"'Mr. Lincoln's Forts' - RECOMMENDED!" Topic

I've recently received the book 'Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington', from my local library through interlibrary loan, and I can highly recommend it to all American Civil War afficionatoes.

This is a book written about a specialized and often overlooked subject; the defense of the nation's Capitol during our time of civil war. The authors, Benjamin Franklin Cooling III and Walton H. Owen II, have done extremely well in cataloging all of the forts and batteries that were erected around Washington, D.C., a few of which still exist today under the protection of the National Park Service. Not only are the chief engineer's detailed maps and plans included, but also period and recent photographs, descriptions and anecdotes of the defenses, and a list of the units that were stationed at each fort and battery, where applicable.

The book was published in 1988, but can still be found through Amazon and other used book outlets.

It is a good book. I used it when I lived in Arlington. We lived just 1/4 mile from Fort Ward, which sparked my curiosity.

As I said in your earlier thread, in fine print at the end of an article the authors wrote in the current CWPT magazine "Hallowed Ground", Vol 9, no 3, that the book "is currently being updated and revised for republication". With those updates, your recommendation should be more valuable.