CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Historic Structure Report 

CASTLE WILLIAMS 

Governors Island National Monument 

National Parks of New York Harbor 

New York, New York 

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Historic Architecture Program 

Northeast Region 
CASTLE WILLIAMS

HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Governors Island National Monument 

National Parks of New York Harbor 

New York, New York 

By 

Barbara A. Yocum, Architectural Conservator 

Historic Architecture Program 

Northeast Region, National Park Service 

Lowell, Massachusetts 

2005 

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

List of Figures and Credits................................................................................................................. vii 

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. xiv 

Recommendations ...............................................................................................................................xvi

Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................................xvii 

Administrative Data.............................................................................................................................xix 

Introduction............................................................................................................................................. xx

Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................xxii 

CHRONOLOGY of CASTLE WILLIAMS ...................................................................... 1 

 1807- 1819 ........................................................................................................................................ 3 

 1820- 1829 ...................................................................................................................................... 20 

 1830- 1839 ...................................................................................................................................... 22 

 1840- 1849 ...................................................................................................................................... 31 

 1850- 1859 ...................................................................................................................................... 42 

 1860- 1869 ...................................................................................................................................... 44 

 1870- 1879 ...................................................................................................................................... 62 

 1880- 1889 ...................................................................................................................................... 68 

 1890- 1899 ...................................................................................................................................... 75 

 1900- 1909 ...................................................................................................................................... 82 

 1910- 1919 ...................................................................................................................................... 90 

 1920- 1929 ...................................................................................................................................... 96 
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 1930- 1939 ...................................................................................................................................... 98 

 1940- 1949 .................................................................................................................................... 101 

 1950- 1959 ....................................................................................................................................107 

 1960- 1969 .................................................................................................................................... 109 

 1970- 1979 .................................................................................................................................... 112 

 1980- 1989 .................................................................................................................................... 113 

 1990- 1999 .................................................................................................................................... 126 

 2000- 2004 .................................................................................................................................... 131 

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS........................................................................... 135 

General Information............................................................................................................. 137 

 Name / Building Number ............................................................................................. 137 

 Dimensions ..................................................................................................................... 137 

 Armament........................................................................................................................ 139 

Exterior Elements .................................................................................................................. 141 

 Addition on Southwest Side of Courtyard ................................................................ 141 

 Bartizan [Sentry Turret]................................................................................................ 141 

 Chimneys......................................................................................................................... 141 

 Courtyard / Parade ........................................................................................................142

 Doorways......................................................................................................................... 142 

 Embrasures...................................................................................................................... 143 

 Foundations .................................................................................................................... 144 

 Galleries ........................................................................................................................... 144 

 Guardhouse..................................................................................................................... 144 

 Gutter Equipment .......................................................................................................... 145

 Navigation Aids ..............................................................................................................145 

 Parade (See Courtyard)................................................................................................. 145 

 Parapet ............................................................................................................................. 145 

 Railing (Rooftop) ........................................................................................................... 146 

 Roofs ................................................................................................................................ 146 

 Sally Port.......................................................................................................................... 146 

 Stair Structures and Exterior Stair .............................................................................. 147 

 Walls ................................................................................................................................. 148 

 Windows.......................................................................................................................... 149 
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Missing Exterior Elements................................................................................................. 150 

 Chain- Link Fence .........................................................................................................150 

 Cistern.............................................................................................................................. 150 

 Flagstaff............................................................................................................................ 150 

 Mess Hall and Kitchen.................................................................................................. 151 

 Pathway to Fort Jay........................................................................................................ 151 

 Powder Magazines.........................................................................................................152 

 Privy.................................................................................................................................. 152 

 Well................................................................................................................................... 153 

Interior Elements.................................................................................................................... 154 

 Layout and Use...............................................................................................................154 

 Floors ............................................................................................................................... 163 

 Walls ................................................................................................................................. 163 

 Ceilings............................................................................................................................. 164 

 Doorways......................................................................................................................... 164 

 Windows.......................................................................................................................... 164 

 Stairways .......................................................................................................................... 165 

 Prison Cells...................................................................................................................... 165 

Utility and Mechanical Systems....................................................................................... 166 

 Electrical System ............................................................................................................166 

 Heating System ...............................................................................................................166 

 Plumbing System ............................................................................................................ 167 

 Security System............................................................................................................... 168 

CHARACTER- DEFINING FEATURES...................................................................... 169 

Definition................................................................................................................................... 171 

Castle Williams: Character- Defining Features ........................................................ 173 

 Site Orientation .............................................................................................................. 173 

 Overall Design and Form.............................................................................................. 173 

 Fenestration .................................................................................................................... 173 

 Construction Materials ................................................................................................. 174 

 Spatial Configurations................................................................................................... 174 

 Prison Cells and Materials............................................................................................ 174 

Nonhistoric Features and Materials .............................................................................. 175 
vi

BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................... 177 
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LIST OF FIGURES 

AND CREDITS 

Cover 

View of “Castle Williams from the battery.” Print copyrighted 1905 by the Society of 

Iconophiles, New York. LC: http://catalog.loc.gov. 

Figures 

1. Section elevation of Castle Williams, being a detail from the “Map of the 

 Islands and Military Points in the Harbor of New York, their distances 

 and Situations and Profiles through Governors, Bedloes and Ellis Island, 

 and the Works thereon,” by Joseph Mangin, 1813. Drawer 36, Sheet 20; 

 RG 77; CAB/NACP. Reproduced as Plate 2 in HABS, “Governors Island, 

 Castle Williams, Castle Williams,”1984, p. 16. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................. 18 

 

2. “A Map of Governors Island,” showing Castle Williams and Fort 

 Columbus, 1813. Drawer 37, Sheet 1; RG 77; CAB/NACP....................................................... 18 

3. Colonel Jonathan Williams, 1815, by Thomas Sully, American (born England), 

 1783- 1872. Oil on canvas on plywood, 81 x 58 inches (205.7 x 147.3 cm.). 

 Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Alexander Biddle, 1964 .................................................. 19 

4. Print of a watercolor painting by William Guy Wall, published by Henry J. 

 Megary in The Hudson River Port Folio, 1823- 24. Reproduced in Edmund B. 

 Smith, Governor’s Island, Its Military History Under Three Flags, 1637- 1913; 

 New York: published by the author, 1913.................................................................................... 20 

5. Details from a “Plan exhibiting the Iron Piazzas proposed for the upper 

 Tiers of Castle Williams on Governor’s Island, New York—Also a front 

 view of the manner it is intended to close the arches of the third 

 tier,” and “A plan exhibiting a perpendicular section through Castle 

 Williams wherein the Stairway is proposed to be Constructed” October 

 17, 1832. Drawer 154, Sheet 43- 7; RG 77; CAB/NACP ............................................................ 24 

6. Plan of the first tier of Castle Williams, including elevations of the east powder 

 magazine by Henry Waller, 1839, entitled “Plan and Details of Castle Williams.” 

 Drawer 37, Sheet 16; RG 77; CAB/NACP. Reproduced in HABS, “Building 

 #501,” p. 17. LC: http://memory.loc.gov.......................................................................................... 28 
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7. Plan of the second tier of Castle Williams by Henry Waller, 1839, entitled 

 “Horizontal Section Through 2nd Tier of Gun Embrasures and 3rd Story.” 

 Drawer 37, Sheet 17; RG 77; CAB/NACP. Reproduced in HABS, “Building 

 #501,” 1984, p.18. LC: http://memory.loc.gov ............................................................................ 29 

8. Section elevations of Castle Williams by Henry Waller, 1839, entitled 

 “Details of Castle Williams.” Drawer 37, Sheet 18; RG 77; CAB/NACP. 

 Reproduced in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 19. LC: http://memory.loc.gov ........................ 30 

9. Detail showing proposed octagonal cupola for the stair towers at Castle 

 Williams from a “Plan of Upper Tier of Castle Williams, New York 

 Harbor” by the “Engineer Department, Washington, April 2, 1841.” 

 Drawer 37, Sheet 24; RG 77; CAB/NACP..................................................................................... 32 

10. Bird’s- eye view of New York City and Brooklyn showing Battery Park 

 and Governors Island in the foreground, 1851. Detail showing Castle 

 Williams and Fort Columbus. Lithograph by J. Bachmann; published 

 by A. Guerber & Co. LC: http://memory.loc.gov ....................................................................... 42 

11. Plan and section of proposed cistern at Castle Williams from a “Plan 

 & Section of Cistern at Castle Williams, Drawn under the Direction of Maj. 

 J.G. Barnard, U.S.E., 1859.” Drawer 37, Sheet 47; RG 77; CAB/NACP.................................. 43 

12. A Civil War view of Castle Williams, showing the exterior east elevation. 

 Signal Corps Records; Matthew Brady Collection; RG 111; SPB/NACP. 

 Reproduced in the “Governors Island Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2, 

 May- June 2004; Chapter 4, p. 77 ................................................................................................... 47 

 

13. Upper tier of Castle Williams looking east towards Fort Columbus, circa 1861- 

 65. Signal Corps Records; Matthew Brady Collection; RG 111; SPB/NACP. 

 Reproduced in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 4, p. 74..................................... 47 

14. View of “Governor’s Island and Fort, New York Harbour.” Print dated April 6, 

 1865. Picture Collection, The Branch Libraries, The New York Public Library, 

 Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations .................................................................................................... 

15. Detail of Castle Williams from a “Map Showing the Position of all Buildings on 

 Governors Island 1st Dec. 1867, from a Survey Made Under the Direction of Maj. 

 John G. Barnard, Corps of Engineers.” Drawer 37, Sheet 55; RG 77; CAB/NACP.............. 60 

16. Elevation drawing and plan of a “Water Closet [for] Castle Williams,” 

 Approved by the Secretary of War, June 1, 1870. Misc. Forts File, Sheet 36; 

 RG 77; CAB/NACP........................................................................................................................... 63 

17. Bird’s- eye view of New York showing the waterfront, Brooklyn Bridge, with 

 Battery Park and Governors Island in the foreground 1874. Detail showing Castle 

 Williams and Fort Columbus on Governors Island. LC: http://memory.loc.gov ................. 64 
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18. Detail showing Castle Williams from a sheet music cover page entitled “Harrington 

 & Hart’s New Song and Chorus, The Gallant Sixty- Ninth.” Lithograph by R. Teller; 

 copyright 1875 by William A. Pond. LC: http://memory.loc.gov.............................................. 65 

19. Detail of Castle Williams from a “Map of Governors Island N.Y.H. Surveyed by 

 1st Lieut. Eugene Griffin, Corps Engrs., and Frederick N. Owen Assistant Engr. 

 1879.” Drawer 37, Sheet 63; RG 77; CAB/NACP ....................................................................... 66 

20. Detail of Castle Williams from a “Map showing location of Water, Drain and 

 Sewer Pipes on Governors Island, Office of the Post Quartermaster, Fort 

 Columbus, N.Y.H. Aug. 30th, 1879.” Drawer 13, Sheet 63; RG 77; CAB/NACP .................. 67 

21. “The sundown gun” outside Castle Williams. Print published in “Garrison Life 

 at Governor’s Island, N.Y. Harbor,” Scribner’s Monthly, February 1881, p. 597. 

