The pictures on this site show 3rd MA Heavy Artillery soldiers at Ft. Stevens and Ft. Totten in Washington, D.C. Ft. Stevens was the scene of a battle in July 1864 when Lt. Gen. Jubal Early and his Confederate forces attacked. President Lincoln came out to watch as the artillerymen and the Sixth Army Corps repulsed the Confederates and he made history as the only sitting president to be fired on in battle. In a famous incident, the 6'4" president, wearing his trademark stovepipe hat, had to be ordered off the parapet on which he was standing by a soldier - he was drawing fire from Confederate sharpshooters on the grounds of what is today the Walter Reed military hospital. The Associated Survivors of the Sixth Army Corps installed a plaque 56 years later commemorating that "Get down, you fool!" moment. You can read more about the site and the Lincoln story on HMdb.org, the Historical Marker Database. It's a very interesting database where readers are invited to submit photos and information. Click on the "About Us" button at the top to see how you can get involved in documenting American history.
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AuthorThe author is a historian with a Ph.D. in US history and a love for genealogy and old photos. Archives
August 2018
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