Civil War battlefields from Glorieta Pass, N.M., to Gettysburg, Pa., are endangered, according to a Civil War historical preservation society.
The Civil War Preservation Trust released its annual list of the 10 most endangered Civil War battlefields on Feb. 28. Other battlefields on the list included sites in New Orleans and D.C.
The Circle Forts was a group of 68 separate installations that surrounded Washington, that the Union army erected following the start of the Civil War to protect the city from a Confederate attack.
"After the Civil War had ended, most of the Circle Forts were abandoned and were allowed to decay," said Mary Goundrey, a spokeswoman for the Civil War Preservation Trust.
"Over time, many of the forts were demolished to make way for new projects as the city grew outward," she said. "The forts that remain haven't received the care and attention that they
deserve."
According to Goundrey, the District's urban nature has caused many of the issues at the remaining forts, including an abundance of broken glass and trash. The fort sites also lack adequate historical appreciation she added.
"There is very little overall interpretation of these forts' significance," she said. "There are certainly markers at the forts, but there isn't a place that tells the story of the forts as a group."
The remaining 22 forts are mostly located in three District area national parks - Rock Creek Park, National Capital Parks East and the George Washington Memorial Parkway, according to Adrienne Coleman, superintendent of Rock Creek Park.
In addition to providing routine maintenance to the fort sites such as trash collection and lawn mowing, the National Park Service has conducted an archaeological survey of the fort sites, Coleman said.
Fort Reno, the closest fort to AU, is located a few blocks from the Tenleytown-AU Metro station. During the Civil War, the fort was the highest point within the District at 429 feet above sea level, making it a crucial information source in the event of a Confederate invasion through the District's northern border, according to the National Park Service.
While most of Fort Reno was visible into the 1890s, a large portion of the site was dismantled to construct a water reservoir, according to National Park Service records.
Records kept by the service indicated that no aboveground portions of Fort Reno still exist, but some archaeological remains of the fort may still be present on the site.
Fort Gaines, which stood in the area where AU is now located, was one of the forts destroyed. Documents in AU's archives show that the Union army intended the fort to be a second line of defense if the major forts in the northwestern part of the District fell.
While university records indicate that AU had originally intended to restore and preserve a house that had served as the fort's headquarters, the house and the remaining portion of the fort were demolished during the extension of Massachusetts Avenue prior to World War I, according to Susan McElrath, AU archivist.
University officials placed a tablet commemorating Fort Gaines near the President's Building in 1960, but the current location of the plaque is unknown, she said.
Coleman said the National Park Service has developed a plan to improve the preservation and interpretation of the forts. The plan includes a proposal for a trail that would link most of the fort sites together.
"The purpose of the plan is to provide a unified management concept ... that will allow these resources to be preserved for future generations and interpreted in a coherent, easily understandable manner," she said.
