![Totten Water Battery inside jeh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Totten_Water_Battery_inside_jeh.jpg)
Fort Totten is a former active
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
installation in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
. It is located on the Willets Point peninsula on the north shore of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. Fort Totten is at the head of
Little Neck Bay
Little Neck Bay is an embayment in western Long Island, New York, off Long Island Sound. Little Neck Bay forms the western boundary of the Great Neck Peninsula, the eastern boundary of which is Manhasset Bay. The political boundary between Nassa ...
, where the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
widens to become
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
. While the
U.S. Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 20 ...
continues to maintain a presence at the fort, the property is now owned by the
City of New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
History
Civil War era
Construction began on the Fort at Willets Point in 1862 (named Fort Totten in 1898), after the land was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1857 from the Willets family. The fort is close to the Queens neighborhoods of
Bay Terrace,
Bayside,
Beechhurst and
Whitestone. The original purpose was to defend the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
approach to
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
, combined with the preceding
Fort Schuyler
Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century fortification in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It houses a museum, the Stephen B. Luce Library, and the Marine Transportation Department and Administrative offices of the State University of ...
, which faces it from
Throggs Neck
Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and ea ...
in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
on the opposite side of the river entrance. The fort was among several forts of the third system of
seacoast defense in the United States
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before Military aviation, airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative t ...
begun in the first year of the Civil War. The initial design was drawn up by
Robert E. Lee in 1857 and modified during construction by
Chief Engineer
A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "ChEng" or "Chief", is the most senior engine officer of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that department..Chief engineer's ...
Joseph G. Totten.
[Roberts, p. 586] Unusually, it was designed with four tiers of cannon facing the water totaling 68 guns. In the United States, only
Castle Williams on
Governors Island
Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
,
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former Military of the United States, United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper New York Bay, Upper and Lower New York Bay, Lower halv ...
on
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, and
Fort Point in San Francisco shared this feature.
[Weaver, pp. 143-148] However, construction was abandoned after the war, as masonry forts were considered obsolete following severe damage to some in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Only one tier and part of a second tier of the two seacoast walls was completed; the three landward walls received little work.
[ From 1861 to 1898 the fort area was known as Camp Morgan, named for New York Governor ]Edwin D. Morgan
Edwin Denison Morgan (February 8, 1811February 14, 1883) was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Comm ...
.[Fort Totten at FortWiki.com]
/ref>
1869-1890
In 1869 the Engineer School of Application was established at the future Fort Totten, remaining there until 1901.[ One of its first missions was the development of underwater minefields, which with some modernization would remain an important coast defense element through World War II. Major ]Henry Larcom Abbot
Henry Larcom Abbot (August 13, 1831 – October 1, 1927) was a military engineer and career officer in the United States Army. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was appointed brevet brigadier general of volunteers fo ...
, the first commander of the school, was instrumental in developing these. Two earthwork batteries were built in the 1870s; the first was a battery of 27 guns as part of a short-lived fort improvement program, while the second was a battery of 16 mortars. The latter was the prototype for the "Abbot Quad" arrangement, developed by Major Abbot and used for the first 12-inch coast defense mortar
The 12-inch coast defense mortar was a weapon of caliber emplaced during the 1890s and early 20th century to defend US harbors from seaborne attack. In 1886, when the Endicott Board set forth its initial plan for upgrading the coast defenses of ...
deployments in the 1890s.[Battery King at FortWiki.com]
/ref> In 1871 a tunnel was built connecting the upper 27-gun battery with the incomplete fort.[ In 1890 the Engineer School experimented with the Sims ]torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
, an electric self-propelled torpedo partly designed by Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
.[
]
Endicott era (1890-1916)
In 1885 the Endicott Board
Several boards have been appointed by US presidents or Congress to evaluate the US defensive fortifications, primarily coastal defenses near strategically important harbors on the US shores, its territories, and its protectorates.
Endicott Board ...
made sweeping recommendations for new coast defenses, and among them was upgrading Fort Totten. The fort was named in 1898 after former Chief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...
Major General Joseph Gilbert Totten
Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...
, the premier American designer of forts in the early 19th Century, and new gun batteries were built 1897-1904 as part of the Coast Defenses of Eastern New York
The Harbor Defenses of New York was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of New York City from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program, some of which were located in New J ...
as follows:[Berhow, p. 209]
Battery King was built by converting two of the four pits of the earlier mortar battery to concrete, with four mortars in each pit.[ A mine casemate, part of a controlled underwater minefield, was also built circa 1900, replacing an experimental 1876 casemate.][Fort Totten at American Forts Network]
/ref> Unusually, the Coast Defenses of Eastern New York were soon superseded by the concurrently-built Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound
The Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Long Island Sound and Connecticut from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. Thes ...
