Camp Arthur |
Camp Astor |
Bath Beach Blockhouse |
Battery Park Barracks
Benson's Point Redoubt |
Blockhouse #1 |
Blockhouse #2 |
Blockhouse #3 |
Blockhouse #4
Castle Bogardus |
City Battery |
City Hall Park Barracks |
Castle Clinton |
Fort Clinton (5)
Fort Columbus |
Corlaer's Hook Fort |
Crown Fort |
Fort Cummings (2) |
Decatur Blockhouse
Denyse's Heights Fort |
Devil Tower |
Fort Diamond |
Fort Fireman |
Fort Fish
Fort Gansevoort |
Fort Gibson |
Gracie Point Battery |
Fort Greene (2) |
Fort Horn
Hubert Street Battery |
Hudson Tower |
Jamaica Bay Blockhouse |
Fort Jay |
Fort Lafayette (2)
Fort Laight |
Fort Lawrence |
Fort Lewis (2) |
Camp Low |
Fort Marcy |
Fort Masonic
Camp McClellan |
Mill Rock Blockhouse |
New York Arsenal |
New York Gun Houses
North Battery |
Nutter's Battery |
Old Stone Tower |
Princess Bay Blockhouse (1) |
Red Fort
Camp Riker |
Rockaway Beach Blockhouse |
Camp Scott |
Fort Smith (2)
Smith's Cantonment (2) |
South Battery (1) |
South Battery (2) |
Southwest Battery
Camp Sprague |
Fort Stevens |
Fort Swift |
Camp Tompkinsville |
Utrecht Bay Blockhouse
Washington Bastion |
West Battery (1) |
West Battery (2) |
White Fort |
Castle Williams
Williamsburg Heights Blockhouse |
Fort Wood
Northeastern NY - page 1 |
Mohawk River Valley - page 2 |
Hudson River Valley - page 3
Catskill Region - page 4 |
New York City I - page 5 |
New York City III - page 7
Long Island - page 8 |
Western New York - page 9 |
Northwestern New York - page 10
NEW YORK'S FORTS AND MILITARY HISTORY
NOTE: This page covers only those forts built (and primarily active) during the early Federal period (1794 - 1865). Please see NEW YORK CITY I and NEW YORK CITY III pages for earlier and later period forts.
Castle
Clinton (National Monument)
(Battery Park (NPS)) | (Battery Park (NYCP))
(1809 - 1821), Manhattan FORT WIKI
Southwest Battery (aka West Battery (1) or City Battery) was originally located here in 1795, in ruins by 1806. The current structure was built in 1809, with 28 guns. During the War of 1812, this was the Army's New York Harbor headquarters. It was given its current name in 1817, and was abandoned in 1821. It was given to the city in 1823, renamed "Castle Garden", and it was used for many different purposes in its civilian life, including a live theater (1840's), an Immigrant Station (1855 - 1890), and the New York City Aquarium (1896 - 1941). Used as a temporary militia barracks during the early years of the Civil War (1861 - 1862) (Battery Park Barracks). Restored by NPS in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The fort was originally about 200 feet off of the mainland, connected by a causeway. Landfill operations in later years (after 1855) expanded Battery Park to its present 25 acres. Located just to the east was South Battery (1) (1810 - 1812) at the foot of Bridge Street (at State Street).
(Not to be confused with Fort Clinton (5) in Central Park.)
Corlaer's Hook Fort
(1814 - 1815), Manhattan
A blockhouse/battery located on Corlaer's Hook near the present Williamsburg Bridge, in the Lower East Side area. Previously at this location was the Patriot Crown Point Battery in 1776.
North Battery
(1809 - 1831), Manhattan
A 16-gun semi-circular stone fort built of red sandstone, which gave it the popular name of Red Fort. Located on a rocky shoal about 200 feet off of the Hudson River bank, connected by a wooden drawbridge. Also known as Hubert Street Battery, the foot of which near it was located, in the Tribeca area, near present-day Pier 27.