 Courtesy of Cornell University Library, Making of America Digital Collection.................... 70 

22. View of the courtyard of Castle Williams. Print published in “Garrison Life at 

 Governor’s Island, N.Y. Harbor,” Scribner’s Monthly, February 1881, p. 598. 

 Courtesy of Cornell University Library, Making of America Digital Collection.................... 71 

23. View of “A Gun Casemate” at Castle Williams. Print published in “Garrison 

 Life at Governor’s Island, N.Y. Harbor,” Scribner’s Monthly, February 1881, 

 p. 593. Courtesy of Cornell University Library, Making of America Digital 

 Collection ................................................................................................................................................. 71 

24. View of the east exterior elevation of Castle Williams, 1886. Print published in 

The Daily Graphic: New York, “Seacoast Defences: Our Great Cities at the Mercy 

 of Any Hostile Fleet; How New York Ought to be Defended—War Ships, Forts 

 and Great Guns—Lieutenant Griffin’s Report,” Saturday, February 13, 1886, 

 p. 722. The view of Castle Williams is one of several assembled on two illustration 

 pages entitled “Our Coast Defences—How New York City is Protected,” between 

 pages 715 and 716. Leather- bound volume, Daily Graphic, N.Y., January.- June 

 1886, in the library of the Historic Architecture Program and the Architectural 

 Preservation Division, National Park Service, Lowell, MA, on loan from the Statue 

 of Liberty NM ................................................................................................................................... 73 

25. Engraving of Castle Williams published in an article entitled “To Governor’s 

 Island: A Trip in the Little Steam Tug To Castle William,” published in The 

 Brooklyn Eagle, August 2, 1891. Brooklyn Museum of Art/Brooklyn Public 

 Library—Brooklyn Collection........................................................................................................ 76 

 

26. Painting of Castle Williams by Granville Perkins (1830- 95) dated 1895. 

 Courtesy of William Vareika Fine Arts Gallery, Newport, RI .................................................. 77 

27. Photograph showing the exterior southeast elevation of Castle Williams, 

 circa 1898. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General: U.S. 

 Military Posts of the Late 19th Century, Folder #15- Fort Columbus 

 (N.Y.), #92- F- 15- 3, SPB/NACP ....................................................................................................... 81 
x

28. Postcard view of Castle Williams, 1900, labeled “Governor’s Island, 

 N.Y. City,” with handwritten note “Castle Williams U.S. Military Prison.” 

 www.govislandarmybrat.com/IslandArtifacts.html...................................................................... 83 

29. Engraving of Castle Williams published in an article entitled “Proposed 

 Enlargement of Governors Island” published in The Brooklyn Daily 

 Eagle, January 6, 1901. Brooklyn Museum of Art/Brooklyn Public 

 Library—Brooklyn Collection........................................................................................................ 84 

 

30. Drawing entitled “Castle Williams, Fort Columbus, N.Y. Details,” September 

 1902. Blueprints Governor’s Island, Fort Columbus, Sheet 1- 4; RG 92; 

 CAB/NACP ........................................................................................................................................ 86 

31. View of “Castle Williams from the battery.” Print copyrighted 1905 by the 

 Society of Iconophiles, New York. LC: http://catalog.loc.gov .................................................. 88 

32. Bird’s- eye view of Governors Island showing proposed expansion of the 

 island, November 30, 1907. Scientific American. Picture Collection, The 

 Branch Libraries, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden 

 Foundations....................................................................................................................................... 89 

33. Colored postcard view of “Castle Williams, Governors Island,” 1910. 

 www.govislandarmybrat.com/IslandArtifacts.html...................................................................... 91 

34. Aerial photograph of Castle Williams, circa 1912. U.S. Geog. File, New 

 York City, Governors Island, Prints and Photographs Division, Library 

 of Congress, Washington, DC: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c19973................................. 92 

35. “Plan of Prison Bldg #55, Ft. Jay, NY, 2nd Tier, showing location of 

 proposed new water closets in cells and basins in the Barber Shop, Cell #21, 

 with water & sewer connections,” April 1916. Drawing files, Building 910, 

 Governors Island (formerly the U.S. Coast Guard Facilities Engineering 

 Division), GIPEC. Reproduced by the Historic American Buildings Survey 

 in 1982- 83; negative no. NY- 5715- 2- 28. LC: http://memory.loc.gov ................................. 94 

36. Photograph of the courtyard of Castle Williams showing “the cell tiers 

 and one of the watch towers.” From a photo essay entitled “With the 

 M.O.’s at Castle Bill” published in Collier’s: The National Weekly, 

 May 31, 1919. Park Archives, Governors Island NM................................................................ 95 

37. Photograph of the barbette tier [roof] of Castle Williams published on the cover 

 of The Journal of the Army Ordnance Association, September- October 1927. 

 Park archives, Governors Island NM ........................................................................................... 97 

38. “View of courtyard” by an unknown photographer, circa 1930s. 

 The photograph was formerly at the U.S. Coast Guard Support Center, 

 Special Services Office, Governors Island, N.Y. Reproduced in HABS, 

 “Castle Williams,” p. 21. LC: http://memory.loc.gov ................................................................... 99 
xi

39. “First Floor Plan, Renovation & Alteration Castle Williams, Building 

 #501, Governors Island,” March 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. Wegman 

 & Co., Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect, for the Office of the 

 Post Engineer, Headquarters Fort Jay. Drawing files, Building 910, 

 Governors Island, GIPEC. Reproduced by HABS in 1982- 83; negative 

 number 5715- 2- 24. LC: http://memory.loc.gov......................................................................... 103 

40. “Second Floor Plan, Renovation & Alteration Castle Williams, Building 

 #501, Governors Island,” March 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. Wegman 

 & Co., Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect, for the Office of 

 the Post Engineer, Headquarters Fort Jay. Drawing files, Building 910, 

 Governors Island, GIPEC. Reproduced by HABS in 1982- 83; negative 

 number 5715- 2- 25. LC: http://memory.loc.gov......................................................................... 104 

41. “Third Floor Plan, Renovation & Alteration Castle Williams, Building 

 #501, Governors Island,” March 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. Wegman 

 & Co., Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect, for the Office of he 

 Post Engineer, Headquarters Fort Jay. Drawing files, Building 910, 

 Governors Island, GIPEC. Reproduced by HABS in 1982- 83; negative 

 number 5715- 2- 27. LC: http://memory.loc.gov......................................................................... 104 

42. “Security Details for Castle Williams, Renovation & Alteration Castle Williams, 

 Castle Williams, Governors Island,” 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. Wegman & Co., 

 Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect, for the Office of the Post Engineer, 

 Headquarters Fort Jay. Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

 Reproduced by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1982- 83; negative 

 number 5715- 2- 26. LC: http://memory.loc.gov......................................................................... 105 

 

43. Construction photographs of Castle Williams taken in 1947, formerly in the 

 Office of the Public Affairs Officer at Governors Island. Park archives, 

 Governors Island NM.................................................................................................................... 106 

44. Aerial view of Castle Williams looking northwest. Photograph by John T. 

 Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey Number HABS NY- 5715- 2; number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 3. LC: http://memory.loc.gov.............................................................................. 114 

45. Aerial view of Castle Williams looking south. Photograph by John T. 

 Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey Number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative 

 number NY- 5715- 2- 2. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................... 114 

46. Exterior east elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. 

 Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey Number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative 

 number NY- 5715- 2- 5. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................... 115 

47. Exterior sally port (main entrance) of Castle Williams. Photograph 

 by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; 

 negative number NY- 5715- 2- 6. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................... 115 
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48. Exterior southeast elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. 

 Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 4. LC: http://memory.loc.gov.............................................................................. 116 

49. Exterior south elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. Lowe, 

 HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 7. LC: http://memory.loc.gov.............................................................................. 116 

50. Detail of vegetation on the exterior south wall of Castle Williams. Photograph 

 by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; 

 negative number NY- 5715- 2- 12. LC: http://memory.loc.gov.............................................. 117 

51. Exterior southwest elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. Lowe, 

 HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 8. LC: http://memory.loc.gov.............................................................................. 117 

52. Detail of exterior embrasures in the first and second tiers of Castle Williams. 

 Photograph by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS 

 NY- 5715- 2; negative number NY- 5715- 2- 9. LC: http://memory.loc.gov...................... 118 

53. Exterior west elevation of Castle Williams, with the World Trade Center 

 towers in the background. Photograph by John T. Lowe, Historic American 

 Buildings Survey, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative 

 number NY- 5715- 2- 10. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................. 118 

 

54. Exterior east elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. Lowe, 

 HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 11. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................................ 119 

55. Interior southeast elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. 

 Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative 

 number NY- 5715- 2- 15. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................. 119 

56. Interior south elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. Lowe, 

 HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 14. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................................ 120 

57. Interior west elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. Lowe, 

 HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 16. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................................ 120 

58. Interior northeast elevation of Castle Williams. Photograph by John T. 

 Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative 

 number NY- 5715- 2- 13. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................. 121 

59. View looking north from the southeast barbette tier [roof] of Castle Williams. 

 Photograph by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS 

 NY- 5715- 2; negative number NY- 5715- 2- 23. LC: http://memory.loc.gov..................... 121 
xiii

60. View looking west from the northeast barbette tier [roof] of Castle Williams. 

 Photograph by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS 

 NY- 5715- 2; negative number NY- 5715- 2- 19. LC: http://memory.loc.gov..................... 122 

61. View looking west from the east barbette tier [roof] of Castle Williams. 

 Photograph by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS 

 NY- 5715- 2; negative number NY- 5715- 2- 18. LC: http://memory.loc.gov..................... 122 

62. Interior of the northeast stairway at the third tier of Castle Williams. 

 Photograph by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS 

 NY- 5715- 2; negative number NY- 5715- 2- 17. LC: http://memory.loc.gov..................... 123 

63. Interior casemate doorway in the northeast quadrant of the third tier of Castle 

 Williams. Photograph by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS 

 NY- 5715- 2; negative number NY- 5715- 2- 20. LC: http://memory.loc.gov..................... 123 

64. Isolation prison cell in the northeast quadrant of the third tier of Castle 

 Williams. Photograph by John T. Lowe, Historic American Buildings 

 Survey, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS NY- 5715- 2; negative number 

 NY- 5715- 2- 21. LC: http://memory.loc.gov............................................................................. 124 

65. Interior casemate in the north quadrant of the third tier of Castle Williams. 

 Photograph by John T. Lowe, HABS, 1982- 83. Survey number HABS 

 NY- 5715- 2; negative number NY- 5715- 2- 22. LC: http://memory.loc.gov..................... 124 
xiv

Executive Summary 

This final study of Castle Williams, Governors Island National Monument, provides a 

chronology of its physical evolution, describes its architectural elements, and identifies its 

character- defining features. Castle Williams is a circular defensive work of red sandstone on 

the west point of Governors Island in New York Harbor. It was designed and erected between 

1807 and 1811 under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) Jonathan Williams, 

Chief Engineer of the Corps of Engineers and first Superintendent of the Military Academy at 

West Point. The castle was one component of a defensive system for the inner harbor that 

included Fort Columbus (later renamed Fort Jay) and the South Battery on Governors Island, 

Castle Clinton at the tip of Manhattan, Fort Wood on Liberty Island, and Fort Gibson on Ellis 

Island. 

