Fort Foote - Post-War Use

Post-War Use

With Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865, Secretary Wells's words proved to be prophetic. Fort Foote never fired a shot in anger against any opponent, Confederate or otherwise. With the end of the war, the federal government began turning over Washington's forts and the land on which they rested to their pre-war owners. In a few cases, the federal government chose to retain possession. Fort Foote was one of those exceptions. New construction was required to fulfill its role as a federal prison, which it performed between 1868 and 1869.

In addition to the prison, the fort was also used as a testing ground for a recoil gun carriage. In 1869, Major W. R. King set up a 15-inch (381 mm) gun and began experimenting. During the first trials of the new setup, he fired 22 rounds from a 15-inch (381 mm) gun with charges ranging from 25 to 100 pounds. Though initially successful, testing was suspended due to the difficuly in obtaining a free lane of fire. With the coming of peace, commercial traffic had returned to the Potomac, and firing 400-pound cannonballs over the heads of steamer captains was frowned upon for safety reasons. In addition, the gun proved to be too powerful for the limited confines of the Potomac. With his testing hampered by local conditions, Major King moved his experiment to Battery Hudson in New York in 1871.

In 1872, plans to strengthen the fort were submitted by the War Department and as a first step, the federal government purchased the fort's land outright from its previous owner in 1873 rather than continuing the wartime lease. Work began on the new improvements, but when the appropriation was abruptly withdrawn, construction halted. With continued post-war military cutbacks, the garrison was removed in 1878 and the fort was abandoned.

Between 1902 and 1917, it was used as a training area for a local engineering school. During this time, the fort's now-obsolete guns were removed, with the exception of the two 15-inch cannons and a Parrott rifle that was sent to a cemetery in Pennsylvania. During the First World War, the fort was used for gas service training, and during the Second World War, the site was used by officer candidates from Fort Washington. After that war, the fort was transferred to the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service for inclusion in the Service's system of DC-area national parks.

Today, the area that once held the fort is largely forested, though some of the original bastions have been preserved. Two 15-inch (381 mm) guns sit on carriages overlooking the Potomac. Only one was originally used at Fort Foote. The other is from Battery Rodgers, which lay on the opposite side of the river during the Civil War.