Shepherd Parkway

Shepherd Parkway
Location	District of Columbia
Nearest city	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°49′56.5″N 77°00′46.6″W / 38.832361°N 77.012944°W / 38.832361; -77.012944Coordinates: 38°49′56.5″N 77°00′46.6″W / 38.832361°N 77.012944°W / 38.832361; -77.012944
Area	205.51 acres (0.8317 km2)
Established	1927
Governing body	National Capital Parks-East, National Park Service

Shepherd Parkway is part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington. It includes two civil war sites: Fort Greble and Fort Carroll of which some remains still exist. The Parkway occupies the high ground that sits on the opposite side of the Anacostia Freeway (Interstate 295) from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in the District of Columbia. Shepherd Parkway is bound by the St. Elizabeths Campus on the north end and the District of Columbia neighborhoods of Congress Heights and Bellevue. On the south end, a small section close to Oxon Run is separated by Bald Eagle Hill.

History

Map showing the area of Shepherd Parkway in 1865. Fort Greble is near the southern end and Fort Carroll is near the midpoint.

The National Capital Parks and Planning Commission began acquiring land in 1927 to create a parkway called "Fort Drive". The purpose was to connect a ring of parks, formed by the Civil War Defenses of Washington encircling the city. Shepherd Parkway was the first land acquired for this purpose. The parkway was never completed and the remained mostly not built, but the land remains as greenspace in the district today.^[1][2]

1860-1865: Shepherd Parkway during the Civil War

At the onset of the American Civil War in 1861 George Washington Young offered to sell his property to the Government $100,000, the offered was declined. Instead, the Union army rented the land for $6,000 per year. During the following year G.W. Young freed his slaves, when the DC Compensated Emancipation Law was enacted. During the war Washington became the staging ground for the entire Union Army. 68 fortifications were built to defend the Nation's Capital from Confederate attack. The city doubled in population, soldiers marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, oxen were used to transport military weapons from one fort to another, livestock grazed on the National Mall and Shepherd Parkway was used for fortifications, military roads, a cavalry depot, a cavalry camp (called Camp Stoneman after General George Stoneman, Chief of the Cavalry Bureau), and hospital buildings (Saint Elizabeth being one and the another near Fort Carroll).^[3]

Battery Carroll and Fort Greble

Named after Major General Samuel Sprigg Carroll, a native Washingtonian and West Point graduate, Ft. Carroll was established on the ridge southeast of Giesboro Point. It was irregular in shape but had a relatively large perimeter, at 340 yards this fort became a hub for officers and soldiers garrisoned east of the Anacostia River. The fort and its battery were initially built to protect the cavalry depot and prevent attacks on the Washington Arsenal and Navy Yard. As the war went on into its third year more buildings were built. The stockade could house more than 30,000 horses, several hospital and administration builds were erected, barracks, and Camp Stoneman, to the northwest, served home to thousands of cavalry soldiers. Fort Greble was named in honor of Lieutenant John T. Greble who was killed at the battle of Big Bethel on July 10, 1861. The fort was an irregular, 327 yard perimeter earthwork structure that occupied the southern end of the ridge in Shepherd Parkway. In conjunction with forts in Alexandria, VA the fort protected the Potomac River. Its guns commanded the ravines along Oxen Run and Piscataway Road (now called Martin Luther King Avenue), which headed downtown. Most Sunday mornings a parade of soldiers could be seen marching from Ft. Greble to the Regimental Headquarters at Ft. Carroll for religious services. Although these forts never saw any major action, Robert E. Lee and his Confederate Army of Northern Virginia were aware of their strength, this is perhaps why General Jubal Early decided to attack from the north in 1864 in the battle of Ft. Stevens. They did however provide training ground for soldiers preparing for combat. The most interesting story about these forts may not be about the soldiers who protected them instead about the civilians who maintained them.

As the war progressed fugitive slaves sought refuge and entered the city's boundaries providing an available labor force to help finish and then maintain the forts. These fugitive slaves were referred to as contraband. Contrabands who worked for the forts created camps nearby. Through a loop-hole method the Federal Government could maintain their status in the Union by considering them as "contraband of war". When the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlaws slavery, was enacted and former slaves were granted freedom many of them stayed nearby. By the end of the nineteenth century the area had become home to many African Americans communities.^[3]

Postbellum Era, 1866-20th Century

The end of the Civil War saw major changes to the area. The Freedmen's Bureau purchased the Barry Farm to the north of St. Elizabeths Hospital and divided the land into 1 acre plots. While the area remained farm land these plots were sold to former slaves and within two years 500 families owned property. The Government disassembled the cavalry depot and returned the Giesborough land to George Washington Young. Young's attempt to sell his buildings and property were unsuccessful and after his death in 1867 the deeds went to his heirs, who slowly sold off the property. Even though the area was still very much rural a river resort, called Buena Vista, was established at Giesborough point. Ft. Carroll was transferred over to the Signal Corps. Ft. Greble was dismantled and it materials, excluding the armament, sold at auction. Downtown went through major changes as well. The city was in shambles, while the population doubled in size from 1860-1865 the infrastructure had not kept up. In 1871 Pierre L'Enfant's plan was just that, a plan, and many politicians wanted to move the Nation's Capital west. The Organic Act of 1871 repealed the individual charters of Georgetown and the City of Washington to combine them with the surrounding Washington County, creating a new charter. This was the first step towards a municipal governorship for the entire territory.^[3]

How did Shepherd Parkway get its name?

While not the first Governor of Washington, Alexander Robey Shepherd was the second and most notable. Shepherd was a native Washingtonian, a Civil War veteran and a wealthy businessman, who made his money in the plumbing and gas fitting industry. As the Governor he implemented many new city improvements, including paving roads and creating a sewage system. Shepherd Parkway is perhaps named after Shepherd himself who encouraged the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company to extend their tracks through the Giesborough land track south and cut over the Potomac River, eventually meeting up with the City of Alexandria.^[3]

20th Century

Building on Alexander Shepherd's vision, Senator James McMillian too saw the need for improvements in the city. The McMillian Plan was created to develop a system of parks in the District, including a parkway connecting the former ring of forts. So on April 11, 1927, the National Capital Parks and Planning Commission acquired Shepherd Parkway as the first property for the Fort Drive. Unfortunately the economy took a turn for the worst and the plan has put on the back burner, until 1933, when the New Deal was created and most public green space was turned over to the National Park Service. Although much of the land was purchased for the parkway, it was never constructed. As the country creep into the Second World War the parks were used for Anti-Aircraft Artillery and barracks for soldiers. Today Shepherd Parkway is 205 acres of mature trees along the same ridge that once was used to secure the Nation's Capital.^[3]

Shepherd Parkway Today

Today Shepherd Parkway is 205.51 acres (0.8317 km²)^[4] of mature trees along the same ridge that once was used to secure the Nation's Capital. It offers no marked or maintained trails, picnic areas, or playgrounds. Until recently, it was largely neglected with large amounts of trash and invasive species. Community organizations have taken up the effort to clean up and restore it.^[5]

Administration

Shepherd Park, including Battery Carroll and Fort Greble are administered by National Capital Parks-East. ^[6] The total area of the park is 205.51 acres (0.8317 km²). The park is located in the District of Columbia.

External Links

• National Capital Parks-East - Official National Park Service Website

References