During the Civil War, the casemates [bombproof vaults] of Castle Williams were used to 

imprison Confederate enlisted men and deserters from the Union Army, and as a barracks for 

the garrison. After 1865 it became a low- security military prison that was also used as quarters 

for recruits and transient troops. The castle was considered to be an aging and obsolete 

fortification by the 1880s, with pitted and crumbling walls. Improvements including the 

installation of central heating and plumbing were most likely made in 1895 when Castle 

Williams was designated as one of 10 military prisons in the U.S. Army. 

A commitment to preserve the forts of Governors Island was made in the early 20th century by 

Secretary of War Elihu Root when landfill operations doubled the size of Governors Island 

between 1901 and 1912. The castle was fitted up as a model prison in 1903, and was most likely 

wired for electricity when it became available on the island in 1904. Remodeling of the angled 

gate walls occurred in 1912- 13 to create a two- story guardhouse, using stones from two 

demolished magazines within the courtyard. Castle Williams became the Atlantic Branch of the 

Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in 1915, and the Eastern Branch of the United States 

Disciplinary Barracks in 1921. Expansion of the plumbing system occurred in 1916, and 

complete renovation of the plumbing, central heating, and electrical systems was carried out in 

the 1930s. The floors and roof were also reinforced with steel in the 1930s, and steel grating and 

solitary confinement cells were installed in selected casemates of the second and third tiers. 

Extensive renovations were carried out in 1947- 48, resulting in the industrial appearance of the 

courtyard today. Concrete balconies enclosed with steel sashes replaced existing wooden 

galleries, and a three- story brick addition enclosed a steel stair. Concrete floors and brick 

partitions were installed in the casemates of the second tier, and steel security sashes and doors 

replaced those made of wood. Castle Williams ceased operations as a military prison in 1966, 

when the U.S. Army left Governors Island. The castle was then remodeled by the U.S. Coast 

Guard as a community center that included a nursery, meeting rooms for Scouts and clubs, a 

woodworking shop, art studios, a photography laboratory, and a museum. Old fixtures and 

brick partitions were removed and new materials installed such as vinyl asbestos tiles, 

suspended acoustical ceilings, toilets and sinks, and fluorescent lights. Castle Williams has sat 

vacant with minimal maintenance since closure of the Coast Guard base in 1997. 
xv

Castle Williams was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It was 

included in a National Historic Landmark District designated in 1985, and a New York Historic 

District designated in 1996. The castle is also located within the boundaries of Governors Island 

National Monument, created by Presidential Proclamations signed in 2001 and 2003. The 

period of significance for Castle Williams spans the years 1794- 1966, as defined by the National 

Register of Historic Places. The character- defining features for Castle Williams are described 

subsequently in this report. 
xvi

Recommendations 

Preserve Historic Drawings 

One of the great surprises of this project was the discovery that architectural drawings for all the 

extant buildings and structures of Governors Island, including Castle Williams and Fort Jay, are 

still located in Building 910, the former U.S. Coast Guard Facilities Engineering Division, on 

Governors Island. These drawings were prepared by and for the U.S. Army and the U.S. Coast 

Guard, some dating back to the 19th century. Building 910 and its contents are now within the 

jurisdiction of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), a park 

partner. Some of the drawings have been moved to another GIPEC structure, Building 108, 

which offers better environmental conditions than Building 910. (Building 108 also houses 

GIPEC’s administrative headquarters.) GIPEC has been generous in allowing access to 

researchers, but both security and fire safety are concerns. The National Park Service should 

thus obtain all drawings related to the national- monument property for inclusion in its own 

archives and files. 

The following suggestions are offered to ensure the future preservation and accessibility of this 

important collection. First, an assessment/survey should be made of the collection by a 

professional archivist and the information incorporated in the General Management Plan. 

Professionals at the Museum Services Center, Northeast Region, National Park Service, have the 

knowledge and expertise to facilitate this process. Second, a determination needs to be made as 

to the proper disposition of these drawings. 

Evaluate Character- Defining Features 

There is concern that the extensive alterations made to Castle Williams in the 1930s and 1940s 

are accelerating the deterioration of older historic fabric. Since the National Register period of 

significance extends to 1966, these alterations are themselves character- defining features. 

However, if further investigation shows that they are indeed damaging earlier characterdefining features, additional research should be conducted to determine the cause of the 

deterioration and the appropriate treatment. 
xvii

Update Existing- Conditions Record 

The last recording of existing conditions at Castle Williams was undertaken by the Historic 

American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1982- 83. This consisted of 28 black- and- white 

photographs and a written report that incorporated limited archival research and an assessment 

of existing conditions. A similar recordation project should be undertaken to update this 

information, including a conditions assessment survey. The materials with which Castle 

Williams was built are suffering from varying degrees of deterioration, particularly the 

sandstone of the main walls. A conditions- assessment monitoring project and survey would 

help ascertain the rate of materials deterioration and inform the development of methods to 

preserve and maintain the historic fabric. It would also be invaluable in helping to understand 

how the character- defining features from different periods of the castle’s history may be 

adversely impacting each other, as cited previously. 

Prepare Measured Drawings 

No measured drawings of the castle currently exist. A complete set of measured drawings of 

Castle Williams should be prepared to HABS standards. 
xviii

Acknowledgements 

The following people are gratefully acknowledged for their assistance with this project. 

Governors Island National Monument, NPS

Linda Neal, Superintendent 

Mike Shaver, Supervisory Park Ranger 

Ed Lorenzini, Facility Manager 

Ilyse Goldman, Park Ranger 

Megan Taylor, Seasonal Park Guide 

Erin Bartram, Seasonal Park Guide 

Northeast Regional Office, NPS

Peggy Albee, Manager, Historic Architecture Program 

Liz Banks, Senior Archivist, Museum Services Center 

Brian Aviles, Landscape Architect, Park Planning and Special Studies 

Bill Griswold, Archeologist, Archeology Program 

Betsy Igleheart, National Register Historian, History Program 

Judy Jacob, Architectural Conservator, Architectural Preservation Division 

Victoria Kalemaris, CRBIB Librarian, Museum Services Center 

Giles Parker, Deputy Director, Museum Services Center 

Paul Weinbaum, Historian, History Program 

Arizona State University

Jann Warren- Findley, Professor 

Beyer Blinder Belle Consortium

Richard Southwick, Architect 

George Beckwith, Architect 

Turner Construction Company

Richard J. Luce, Superintendent 
xix

Lilly Library, Indiana University

Sue Presnell, Reference Associate 

National Archives and Records Administration

John J. Celardo, Archivist 

Northeast Region- New York 

Joe Majid, Archives Technician 

Northeast Region- New York 

Henry J. Gwiazda, PhD, Research Assistant 

Cartographic and Architectural Branch, College Park, MD 

New York State Historic Preservation Office

James Warren, Manhattan Sites 

U.S. Coast Guard

Chris Phillips, Civil Engineering Unit, Providence, RI 
xx

Administrative Data 

Governors Island National Monument is a new unit of the National Park Service that was 

established by Presidential proclamation on January 19, 2001 (revised February 7, 2003). The 

national monument encompasses 22.78 acres of the 172- acre island in New York Harbor, 

located one- half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan. The remaining 150 acres have been 

transferred to the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) to 

manage and redevelop. Two fortifications, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, are the primary historic 

resources of the national monument. Governors Island has historically been administered by 

the U.S. Army (1800- 1966), and later by the U.S. Coast Guard (1966- 1997). A skeleton crew of 

Coast Guard personnel provided security, fire protection, and facility maintenance from 1997 

until the sale of the national monument by the Government Services Administration to the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation and the sale of the remainder of the island to GIPEC on 

January 31, 2003. The National Trust subsequently conveyed the national monument area to 

the Secretary of the Interior, United States of America, and the remainder of the island to 

GIPEC. 

Fort Jay and Castle Williams were erected in the early 19th century to protect New York Harbor 

from British interference with American shipping. These masonry fortifications were part of a 

coastal building campaign initiated by the federal government that came to be known as the 

Second American System of coastal fortifications. Fort Jay is a square, four- bastioned work that 

was constructed between 1806 and 1809 on the site of a 1794 earthen fort. (This earlier fort was 

part of the First American System of coastal fortifications.) Castle Williams is a circular 

casemated work that was built of red sandstone between 1807 and 1811. It held an important 

strategic defense position at the entrance to New York Harbor, and was considered a prototype 

for coastal fortifications. The castle was remodeled by the Army for use as a prison during the 

Civil War, and later served as a military prison. The Coast Guard converted the castle to a 

community center in 1967, which included meeting rooms for youth organizations, craft rooms, 

and a day- care facility. Castle Williams has sat vacant since closure of the Coast Guard base in 

1997. 

Castle Williams, the focus of this report, was individually listed in the National Register of 

Historic Places on July 31, 1972. It was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey 

with photographs and a written report in 1982- 83. The castle is also a contributing resource in a 

National Historic Landmark District for Governors Island designated February 4, 1985 

(#85002435), and a New York City Landmarks Historic District (designated June 18, 1996). 

Castle Williams is included in the National Park Service’s List of Classified Structures (LCS) as 

LCS number 233380 and structure number nine (9). The LCS management category specifies 

that the structure “must be preserved and maintained.” 
xxi

Introduction 

Scope of Work 

Two historic structure reports were to be produced for Castle Williams and Fort Jay on 

Governors Island, as described in a Project Agreement between the Historic Architecture 

Program (HAP), Resource Stewardship and Science, Northeast Region, National Park Service, 

and Governors Island National Monument, signed December 17, 2003. This report is the 

product of Phase I of the project, which focused on research and documentation of Castle 

Williams, descriptions of architectural elements, and identification of character- defining 

features. Both primary and secondary sources were reviewed, and other researchers were 

consulted in order to share information. Two site visits were also made to Castle Williams in 

January 2004 and August 2005. 

Terminology and Spelling 

Castle Williams and Fort Jay are both located on Governors Island. Fort Jay was constructed of 

mostly earthen materials in 1794, and was reconstructed in masonry 1806- 09. At that time it 

was renamed Fort Columbus. Fort Columbus was also the name of the military post located on 

Governors Island, of which Castle Williams was a part. The name of both the post and the 

fortification officially reverted back to Fort Jay in 1904, which is still used today. 

Castle Williams was frequently found to be misspelled as “Castle William” in both published and 

unpublished, primary and secondary sources, throughout the years. This historical misspelling 

is preserved in the excerpts included in this report. 

