DPR - Fort Stevens Cache Traditional Cache
FrancisScottKey: Unfortunately the owner did not respond to the previous note so this is being archived. Should the owner decide to repair/replace this and have it unarchived, it can be done as long as it still conforms to the guidelines.
Regards,
FrancisScottKey
Volunteer Cache Reviewer
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is a part of the Fort Circle Parks series of caches placed by the District of Columbia’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), to bring attention to the six Fort Circle Parks that are managed by DC DPR. There are an additional 11 Fort Circle Parks managed by the National Parks Services. For more information go to http://www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails/trailNRT/FortCircle-DC.html.
The fort was constructed in 1861 as "Fort Massachusetts" and later enlarged by the Union Army and renamed "Fort Stevens" after Brig. Gen. Isaac Ingalls Stevens, who was killed at the Battle of Chantilly, Virginia, on September 1, 1862. In 1861, it had a perimeter of 168 yards and places for 10 cannon. In 1862, it was expanded to 375 yards and 19 guns.[1] It guarded the northern approach to Washington, D.C., the Seventh Street Turnpike.[1] By 1864 Fort Stevens was one part of a thirty-seven mile-long arrangement of fortifications, consisting of sixty-eight forts intended to defend the capital.[2] The fort was constructed as a part of a defensive ring around Washington. Following the Union defeat at Bull Run, Congress voted to augment the city's defenses, which consisted of a single fort (Fort Washington) twelve miles to the south on the Potomac. (Eventually, "68 forts, 93 batteries, 20 miles of rifle pits, and 32 miles of military roads surrounded the capital and Washington became the most heavily fortified city in the world.")[3] In September 1861 Union troops took possession of a property owned by a free black family Elizabeth Proctor Thomas and her siblings at the Seventh Street Turnpike, seeing it as "an ideal and necessary location for a fort."[3] The soldiers ultimately destroyed her home, barn, orchard, and garden to build what was then named Fort Massachusetts. Elizabeth Thomas would later often repeat the story that she was watching union soldiers with a baby in her arms weeping as they destroyed her house when "a tall, slender man dressed in black approached her and said, 'It is hard, but you shall reap a great reward.'"[3] Many listening to her story held that the man was President Abraham Lincoln. Thomas would have to fight for compensation for damage and loss of her property and was eventually awarded $1,835 in 1916, a year before her death.[3] Currently The play space at Fort Stevens Recreation Center is located at 1327 Van Buren Street, NW in Ward 4. The outdoor play area is adjacent to a building that includes both recreation facilities and a senior citizens center. The site currently features play equipment, basketball courts, and tennis courts. The design for Fort Stevens builds on the nearby Civil War fort site with a new play space built around an artificial mound resembling the ramparts of the fort. The low mound provides a separation between play equipment for different age groups as well as space for unstructured play. Behind the recreation center, a new raised garden beds, exercise equipment, and shade will expand the opportunities at Fort Stevens.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gnxr fznyy qveg genvy bss cnirq cngu; ynetr gerr ba evtug fvqr bs qveg genvy.