Arlington during the Civil War

The Civil War left its mark on Arlington as soon as Virginia joined the Confederacy in 1861. In the early months of the war, the Southern army employed the high ridges in this area as prime lookouts to observe the Union troops which crossed the Potomac and began to build fortifications. Both Munson’s and Upton’s hills became vantage points for Confederate spies. Spy Hill, located in Boulevard Manor, received its name from the scouting activities in the area during the Civil War. Union troops defeated at the first battle of Manassas straggled back through the Arlington area, which became a “no man’s land” between the two armies. Later that year the Confederate army left the area.

Munson and Upton Hills became Union campgrounds. More than 100,000 Union troops were stationed at the 22 forts and other encampments in Arlington. Crops were trampled and destroyed, fence rails were used for firewood, and livestock was confiscated by the military or sold for a fraction of its value and fed to the troops. On the top of Upton Hill, now occupied with apartments, Union engineers constructed Fort Ramsay in order to protect Washington D.C. from a Confederate attack.

• "Arlington (Va.) Historical Society Learn Snapshots The Civil War in Arlington." Arlington (Va.)Historical Society. http://www.arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/learn/snapshots/civil_war_history.html (accessed May 25, 2011).
  


• "Boulevard Manor: Our Community Heritage From Land Grant to Subdivision." Boulevard Manor Historical Society. www.boulevardmanor.org/history.htm (accessed May 24, 2011).