As Black Lives Matter-related protests gathered momentum in June, they brought Civil War memory back into the spotlight. They are simply the “Historical Sites of the Defenses of Washington.” Fort Ethan Allen — Arlington’s best-preserved fort — has several displays on defensive artillery tactics but little else. “But Daddy,” he asked, “would they be shooting bullets or lasers?”Not all the fort sites are so exciting. There, Fort Circle Park’s hiker-biker trail links six NPS fort sites. As we completed our mission, Confederate monuments across the country started to come down, and I began to wish more of these Union forts were still standing.

Source: Washington Post August 13, 2020 18:39 UTC