The name “Governor’s Island” came into use in the late 17th century, when the island was 

designated for use by the governors of the new British colony of New York. The name was 

officially changed from the Dutch “Nutten” or “Nooten” Island to “Governor’s Island” by an 

act of the New York Legislature March 29, 1784. Use of the apostrophe was discontinued in 

official papers of the U.S. Army’s Eastern Department, Division of the Atlantic, following its 

transfer to the island in 1878, although the earlier punctuation endured. Today the island is 

known as “Governors Island.” Both spellings are preserved in this report. 

Report Organization 

This report is composed of three sections: a “Chronology of Castle Williams,” “Architectural 

Descriptions,” and “Character- Defining Features.” The chronology is presented by decade, 

each prefaced by a narrative summary that is followed by excerpts of documentary sources and 

contemporary illustrations. A summary of documentary sources may be found in the 

bibliography. Descriptions of the castle’s architectural elements include both its defensive 

elements and its structures. Descriptions of the castle’s existing character- defining features 

include site orientation, overall design and form, fenestration, construction materials, spatial 

configurations, prison cells, and materials. 
xxii

Abbreviations 

The following abbreviations have been used in this report: 

ASP American State Papers 

BPL Brooklyn Public Library 

CAB/NACP Cartographic and Architectural Branch, National Archives 

at College Park, MD 

HABS Historic American Buildings Survey, Washington, DC 

LC Library of Congress, Washington, DC 

NAB National Archives Main Building, Washington, DC 

NACP National Archives at College Park, MD 

NARA – Northeast Region (NY) National Archives, Northeast Region, New York City 

RG Record Group 

SPB/NACP Still Pictures Branch, National Archives at College Park, 

MD 
1

CHRONOLOGY OF 

CASTLE WILLIAMS 

CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

3

1807- 1819

Summary 

Castle Williams was designed and erected between 1807 and 1811 under the direction of 

Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) Jonathan Williams. Williams, who had been appointed Chief 

Engineer of the Corps of Engineers and Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point 

in 1802 and 1805, was charged with planning the fortifications and defenses for New York 

Harbor in 1807. The earliest known mention of the castle is in a document by Secretary of War 

Henry Dearborn dated July 21, 1807,”Outlines of a Plan of Defence for the City & Harbour of 

New York,” that describes “a circular casemated battery of heavy metal...to be erected on the 

extreme westerly point [of Governors Island] commonly called Perkin’s Point.” The foundation 

was commenced shortly thereafter on a bed of red clay and large rocks, using stones, gravel, and 

mortar strengthened with iron borings. The “circular Castle” was well underway by November 

1808, according to Colonel Williams, who described it in detail in a “Draft of a Report to the 

Secretary of War Relative to the Progress & Present State of the Fortifications in the Harbour of 

New York.” The walls had been raised almost to the level of the second tier, constructed of cut 

stones laid in a Flemish bond with iron- fortified mortar, and strengthened by a dovetail fit. The 

interior casemates in the first tier had 12- foot ceilings and pine- plank floors supported by oak 

joists and brick arches. Cantilevered joists at the second- tier level were the beginnings of a 

wooden gallery facing an interior courtyard that was 124 feet in diameter and “open to the 

Heavens.” Special iron- wheeled gun carriages were designed to fit the embrasures [splayed 

exterior openings] of the casemates. The sally port of the castle was located on the rear side, 

where two straight walls forming a small ravelin enclosed the circle. (A ravelin is a triangular 

outwork usually placed in the ditch surrounding a fort, in front of the curtain wall.) Protected 

within these rear walls was a well that provided an inexhaustible supply “of finest water.” 

Foundations had been laid in the courtyard for a powder magazine, two winding stone 

staircases, and two furnaces (probably shot furnaces) that awaited construction. 

Completion of the “Castle” was estimated by builders Souder & Hilyard (also spelled “Hiliard”) 

to be $80,782.75 in May 1809, not including the costs of carpentry, hardware, and painting. 

Work appears to have progressed at a slow pace at all the harbor fortifications in 1809, judging 

by a letter dated December that noted complaints from members of the New York delegation. 

The second tier of the castle had been completed by January 1810, the supporting arches for 

which had not yet dried, as described in a letter from Colonel Williams to Governor Tompkins 

of New York. The castle was then partially armed with 11 guns mounted in the casemates of the 

first tier. The remaining work was estimated in May 1810 to cost $29,556.50, suggesting that 

significant progress had been made in the beginning months of the year. This most likely 

included work on the third tier and construction of the structures within the courtyard. 

A change in command occurred in June 1810, when Colonel Henry Burbeck, a senior artillery 

officer in the Army, was appointed as Commander of New York Harbor over Colonel Williams, 

who continued to superintend the completion of the works. It was thus Colonel Burbeck who 

issued an order in November 1810 officially naming the “Stone Tower” on Governors Island as 

“Castle Williams, in honor of the commandant of the United States, who designed and erected 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

4

it.” Colonel Williams reciprocated with a letter of thanks for “adding my name to the Castle I 

erected....” Williams was excused from his position as superintendent of the works at New York 

Harbor in March of the following year by the Secretary of War, allowing him to pursue his 

duties at the U.S. Military Academy. In his place was appointed Captain Bomford, who 

consulted with Colonel Williams on the final phases of the work. Captain Bomford reported to 

Williams on October 5, 1811, that guns had been mounted on the second tier of Castle Williams 

and would soon be mounted on the top tier. He predicted that Castle Williams would be 

finished by October 20, but it was not until November 1 that he noted “Castle Williams [is] 

completed (with the exception of a drain)....” Bomford also informed Williams in December 

1811 that he had completed plans and drawings of Castle Williams, although none are known to 

have survived. 

The earliest- known drawings showing Castle Williams are a map and a section- elevation of 

Governors Island prepared by Joseph Mangin in 1813 (figs. 1- 2). These show Castle Williams as 

a three- story, semicircular structure sited on the west point of Governors Island, connected to 

Fort Columbus to the east by a passageway. The gap in the semicircular wall is on the rear 

(southeast) side; it is filled with a small ravelin [triangular outwork], which has a small [sentry 

turret] at its salient angle. A tall tower with domed roof is centered on one side of the curved 

walls, which is most likely one of two staircases described in 1808. A small gable- roofed 

structure, possibly a powder magazine, terminates one end of the curved walls. Crowning the 

front of the castle is a flag mounted to a flagpole on the upper tier. 

Documentation 

1801- 1802 

President Adams appointed [Jonathan] Williams, Feb. 16, 1801, a Major 

in the Second Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers, and on Dec. 14th

following, President Jefferson...commissioned him Inspector of 

Fortifications. In the summer of 1801, Williams...as ordered...went to 

West Point and assumed command, Dec. 15, 1801, of the embryo 

Military School which preceded the present Military Academy.... When 

[Thomas] Jefferson became President of the United States, he 

transferred, April 1, 1802, Major Williams to the head of the Corps of 

Engineers created by the recent law of March 16, 1802, in which it was 

provided that the Principal Engineer should have the Superintendence of 

the Military Academy. On the 8th July, [1802]...he was promoted to be 

Lieut. Colonel. 

(Bvt. Major- General George W. Cullum, Campaigns of the War of 1812-

15 Against Great Britain, Sketched and Criticised; with Brief Biographies of 

the American Engineers. New York: James Miller, 1879, pp. 20- 21.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

5

1803 

1803, June 20. Lt. Col. Jonathan Williams resigns his position at West Point June 30, 1803, 

which is underfunded, poorly staffed, and lacked a meaningful curriculum. (John A. Garraty & 

Mark C. Carnes, eds., American National Biography, Vol. 23. New York: Oxford University 

Press, 1999, p. 484.) 

1805 

 1805, April 22.

Immediately upon Lieut.- Colonel Williams being notified, April 22, 

1805, of his re- appointment, he repaired to West Point and assumed 

command of the Military Academy.... Notwithstanding his great industry 

and zealous devotion to the wants of that institution, Williams, as the 

head of the Corps of Engineers, was necessarily much of this time 

attending to professional duties, particularly the construction of the 

defenses of New York harbor, of which he took personal charge. 

(Cullum, Campaigns, p. 34.) 

1807 

1807, July 21. Excerpt from “Outlines of a Plan of Defence for the City and Harbour of 

New York,” by Secretary of War Henry Dearborn, July 21, 1807. 

It being the intention of the general Government, so to fortify the 

Harbour of New York, as well with the aid of Gun Boats, affords a 

reasonable defence to the Citizens and their property against Ships of 

War, unaccompanied with any very formidable armament such as can 

only be opposed by a superior Army. The following system has been 

considered as most expedient at present with such additions hereafter as 

may be thought advisable, farther in advance. Col. [sic: Lt. Col.] J. 

Williams will therefore consider the subsequent detail as his instructions 

and authority for commencing and compleating the contemplated works, 

with as little delay as circumstances will admit. 

Governors Island 

Fort Columbus is to be completed according to the plan now in 

operation. A circular casemated battery of heavy metal is to be erected 

on the extreme westerly point commonly called Perkin’s Point. Also a 

position on the Island will be chosen so as to command the entrance of 

Buttermilk Channel, and a Battery will be constructed of such form and 

power as to protect that entrance. These Batteries will be fully 

commanded by Fort Columbus in their rear, and the old Batteries which 

are now in the way of the projected glacis will be obliterated. [Also 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

6

includes descriptions for projects on Bedlows Island, Ellis’s Island, New 

York, Rhinlanders Wharf, and Potters Field.] 

In order to enable Col. [sic: Lt. Col.] Williams to transport himself under 

all circumstances of wind and weather, he will cause a Boat and skiff to 

be constructed of sufficient size for all the navigation in any part of the 

Harbour, Bay, and North river, in such manner as he shall deem equally 

safe and manageable. 

Col. [sic: Lt. Col.] Williams will make such arrangements with the 

Governor, on the part of [the part of] the state, and with the Mayor on 

the part of the Corporation, as well as with the private Citizens, owners 

of any of the above described property, as may be necessary for carrying 

the foregoing into full and ample effect, for which this shall be his 

Authority. 

(Jonathan Williams Papers, Manuscripts Department, Lilly Library, 

Indiana University.) 

 1807, July 27. Excerpt of letter from Lt. Col. Jonathan Williams to Capt. R. Whiley, 

Military Agent for the Bay & Harbour of New York, July 27, 1807, requesting that he furnish 

“the necessary materials of labour for the following purposes.”

1st procure a solid stone basis at the Point in front of this Fort called 

Perkins’s Point of an Extent that shall project beyond the present high 

water line, in a portion of 270 degrees of a circle, upon a diameter of 

about 200 feet—it will be necessary in the first instance to make a narrow 

landing or wharf to give safety to the vessels bringing stone & other 

materials, this may be about 10 feet wide, extending from the shore 

towards the Point in the line of the stakes I have caus’d to be placed 

there—While the operation of the Base is going on, it will be proper to 

procure a large quantity of hammered faced stone of the largest size that 

can be uniformly had, not less than 10,000, ten thousand and superficial 

feet of hammered Face will be wanting, and probably more.... 

