Men of Co. F, 3rd Mass. Heavy Art'y inside Ft. Stevens, Washington, DC.

WHAT
FT. STEVENS DAY in Washington, DC on Saturday, July 10, portraying CO. F, 3RD MASSACHUSETTS HEAVY ARTILLERY. We will spend one day (10am – 4pm) doing living history, infantry drill, and artillery drill on the two 30 lb. Parrotts on site, right where Lincoln was famously almost shot. Ft. Stevens Day is celebrated near the anniversary of its famous 1864 battle to commemorate its history defending Washington City, and has various activities including ranger talks, living history, demos, etc. (We will have two scheduled programs at 12:30pm and 2:30pm.) I have been in touch with Brandon Bies of the NPS (who some of you know) about it, and he is excited to have quality guys come out for the day.

WHERE
Ft. Stevens is located at the northern tip of DC at Quackenbos St. NW and 13th St. NW, and borders Georgia Ave. which is a main drag through the city. This is not an ideal camping area because the fort is in the middle of a neighborhood (it's not dangerous, just bright and lots of traffic on Georgia Ave). There is no designated parking area for the fort – just park on the streets in the surrounding community. Anyone is welcome to stay at my apartment in Bethesda, MD for Friday and/or Saturday night and there are plenty of hotels around if you'd like... we can party either/both nights and go see some other DC stuff on Sunday, too.

Co. F, 3rd Mass. Heavy Art'y inside Ft. Stevens, Washington, DC in August 1865.

One of the 30 lb. Parrot guns at Ft. Stevens, next to a monument on the spot where Lincoln was almost shot.

CWPT'S MOST ENDANGERED BATTLEFIELDS
The CWPT recently named Ft. Stevens as one of the top 10 most endangered battlefields. An adjacent church currently occupies half the ground that the fort once stood on, and last year it applied for a zoning exemption to build an immense community center complex that would tower over the fort. Having serious reenactors there with good public interaction could help raise awareness.

Washington Post article about the threat
CWPT article on the fort
CWPT photos of the site
More info about the battle

An adjacent church to Ft. Stevens currently threatens the site.

IMPRESSION
The 3rd Mass. H.A. manned Ft. Stevens and adjacent forts near the end of the war and post war. There was a series of photographs taken of the troops in August 1865, and we will use these photos as a guide for our impression. Co. F had detachments in both sack coats and frock coats (no scales), so both can work. Virtually all men were wearing forage caps or private purchase kepis, and almost everyone had the same scheme of hat brass. Hopefully the Luks Bros. will come and bring their Heavy Artillery flag, and if you already own any red chevrons, please let me know and I will probably have you as that rank.

– Sack Coats or Heavy Artillery Frocks (can neatly add red trim around light blue piping on an Infantry frock if you wish... NO scales, per photos)
– Forage Caps or Private Purchase Kepis (NO dress hats, per photos) -- please affix hat brass per photos ('3' at forward bottom edge, cannons over it, and 'F' on top)
– Issue or Civilian shirts/drawers/socks (lots of civilian shirts seen in the other LOC photos)
– Sky Blue Trousers only
– Federal Issue Bootees

– Bullseye or Smoothside canteen, preferably with cloth strap
– Standard US issue haversack, rations are on your own -- NOTE: we will not have a fire
– US Double-bag knapsack, wool blanket, rubber blanket, shelter halves -- NOTE: there's not much shade on site, so you will probably want to set up tents
– Lots of personal junk to display for visitors
– Standard US issue .58 cal. accoutrements with cartridge box strap, late war items if you have them -- NOTE: bring no rounds (inert dummy rounds are OK)
– M1861 or M1863 Springfield preferred, M1853 Enfield OK, please avoid M1842 Muskets and 2-banders

(click for enlargements) Co. F, 3rd Mass. H.A. at Ft. Stevens – notice one detachment is wearing sack coats and one is wearing frocks. All men wear caps with the same hat brass scheme. Wear either coat, and for uniformity, please use a cartridge box strap.

BONUS MATERIAL
Brandon has graciously offered to give us a tour of some surrounding forts after the event ends at 4pm. This includes Ft. Totten and Ft. DeRussy which both participated in the battle. He may also give us a tour of Ft. Marcy at the Chain Bridge entering Virginia, which still retains OVER A MILE OF ORIGINAL ENTRENCHMENTS that were built by 500 contrabands and the 152nd NY. The tour won't be too long, but we will get to see some very cool stuff.

Remnants of nearby Ft. Totten.

A gun at Ft. Marcy across the Potomac River in Virginia.