The mud flats and marshland to the west of the Washington Monument (on the left side of this image) were called the Potomac Flats for most of the 1800s. In 1870, the Army Corps of Engineers began dredging the Potomac to remove silt and to deepen the…

This historical survey stone was established in 1793 to mark the prime meridian of the United States. It was also intended to mark the intersection of direct lines from the middle of the Capitol and the White House, but it is in fact a little off…

The Babcock Lakes, located west of the Washington Monument, served as spawning pools for the US Fish Commission. Mandated to remedy decreases in the availability of commercial fish in America, the Commission used Babcock Lakes to breed Eurasian Carp,…

The site of the National Air and Space Museum was once home to the headquarters of the United States Fish and Fisheries Commission, also known as the US Fish Commission. President Ulysses Grant signed the US Fish Commission into existence in 1871 to…

Built in 1862 as a model hospital to treat wounded Union soldiers, the Armory Square Hospital had twelve pavilions, overflow tents, and 1,000 hospital beds. It included officers' quarters as well as a chapel. President Lincoln frequently visited the…

First known as the Old Brick Capitol, this building served as a a temporary meeting place for Congress after the burning of the US Capitol during the War of 1812. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the building became a prison. Confederate soldiers…

The street which is now known as Constitution Avenue was originally called North B Street, following the District's street naming system. For much of the 1800s, there was no road, but instead was the site of the City Canal. When the canal was covered…

The National Mall and nearby neighborhoods supported the lives of Union troops stationed in the city during the Civil War. This woodcut shows the bakery which was located in the basement of the US Capitol, and was capable of producing 58,000 loaves…

During the Civil War, Mall grounds were used to quarter troops and house a hospital for the wounded. Union soldiers frequently paraded in the vicinity. In this picture, President Abraham Lincoln and General Winfield Scott review a regiment of Union…

General Joseph Hooker commanded the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Though he served throughout the war, reaching the rank of Major General, he is most remembered for suffering a major defeat at the Battle of…