Fort Gansevoort
(1812 - 1849), Manhattan FORT WIKI
A 20-gun elliptical stone fort located at the foot of Gansevoort Street on the Hudson River, in the West Greenwich Village area. It was also known as White Fort because of its whitewashed exterior. Completed in 1812 soon after hostilities broke out with Great Britain. Some sources claim it may have been begun as early as 1808. It was demolished sometime after abandonment, possibly as late as 1854.
City Hall Park Barracks
(City Hall Park)
(1861 - 1862), Manhattan
A Civil War recruitment and mustering camp located around the City Hall building at City Hall Park. The park was established in 1812 after the completion of the City Hall building. Construction of the New York County (aka "Tweed") Courthouse was begun nearby in 1861, completed in 1881.
New York City Gun Houses
(1808 - 1844), Manhattan
A Second System Gun House, or Arsenal, was supposedly once located somewhere in the Tribeca area, which stored 34 various sized guns mounted on traveling carriages. An arsenal of the period was said to be located on Hubert Street. Another arsenal was also located on Chambers Street at Centre Street (or Chatham Street (Park Row)), just east of City Hall. This was demolished before 1844 and replaced by the so-called Downtown Arsenal (1844 - 1888), which was built on the block bounded by Centre Street and Elm Place (Lafayette Street), and by White and Franklin Streets.
Another Second System Gun House and Laboratory was located three miles north of the old city center at present-day Madison Square Park in the Midtown area, bounded by East 23rd and East 26th Streets, and by Madison and Fifth Aves.. It was demolished in 1844 and was replaced by a new State Arsenal in 1847-51 in present Central Park on East 64th Street at 5th Ave.. It was only used as such until 1857 when the city took it over for park purposes, however it was not demolished, and remains to this day. It has variously been used as a police station, zoo, art gallery, restaurant, and the first home of the American Museum of Natural History. It was restored in 1924.
Gracie Point Battery
(1813), Manhattan
A temporary five-gun shore battery was located here on the East River (present day Carl Schurz Park) during the British blockade of the War of 1812, to help protect the bottled-up American naval squadron led by the U.S.S. United States, commanded by Stephen Decatur. Gracie Mansion was built here in 1799-1804. Previously the site of the British Horn's Hook Fort (1778) during the American Revolution.
Fort Clinton (5) (Monument)
(1814 - 1815), Manhattan FORT WIKI
A stone fort once located in the northeast corner of Central Park, east of present-day Central Park Drive near the end of East 106th Street, on high ground near the south bank of Harlem Meer. Previously located near this spot was British McGowan's Pass Redoubt from the American Revolution. Stone monument at site.
(Not to be confused with Castle Clinton in Battery Park.)
Also located nearby in Central Park are monuments for the extant Blockhouse #1 (aka Old Stone Tower) (1814 - 1815) (inside loop of Central Park Drive just west of the point of intersection of 7th Ave. and 109th Street) and Fort Fish (1814 - 1815) (inside loop of Central Park Drive just south of the point of intersection of 106th Street and 6th Ave. (Lenox Ave.), near Lasker Rink/Pool). Below Forts Fish and Clinton was the site of a fortified timber and stone gatehouse (two guns) over the old Kingsbridge Road (6th/Lennox Ave.), and also nearby was the site of Nutter's Battery (one gun), both connected to Forts Fish and Clinton by earth and stone breastworks. An abatis blocked the ravine between Fort Fish and Blockhouse #1. See also The Blockhouse and the Bench from Forgotten-NY.com
FORT WIKI - Central Park Blockhouses
FORT WIKI - Fort Fish
Fort Laight
(1814 - 1815), Manhattan FORT WIKI
A stone fort that once overlooked the valley between Morningside Heights and Hamilton Heights, guarding a gatehouse just west at the old Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway), located at the present-day Morningside Gardens housing complex between La Salle Street, West 123rd Street, Broadway, and Amsterdam Ave., probably built similar to Fort Clinton (5) in Central Park. An open battery was located on a rise just east of Fort Laight.