2nd furnish labourers to excavate a Foundation at the point near the 

Hospital...but at present it will be best to lend your whole strength to the 

completion of Fort Columbus and that on Perkins’s Point, upon which 

the location of the other much depends.... 

...to form an exterior reinforcement to the face of a stone basis of a 

casemated battery in most respects similar to that proposed for Perkin’s 

point, another similar Battery will be plac’d at Ellis’s Island, and for each 

of these it will be well to have nearly an equal quantity of hammered 

stone prepared: the foundations may be the roughest, as they must also 

be of the largest and heaviest stones.... 

It is not easy to foresee, all at once, the precise nature and quantity of 

materials that will be wanted, but the indications I have given will guide 

you as to foundations and faces, and for the interior mass of the Buildings 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

7

about 80 or an 100,000 cubic feet of stone will not be too great a 

preparation for each casemated Battery. 

As I shall probably turn the arches of the casemates with Brick, I presume 

about seven hundred & fifty thousand of Brick will be requisite for each, 

but for this purpose I cannot take ordinary Brick, and I would advise 

giving some additional Price, to make the quality in proportion better. 

(Jonathan Williams Papers) 

 1807, September 13. Excerpt of letter from Lt. Col. Jonathan Williams at Fort Columbus 

to the Secretary of War, September 13, 1807. 

I think it best to bend my whole strength at Perkins’ point & 

Rhinelanders. We shall soon have a foundation at the former and I shall 

also begin this week at the latter place.... 

(Jonathan Williams Papers, Manuscripts Department, Lilly Library, 

Indiana University; transcribed in a report by Thomas Pitkin, 

“Supplementary Material Relating to the Construction of West Battery—

Castle Clinton,” April 1963, p. 6. Hereinafter “Pitkin”) 

 1807, November 20. Excerpt of statement and exhibits submitted by Secretary of War 

Henry Dearborn to a committee of the U.S. Senate: 

The more important Ports and Harbors [including] New York.—In 

addition to Fort Columbus (on Governor’s Island) which is in great 

forwardness, and will be a strong regular work of the best materials, it has 

been considered necessary to erect a strong circular battery [later named 

Castle Williams] for two tier of cannon, one above the other, at the 

extreme westerly point of Governor’s Island.... 

(ASP, 10th Congress, 1st Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 1, pp. 219- 220; 

LC.) 

 1807, December 3. Letter from Lieutenant Col. Jonathan Williams at Fort Columbus to 

New York Governor Tompkins, December 3, 1807, in which Williams refers to “Quitting the 

work at this post [Governors Island] for the winter season.” (Jonathan Williams Papers) 

 1807, December 8. Excerpt of a report submitted on December 8, 1807, to the House of 

Representatives “on the state of the fortifications of the respective ports and harbors of the 

United States....” 

New York 

Fort Columbus, New York Harbor.—An enclosed work of earth and 

wood, on Governor’s Island, has, within the two last years, been 

improved and faced with permanent mason work, and is nearly 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

8

completed, and may be considered as a strong, well constructed, regular 

fort. A strong, marine, casemated battery [later named Castle Williams] 

has been commenced on the extreme western point of the same island; 

and some progress has been made in forming foundations, for batteries, 

at other points in the vicinity of the city .... 

(ASP, 10th Congress, 1st Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 1, p. 223; LC.) 

1808 

1808, February 23. Lt. Col. Jonathan Williams is promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to 

Colonel. (Cullum, Campaigns, p. 39.) 

1808, July 10. Excerpt of letter from Col. Jonathan Williams at Fort Columbus to Capt. 

Whiley, Asst. Military Agent Fort Columbus. Williams issues blanket purchasing authority to 

Capt. Whiley. 

Sir, It being difficult if not impracticable to give a detailed and separate 

order for the different materials and quantity of each that may be 

required for erecting and completing the works now progressing in 

different points in the City and harbour of New York I conceive it my 

duty in order that the Progress of the Public works may not be retarded, 

to order and direct generally and you are hereby ordered and directed 

accordingly to provide and furnish all and every such material and 

materials Comprehending Stone, brick, lime, timber, iron, iron work &c., 

&c., &c., as may be found necessary to complete the Public works now 

erecting at Governors Island Bedlows Island and Ellis’s Island in the 

harbour of New York and at the battery, Potters field and the foot of 

Laight Street within the limits of said City of New York and for which 

you will consider this as sufficient authority—as well as whatever may be 

required for the Engineer Cutter Boat, &c., I am, Sir.... 

(Pitkin, p. 8) 

1808, October 9. Excerpt of letter written by the Hon. Saml. Mitchell dated October 9, 

1808. 

The Chief Engineer who planned the general fortifications of New York 

and who actually superintended their construction is Colonel J. Williams, 

the learned and ingenious director of the American Military Academy at 

West Point and President of the American Philosophical Society. The 

high professional talents displayed by this gentleman in projecting the 

works have been very ably seconded in carrying them into operation. 

(Letter transcribed by Edmund B. Smith in Governor’s Island: Its Military 

History Under Three Flags, 1637- 1913. New York: 1913, p. 73.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

9

 1808, November. Excerpt from “Draft of a Report to the Secretary of War Relative to the 

Progress & Present State of the Fortifications in the Harbour of New York,” by Col. Jonathan 

Williams, November 1808.

In conformity to the orders of the Secretary of War the Subscriber has 

the honour to submit the following Report relative to the progress and 

present State of the Fortifications in the Harbour of New York. 

The Castle 

At the Western extremity of Governors Island there is a Point of Rocks 

which runs to the edge of the Channel extending about eighty yards 

without the Beach, the space within being bare only a very low Water. 

On this Base which was found to be a Bed of red Clay crowded with large 

& very hard Rocks & Stone the foundation of a circular Castle was begun 

in 1807. The exterior diameter of which is 210 feet—after rising to high 

water mark the foundation recedes 5 feet all round in a slope of 45 

[degrees] to give scope to the force of the surf in a storm the lower stones 

where this slope begins extend backward eight feet under the 

foundation, & so rise continually receding to the height of five feet, the 

slope thus formed is then laid with flag stones, the lower edge of which is 

let into a groove cut into the exterior edge of the lower Foundation 

stone, & the whole is compacted with a cement of mortar & iron borings 

which renders it similar to one solid Mass of Stone.—From this Line [the 

foundation level] the exterior Wall rises in a thickness of 8 feet, the 

interior one of 5 feet with cross walls of seven feet, leaving the space 

between them 24 feet in length 30 feet in breadth in front & 24 in the rear 

for the Platform of the Guns. The outside facing of the Castle is of cut 

stone laid in what is called Flemish Bond, that is, the Stones each 

measuring two cubic feet are laid alternatively lengthwise & breadthwise, 

and so cut as to dovetail into each other rendering them immovable 

unless broken. This exterior face is wholly laid with the iron boring 

cement before mentioned and the joints appear to be as hard as the 

stones themselves.—The Embrasures one tier of which is nearly 

compleated are so composed as to have but one length of stone across or 

along them so that they must be shattered before they can be dislocated 

and the throat of this aperture is so small that there is not space for a Ball 

to pass between the muzzle of the Gun & its side as will be hereafter 

particularly explained. From the interior side of the exterior wall the 

Foundation extends inwards five feet, so that nearly the whole weight of 

the Gun rests upon the foundation, in like manner the foundation of the 

interior wall extends five feet within it forming a solid Bed for Piles of 

Shott to rest upon in the angles between the entrances of each arcade & 

the cross walls on each side. The floor between these foundations is 

composed of large oak joists & thick Pine Plank.—Between the Piers of 

the Cross Walls which form each side of the doorways communicating 

round the circumference, there are reversed arches of Brick under the 

floor to connect & strengthen these Piers which are destined to support 

the arches of the Casemates over the second story.—The area within the 

interior Wall is 124 feet in diameter open to the Heavens, in the Center of 

which a solid foundation for a magazine is laid and at convenient 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

10

distances are two foundations for winding stone staircases and two 

others for furnaces.— 

Previously to describing the interior of the Embrasures it is first 

necessary to describe the Gun Carriage which has been constructed for 

this Castle. It has two iron Wheels & a wooden Roller running upon a 

frame which moves in a segment of a Circle upon four concentric Wheels 

of Iron, the center of motion being at the end of a tongue piece, so far in 

advance as to be immediately under the swell of the muzzle of the Gun. 

The motion of recoil is in & upon grooves of this frame, which being in 

an ascending direction cause the recoil to be reacted against by the 

gravity of the Gun, and the Wheels & Rollers running within and upon 

grooves, renders any lateral motion impossible & of course the recoil 

must be in a precise line with the Axis of the Base.—immediately under 

the Embrazure is an angular aperture which admits the tongue Piece of 

the Frame about three feet within the Wall so that the pivot Hole comes 

immediately under a hole made through the Stool of the Embrazure 

precisely in the throat of it, & a strong iron spoke passing through the 

Wall & the tongue piece forms the Pivot upon which the whole moves to 

the extent of 27 degrees on each side of the axis of the Embrazure making 

an angle of 54 degrees for the range of Fire. At this Angle the Lines of 

Fire will cross each other at less than 20 feet from the exterior of the 

Wall. It will be perceived by this description that the center of motion is 

under the mouth of the Gun & some inches within the commencement 

of the blast. The consequences are first, the extremity of the Gun rests in 

the same place whatever change there may be in the line of direction, 

which requires the Embrazure in this plan to be no wider than is 

necessary for the purpose of sight, and second the Gun projecting so far 

as 3 feet within the Embrazure & a few inches beyond the throat or 

narrowest part, the blast sends all the smoke out of it, in the same manner 

as in Ships of War where the Guns extend without the Side. Unless there 

were a current of Air drawing through the Embrazure inwards no Smoke 

could return, & it is certainly more likely for the air to rush from the cool 

area within, to the hot blast without, than otherwise, since the more 

dense will always rush into the more rare part of the atmosphere. For the 

Smoke arising from the vent as well as that of any that might come in 

from the Blast, there are openings or doorways on each side of each 

arcade of about 80 square feet, & 144 square feet in the rear, giving more 

than 300 square feet for the smoke to dissipate itself, besides all the space 

overhead each apartment being 12 feet in height from the floor to the 

joists above.—It would have been easy to have constructed chimneys in 

the body of the wall to carry the smoke out at the top & that may yet be 

done, but it has been thought unnecessary for the reasons here 

mentioned. Over each pair of Embrazures an arch is forming from one 

cross wall to the other, in the Body of the exterior Wall to the width of 6 

feet and at the crown of this arch a recess of one foot is made for the 

joists of the second floor to rest upon, so that the second tier of Guns will 

be independent of any accident to the lower Tier even if all the Wall 

between the Piers of the arches were to be battered down, it would in 

such an event exhibit a circular Battery standing upon arches the Piers of 

which are at least 13 feet in thickness. Another material advantage results 

from this arrangement, the top Stones of the Embrazure, except the 

outside one, has no more weight of Wall to support than the small mass 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

11

under the arch: over the outside Stone a very neat & strong flat arch of 

cut Stone is so well adjusted as to throw the pressure of the whole wall 

above, on each side of them. The Walls of the Castle being nearly up to 

the second floor, & the floor itself being so far laid as to give the 

subscriber full confidence in its being done before the Winter sets in, he 

will describe it as finished, not doubting that it will be so within the 

present month. The Girders and Lintels are composed each one of 4 

Piers of well seasoned Oak bolted and keyed in right angular directions 

and trussed on the inside with pieces of the same wood 3 by 4 so jointed 

as to fill the space cut out with the utmost accuracy; it is presumable that 

these Girders & Lintels would support ten times the weight that it will 

ever be requisite to lay upon them. The Girders rest upon the Lintels, 

and some of the joists lie upon the Girders and upon each Wall so that 

nothing to ensure the utmost degree of strength has been omitted; the 

Floor is planked like the one below; the ends of joists over the doorways 

in the rear extend within the area for the purpose of forming a Gallery 

communicating with every other arcade & each stair case. In every 

instance where the end of a Girder Lintel or joist rests upon the Wall a 

plank is put under it & the sides & end are untouched by the Wall so that 

the air passes freely around them and any stone is placed upon the upper 

part so that no moisture may come to them & the current of dry air will 

preserve them from rotting: a coat of Paint is laid on every part that lies 

upon or enters into a wall. At the termination of the arcades on each side 

the wall is twelve feet thick, in order to form a solid abutment to the last 

arch every other arch abutting against its neighbour requires no greater 

thickness than the cross Walls which will be six feet at the Superior part. 

