Fort Willard

Fort Willard
Part of the Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C.
Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
Entrance to Fort Willard
Type	Earthwork fort
Site information
Owner	Fairfax County Park Authority
Controlled by	Union Army
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Stabilized
Site history
Built	1862-3
Built by	34th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
In use	1862–1865
Materials	Earth, timber
Demolished	1865
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Fort Willard is a former Union Army installation now located in the Belle Haven area of Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is currently undergoing preservation treatment to protect its earthen walls and trenches.

Following the surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln declared that "an insurrection existed," and called for 75,000 troops to be called up to quash the rebellion. The move sparked resentment in many other southern states, which promptly moved to convene discussions of secession. The Virginia State Convention passed an ordinance of secession and ordered a May 23 referendum to decide whether or not the state should secede from the Union. The U.S. Army responded by creating the Department of Washington, which united all Union troops in the District of Columbia and Maryland under one command.

Brigadier General J.F.K. Mansfield, commander of the Department of Washington, argued that Northern Virginia should be occupied as soon as possible in order to prevent the possibility of the Confederate Army mounting artillery on the hills of Arlington and shelling government buildings in Washington. He also urged the erection of fortifications on the Virginia side of the Potomac River to protect the southern terminuses of the Chain Bridge, Long Bridge, and Aqueduct Bridge. His superiors approved these recommendations, but decided to wait until after Virginia voted for or against secession.