Supporting earthworks were also located westward from Fort Laight through present Riverside Park, extending to Hudson Tower (1814 - 1815), a stone blockhouse/tower on the Hudson River near the "Courtenay House" (aka "Monte Alta") on Strawberry Hill (at Riverside Drive and West 124th Street). (NOTE: sources differ on the construction date of the manor house, some say 1804, others say 1788. Lord William "Kitty" Courtenay, 3rd Viscount of Powderham and 9th Earl of Devon, lived there in self-exile from England from 1809 to 1813. It was converted to a public roadhouse/inn in the 1840's (Claremont Inn), and survived until it burned down in March, 1951. A stone tablet (1952) marks the spot of the tavern in Riverside Park.)
Other 1814 blockhouses located in the Morningside Heights vicinity included Blockhouse #2 (near West 114th Street and Morningside Drive), Blockhouse #3 (near West 121st Street and Morningside Drive), and Blockhouse #4 (near West 122nd Street and Amsterdam Ave., site of Public School 36). No remains.
Fort Horn
(1814 - 1815), Manhattan
Located near Jefferson Park at the end of East 110th Street, in the Spanish Harlem area.
Benson's Point Redoubt (1814 - 1815) (with supporting earthworks and a detached battery on a nearby hill) was located south of here at the end of East 104th Street, near the mouth of Harlem Creek, at the site of the present pedestrian bridge to Ward's Island.
Fort Marcy
(1846), Manhattan
Located somewhere in Manhattan during the Mexican-American War. Probably only a recruitment station.
Camp Riker
(1860's), Rikers Island
A Civil War training camp, later a POW camp. Also known as Camp Astor.
Fort Stevens
(1814 - 1815), Queens FORT WIKI
A temporary 12-gun fort on Hallet's Point at Hell Gate to prevent enemy passage up the East River.
Just southeast on Lawrence Hill was Castle Bogardus (1814 - 1815), a six-sided stone blockhouse/tower to protect Fort Stevens' rear. Also known as Devil Tower. Mill Rock Blockhouse (with battery) (1814 - 1815) was constructed on Mill Rock Island nearby in the East River to provide crossfire with Fort Stevens. It burned down in 1821. FORT WIKI
Williamsburg Heights Blockhouse
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn
A blockhouse located on a hill overlooking the mouth of Newtown Creek at the East River, in the Greenpoint area.
Fort Swift
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn FORT WIKI
A circular four-gun fort built on a conical hill near the site of the Patriot Fort Corkscrew from 1776, at Atlantic Ave. and Boerum Place. A militia barracks was nearby.
Fort Greene (2) (Park)
(Fort Greene Park Historic Marker)
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn FORT WIKI
A bastioned 23-gun fort with a star-shaped four-gun citadel, built on Brooklyn Heights on the then still extant ruins of Patriot Fort Putnam (1) from 1776. Included were several barracks and other structures for a 1700-man brigade force. It was abandoned after the war. The site was sold in 1826, and became a city park in 1847 (Washington Park until 1897). No fort remains, monument only.
(Not to be confused with the Patriot Fort Greene, later American Fort Masonic)
Fort Cummings (2)
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn FORT WIKI
A one-gun redoubt with a magazine and barracks, built on the site of Patriot Oblong Redoubt from 1776.
Washington Bastion
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn
A fortified gate at the Jamaica Road, located on Brooklyn Heights between Fort Cummings (2) and Fort Masonic.
Fort Masonic
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn FORT WIKI
A one-gun redoubt built on the then still extant ruins of Patriot Fort Greene (1) (British Fort Sutherland) from 1776.
Fort Fireman
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn FORT WIKI
A one-gun redoubt built on or near the site of Patriot Fort Box from 1776.
Fort Lawrence
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn FORT WIKI
A strong redoubt located on a hill at the southwestern end of Brooklyn Heights at DeGraw and Bond Streets, overlooking Gowanus Bay.
A three-gun battery was located nearby on the western side of Gowanus Creek to guard a mill dam and bridge.
