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On Georgia Avenue, NW, a few blocks away from Fort Stevens, is Battleground
National Cemetery, one of the smallest national cemeteries in the country.
Here are buried the remains of the 41 Union soldiers who died in the battle
of Fort Stevens on July 12th, 1864. The cemetery was dedicated by President
Abraham Lincoln, who had come under Confederate fire during the engagement.
Battleground National Cemetery, located at 6625 Georgia Avenue, NW, was
established shortly after the Battle of Fort Stevens in the summer of 1864.
The battle, which lasted two days (July 11 through July 12, 1864) marked
the defeat of General Jubal A. Early's Confederate campaign to launch an
offensive action against the poorly defended Nation's Capital. The Battle
of Fort Stevens was also to gain notoriety as being the only military action
in which the Commander in Chief (President Abraham Lincoln) came under direct
fire from an enemy force. With a combined total casualty figure of over
900 killed or wounded during the conflict, 41 of these (Union) soldiers
who fought and died bravely in Fort Steven's defense were interred in a
specially created cemetery dedicated by Abraham Lincoln. Battleground National
Cemetery, located one-half mile north of Fort Stevens, is one acre in size
and one of our Nation's smallest national cemeteries. The entrance to the
Cemetery is flanked by two 6-pounder, smoothbore guns of Civil War vintage.
Also near the entrance are monuments commemorating those units which
fought at Fort Stevens: 25th New York Volunteer Cavalry Monument, 98th
Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument, 122nd New York Volunteer Monument, and
the 150th Ohio National Guard Monument.
Battleground National Cemetery was established shortly after the Battle
of Fort Stevens in the summer of 1864. The battle, which lasted two days,
marked the defeat of General Jubal A. Early's Confederate campaign to
launch an offensive action against the poorly defended Nation's Capital.
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