Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 in the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 borough

Borough (New York City)

New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

 of the Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

. 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 maritime college located in the Bronx, New York City in historic Fort Schuyler on the Throggs Neck peninsula where the East River meets Long Island Sound...

. It is considered one of the finest examples of French-style fortifications

Polygonal fort

A polygonal fort is a fortification in the style that evolved around the middle of the nineteenth century, in response to the development of powerful explosive shells....

. The fort was named in honor of Major General Philip Schuyler

Philip Schuyler

Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...

 of the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

.

History

Fort Schuyler was one of many forts built along the east coast of the United States in the aftermath of the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, when it became brutally apparent that the U.S. coast was poorly defended against foreign invasion. Fort Schuyler was dedicated in 1856 after only 75% completion. The fort was strategically positioned to protect New York City from naval attack through Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

, guarding the eastern entrance to New York Harbor

New York Harbor

New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...

. It is located on Throgs Neck

Throgs Neck

Throggs Neck is a narrow spit of land in the southeastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It demarcates the passage between the East River , and Long Island Sound...

, the southeastern tip of the Bronx, where the East River

East River

The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...

 meets Long Island Sound. Fort Totten faces it on the opposite side of the river. Their interlocking

Crossfire

A crossfire is a military term for the siting of weapons so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I....

 batteries created a bottle-neck of defenses against ships attempting to approach New York City.

Fort Schuyler, at its peak, boasted 440 guns. Later, it would be fitted with various other pieces throughout the ever-modernization of coastal defense artillery, once including 10-inch and 12-inch guns on disappearing carriages

Disappearing gun

A disappearing gun is a type of heavy artillery for which the gun carriage enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down into a pit protected by a wall or a bunker after it was fired...

 installed on the roof and on the peninsula around the fort. Coastal artillery

Coastal artillery

Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....

 emplacements at the fort lasted until 1935.

Civil War

During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Fort Schuyler held as many as 500 prisoners of war from the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 and military convicts from the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

. It also included the MacDougall Hospital

MacDougall Hospital

MacDougall Hospital was a U.S. Army military hospital located at Fort Schuyler in New York City before and during the American Civil War.It had a capacity of 2000 beds. In October 1863, the hospital was "to be removed without delay"; it was one of the oldest of the U.S. military hospitals...

, 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. During its active duty, not one man died from disease.

Fort Schuyler was also a location where units heading to war would rendezvous and be outfitted and trained before being deployed. Such units include the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry

5th New York Volunteer Infantry

The 5th New York Volunteer Infantry was a volunteer infantry regiment that fought during the American Civil War, led by Colonel Abram Duryée. It is also known as the "Duryée's Zouaves," named after their colorful Zouave uniforms...

 "Duryee's Zouaves," and the 69th

69th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 69th Infantry Regiment was a Regular Army infantry regiment in the United States Army.-History:There have been three different lineages started under this number: The Famous 69th Infantry Regiment , and two under the Federal designation....

 and 88th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiments (the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Meagher's

Thomas Francis Meagher

-Young Ireland:Meagher returned to Ireland in 1843, with undecided plans for a career in the Austrian army, a tradition among a number of Irish families. In 1844 he traveled to Dublin with the intention of studying for the bar. He became involved in the Repeal Association, which worked for repeal...

 "Irish Brigade

Irish Brigade (US)

The Irish Brigade was an infantry brigade, consisting predominantly of Irish Americans, that served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. The designation of the first regiment in the brigade, the 69th New York Infantry, or the "Fighting 69th", continued in later wars...

"). From January 1863 until July 1865, the fort itself was garrisoned by the 20th Independent Battery, New York Volunteer Artillery

20th Independent Battery, New York Volunteer Artillery

The 20th Independent Battery, New York Volunteer Artillery garrisioned Fort Schuyler and Fort Columbus, NY during the American Civil War and took part in quelling the New York Draft Riots.-External links:* - 20th IB, NYVA...

, a unit originally recruited to fight in the war as part of the Anthon Battalion of Volunteer Light Artillery.
Duty at the fort was reported to be a dull assignment as the men took the roles of guards and hospital stewards, not artillerymen. From July until August 1865 the Fort was garrisoned by companies A, B, C, F, G, H and I of the Anderson Zouaves (companies D and E being assigned to Fort Wood on Bedloes Island

Liberty Island

Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...

), upon their return from service with the VI Corps

VI Corps (ACW)

The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Formation:The corps was organized as the Sixth Provisional Corps on May 18, 1862, by uniting Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin's Division, which had just arrived on the Virginia Peninsula, with Maj. Gen. William F. Smith's...

 of the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

 and duty in the defenses of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

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

The last garrison was removed in 1911, when new structures were built on Fishers Island

Fishers Island

Fishers Island, approximately 9 miles long and 1 mile wide, is located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, 2 miles off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound...

 at the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound.

College

In the late 1920's 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 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). A protracted political struggle ensued, but eventually the academy forces prevailed. The site was then rehabilitated by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression 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

State University of New York

The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...

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

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 since 1976.

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

Port of New York and New Jersey

The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...

, as well as exhibits on the history of Fort Schuyler. It is open to the public on weekdays.

External links

• Maritime Industry Museum web site
• SUNY Maritime College web site
• New York State Military Museum
• 1920 map of Fort Slocum, Fort Totten, and Fort Schuyler (PDF)
• Coast Defense Study Group
• 20th Independent Battery, NYVA
• 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