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Fort Scott (Arlington, Virginia)

American Civil War forts in VirginiaAmerican Civil War stubsCivil War defenses of Washington, D.C.Virginia building and structure stubsVirginia in the American Civil War
Fort Scott Historical Sign
Fort Scott Historical Sign

Fort Scott was a detached lunette constructed in May 1861 to guard the south flank of the defenses of Washington during the American Civil War. It was named for General Winfield Scott, who was then General-in-Chief of the Union Army. An historic marker and a small remnant of the fort are the only evidence of the site of the fort on the grounds of what is now Fort Scott Park in Arlington County, Virginia. The fort was one of the ring of Union Army fortifications that the Union Army constructed as part of the Civil War defenses of Washington (see Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War). It was one of 33 forts on the Virginia side of the Potomac River that made up a defense line (the Arlington Line) for the national capital city. The fort was built with a perimeter of 313 yards enclosing emplacements for eight guns, two magazines, a guard house and bombproof. Armament at one time included five 24-pounders, one 8" howitzer, one 30-pounder Parrott rifle, one 6-pounder and two 10" mortars. A May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery noted the following: Fort Scott, Major Trumbull commanding.–Garrison, one company First Connecticut Heavy Artillery–4 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 137 men. Armament, two 12-pounder mountain howitzers, two 6- pounder James (rifled). Magazines, two; dry and in good condition. Ammunition, full supply and serviceable. Implements, complete. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient for the work." Construction of the defense of Alexandria to the west subsequently reduced the importance of the fort. The fort was abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war. The fort is located in the Arlington Ridge community.

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Fort Scott (Arlington, Virginia)
South Ives Street, Arlington

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N 38.847361111111 ° E -77.059722222222 °
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South Ives Street 2762
22202 Arlington
Virginia, United States
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Fort Scott Historical Sign
Fort Scott Historical Sign
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Luna Park, Arlington

Luna Park (also known as Washington Luna Park and Luna Park Washington D.C.) was a trolley park in Alexandria County (now Arlington County), Virginia, that operated between 1906 and 1915. The Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway (later the Washington-Virginia Railway) constructed the amusement park for $350,000 in collaboration with the facility's designer and operator, Frederick Ingersoll.The park occupied 34 acres (140,000 m2) near the present intersection of South Glebe Road and Richmond Highway (U. S. Route 1). Exhibits were housed in buildings displaying different architecture styles (Japanese, Moorish, Gothic). The park featured a figure eight roller coaster, a shoot-the-chutes ride, a ballroom, restaurants, picnic facilities for 3,000 people and an arena that sat 8,000 spectators and accommodated circuses. Billboard magazine described the park in 1908 as having "big dumb acts".Luna Park was one of several amusement parks that Ingersoll operated in 1905 and 1906 (including Indianola Park in Columbus, Ohio, Rocky Glen Park near Moosic, Pennsylvania, and Luna Parks in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Scranton, and Mexico City). Although Ingersoll's amusement park empire was drastically reduced as a result of his declaration of bankruptcy in 1911, he retained his interest in the Alexandria County park. On the morning of August 20, 1906, four elephants from a traveling show performing at Luna Park escaped. It took several days to round them up. One wandered as far as Baileys Crossroads; another, 20 miles south of Alexandria.On April 15, 1915, a fire destroyed the park's signature roller coaster. According to The Washington Post, "the origin of the fire is thought to have been from sparks from a blaze in the woods adjoining the park" (the nearest fire hydrant was miles away in Alexandria). The damage was extensive, and the park's precarious finances forced the park to go out of business. The structures in the park were mostly dismantled later in the year, though traces of the park were evident as late as 1988. The Arlington County sewage treatment facility now covers the park's site.

American Legislative Exchange Council

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the United States.ALEC provides a forum for state legislators and private sector members to collaborate on model bills—draft legislation that members may customize and introduce for debate in their own state legislatures. ALEC has produced model bills on a broad range of issues, such as reducing regulation and individual and corporate taxation, combating illegal immigration, loosening environmental regulations, tightening voter identification rules, weakening labor unions, and opposing gun control. Some of these bills dominate legislative agendas in states such as Arizona, Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Maine. Approximately 200 model bills become law each year. ALEC also serves as a networking tool among certain state legislators, allowing them to research conservative policies implemented in other states. Many ALEC legislators say the organization converts campaign rhetoric and nascent policy ideas into legislative language.ALEC's activities, while legal, received public scrutiny after news reports from outlets such as The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek described ALEC as an organization that gave corporate interests outsized influence. Resulting public pressure led to a number of legislators and corporations withdrawing from the organization.