Monthly Archives: April 2021

Fort Ward Wander

Alexandria, Northern Virginia, travel, ,

Well, we got through winter (though it tried to come back last week), and now it’s time for more outdoor adventures. In the category of “get to know your NoVa,” my husband and I visited Fort Ward Park in Alexandria last week. This is a fairly large park which meanders around a neighborhood off of Braddock Road.

What is this park all about? We wondered that even as we started wandering around it more of less aimlessly. We parked in the first parking lot we saw, which is near the (currently closed) museum. The first signs we saw were interpretations of the African American community that had been located there right after the Civil War. These are newer signs, and a pretty good interpretation. (In the brochure you can read in this link there’s a nice group of “first-person memories” of the community, which as a folklorist I appreciate.) Does anyone other than me find it somewhat ironic that this community was displaced by the establishment of this very park, making it necessary for the city of Alexandria to interpret the history of the community that WAS there until the 1950s?

A large part of the park is actually an interpretation of the Civil War era fort, “a bastion of freedom,” which is partially reconstructed. Like most Civil War forts that were built surrounding Washington, DC, this fort never saw any action. But it was ready for action, with big guns at the ready, underground stocks of ammunition, and rifle trenches. Which you can clamber around, as long as you stay on designated paths. (But, no sunbathing as per signage.)

There are also lots of nice trees (at least one of them with a name as per below), an impressive gate, and a number of benches and picnic tables, and some adjacent tennis courts and open spaces where games could be played (though not in the “historic” portions). Still, the whole site has an air of not being sure exactly what its purpose is. Recreation site? Civil War interpretation site? Or site to learn about the community that used to be there but got moved because this somewhat schizophrenic but pleasant enough space was constructed/reconstructed?

If an actual battle had been fought here, I would have felt more inclined to be in awe of the battlements and artillery. It would feel more like “sacred ground” which one should think deeply about (see my Gettysburg ruminations). But, to me, it seemed like they could have really let the African American community stay there and continue to grow and prosper.

Here are some scenes from the Fort:

This slightly sad looking cannon thing did not make it to the main interpretation of the fort but was lurking behind some outbuildings on the edge of the park.
A big gun awaiting action that never happened.
The signage about the fort could do with a bit of sprucing up. We appreciated this sign as we had just needed to recall the word “parapet” to complete a NYT crossword puzzle. I am anxiously awaiting the use of “scarp” and “abatis” in future puzzles.
One would assume this means only the immediate historic area around the restored part of the fort. Because there are picnic tables and inviting open fields for games nearby. Sunbathing, though, is something entirely different, no?
The signage interpreting the African American sites is newer and well done. Despite this being interpreted as a cemetery, there are no evidences of graves here, but it is appreciated that they identified the site of a graveyard and have it roped off, at least.
This quote is kind of poetic but – um – more than just a bit condescending?
We could find no explanation of why this tree was named “The Beatley Tree.” If anyone finds out, let us know.