At the termination of the interior Wall on each side there will be a 

connecting Wall & Gateway in the middle with loop Holes on each side 

to defend the space between that & the exterior Wall, which last goes off 

in two tangential lines uniting so far in the rear as to enclose an 

inexhaustible well of the finest water. This wall so joined will present the 

shape of a small Ravelin & will be carried to the height of the second 

floor, there will be a gallery for small arms along its whole length on each 

Face which will guard the [shore?] on both sides. The Gate will be in the 

North Face & all communication will be cut off by a drawbridge. Any 

further defence on the shore side of the Castle is deemed unnecessary 

since at least thirty of the Guns of Fort Columbus, bear directly upon it 

within the reach of small scattering shott.— On the North side of the 

Point a wharf has been built for the purpose of landing materials which 

will be found usefull upon all occasions.... 

...It has been observed by the delivery of Stones at Governors Island & in 

filling in the area of the Castle that the heaps took a Slope of 45 [degrees] 

& that the smaller Stones naturally fall into the interstices left by the 

larger ones, in such a manner that by constantly varying the Sizes & 

mixing a quantity of sound gravel Stones occasionally the interstices 

became very well filled & a solid Foundation was obtained.... 

(Jonathan Williams Papers) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

12

1809 

 1809, January 6. Excerpt of a report by the Secretary of War Henry Dearborn submitted 

on January 6, 1809, by President Thomas Jefferson to the U.S. Senate and House of 

Representatives, being a summary of the reports received from the respective engineers of “the 

works which have been erected or repaired, for the defence of our ports and harbors”: 

New York 

Fort Jay, on Governor’s Island, with the whole of its buildings, was 

demolished in 1806, except the walled counterscarp, the gate, sallyport, 

magazine, and two barracks; all the rest was removed as rubbish, to give 

place for a work composed of durable materials. On the site of the old 

fort, a new one (fort Columbus) has been erected, of the same shape, on 

three of its sides, as the former, with the addition of fourteen feet on each 

side. On the north side a ravelin has been added, with two retired 

casemated flanks. The new fort, with two new brick barracks, is now 

nearly completed, and has fifty cannon mounted. 

On a point or rocks, at the west extremity of Governor’s Island, a circular 

castle, of durable mason work [later named Castle Williams], to be 

connected with fort Columbus by a zig- zag covered defile, has been 

commenced and completed to the second floor, and is now ready to 

receive its first tier of guns.... 

(ASP, 10th Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 1, pp. 236- 237; 

LC.) 

 1809, April 1. Excerpt of letter from Brig. General J. Morton, New York Militia, to Col. 

Jonathan Williams, Commander of Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, April 1, 1809. 

The Secretary of War arrived in town night before last. I had the pleasure 

of accompanying him to visit the works at Governors Island & then at the 

foot of Hubert Street & in front of the old Battery [CACL]. He was much 

pleased with what had been done and I am confident he has been very 

favorably impressed with your system of Defence. I should have enticed 

him down to the Narrows but I thought he ought first to visit the works 

going on under the authority of the U.S..... 

(Pitkin, p. 15.) 

 1809. “Local builders Hilliard and Louder [sic: Souder] were responsible for the 

construction of Castle Williams. The two were also builders for Fort Jay being erected at the 

same time as the Castle.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 2. Original source is I.N. Phelps Stokes, 

The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498- 1909, Vol. 5. NY: Robt. H. Dodd, 1926, p. 1491.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

13

 1809, May. Excerpt of memoir from “Souder & Hilyard,” May 1809. 

For mason work & materials for finishing Castle 80,782.75 

Note lumber carpenters blacksmiths painters and glaziers work is not 

included in the above estimate.... 

(Jonathan Williams Papers.) 

 1809, October 16. Excerpt of letter from William Linnard, Military Agents Office, 

Philadelphia, to Col. Jonathan Williams. 

Sir I have shipped 69400 bricks in three vessels, by Sloops Morning Star, 

Three Sisters, & Diamond. I believe it will not be in my power to procure 

any more this fall (in consequence of the great demand here) or not 'till it 

is too late to send them. 

(Pitkin, p. 20) 

 1809, December 15. Excerpt of letter from Capt. Whiley, Procurement & Contracting 

Officer, to Col. Jonathan Williams, Commandant of the Corps of Engineers. Regarding Capt. 

Whiley’s meeting with the Secretary of War in which the Secretary “observed that all the 

members from the State of N. York had complained to him of the tardy manner of carrying on 

the work in the harbour and that he felt sorry that they should have cause for such remarks.” 

(Pitkin, p. 21.) 

 1809, December 19. Excerpt of a report by the Secretary of War William Eustis dated 

December 19, 1809, submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives on December 21, 1809, 

regarding “the state of the fortifications for the defence of the ports and harbors of the United 

States”: 

New York 

New York Harbor—Fort Columbus, on Governor’s Island; an enclosed 

pentagonal work, with four bastions of masonry, calculated for one 

hundred guns, fifty- five mounted, with brick barracks for two hundred 

and thirty men, including officers. A stone and brick magazine; a castle, 

or stone tower [later named Castle Williams], of three tiers, on a 

projecting point of the island, calculated for fifty- two heavy guns, under 

a bomb- proof cover, and forth- eight on the terrace; the lower tier 

finished, calculated for twenty- six guns, twelve mounted; guns may be 

placed in the second tier in case of necessity. The bomb- proof will serve 

as barracks for two or three hundred men. 

(ASP, 11th Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 1, pp. 245- 246; 

LC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

14

1810 

1810, January 18. Excerpt of letter from Col. Jonathan Williams, Commandant of 

Engineers, to the Commissioner on Fortifications. Describing the state of the works, mostly in 

the Narrows, and also noting the following: 

Since it was hinted that a Castle on Hendricks Reef would be essential to 

the defence of this passage, one has been erected on the west point of 

Governors Island; it is therefore no longer a problematical proposition, 

for where the Center of that Castle stands, loaded vessels have passed; 

and there are but from 3 to 8 feet of Water on the Reef.... 

(Jonathan Williams Papers) 

 1810, January 19. Excerpt of letter from Col. Jonathan Williams to Governor Tompkins, 

regarding the status of the fortifications. 

I have rec’d your Excellencys Favour of the 6th Instant and in compliance 

with your request shall describe the present State of the defence of the 

Harbour.... Two Tier of Platforms in the Castle at the West Point of 

Governors Island are finished each being capable of receiving 26 Guns: 

On the lower platform eleven French 36 Pounders are already mounted. 

This lower tier may be ready for action as soon as the Guns are all 

mounted, but it would not be advisable to mount the second their until 

the arches are dry unless compell’d by the necessity of the occasion. The 

whole Force of this Castle when completed may be stated at 100 Guns, 

including the terrace on the top.... 

(Pitkin, p. 23.) 

 1810, May 14. Excerpt of letter from Col. Jonathan Williams to Secretary of War enclosing 

estimates of Col. Jonathan Williams’ officers regarding completion of the works on Governors 

Island including: “No. 2. Lt. Babcock’s [estimate] for Castle on Govr. Isld. [$]29,556.50.” 

(Pitkin, pp. 28- 29.) 

 1810, June 13. Excerpt of letter from the Secretary of War to Col. Jonathan Williams. 

...From a confidence in the attention & industry of Col. [Henry] Burbeck 

and in his experience in the ordnance department, as well as his 

conversance with all the practical operations relating to works, I have 

ordered him to take the command in the harbour of N. York. In 

directing the labour of the mechanics & fatigue parties of the army, it is 

expected he will give facility and dispatch to your operations, & 

particularly to the mounting [of] the cannon & preparing the works for 

action. Relying with entire confidence on your disposition to co- operate 

in every measure calculated to compleat the works with all practicable 

expedition and at the same time to spare our fund as much as may be— 

(Pitkin, pp. 30- 31.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

15

1810, November 24. Order, issued by Col. Burbeck at Fort Columbus. 

In future the Stone Tower on this Island (by the approbation of the 

Secretary of War) will bear the name of CASTLE WILLIAMS, in honor 

of the commandant of the United States Corps of Engineers, who 

designed and erected it. And on Monday next, at 12 o’clock, a national 

salute of seventeen 42 pounders will be fired from the lower battery of 

CASTLE WILLIAMS, in commemoration of the 25 of November 1783, 

the day on which the British troops evacuated the City of New York. 

 

 H. Burbeck Colonel 

 Commandt. Harbor N. York 

(Pitkin, p. 36.) 

1810, November 27. Excerpt of letter from Col. Jonathan Williams, Corps of Engineers, to 

the Secretary of War. 

I take the earliest opportunity of expressing my gratitude for the high 

honour conferred upon me by adding my name to the Castle I erected on 

the west point of Governor’s Island in this harbor. 

(Letter transcribed by Smith in Governor’s Island, p. 57.)

1811 

 1811, March 11. Excerpt of letter from Capt. Bomford to Col. Jonathan Williams 

requesting instructions “if Messrs Souder & Hilliard are to finish the works on Governor & 

Ellis’s Islands? Your determination being known,—I shall not be at a loss to proceed, when they 

make their appearance....” (Pitkin, pp. 40- 41.) 

 1811, March 13. Excerpt of letter from Sec. of War W. Eustis to Col. Jonathan Williams, 

suggesting that Williams: 

...be with the Academy [West Point] this summer...to be excused from 

the superintendence of the finishing [of] what remains to be done in N. 

