 During the War of 1812, on August 24, 1814, the area was the scene of the Battle of Bladensburg.The place became a battlefield again in the early days of the Civil War when Confederate troops mounted an assault on Battery Jameson, Fort Lincoln, now northeast Washington, D.C., which was one of a number Union defensive forts built around the nation's capital to protect it from capture.The remains of Fort Lincoln are located on the hillside that is now a part of Fort Lincoln Cemetery.