Leesburg, Va. Studies Its Forts
By Deborah Fitts
Feb/March 2003

LEESBURG, Va. - Despite rapid growth in the Northern Virginia town of Leesburg, 35 miles northwest of Washington, significant remnants of Civil War forts and other earthworks remain.

" It's absolutely amazing that they're still there, and that nothing's been published on them," says Kristie Lalire, Leesburg's preservation planner. "I was worried they might not be there in the future, and it was important to collect the information while they're still there."

Lalire obtained a $7,000 state grant, matched by $5,000 from the town, to document the eight known Civil War earthworks in and around Leesburg. The result was a lengthy report released recently by the town's consultant, John Milner Associates of Alexandria, documenting the sites and relating their history.

Of the eight, the most impressive is Fort Evans. It was built in late 1861 by troops under Nathan "Shanks" Evans, who commanded the town's 2,000-man Confederate force. On a commanding height east of town, it overlooks Edwards Ferry Road and the nearby crossing of the Potomac River. It also dominated the approaches to Lees-burg by road and rail from the east and the Union capital at Washington.

Joseph Balicki, principal architect with Milner and leader of the study team, said Fort Evans is not only one of the few remaining Confederate forts from this period in Northern Virginia, but it's one of the best preserved. Today it belongs to Rehau, the Switzerland-based plastics company that has its North American headquarters in Leesburg.

Largely intact, the fort is roughly rectangular in shape, about 100 yards across, with artillery bastions at the cor-ners. It is bounded by earthen walls 5 feet high and 30 feet thick. It is closed to the public but tour groups get permission to visit. Mark Mullins, vice president for legal affairs at Rehau, said the company's 70-acre hilltop campus was designed with protection of the fort in mind. "The owners are from Europe, and they value history," he explained.

Fort Evans was one of three forts at Leesburg. Fort Beauregard, southeast of town, was obliterated long ago. Fort Johnston, a star fort built on the highest point near Leesburg off Route 7 Bypass a mile north of town, guarded against enemy approach from that quarter. Despite two homes and a swimming pool built on and inside the walls, much of the fort remains, but Balicki was unable to document it. It was the only site of the eight where the owners refused access.

Only one of the eight sites is on park land - Ball's Bluff Regional Park. Recent development of the Potomac Crossing subdivision obliterated much of a trench that was built to guard a now-abandoned road, but about 300 feet remain within the park.

Among the sites on private land is a 300-foot trench that spans Edwards Ferry Road, guarding against an enemy crossing of the Potomac. The well-preserved works, 6 feet deep, are referred to as the "masked battery" because Confederate guns hidden here caught a contingent of Union cavalry by surprise as they moved up the road from the river during the Oct. 21, 1861, battle of Ball's Bluff.

" We're very protective of whatever history we have," said Rene Dennis, whose family owns one side of the road including the trench.

Local preservationists decried the failure several years ago to save a portion of historic Edwards Ferry Road, which the Army of the Potomac used on its way to Gettysburg in June 1863. The deep-cut roadbed was wiped out by construction of the River Creek subdivision.

" Virtually every battle I've been part of to preserve history in the county has been a losing battle," Dennis said. "I don't get the sense there's a conscious effort to preserve these things. Developers usually win out.

" This is part of all our heritage. Once it's gone, you can name a street after it, but that's the end."

Lalire acknowledges that, by itself, the study does nothing to preserve the unprotected sites. "My motivation in starting the project was that there was an educational component," she said. She hopes someone may initiate an interpretive plan, and install signs highlighting the earthworks' history and significance." It's really incredible that these things still exist, and it would be neat for people to see them."