, with most of the guns of the former removed in World War I, and almost all of Fort Totten (except the 3-inch guns) disarmed by 1935.[ In 1901 the Engineer School was transferred to Washington, DC, and the emerging ]United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery d ...
took over the further development of coast defenses.[
]
World War I
After the American entry into World War I
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry
...
a number of changes took place at most stateside coast defense forts. With the threat from German surface ships unlikely, they became more important as mobilization and training centers. Their garrisons were reduced to provide trained heavy artillery crews for the Western Front, and many of their weapons were removed with a view to getting them into the fight eventually. The Coast Artillery operated almost all US heavy and railway artillery
A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...
in that war, primarily weapons purchased from the French and British. Fort Totten's 5-inch, 8-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch batteries were dismounted in 1917-1918 as potential railway or, in the case of the 5-inchers, field artillery. Battery Mahan's two 12-inch guns and Battery Sumner's pair of 8-inch guns were transferred to the railway artillery program. Battery Graham's pair of 10-inch guns were transferred to Fort Hamilton
Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which is ...
in 1919, probably to replace similar guns there. Battery Stuart's 5-inch guns were mounted on field carriages and sent to France. However, a history of the 5-inch regiment in France indicates that they never received ammunition and did not complete training before the Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
. Another history states that only three 8-inch guns arrived in France of the US Army's World War I railway artillery program; most railway guns were not completed until after the Armistice.
Between the wars
In 1920 Battery Baker's pair of 3-inch M1898 guns was removed, part of a general removal from service of this type of weapon. Around this time a 3-gun anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
battery was built, probably armed with the 3-inch gun M1917.[ In 1935 Fort Totten's last heavy armament, the mortars of Battery King, were removed and the Harbor Defenses of Eastern New York effectively inactivated, although a minefield possibly remained in reserve and the command remained in service until mid-1942. This left Fort Totten with four 3-inch guns that served through World War II, probably to guard the potential minefield.
]
World War II
In December 1941 Fort Totten became the headquarters for the anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
portion of the Eastern Defense Command
The Eastern Defense Command was first established as the Northeast Defense Command on 17 March 1941 as one of four U.S. Army continental defense commands to plan and prepare for and execute defense against enemy attack in the months before Ameri ...
, organizing anti-aircraft defenses for the entire east coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
.[ On 9 May 1942 the Harbor Defenses of Eastern New York was inactivated and consolidated into the ]Harbor Defenses of New York
The Harbor Defenses of New York was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of New York City from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program, some of which were located in New J ...
; HD Eastern New York eventually disbanded on 22 May 1944.
Cold War
In 1954, the fort became a Project Nike
Project Nike (Greek: Νίκη, "Victory") was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft mi ...
air defense site. Although no Nike missiles were located at Fort Totten, it was the regional headquarters for the New York area; administrative offices and personnel housing were located at the fort. By 1966 the fort was home to the headquarters of the 1st Region, Army Air Defense Command Army Air Defense Command, previously Army Anti-Aircraft Command, was a major command of the United States Army which existed from 1957 to 1974. The previous ARAACOM was created in 1950 and was redesignated ARADCOM in 1957. It was formed to command t ...
. Fort Totten was also headquarters for the 66th Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion and the 41st AAA Gun Battalion. The 66th Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion's missiles were placed at nearby Hart Island, with the radars at Fort Slocum
Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps comm ...
on Davids Island. The 90 mm gun batteries of the 41st were located throughout Long Island.
1970s
According to rumor, Fort Totten was the location of the safe house where Joe Valachi
Joseph Michael Valachi (September 22, 1904 – April 3, 1971) was an American mobster in the Genovese crime family who is notable as the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly in 1963. He is credited wit ...
, the Genovese family mob turncoat and subject of a book called "The Valachi Papers", was hidden in 1970; he was later sent to a Federal prison in Texas where he died the following year. In 1974, as part of defense budget reductions following the end of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, and due to the disestablishment of the Nike missile system in CONUS
''Conus'' is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ...
, Fort Totten was closed as a Regular Army installation and the remaining military presence assumed by the Army Reserve.
Current status
The current military presence at Fort Totten is centered on the 77th Sustainment Brigade, its subordinate units, and the 533rd Brigade Support Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 20 ...
.
