Harbor Defense Museum

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Harbor Defense Museum
Harbor Defense Museum
Established1980;45 years ago (1980)
Location Fort Hamilton, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn New York, United States
Coordinates 40°36′29.89″N74°1′55.41″W / 40.6083028°N 74.0320583°W / 40.6083028; -74.0320583
TypeMilitary museum
Visitors20,000/year (1995) [1]
Website www.harbordefensemuseum.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Harbor Defense Museum, sometimes called The Caponier, is a 19th-century fort within the grounds of Fort Hamilton in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, New York, United States. It is New York City's only military museum and one of only seventy military museums in the United States that is funded and operated by the Defense Department. [1]

Contents

Background and history

Caponiers, the technical name of the structure that now houses the museum, [2] are outworks; in the case of Fort Hamilton its mission was to protect the main fortress from rear attacks. Originally a small fort within the larger fort, [3] it now serves as the guardian of Fort Hamilton's history with memorabilia from a number of wars. [4] [5] Robert E. Lee served at Fort Hamilton in the 1840s, when there was only one Army. [6] Because it was used as a warehouse after it was no longer needed for military purposes, it was better preserved than other parts of the fort. [1] While the museum and fort were in danger of closing in the mid-1990s due to budget cuts, [7] it was preserved due to an agreement between the fort and the United States Army Center of Military History and preservation efforts of the Fort Hamilton Historic Society. [3]

The museum continues to serve an educational role in explaining the history of the evolution of New York Harbor. [8] It underwent renovations in 2012-2013 and subsequently reopened. [9] By mid-2025, the museum was again threatened with closure, [10] amid budget reductions at the Army Center of Military History. [11] [12] This prompted objections from local residents and officials, [11] [12] including from U.S. representative Nicole Malliotakis. [13]

Collections

Fort Hamilton is the "second-oldest continuously garrisoned federal post in the nation", [1] second only to West Point,[ citation needed ] and the fourth-oldest active military post. [14] Although The Caponier was always prepared for battle, with a 24-pound cannon aimed at New York Harbor, the fort never experienced a battle. [7] The museum houses an array of artifacts from New York's military history including American Revolutionary War relics, uniforms from various wars, old maps of the fort, the post's old switchboard, an exhibit on a secret tunnel that connected Fort Hamilton with another base a half-mile away, [7] a Confederate mine and a piece of the net that protected New York Harbor from German U-boats in World War I. [15] It is also the temporary home of a Bay Ridge time capsule that was unearthed prematurely due to construction. [16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fuentes, Annette (5 March 1995). "Museum Stands its Ground". Daily News. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  2. ↑ Besonen, Julie (11 September 2015). "A Military Base in Brooklyn, Still Active, Has an Unparalleled View". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 Shelby, Joyce (13 July 1996). "Army Fort Museum Rescued". Daily News. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  4. ↑ General, Theodore W. (1 August 2025). "Help save the military museum at Fort Hamilton". The Brooklyn Home Reporter. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  5. ↑ Yarrow, Andrew L. (26 May 1989). "Out of New York's Military Past". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  6. ↑ Martin, Douglas (2 June 1991). "What Sights to See, Big Time (and Small)". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 Kershaw, Sarah (7 July 1996). "Bay Ridge; A Battle to Preserve City History". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  8. ↑ Farrell, Bill (10 November 2000). "Fort Hamilton Museum Salutes Military History". Daily News. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  9. ↑ Bredderman, Will (10 September 2013). "Historical occasion! Fort Hamilton museum re-opens". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  10. ↑ General, Theodore W. (8 August 2025). "Generally Speaking: Fort Hamilton museum is still on the chopping block". The Brooklyn Home Reporter. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  11. 1 2 Kailath, Ryan (25 September 2025). "Army may close this tiny Brooklyn museum on the site of America's first battle". Gothamist. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  12. 1 2 Kliger, Hannah (22 September 2025). "Brooklyn's Harbor Defense Museum faces possible closure as community pushes back". CBS New York. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  13. ↑ "Rep. Malliotakis urges US Army to reconsider planned closure of Harbor Defense Museum". Brooklyn Eagle. 24 September 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  14. ↑ Holtermann, Gabriele (21 July 2025). "Fort Hamilton celebrates 200 years standing guard over New York Harbor". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  15. ↑ Cheslow, Jerry (3 February 1991). "If You're Thinking of Living in: Fort Hamilton". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  16. ↑ Lysiak, Matthew (16 November 2007). "Time Capsule Relics Unearthed 47 Years too Early". Daily News. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
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