York and that Captn. Bomford who has become acquainted with your 

wishes, might be able, under directions from you and your casting an eye 

on him two or three times in the course of the season, to complete them 

in a manner satisfactory to yourself and to the public expectation.... 

(Pitkin, p. 42) 

 1811, March 30. Excerpt of letter from Secretary of War W. Eustis to Col. Jonathan 

Williams, in which Eustis has ordered Capt. Bomford to “take his quarters on Gov’s Island and 

proceed to uncover & progress with the works...[including] the battery at West Head [later 

named Castle Clinton]...and of Castle Williams....” (Pitkin, pp. 43.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

16

 1811, October 5. Excerpt of letter from Capt. Bomford at Fort Columbus to Col. Jonathan 

Williams. 

Dear Sir: It is with much pleasure I inform you that the Guns at the 

Battery N.Y. [Castle Clinton] are mounted, also the second tier of Castle 

Williams, and it is contemplated in the course of the ensuing week, to 

mount 6 or 7—24 pounders on the top of the Castle; when it will only 

remain for you to determine in what manner the guns should be fired at 

the Castle in order to prove the work.... The Battery at N. York [Castle 

Clinton] and Castle Williams will be finished by the 20 Inst. the work on 

Bedlows Island will not be completed before the last of the month. 

(Pitkin, p. 46) 

 1811, October 17. Excerpt of letter from Capt. Bomford to Col. Jonathan Williams. 

...I have already mentioned that Castle Williams will be finished in the 

course of a week—...but I have the consolation to reflect, that whoever 

may examine the Works (Bedlows & Ellis Islands excepted) in the course 

of a fortnight—will find them ready for action as the equipage of every 

gun with a proportion of Ammunition & Stores, are now ready to place in 

the Works. 

(Pitkin, p. 47) 

 1811, November 1. Excerpt of letter from Capt. Bomford to Col. Jonathan Williams, 

regarding the state of the works in New York Harbor. 

Castle Williams [is] completed (with the exception of a drain) in fact, 

everything necessary to be done on Governors Island (with the exception 

of a guard house & drain) may be accomplished by the Garrison. 

(Pitkin, pp. 47- 48) 

 1811, December 10. Excerpt of a report by the Secretary of War William Eustis dated 

December 10, 1811, submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives on December 17, 1811, 

regarding “the nature, extent, and condition, of the fortifications which have been constructed 

for the defence of the maritime frontier of the United States”: 

New York 

New York Harbor—Fort Columbus, situated on Governor’s Island; 

within half a mile of the city; a regular enclosed work of masonry.... 

On a projecting point of the island stands a stone tower, called Castle 

Williams, with fifty- two, forty- two, and thirty- two pounders, mounted 

on two tiers, under a bomb roof, and on the terrace above is intended to 

mount twenty- six fifty pound Columbiads. Two stone magazines, which 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

17

will contain two hundred and fifty barels [sic] of powder, and the arches 

of the second tier will answer for barracks for three hundred men; also, 

on the island, a stone magazine, which will hold two hundred barrels of 

powder, a brick arsenal; a wooden gunhouse, a wooden barrack for three 

hundred men and officers. 

Number and description of troops, Artillerists: 1,104. 

(ASP, 12th Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 1, pp. 307 and 

309; LC.) 

1811, December 25. Excerpt of letter from Capt. Bomford to Col. Jonathan Williams: 

I have at length nearly completed the plans & drawings of Castle 

Williams & West head Battery [Castle Clinton]—as you receive this, I 

shall in all probability have finished the remaining Section.—The 

drawings already done are as follows.... General plan of Castle Williams 

perspective, Elevation of East front of do. 

(Pitkin, pp. 49- 50. Note that these drawings have not been located in 

either the Jonathan Williams Papers or the National Archives.) 

1811. “The inscription on the Castle, not often seen because of the overgrowth of vines, is 

the name Castle Williams carved on a keystone over the main gate with graceful flourishes. To 

the left on a large block of stone are the words ‘Commenced 1807’ and to the right, in the 

spelling of the day, ‘Compleated 1811.’” (Smith, Governor’s Island, pp. 84- 85.)

1813 

 1813. Drawing: “Map of the Islands and Military Points in the Harbor of New York, their 

distances and Situations” with profiles through Governors, Bedloes and Ellis Islands, and the 

works thereon, by Joseph Mangin, 1813. (Drawer 36, Sheet 20; RG 77; CAB/NACP. 

Reproduced as Plates 1 and 2 in HABS, “Castle Williams,” pp. 15- 16.) See fig. 1. 

 1813. Drawing: “Map of the Islands and Military Points in the Harbor of New York, Their 

Distances and Situations and Profiles Through Governors, Bedloes and Ellis Island, and the 

Works Thereon” drawn by Joseph L. Mangin. This is the earliest known drawing documenting 

the appearance of the recently completed castle. (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 2. Original 

citation: Drawer 36, Sheet 20; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

18

Figure 1. Detail view of Castle Williams, being an east- west cross- section looking south, 1813. 

 1813. Drawing: “A Map of Governors Island,” showing plan of Castle Williams and Fort 

Columbus, by Joseph Mangin, 1813. (Drawer 37, Sheet 1; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) See fig. 2. 

 Circa 1813. Drawing: “Plan and Section of Castle Williams.” Two sheets. (Drawer 37, 

Sheet 2; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

Figure 2. Map of Governors Island, 1813, with detail view of Castle Williams (right).
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1807-1819 

19

1815 

 1815. Painting of Colonel Jonathan Williams, 1815, by Thomas Sully. The painting is now 

in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and hangs in Mount Pleasant, the former 

home of Jonathan Williams in Philadelphia. See fig. 3. 

1819 

1819. Drawing: “Map of Governors Island with Plan & Profile of the Works thereon,” by 

W. Tell Poussin, 1819. (Drawer 37, Sheet 4; RG 77; CAB/NACP.)

Figure 3. Colonel Jonathan Williams (1750- 1815). 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1820-1829 

20

1820- 1829

Summary 

Little documentation was found on Castle Williams for the 1820s. Irish artist William Guy Wall 

featured the castle in a watercolor painting of New York Harbor in 1823- 24 (fig. 4). Castle 

Williams was pictured as a substantial red- brown structure sited on a rocky point close to the 

water. Three tiers of small embrasures are the only openings shown in an otherwise solid 

curved wall. Just visible above the upper stone parapet are the domed roof of one of the 

staircases, and what appears to be the gable roof of an unidentified structure. 

A rough plan was prepared of Castle Williams in July 1824, showing a proposal to build a woodframed, gable- roofed structure on the barbette tier, or terreplein [roof], with side- hinged 

hatches for the guns. It appears that this work was never executed. However, some unknown 

repairs were made by September. 

Documentation 

1823- 1824 

 1823- 24. Print of a watercolor painting by William Guy Wall showing Castle Williams, 

published by Henry J. Megary in The Hudson River Port Folio, 1823- 24. Reproduced in Edmund 

B. Smith, Governor’s Island, Its Military History Under Three Flags, 1637- 1913 (New York: 

Published by the Author, 1913.) See fig. 4. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1820-1829 

21

Figure 4. Painting by W.G. Wall showing the southwest elevation of 

Castle Williams, 1823- 24. 

1824. Drawing: “A rough plan of Castle Williams in the Harbour of New York, 1824.” 

Noted on the drawing: “Engr. Dept. Rec’d from Lt. Mansfield with his letter dated New York 

July 2, 1824.” This was a proposal to enclose the roof, called the barbette tier or terreplein, with 

a wood- framed, gable- roofed, structure with side- hinged hatches for the guns. It appears to 

have never been executed. (Drawer 37, Sheet 5; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1824, September 30. Engineer report on work performed on fortifications within the year 

ending September 30, 1824: “Some repairs...were made to Castle William, in New York 

Harbor.” (ASP, 18th Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 2, p. 714; LC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

22

1830- 1839

Summary 

The first significant repairs were made to the fortifications on Governors Island, including 

Castle Williams, beginning in the 1830s. Congressional appropriations for repairs to Castle 

Williams, Fort Columbus, and the South Battery totaled more than $146,000 for the years 1830-

39. Few details are known of the work that was carried out at Castle Williams during this time. 

A drawing of proposed alterations for the castle was prepared in October 1830 in conjunction 

with a “Report of the Repairs Required at Fort Columbus”; the drawing survives, but the report 

has not been located. Another drawing dated October 1832 was for additional proposed 

alterations, including iron piazzas for the upper tiers, closing in of the arches in the third tier, 

and a new stairway. This work appears not to have been carried out, as suggested in an engineer 

report written in November 1833 that describes repair efforts as then being focused at Fort 

Columbus, with work at Castle Williams confined to building of a wharf and acquisition of 

building materials. 

This had changed by November 1835, when the Engineer Department noted that the exterior 

walls of Castle Williams had been stabilized with tension braces to prevent their outward 

movement, “platforms” were being laid in the “second tier of guns,” and repair of the “roofs” 

had commenced. It was also observed that work was progressing at a slow pace, due in part to a 

shortage of available “mechanics and laborers” in New York City. The new platforms had been 

completed by 1836, and the roof of the castle made tight with “flagging...relaid on a thick bed of 

cement mortar.” Unspecified repairs were also made to the galleries in 1836. Encroachment of 

the sea on the base of Castle Williams was reported in 1837, with a recommendation to build “a 

substantial sea wall.” The poor condition of the casemates “due to leaks” was noted in 1839, 

despite the new roof installed only three years earlier. A last significant accomplishment for this 

decade was the preparation of a complete set of plans and details of Castle Williams in 1839; 

three of these drawings are included as figures 6- 8 of this report. 

Documentation 

1830 

“Governors Island fell into disrepair after the war [of 1812], but in the early 1830s 

Congress began appropriating money for the upkeep of the island. At this time, both the 

fortifications and the island’s living quarters were repaired and upgraded.” (“Ordnance and 

Explosives Archives Search Report Findings, U.S. Coast Guard Support Center, Governors 

Island”; St. Louis, MO: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, July 1997; p. 4- 2). 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

23

 1830, October 28. Drawing: “Section of Castle Williams,” and “Sketch exhibiting the 

alterations alluded to in the Report of the repairs required at Fort Columbus, N.York,” 1830. 

Noted on the drawing: “The black line show the present section; the red lines show the 

alterations proposed.” The proposed work included lowering the grade of the parade 

(courtyard), building a deeper parapet, repairing “fissures” and “fractures” caused by settling of 

the walls, and constructing a large “quarters” building with gable roof in the courtyard. Note 

that the quarters building was not built. How much, if any, of the other work was carried out is 

not known. (Drawer 37, Sheet 6; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1830, November 19. Report of the Chief Engineer, Engineer Dept.: “Of the appropriation 

for contingencies of fortifications, the balance of last year’s appropriation and about $7,000 of 

that of the present year have been drawn from the treasury, to be applied chiefly to repairs at 

Fort Trumbull, Connecticut; Fort Columbus [emphasis added] and Bedloe’s Island, New York; 

Fort Delaware [& c.].” (ASP, 21st Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 4, p. 593; LC.) 

