Walking History Tour of Historic Fort Washington Maryland, Sunday, June 2, Noon!
Plus live artillery demonstration!
Scenic Fort Washington National Park contains one of the largest and oldest fortresses in the country. Founded to protect Washington, D.C. from river attack, it was a bastion of protection well into the 20th century. Designed in part by Pierre L’Enfant, it was the site of a War of 1812 disaster, it guarded the federal city during the Civil War, and it served to block warships and U-boats from heading up the Potomac during the world wars. Its river setting a few miles downstream from Alexandria, Virginia is magnificent, and home to bald eagles, deer, and other wildlife. Join us for a walking tour of one of America’s grandest, if most overlooked, national parks.
This tour can be continued with a viewing of the live artillery demonstration that takes place in the park that day.
MEET at the east parking lot, the one closest to the fort, near the Visitor Center.
Getting There: The Fort is located down Route 210 and Fort Washington Rd from National Harbor, Maryland. 13551 Fort Washington Rd, Fort Washington, MD 20744.
Itinerary will select from:
• The fort’s tragic history in the War of 1812
• A great naval hero who fought pirates
• How the designer of Washington, D.C. rebuilt the fort after its destruction!
• The lighthouse picnic and beach
• Artillery across two centuries
• The “Battle of Alexandria”
• The officers barracks
• The British raid on Alexandria, of the American Revolution
• Sowing mines in the Potomac
• The Nazi U-boat plot to blow up America
• Fort commandant, Robert E. Lee’s son
• The worst peace-time Navy accident in American history
• Slave escape below the fort!
• George Washington's parties
• Interrogations of German P.O.W.s
• World war naval shipyards
• D.C.’s Civil War forts
• The best executive in U.S. history
• The most cowardly commander in U.S. history
• Defenses against land attack
And more!
Your guide is a former White House speechwriter, ex-Tonight Show writer, and author of the new book on D.C.’s history, The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood: Crime, Scandal & Intrigue in the History of Lafayette Square:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Houses-Unruly-Neighborhood-Lafayette/dp/1476674868/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1555118270&sr=1-1-catcorr
And a book of essays on U.S. history, America A to Z:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-patriots-a-to-z-of-america-ed-moser/1118632257
His latest book is a crime thriller set in Alexandria, VA:
https://www.amazon.com/Old-Town-Horror-Americas-Historic/dp/B0CYN3HRY6/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
We have TripAdvisor’s highest-rated tours in the Mid-Atlantic:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d12791843-Reviews-Lafayette_Square_Tour_of_Scandal_Assassination_Intrigue-Washington_DC_District_of.html
All our tours are listed at:
https://www.meetup.com/Washarea-Discovery-Hikes/
Think history’s dull? Think again! What better way to celebrate the approach of summer with a tour of a venerable military installation set along the stunning Potomac.
