|
Battery Kemble Park is a park in Northwest Washington D.C., administered by the National Park Service.〔U.S. National Park Service (NPS). Washington, DC. ("Battery Kemble." ) ''Civil War Defenses of Washington.'' Accessed 2012-10-28.〕 Battery Kemble was a Union Army defensive site during the Civil War. The battery was located on Ridge Road (now Nebraska Avenue, NW), and included two 100-pound Parrott rifles, placed in such a way as to sweep Chain Bridge, Aqueduct Bridge, and Virginia beyond. Today, the parapet and gun positions are fairly well preserved and remain visible. The park is located south of Nebraska Avenue along Maddox Branch. Battery Kemble Park is bounded by Chain Bridge Road (to the west), MacArthur Boulevard (to the south), 49th Street (to the east), and Nebraska Avenue, NW (north). It is considered part of the Palisades neighborhood. The park is popular for running, sledding, nature walks, and is known to locals in the tri-state area (and the NPS itself) as a de facto dog park.〔Williams, Brett, et al. "Rapid Ethnographic Assessment of Civil War Defenses of Washington and Anacostia Park Management Plans." NPS Denver Service Center, 1998.〕〔Nadim Ahmed. ("Running About Town: Battery Kemble Park." ) Accessed 2012-10-28.〕 Newspaper articles date the park's use as a dog recreation area to as early as 1978. In 2009, one patron accidentally discovered an artifact near the park's main walking trail that attests to – and predates – written media accounts of Battery Kemble as a 'dog park': a stamped District of Columbia dog license tag from 1966. == Civil War defenses of Washington, or 'Fort Circle' == Battery Kemble was completed during the Autumn of 1861, as part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, also known as the Fort Circle. It was named after Gouverneur Kemble of Cold Spring, New York, former superintendent of West Point Foundry, where most of the heavy Army and Navy guns were made during the Civil War.〔The name was recommended by Brig. Gen. and Chief Engineer Defenses of Washington J.G. Barnard in a letter on January 7, 1863, to Maj. Gen. S.P. Heintzelman, Commander of the Defenses of Washington.〕 Battery Kemble is on the high point of land, above mean low level of the Potomac River, where its guns could protect both Chain Bridge and Aqueduct Bridge. The artillery had "an extreme range of 3 miles, while it is under the direct fire, to a distance of at least 1,000 yards of the works."〔NPS (2004). ("Civil War Defenses of Washington. App. C: Naming the Forts." ) Historic Resource Study.〕 The earthwork remains of the battery are distinct and well preserved.〔NPS. Park Historic Structures Program. ("Battery Kemble; Earthworks." ) ''List of Classified Structures.'' Structure No. 521-01. LCS ID 005362. Park: Rock Creek Park. Accessed 2012-10-28.〕 Battery Kemble was one in a chain of fortifications directly protecting the DC side of Chain Bridge. Other nearby fortifications included Battery Cameron (two 100-pounder Parrott rifles), Battery Parrott (two 100-pounder Parrott rifles), Battery Martin Scott (one 8-inch Seacoast howitzer, two 32-pounder cannon; later changed to two 6-pounder cannon and two 12-pounder howitzers), and Battery Vermont (three 32-pounder seacoast cannon). Battery Kemble was built to provide support to Fort Stevens and Fort Slocum and to guard northern approaches to the city. Wartime garrisons were manned by the 2nd U.S. Artillery, 9th New York Heavy Artillery, and Company A, 1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery. In 1861, an Army report described the initial conditions there: The soldiers' quarters at Battery Kemble (and Battery Cameron) remained unfinished, and in need of materials for completion, as late as 1864.〔NPS (2004). ("Civil War Defenses of Washington: Maintenance of the Defenses." ) Historic Resource Study.〕 Contemporaneous accounts by Augusta Weaver, "a woman of means" living nearby, describe how soldiers stationed at Battery Kemble pillaged neighboring residents' pantries, her own included.〔"Sunset on the Palisades; Watching the quiet passing of a fragile Washington neighborhood", Terrence Downs, ''The Washington Post Magazine''; Pg. 17, Sunday, February 5, 1978.〕 The property on which Battery Kemble was constructed was relinquished to the U.S. government by William A.T. Maddox, a career U.S. Marine Corps officer.〔NPS (2004). (Civil War Defenses of Washington: The Land and the Owners." ) Historic Resource Study.〕〔National Archives: Record Group 328, Records of the National Capital Planning Commission; General Records, Parks & Recreation, Planning Files, 1924-67; 535, Parks & Recreation, Battery Kemble Park.〕 The land for Battery Kemble Park was reacquired by the federal government sometime between 1916 and 1923, a period of time during which much of the land for the D.C.-area Fort Parks was acquired. The National Capital Parks and Planning Commission acquired approximately for the "Fort Kemble" Park. However, it was almost fifteen years before the government corrected the name to "''Battery'' Kemble."〔NPS (2004). ("Civil War Defenses of Washington: The Fort Park System." ) Historic Resource Study.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battery Kemble Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|