The lunette stood less than a mile away from Arlington House, the Union-occupied estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The fortification helped guard the capital from an approach along the Columbia Turnpike and over the Long Bridge on the Potomac River.

Constructed on local farmland in August 1861, the lunette was named for Lt. Presley O. Craig, 2nd U.S.

Artillery Regiment, who was killed at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

[2] In June 1865, Fort Craig was ordered dismantled and the site returned to its previous owners.