Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. It houses a museum, the Stephen B. Luce Library, and the Marine Transportation Department and Administrative offices of the

State University of New York Maritime College State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fi ...

. It is considered one of the finest examples of early 19th century fortifications. The fort was named in honor of Major General

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was an American general in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and a United States Senate, United States Senator from New York (state), New York. He is usually known as ...

of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

History

Fort Schuyler was one of many forts built along the

east coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

under the third system of US fortifications in the aftermath of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, when it became apparent that the U.S. coast was poorly defended against foreign invasion. Fort Schuyler was begun in 1833 and dedicated in 1856 after 75% completion, though not garrisoned until 1861. The fort was strategically positioned to protect New York City from naval attack through

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), 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 (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

, guarding the eastern entrance to

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

. It is located on

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek o ...

, the southeastern tip of the Bronx, where the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is 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 Long Island, ...

meets Long Island Sound. Fort Totten, built during the Civil War and largely incomplete, faces it on the opposite side of the river. Their

interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. In North America, a set of signalling appliances and tracks inte ...

batteries created a bottleneck of defenses against ships attempting to approach New York City.

Design and construction

Fort Schuyler, at its peak, boasted 312 guns and could accommodate a garrison of 1,250 men.Fort Schuyler at New York State Military Museum
/ref> It was designed and built by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

. Its position on Throggs Neck allowed four of its five sides to cover the water approach to New York City. Each of the four seacoast fronts had three tiers of

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

; ten guns per tier except on the north front, which had fourteen guns per tier. The bottom two tiers inside the fort were

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

d, while the third tier on the roof had

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...

mounts. Relatively small "tower

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s" of a type developed by US Army engineer Joseph G. Totten were at the three points where the seacoast fronts met. Each of these had twelve flank

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s to protect the curtain walls of the fronts against assault, along with three heavy seacoast guns. Behind the fort were an extensive

hornwork A hornwork is an element of the Italian bastion system of fortification. Its face is flanked with a pair of half-bastions. It is distinguished from a crownwork, because crownworks contain full bastions at their centers. They are both outwork ...

(unique in the third system) and an advanced

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

(later demolished) to defend against a land attack. The hornwork had two

demi-bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s protecting its face against a direct assault, along with a large

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle a ...

extending northwest along the peninsula to break up an attack. Two additional demi-bastions protected the gap between the hornwork and the main fort. The demi-bastions and redoubt were armed with several flank howitzers each.

Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Fort Schuyler held as many as 500

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

from the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

and military convicts from the Union Army. It also included the

McDougall Hospital McDougall Hospital was a U.S. Army military hospital located at Fort Schuyler in New York City before and during the American Civil War. The hospital was opened in October 1862 until being temporarily closed in February 1864. The hospital receive ...

, which had a capacity of 2,000 beds. The fort was well designed for its time, it is said to have had one of the most effective waste removal systems ever seen in a fort from this time period. Fort Schuyler was also a

mobilization Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

and training center. Units trained at the fort before heading to combat included the

5th New York Volunteer Infantry The 5th New York Infantry Regiment, also known as Duryée's Zouaves, was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. Modeled, like other Union and Confederate infantry regiments, on the French '' Zo ...

"Duryee's Zouaves", the First California Regiment (later 71st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment) under Senator and Colonel Edward Dickinson Baker, and the 69th and 88th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiments (the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Meagher's " Irish Brigade"). From January 1863 until March 1864, the fort itself was garrisoned by the 20th Independent Battery, New York Volunteer Artillery, a unit originally recruited to fight in the war as part of the Anthon Battalion of Volunteer Light Artillery. WSTM Free Culture NYU 0234

Duty at the fort was reported to be a dull assignment as the men took the roles of guards and hospital stewards, not artillerymen.See a "post history" for Fort Schuyler on NARA microfilm M903 reel 4; and ''

Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'', October 22, 1863, p. 3. From July until August 1865 the fort was garrisoned by companies A, B, C, F, G, H and I of the

Anderson Zouaves The 62nd New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It is also known as the Anderson Zouaves. Organization It was raised under special authority of the War Department in New ...

(companies D and E being assigned to Fort Wood on Bedloes Island), upon their return from service with the

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army dur ...

of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

and duty in the defenses of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The Anderson Zouaves finally mustered out from Fort Schuyler on August 30, 1865.

