Fort Totten | |
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Part of Coast Defenses of Eastern New York | |
New York City borough of Queens, New York | |
Coordinates | 40°47′31.3″N73°46′33.9″W / 40.792028°N 73.776083°W |
Site information | |
Owner | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (primarily) |
Open to the public | Civil War fort, some other activities |
Site history | |
Built | 1862 |
Built by | United States Army Corps of Engineers |
In use |
|
Materials | granite |
Fate | Active use by U.S. Army Reserve. Portions converted for use as public park. Other portions converted for use by the NYPD and FDNY. |
Fort Totten is a former active United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the north shore of Long Island. [3] [4] Fort Totten is at the head of Little Neck Bay, where the East River widens to become Long Island Sound. [5] While the U.S. Army Reserve continues to maintain a presence at the fort, [6] the property is now owned by the City of New York. [7] [8]
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 approach to New York Harbor, combined with the preceding Fort Schuyler, which faces it from Throggs Neck in the Bronx 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 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 Joseph G. Totten. [9] 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, Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, and Fort Point in San Francisco shared this feature. [10] However, construction was abandoned after the war, as masonry forts were considered obsolete following severe damage to some in the American Civil War. Only one tier and part of a second tier of the two seacoast walls was completed; the three landward walls received little work. [10] From 1861 to 1898 the fort area was known as Camp Morgan, named for New York Governor Edwin D. Morgan. [11] [12]
In 1869 the Engineer School of Application was established at the future Fort Totten, remaining there until 1901. [9] [13] 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, 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 deployments in the 1890s. [14] In 1871 a tunnel was built connecting the upper 27-gun battery with the incomplete fort. [15] In 1890 the Engineer School experimented with the Sims torpedo, an electric self-propelled torpedo partly designed by Thomas Edison. [12]
In 1885 the 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 Major General Joseph Gilbert Totten, 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 as follows: [11] [16]
Name | No. of guns | Gun type | Carriage type | Years active |
---|---|---|---|---|
King | 8 | 12" mortar M1890 | barbette M1896 | 1900–1935 |
Mahan | 2 | 12-inch gun M1895 | disappearing M1897 | 1900–1918 |
Graham | 2 | 10-inch gun M1888 | disappearing M1894 | 1897–1918 |
Sumner | 2 | 8-inch gun M1888 | 1 disappearing M1894, 1 disappearing M1896 | 1899–1917 |
Stuart | 2 | 5-inch gun M1897 | balanced pillar M1896 | 1900–1917 |
Baker | 4 | 2 3-inch gun M1898, 2 3-inch gun M1902 | 2 masking parapet M1898, 2 pedestal M1902 | 1900–1920 (M1898), 1904–1945 (M1902) |
Burnes | 2 | 3-inch gun M1902 | pedestal M1902 | 1904–1945 |
Battery King was built by converting two of the four pits of the earlier mortar battery to concrete, with four mortars in each pit. [14] A mine casemate, part of a controlled underwater minefield, was also built circa 1900, replacing an experimental 1876 casemate. [15] Unusually, the Coast Defenses of Eastern New York were soon superseded by the concurrently-built Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound, 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. [11] In 1901 the Engineer School was transferred to Washington, DC, and the emerging United States Army Coast Artillery Corps took over the further development of coast defenses. [12]
After the American entry into World War I 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 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 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. [17] 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. [18]
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 battery was built, probably armed with the 3-inch gun M1917. [12] 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.
In December 1941 Fort Totten became the headquarters for the anti-aircraft portion of the Eastern Defense Command, organizing anti-aircraft defenses for the entire east coast. [12] [15] On May 9, 1942 the Harbor Defenses of Eastern New York was inactivated and consolidated into the Harbor Defenses of New York; HD Eastern New York eventually disbanded on May 22, 1944. [19]
In 1954, the fort became a Project Nike 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. Fort Totten was also headquarters for the 66th Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion and the 41st AAA Gun Battalion. [20] The 66th Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion's missiles were placed at nearby Hart Island, with the radars at Fort Slocum on Davids Island. The 90 mm gun batteries of the 41st were located throughout Long Island.
According to rumor, Fort Totten was the location of the safe house where Joe Valachi, 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.[ citation needed ] In 1974, as part of defense budget reductions following the end of the Vietnam War, and due to the disestablishment of the Nike missile system in CONUS, Fort Totten was closed as a Regular Army installation and the remaining military presence assumed by the Army Reserve.
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. [21]
Much of the fort has become a public park and is open for tours by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. It is accessible by the Cross Island Parkway 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. [22] Parts are used by the New York Police Department (including the former naval minefield facilities) and the FDNY as a training center. Also, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, 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 to the north, and Little Neck Bay 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.
The Fort Totten Officers' Club, known as "the Castle", is home to the Bayside Historical Society, which hosts events, historic exhibitions and cultural programs. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. [23]
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[ who? ] 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. [24] [25] 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.[ citation needed ]
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 New York Maritime College. It is considered one of the finest examples of early 19th century fortifications. The fort was named in honor of Major General Philip Schuyler of the Continental Army.
Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and nickname of South Carolina, as "The Palmetto State". The fort was renamed for the U.S. patriot commander in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, General William Moultrie. During British occupation, in 1780–1782, the fort was known as Fort Arbuthnot.
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 commander in the American Civil War.
Fort Adams is a former United States Army post in Newport, Rhode Island, that was established on July 4, 1799, as a First System coastal fortification, named for President John Adams, who was in office at the time. Its first commanding officer was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812. The current Fort Adams was built between 1824 and 1857 under the Third System of coastal forts; it is part of Fort Adams State Park today.
Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook in Middletown Township, New Jersey. The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor, with its first gun batteries operational in 1896. The fort served from then until 1950 as part of the Harbor Defenses of New York and predecessor organizations. Between 1874 and 1919, the adjacent US Army Sandy Hook Proving Ground was operated in conjunction with Fort Hancock. It is now part of Fort Hancock Memorial Park. It was preceded by the Fort at Sandy Hook, built 1857–1867 and demolished beginning in 1885.
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.
The 16 inch gun M1919 (406 mm) was a large coastal artillery piece installed to defend the United States' major seaports between 1920 and 1946. It was operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Only a small number were produced and only seven were mounted; in 1922 and 1940 the US Navy surplussed a number of their own 16-inch/50 guns, which were mated to modified M1919 carriages and filled the need for additional weapons.
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 Island Sound, along with Fort Terry, Fort Michie, and Camp Hero. These forts defended the eastern entrance of Long Island Sound and thus Connecticut's ports and the north shore of Long Island. The fort was named for Union General Horatio G. Wright, a former Chief of Engineers who was born in Clinton, Connecticut.
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies or a large navy. Substantial fortifications were built at key locations, especially protecting major harbors. Seacoast defense also included submarine minefields, nets and booms, ships, and, later, airplanes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played the central role in constructing fixed defenses, but all of the armed forces participated.
Fort McKinley is a former United States Army coastal defense fort on Great Diamond Island, Maine in Casco Bay, which operated from 1873 to 1947. It was named for President William McKinley. It included a sub-post, Fort Lyon, on Cow Island, just north of Great Diamond Island. Fort Lyon was named for Nathaniel Lyon. Both forts were part of the Coast Defenses of Portland, renamed the Harbor Defenses of Portland in 1925, a command which protected Portland's port and naval anchorage 1895-1950. In 1946 Fort Lyon was closed and turned over to the City of Portland. After Fort McKinley's closure it was transferred to the United States Navy, which sold the site to private interests in 1961. The Fort McKinley Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The 14-inch Gun M1907 (356 mm) and its variants the M1907MI, M1909, and M1910 were large coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1895 and 1945. They were operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Most were installed on single gun disappearing carriages; the only installation with four guns in twin turrets was built at the unique Fort Drum in Manila Bay, Philippines. All of the weapons not in the Philippines were scrapped when World War II brought about a general upgrade.
The 6-inch gun M1897 (152 mm) and its variants the M1900, M1903, M1905, M1908, and M1 were coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1897 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. They were installed on disappearing carriages or pedestal mountings, and during World War II many were remounted on shielded barbette carriages. Most of the weapons not in the Philippines were scrapped within a few years after World War II.
The 5-inch gun M1897 (127 mm) and its variant the M1900 were coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1897 and 1920. For most of their history they were operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. They were installed on balanced pillar or pedestal mountings; generally the M1897 was on the balanced pillar mounting and the M1900 was on the pedestal mounting. All of these weapons were scrapped within a few years after World War I.
The Harbor Defenses of Portland was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Portland, Maine, the mouth of the Kennebec River, and surrounding areas from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1895 as the Portland Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Portland in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Portland in 1925.
The Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the nearby Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine from 1900 to 1950, both on the Piscataqua River, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1900 as the Portsmouth Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Portsmouth in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth in 1925.
The Harbor Defenses of Boston was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Boston, Massachusetts from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1895 as the Boston Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Boston in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Boston in 1925.
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 included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The area defended included the approach via the Sound to New York City, the port cities and manufacturing centers of New London, New Haven, and Bridgeport, and eventually included the submarine base and shipyard in Groton. The command originated circa 1900 as an Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound in 1925.
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 Jersey. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated c. 1895 as an Artillery District(s) and became the Coast Defenses of Eastern New York and Coast Defenses of Southern New York in 1913. Circa 1915 the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook separated from the latter command. In 1925 the commands were renamed as Harbor Defense Commands, and in 1935 the Harbor Defenses of Eastern New York was almost entirely disarmed, although possibly retaining the minefield capability. The New York and Sandy Hook commands and the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound were unified as the Harbor Defenses of New York on 9 May 1942.
The Harbor Defenses of the Delaware was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of the Delaware River estuary from 1897 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The areas protected included the cities of Philadelphia, Camden, and Wilmington along with the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. The command originated circa 1896 as an Artillery District and became the Coast Defenses of the Delaware in 1913, with defenses initially at and near Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island near Delaware City. In 1925 the command was renamed as a Harbor Defense Command. During World War II the defenses were relocated to Fort Miles on Cape Henlopen at the mouth of the Delaware Bay.