Profile of Fort
This exterior view of the restored Northwest Bastion illustrates the effectiveness of an earthwork fort. The fort walls were 18-22 feet high, 12-14 feet thick, and slanted at 45 degrees.
To gain access to the fort an attacker would have to cross the field of fire (the open area to the front of the fort), penetrate the abatis (the line of felled trees that surrounded the ditch), enter the ditch, and scale the walls while the defenders were well protected behind the embankments.
These restored walls illustrate how the entire 818-yard perimeter of Fort Ward appeared in late 1864.
Marker can be reached from West Braddock Road, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