Endicott era

A ten-gun battery was built 1873–1876 as part of a general fort improvement program, along with a mine casemate (bunker) for a controlled minefield in the river, Fort Totten being an experimental station for coast defense minefields.Fort Schuyler at American Forts Network
/ref> Later, Fort Schuyler received several modern

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

gun batteries under the Endicott Program, completed 1898-1900 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, harbor defense command. It coordinated the coastal defence and fortification, coast defenses of New York City from 1895 to 1950, beginning with ...

, which also included new batteries at Fort Totten and

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 c ...

on Davids' Island. These included Battery Gansevoort with two 12-inch guns on

disappearing carriage A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate bac ...

s, Battery Hazzard with two 10-inch disappearing guns, Battery Bell with two 5-inch guns on retractable

balanced pillar A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate bac ...

carriages, and Battery Beecher with two 3-inch guns on retractable

masking parapet A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate bac ...

carriages.Fort Schuyler (1) at FortWiki.com
/ref>Berhow, pp. 208-209 The forts were initially garrisoned by heavy artillery companies, which became coast artillery companies in 1901, and part of the

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 artiller ...

in 1907, including

US regular army The Regular Army of the United States succeeded the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional land-based military force. In modern times, the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army (of ...

New York State Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force (SDF) of New York State, and is one of the four branches of the New York Military Forces (NYMF), the other three branches being the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard ...

, and

New York National Guard New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

units. However, soon after completion the defenses of the East River were largely superseded by the

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. These ...

on islands east of Long Island, including

Fort H. G. Wright Fort H. G. Wright was a United States military installation on Fishers Island in the town of Southold, New York, just two miles off the coast of southeastern Connecticut, but technically in New York. It was part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Isl ...

Fishers Island Fishers Island is an island within the town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York. It lies at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut, across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it is about ...

. After the

American entry into World War I The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and an a ...

in 1917, Battery Bell's 5-inch guns were removed for potential service in France as

field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances (field artillery ...

s on wheeled carriages. Most of the 5-inch guns removed under this program were sent to France with the 69th Artillery Regiment of the Coast Artillery Corps. However, the regiment did not complete training before the Armistice and did not see action.69th Coast Artillery in WWI
/ref> The 5-inch guns were never returned to the forts and were scrapped circa 1920. Prior to 1922 one 12-inch gun at Battery Gansevoort was dismounted; this may have been in 1917–18 as potential railway artillery. At some time, probably in 1918-1920, a battery of two 3-inch antiaircraft guns was built at the fort. In 1920, with the war over, Battery Beecher's 3-inch guns were scrapped as part of a general removal from service of the M1898 3-inch gun. The 10-inch guns of Battery Hazzard followed in 1930; the reason for this is unclear. In 1934 the fort was disarmed and turned over to the state. All of the Endicott-era batteries were demolished in the 1950s.

College

In the late 1920s Fort Schuyler was placed on the abandoned list by the U.S. Army. When this was done, it was targeted for acquisition by

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

for conversion to a state park as well as a permanent shore base for the New York State Merchant Marine Academy (now

SUNY Maritime College State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fi ...

). A protracted political struggle ensued, but eventually the academy forces prevailed. The site was transferred to the state of New York in 1934 during the Great Depression, then rehabilitated by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

and dedicated to the school in 1938. The college, which was founded in 1874, still occupies the site, and in 1948 was one of the original 29 founding schools to be incorporated into the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

as the State University of New York Maritime College. The fort has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since 1976.

Maritime Industry Museum

In 1986, a portion of Fort Schuyler was dedicated as the Maritime Industry Museum. The museum houses exhibits on the history of the United States maritime industry, including commercial shipping, the merchant marine, and the port of New York, as well as exhibits on the history of Fort Schuyler. It is open to the public on weekdays.Maritime Museum history page
/ref>

References

* * * *

External links

SUNY Maritime College web site

1921–22 maps of Fort Slocum, Fort Totten, and Fort Schuyler (PDF)

List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts

Library of Congress American Memory Site - Historic American Buildings Survey

Historic Photos at the Library of Congress American Memory Site

Historic Plans and Schematics - Library of Congress American Memory

A Description of Fort Schuyler during the American Civil War
{{authority control Buildings and structures in the Bronx Schuyler New York (state) in the American Civil War Schuyler American Civil War prison camps Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Libraries in the Bronx Maritime museums in New York (state) New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx University museums in New York (state) Military and war museums in New York (state) Museums in the Bronx University art museums and galleries in New York City Schuyler History museums in New York City Transportation museums in New York City Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Throggs Neck, Bronx 1833 establishments in New York (state) Historic American Buildings Survey in New York City Military facilities in the Bronx