Fort Jay
(Governors Island National Monument)
(The Trust for Governors Island)
(Governors Island Alliance)
(1794 - 1904/1966), Governors Island FORT WIKI
The first Fort Jay was continuously modified until 1806 when it was almost completely rebuilt into 60-gun Fort Columbus. Enlarged in 1836. Fort Columbus was renamed back to Fort Jay in 1904. Also located on the island were New York Arsenal (1833 - 1920) with seven surviving structures, and South Battery (2) (1812 - 1826) which guarded the Buttermilk Channel. It was used as a barracks from 1836 - 1879, then became the First Officers Club. The 27-gun West Battery (2) was built to the west of the fort in 1871, but was never completed. It was completely removed before 1930. Located in Nolan Park are the Commanding Officer's Quarters (1893), the Governor's House (Guardhouse) (1805), and the Post Hospital (1839). During WWII the post was the headquarters of the Eastern Defense Command. The southern tip of the island was greatly expanded with fill from the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. After the Army left in 1966, the entire island became the New York Coast Guard Support Center until it was closed in 1996. The historic fortress became NPS property in 2003. The remaining portions of the post were sold to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (now The Trust for Governors Island). See also On Guard on Governors Island from Forgotten-NY.com
Previously located on the island was Dutch Nooten Eylandt Fort (1624 - 1625), and a colonial-era quarantine station in 1710. The first British troops were not garrisoned on the island until 1755. Patriot forces built earthworks around the island in 1776, but were abandoned to the British. The island saw little action during the remainder of the American Revolution.
Castle Williams
(Governors Island National Monument)
(The Trust for Governors Island)
(1807 - 1870/1966), Governors Island FORT WIKI
This was a 78-gun four-story circular casemated fort, the first multi-tiered fort in the U.S. Completed in 1811. From 1812 - 1870 it was used as a military prison. Held Confederate POWs in 1862 - 1865. Became NPS property in 2003. See also On Guard on Governors Island from Forgotten-NY.com
Fort Wood
(Statue of Liberty National Monument)
(1794, 1810 - 1877, 1886 - 1937), Liberty Island FORT WIKI
A 24-gun 11-pointed star fort, with a brick arsenal, built on the site of a 1794 battery. Rebuilt in 1841. Used for overflow of CSA POW's from Castle Williams during the Civil War, then transferred to Fort Warren in Boston, MA. The Water Battery was rebuilt in 1871 - 1873 as a 12-gun barbette battery with five traverse magazines, but guns were not emplaced until the late 1880's or 1890's. The old fort's parade was filled-in beginning in 1884, becoming the foundation for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty (dedicated 1886). The military post was re-garrisoned in 1886, and became a subpost of Fort Columbus/Jay in 1894. New barracks and quarters were built around the old fort. The Lighthouse Board reserved one acre at the north end of the island to support the light in Liberty's torch. A Signal Corps depot was established here in 1904. An explosion at a Jersey City wharf in 1916 caused heavy damage to the post, but the statue was unharmed. The National Park Service took control of the statue in 1933, however the island itself remained an active military post until 1937. The remaining military buildings were removed by 1950. The name of the island was originally Bedloe's Island until 1956. Although the island lies within New Jersey's territorial waters, the island itself, above the mean low water mark, belongs to New York City per an 1834 agreement.
Fort Gibson
(Ellis Island National Monument)
(1795, 1809 - 1861/1890), Ellis Island FORT WIKI
A 14-gun circular battery with a magazine and barracks was located on what was then known as Oyster Island, originally named Crown Fort until 1812. It replaced an earlier 1795 battery. Renamed Battery Gibson in the 1840's. It was taken over by the U.S. Navy in 1861 as an ammunition depot and magazine, used as such until 1890. An Immigration Station was built beginning in 1892. The present structure was built in 1897, in use until 1954. A U.S. Coast Guard training station was here 1939 - 1946. The island is now part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. A section of the fort's foundation wall was uncovered in the 1980's during the renovation of the Immigration Station, and is on display. Although the island lies within New Jersey's territorial waters, the island itself, above the mean low water mark, belongs to New York City per an 1834 agreement. (NOTE: this only applies to the natural, or northern, portion of the island. The man-made, or southern, portion of the island belongs to New Jersey, as it was created by fill after the 1834 agreement.)
