Posts with the tag: fort slemmer

The Archivist’s Nook: African American History? You’re Standing On It

Posted on by Dr. Maria Mazzenga
The Middleton House was the main house on the CUA property when it was a slave run plantation. Sold to the U.S. Catholic Bishops after the Civil War, the house served several purposes for the University until it was demolished in 1970.
The Middleton House was the main house on the CUA property when it was a slave run plantation. Sold to the U.S. Catholic Bishops after the Civil War, the house served several purposes for the University until it was demolished in 1970.

It’s African American History Month, and we’ve got all kinds of  African-American history here at The Catholic University of America.

In fact, you’re standing on it.  The original 65 acres purchased by the U.S. Catholic Bishops to found the University is rife with African American history.  It didn’t start out that way.  Initially, the first house built on the current CUA campus was built by Samuel Harrison Smith and Margaret Bayard Smith.  The Smiths were invited to settle in the young capital city in 1803 by President Thomas Jefferson and found the District’s first newspaper.  Later, the house passed on to James Middleton and his son Erasmus Middleton.  The Middleton family held it as a slave-run plantation, until the Emancipation Act of 1862 (the first emancipation act in the nation, by the way) liberated the slaves of Washington, D.C.  The house eventually became part of the CUA campus and was demolished in 1970.

During the Civil War, Fort Slemmer was established on the perimeter of campus.  One of 68 fortifications protecting the city during the war, the fort never saw action, but it did play its part in the Civil War. Continue reading “The Archivist’s Nook: African American History? You’re Standing On It” →

The Archivist’s Nook: Digital Footprints of Blue and Gray

Posted on by William J. Shepherd

The Catholic University of America (CUA) did not yet exist during the time of the Civil War (1861-1865). However, the land that would eventually house CUA and the surrounding Brookland community experienced some of the war’s bitterness, though thankfully little in the way of bloodshed.

Fort Slemmer in Color, 3D
A colorized and stereoscopic image of Fort Slemmer. For 3D effect, cross your eyes until the images overlap in the center and refocus on center image.

On the northern end of the present CUA campus behind Marist Hall, on a knoll covered with trees lies the remains of the Civil War era Fort Slemmer, featured as a key part of CUA’s Historic Walking Tour.

The fort was part of the northern flank of a complex system of fortifications to defend the nation’s capital from Confederate attack (for more information see National Park Service site). Continue reading “The Archivist’s Nook: Digital Footprints of Blue and Gray” →