Much of the fort has become a public park and is open for tours by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
. It is accessible by the Cross Island Parkway
The Cross Island Parkway is a parkway in New York City, part of the Belt System running along the perimeter of the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The Cross Island Parkway runs from the Whitestone Expressway ( Interstate 678 or I-678) i ...
and Clearview Expressway (I-295). The Fort Totten Visitor's Center has been refurbished and houses a museum with exhibits about the history of Fort Totten. Parts are used by the New York Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
(including the former naval minefield facilities) and the FDNY
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...
as a training center. Also, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGA, USCGAUX, CGAux, or USCG Aux) is the civilian uniformed volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard. Congress established the unit on 23 June 1939, as the United States Coast Guard Reserve ...
, Flotilla 12-1 is located here.
During the winter months, a large variety of migratory waterfowl can be observed in the surrounding waters: Little Bay to the west, Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
to the north, and Little Neck Bay
Little Neck Bay is an embayment in western Long Island, New York, off Long Island Sound. Little Neck Bay forms the western boundary of the Great Neck Peninsula, the eastern boundary of which is Manhasset Bay. The political boundary between Nassa ...
to the east. Most buildings are dilapidated and unused. Fort Totten is also a sports complex, with an outdoor pool, baseball fields and three soccer fields used for youth soccer.
Fort Totten is designated as a New York City Historic District.
Fort Totten is depicted as the location the government is holding the character Elena Federova in the TV series "The Endgame".
Fort Totten Officers' Club
The Fort Totten Officers' Club
Fort Totten Officers' Club, also known as the Castle, is a historic clubhouse located at Fort Totten in Bayside, Queens, New York. The officers' club was built in the 1870s and expanded to its present size in 1887. It is a large Late Gothic R ...
, known as "the Castle", is home to the Bayside Historical Society
Fort Totten Officers' Club, also known as the Castle, is a historic Military officers' club, clubhouse located at Fort Totten (New York), Fort Totten in Bayside, Queens, New York (state), New York. The Military officers' club, officers' club was b ...
, which hosts events, historic exhibitions and cultural programs. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1986.
The club building was designed by Robert E. Lee in his pre-Civil War capacity as a military engineer but not built until the 1870s, although some historians believe that the actual design was done by a subordinate and merely approved by Lee. The building was designed in the neo-Gothic style popular at the time and was not created specifically for Fort Totten but rather was a generic design approved by the Army for use at military installations. Identical structures were built at other Army forts and the Castle design was adopted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as their insignia, although the reason for this action is murky. A local tradition is that the Corps of Engineers symbol derived from the Fort Totten building, but the reverse is more likely: the building design was based on a castle in part because this symbol had long been identified with Army engineers. The club was built in the 1870s and the engineer castle symbol dates from circa 1840.Corps Castle at USACE Nashville District official website
/ref> When Fort Totten's Castle was restored in the 1990s, the Corps of Engineers was contacted in the hope that they would participate, particularly since the Fort Totten Castle was occupied at one time by the Corps of Engineers, but the military failed to show any interest.
In popular culture
* In the TV series ''The Endgame
''The Endgame'' is an American crime drama thriller television series that premiered on NBC on February 21, 2022. The series is created by Nicholas Wootton and Jake Coburn. In May 2022, the series was canceled after one season.
Premise
In thi ...
'', Fort Totten is used as a government black site
In military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black operation or black project is conducted. According to the Associated Press, "Black sites are clandestine jails where prisoners generally are not charged with a ...
, and is where criminal mastermind Elena Federova is detained upon her capture.
* Fort Totten appeared in the TV series '' White Collar'', episode 13 season 5, "Diamond Exchange".
*Fort Totten appears in season 4 episode 13 of Blue Bloods (TV Series), "Unfinished Business".
See also
*Fort Totten (disambiguation) Fort Totten may refer to:
* Fort Totten (Queens), a Civil War–era military installation in New York City
* Fort Totten, North Dakota
** Fort Totten State Historic Site, a Dakota frontier-era fort and Native American boarding school
* Fort Totten ( ...
* Seacoast defense in the United States
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before Military aviation, airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative t ...
* Totten (disambiguation)
* United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery d ...
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Fort Totten - NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation
Fort Totten, NY Alumni
* ttp://cdsg.org/fort-and-battery-list/ List of all US coastal forts and batteriesat the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts
{{Protected areas of New York City
1862 establishments in New York (state)
Totten
Totten
Military and war museums in New York (state)
New York (state) in the American Civil War
Museums in Queens, New York
Parks in Queens, New York
Nature centers in New York City
Installations of the United States Army
Military history of New York City
National Register of Historic Places in Queens, New York
Totten
New York City designated historic districts
New York City Designated Landmarks in Queens, New York
Bayside, Queens
East River