Editing Fort Myer (section)

===Fort Whipple===
[[File:Fort Whipple (Marker Number 12), (Defenses of Washington marker series) (3364068185).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Fort Whipple Historical Marker]]
[[File:Arlington, Va. Capt. Nevins and officers in front of headquarters, Fort Whipple; mourning crepe drawn over doors and windows LOC cwpb.03813.tif|thumb|200px|Arlington, Va. Capt. Nevins and officers in front of headquarters, Fort Whipple, 1865; mourning crepe drawn over doors and windows]]
[[File:The photographic history of the Civil War - in ten volumes (1911) (14576160848).jpg|thumb|200px|Battery No. 2 at Fort Whipple]]

Following the Union Army's defeat at the [[Second Battle of Bull Run|Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)]] in August 1862, the Army constructed Fort Whipple on the grounds of the former Arlington estate during the spring of 1863. The fort was located a short distance southeast of Fort Cass.  The Army named the fort after Brevet Major General [[Amiel Weeks Whipple]], who died in May 1863 of wounds received during the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]].<ref name=Whipple>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015022444346;view=1up;seq=10 Staff of the Fort Myer Post, p. 6]</ref> The fort was considered to be one of the strongest fortifications erected for the defense of Washington during the Civil War.<ref name=Whipple/><ref name=Cooling2/> It had a perimeter of 658 yards and places for 43 guns.<ref name=Cooling2>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3qRIuDHJoTEC&pg=PA101 Cooling and Owen, pp. 101-104]:  Touring the Forts South of the Potomac: Fort Whipple — Forerunner to a Modern Fort.</ref><ref>{{cite web|editor=Swain, Craig|url=https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=5140|title="Fort Whipple" marker|date=2008-02-03|work=HMdb: The Historical Marker Database|access-date=2018-03-11}}</ref>

The May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery noted the following:<blockquote>''Fort Whipple, Major Rolfe commanding.''–Garrison, three companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery– l major, 13 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 414 men. Armament, six [[Field artillery in the American Civil War#Weapons|12-pounder field guns (smooth)]], four [[Field artillery in the American Civil War#Weapons|12-pounder field howitzers (smooth)]], eight [[Field artillery in the American Civil War#James rifles|12-pounder James guns (rifled)]], eleven [[Siege artillery in the American Civil War#4.5-inch siege rifle|4.5-inch ordnance]] Magazines, four; two not in a serviceable condition. Ammunition, full supply; good condition. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient; interior work.<ref>{{cite book|last=Howe|first=A.P.|author-link=Albion P. Howe|section=Report on the inspection of the defenses of Washington, made by the order of the Secretary of War: Fort Whipple, Major Rolfe commanding|date=1864-05-17|page=887|editor=Scott, Robert N.|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.49015002000736;view=1up;seq=895|title=The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Published under the direction of the Secretary of War (1880-1891) |series= 1 (Military Operations) | volume= 36|location=Washington, DC|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|United States Government Printing Office]]|lccn=03003452|oclc=224137463|via=[[HathiTrust]] Digital Library|access-date=2018-03-15}} (See: [[Official Records of the War of the Rebellion]])</ref></blockquote>

The Civil War ended in 1865. Fort Whipple, with its fortifications abandoned, then became the home of the Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers, established in 1869.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/civilwar/hrs2-1.htm|work=The Civil War Defenses of Washington: Historic Resource Study: Part II, Chapter I: Silenced Guns|title=Retained Fortifications|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=2018-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712060228/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/civilwar/hrs2-1.htm|archive-date=2017-07-12|url-status=live}}</ref>