Fort Lewis (2)
(1814 - 1815), Brooklyn
An earthwork battery (30 guns) with two rear blockhouses, garrisoned by 100 men, located on Denyse Point to protect the Denyse's Ferry landing. It may also have been known as Denyse's Heights Fort. Fort Hamilton (2) was later built here in 1826 (see page NEW YORK CITY III).
Two additional blockhouses built along the Lower New York Bay shoreline in 1814 include Bath Beach Blockhouse (located near Bensonhurst Park), and Utrecht Bay Blockhouse (exact site undetermined), to protect against possible enemy landings.
Fort Lafayette (2)
(1812 - 1868/1946), Brooklyn FORT WIKI
A small brick and red sandstone three-tiered casemated 72-gun fort once located on Hendrick's Reef about 200 yards offshore from Fort Hamilton. It was originally called Fort Diamond until 1823, a year after it was fully completed. Construction began on the foundations in October 1812, and a temporary three gun battery was emplaced on top of the cofferdam in late 1814, but no further work was undertaken until after the war. It was still only half-completed in 1818, and was first garrisoned in 1820. Fort Lafayette was used to house Confederate POWs during the Civil War. A major fire occurred in 1868, forcing its abandonment as an active post. It was later used as a U.S. Naval Magazine from 1898 - 1946. A Marine Barracks was also located here during WWII. The old fort was transferred to the city in 1948. No remains, destroyed in the late 1950's. The site in now under the east tower of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which was completed in 1960.
Signal Hill Fortifications
(1808, 1810), Staten Island
(For the Second System and War of 1812 fortifications of Signal Hill please see Fort Wadsworth on NEW YORK CITY III page)
This includes Fort Tompkins (1a) (1809), Fort Richmond (2a) (1808), Fort Hudson (1810), and Fort Morton (1810).
Smith's Cantonment (2)
(1813 - 1815), Staten Island
A state militia barracks was located on a hill overlooking Richmondtown, now within the present-day La Tourette Country Club. A four-gun earthen redoubt (Fort Smith (2)) was planned here to cover the western and southern land approaches to Signal Hill, unclear from records if it was ever actually built. Completely dismantled and cleared after the war. This was previously the location of the British Fort Richmond (1) (1776).
Princess Bay Blockhouse (1)
(1814 - 1815), Staten Island
A stone blockhouse/tower and shore battery located at Princess (Prince's) Bay near Seguine Point. It was to protect the only safe beach from enemy landings and to prevent an attack on the rear side of the defense works on Signal Hill (Forts Tompkins (1) and Richmond (2)). (NOTE: The present community's name (since 1861) is actually spelled "Prince's Bay", although both spellings (and pronounciations) are in common use.)
Staten Island Civil War Camps
(1860's), Staten Island
Camp McClellan (1861) later known as Camp Tompkinsville, located at Tompkinsville.
Camp Sprague located at New Dorp.
Camp Scott (1861 - 1862) located at Old Town.
Camp Arthur (1862) undetermined location.
Camp Low (1861) undetermined location.
Decatur Blockhouse
(1814 - 1815), Queens
Located near Neponsit, close to the then western tip of the Rockaway peninsula, but the land has since shifted westward. Site is probably near present-day 137th Street, east of Jacob Riis Park. Also known as Rockaway Beach Blockhouse, or Jamaica Bay Blockhouse. Built to prevent enemy landings and incursions into Jamaica Bay.
Northeastern NY - page 1 |
Mohawk River Valley - page 2 |
Hudson River Valley - page 3
Catskill Region - page 4 |
New York City I - page 5 |
New York City III - page 7
Long Island - page 8 |
Western New York - page 9 |
Northwestern New York - page 10
QUESTIONS ? Please send any corrections and/or additions to this list to:
"Updates" at NorthAmericanForts.com