1831 

 1831, March 2. Congressional appropriation includes $25,000 “for repairing Fort 

Columbus and Castle Williams, New York.” (Statutes at Large, 21st Congress, 2nd Session, p. 450; 

LC.) 

1832 

 1832, September 30. Report of the Secretary of War: $42,182.84 applied to “repairing Fort 

Columbus and Castle William, New York,” as of September 30, 1832. (ASP, 22nd Congress, 2nd

Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 5, p. 51; LC.) 

 1832, October 17. “Plan exhibiting the Iron Piazzas proposed for the upper Tiers of Castle 

Williams of Governor’s Island, New York—Also a Front View of the Manner it is Intended to 

Close the Arches of the Third Tier,” and “A plan exhibiting a perpendicular section through 

Castle Williams wherein the Stairway is proposed to be Constructed,” Octr. 17th 1832. Signed by 

Maj. De Russy. Note that neither the iron piazza and nor the stair was constructed. (Drawer 

154, Sheet 43- 7; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) See fig. 5. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

24

1833 

 1833. “The Castle was repaired in 1833 and in 1836....” (“National Register Nomination: 

Castle Williams,” 1972.) 

1833. Congressional appropriation: “In 1833 the sum of $50,000 was appropriated for 

repairs to Castle Williams and Fort Columbus.” (Smith, Governors Island, p. 105.) 

 1833, September 1833. Report of the Secretary of War summarizing funding for repairs at 

Fort Columbus and Castle Williams. Appropriation for 1833 is $50,000; balance undrawn from 

the Treasury as of September 30, 1832, is $29,020.87; amount applied as of September 30, 1833 is 

$52,899.83. (ASP, 23rd Congress, 1st Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 5, p. 191; LC.) 

 1833, November 23. Report from the Engineer Department, Washington, DC: 

Fort Columbus and Castle William, Governor’s island, New York.—

Satisfactory progress has been made in the repairs of Fort Columbus, 

which will be completed, it is believed, this fall or early next spring. The 

operations for the repair of Castle William have been confined to the 

building of a wharf and the collection of materials, as it was deemed 

advisable to direct as much of the available means as might be found 

consistent with a due regard to economy to the attainment of one object 

at a time. 

(ASP, 23rd 1st Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 5, p. 184; LC.) 

Figure 5. Details showing proposed iron piazzas and stair, 1832. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

25

1834 

 1834, September 30. Report of the Secretary of War summarizing funding for repairs at 

Fort Columbus and Castle Williams. Appropriation for 1833 is $50,000; balance undrawn from 

the Treasury as of September 30, 1833 is $26,121.04; amount applied as of September 30, 1834 is 

$25,857.01. (ASP, 23rd Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 5, p. 393; LC.) 

 1834, November 1. Report from the Engineer Department: 

Fort Columbus and Castle William, Governor’s island, New York.—The 

report of the engineer charged with the repairs of these works is highly 

favorable. [Most work carried out at Fort Columbus.] Measures have 

been taken to finish the repairs of Castle William as speedily as 

practicable. 

(ASP, 23rd Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 5, p. 386; LC.) 

1835 

 1835, September 30. Report of the Secretary of War summarizing funding for repairs at 

Fort Columbus and Castle Williams. Appropriation for 1835 is $0.00; balance undrawn from the 

Treasury as of September 30, 1834, is $49,075.66; amount applied as of September 30, 1835 is 

$31,611.20. (ASP, 24th Congress, 1st Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 5, p. 661; LC.) 

 1835, November 15. Excerpt of a report from the Engineer Department: 

Fort Columbus and Castle William, Governor’s island, New York.—The 

repairs of these works have been prosecuted with as much rapidity as the 

force at the command of the officer in charge would permit.... The 

measures deemed necessary for repairing the latter work [Castle 

Williams] have been attended with difficulty and delay. The exterior wall 

of the battery has been confined by tension braces, to the interior, to 

prevent its inclination outwards from the weight of the casemates above. 

Arrangements have been made for laying the platforms of the second tier 

of guns, and the repairs of the roofs have been commenced. Nothing has 

yet been done to the south battery.... The constant employment afforded 

to mechanics and laborers of every description in the city of New York 

renders it very difficult to procure their services on the island, which has 

operated very unfavorably to these works the past season. 

(ASP, 24th Congress, 1st Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 5, p. 655; LC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

26

1836 

1836. “The Castle was repaired in 1833 and in 1836....” (“National Register Nomination: 

Castle Williams,” 1972.) 

 1836, July 2. Congressional appropriations for 1836 include $20,000.00 “for repairs of Fort 

Columbus and Castle Williams, and officers’ quarters, on Governor’s Island, New York.” 

(Statutes at Large, 24th Congress, 1st Session, p. 77; LC.) 

 1836, November 30. Excerpt of a report from the Engineer Department: 

Fort Columbus and Castle William, Governor’s island, New York.—It is 

anticipated that the repairs of these works will be completed the present 

working season.... The flagging of the barbette platform of Castle William 

has been relaid on a thick bed of cement mortar, which appears to be 

perfectly tight. The platforms of the second tier have been laid and the 

galleries repaired. All the work required to be done is expected to be 

completed in the course of the year. 

(ASP, 24th Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 6, p. 847; LC.) 

1837 

 1837, September 30. Fiscal statement of the Engineer Department for the year ending 

September 30, 1837, summarizing the funding for “repairs of Fort Columbus and Castle 

Williams”: Appropriation for 1837 is $0.00; balance undrawn from the treasury as of September 

30, 1836, is $21,021.43; amount applied as of September 30, 1837 is $19,461.03. (ASP, 25th

Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 7, p. 639; LC. 

1837, November 30. Excerpt of a report from the Chief Engineer, Engineer Department: 

Fort Columbus and Castle William, New York.—The repairs of these 

works are nearly completed.... The sea has lately made encroachments 

upon the base of Castle William, which should be protected at an early 

day by a substantial sea wall. The old sea wall around the island requires 

repairing; five thousand dollars would put it in a state of tolerable 

security.... 

(ASP, 25th Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, Vol. 7, p. 631; LC.) 

 1837, December 2. Report of the Secretary of War, 1837, with attached documents. “Forts 

under Construction: Fort Columbus, & c., Governor’s island, New York harbor. No. of guns, 

207; peace garrison, 100; war garrison, 535.” (ASP, 25th Congress, 2nd Session, Military Affairs, 

Vol. 7, p. 580; LC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

27

1839 

 1839, March 3. Congressional appropriation for 1839 “for repairs of Castle William and 

Fort Columbus, and officers’ quarters, at New York, two thousand dollars.” (Statutes at Large, 

25th Congress, 3rd Session, p. 361; LC.) 

1839, April 1. “[The] casemates [were] reported to be in poor condition due to leaks.” 

(“Proceedings of a Board of Officers convened on the first day of April, Eighteen hundred and 

thirty- nine at Governors Island.” Office of the Quartermaster General, consolidated 

correspondence file, 1794- 1915, Fort Columbus [Navy and Old Army Branch]; RG 77; NARA – 

Northeast Region [NY].) Cited in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 13.) 

 1839, September. Drawing: “Plan of a Casemate, 1st Tier of Guns, Castle Williams.” Noted 

on the drawing: “Rec’d Sept. 4 1839 from Capt. Barnard U.S. Engrs. with his letter dated 

Governors Is. September 2, 1839.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 11; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1839, September. Drawing: “Interior Elevation of Embrasure, Castle Williams, N.Y.H.” 

Noted on the drawing: “Rec’d Sept. 4, 1839, from Capt. Barnard U.S. Engr. With his letter dated 

Governors Island Sept. 2, 1839.” This is a cross- sectional view of two floors of casemates. 

(Drawer 37, Sheet 12; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1839, September 1. Drawing: “Plan of a Casemate, 2nd Tier of Guns, Castle Williams, N.Y. 

Harbor,” Sept. 1, 1839. Noted on the drawing: “Rec’d from Capt. Barnard, U.S. Engs with his 

letter dated Governors Island Sept. 2, 1839,” and “Corrections made in red ink June 1841.” 

(Drawer 37, Sheet 13; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1839, September 1. Drawing: “Profile of Casemate 1st and 2nd Tier of Guns on the line a, b, 

c, d, e, Castle Williams, 1st Sept. 1839.” Noted on the drawing: “Rec’d Sept. 4, 1839 from Capt. 

Barnard U.S. Engineer with his letter dated Governors Island Sept. 2, 1839.” (Drawer 77, Sheet 

14; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

28

 1839. Drawing: “Sheet No. 2, Plan and Details of Castle Williams, Governor’s Island, New 

York Harbor” by Henry Waller, 1839. Noted on the drawing: “Received with Capt. Barnard’s 

letter of Jan. 10th 1840.” Floor planks are noted to be 3 inches thick in the first- tier casemates, 

and 1 1⁄2 inches thick in the second- tier casemates. Engraving on the exterior side of the sally 

port reads “Commenced 1811” on the left side, “Completed 1814” on the right side. (Drawer 

37, Sheet 16; RG 77; CAB/NACP. Reproduced in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 17.) See fig. 6. 

Detail of sally port, exterior 

elevation. 

Figure 6. Plan and details of the first tier of Castle Williams, 1839. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

29

 1839, December. Drawing: “Sheet No. 3. Horizontal Section Through 2nd Tier of Gun 

Embrasures and 3rd Story of Castle Williams, Governor’s Island, New- York Harbor,” by Henry 

Waller, C.E., December 1839. Noted on the drawing “Received with Capt. Barnard’s letter of 

Jany 10th, 1840.” Floor planks are noted to be 2 inches thick in the third- tier casemates. A 

projecting chimney is illustrated at the exterior wall, between the embrasures, of a third- tier 

casemate. A “crane for hoisting guns” is shown on the barbette tier [roof] above the first 

casemate, and a “flag staff” between casemates 6 and 7. (Drawer 37, Sheet 17; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP. Reproduced in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 18.) See fig. 7. 

“Crane for Hoisting Guns”

on the barbette tier. 

Detail of end 

casemate, 

second tier. 

Detail of casemate 

in the third tier, 

showing chimney 

at end wall. 

Figure 7. Plan of the second tier, and two casemates in third 

tier, with features noted on the barbette tier of Castle 

Williams, 1839. 

“Flag Staff,”

barbette tier.
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1830-1839

30

 1839. Drawing: “Sheet No. 4, Details, Castle Williams, Governors Island, New- York 

Harbor,” and “View of Interior of Embrasures and Section of Pier and Arch,” by Henry Waller, 

C.E. Noted on the drawing: “Received with Capt. Barnard’s letter of Jany 10th 1840.” A chimney 

is clearly illustrated between the embrasures of a third- tier casemate, ventilated in the (roof) tier 

above. The casemate openings in the third tier were enclosed on the courtyard side with vertical 

1- inch boards and a board- and- batten door hung on strap hinges. The iron railing on the 

courtyard side of the barbette tier [roof] was made of iron bars, the balusters “1 inch square” 

and the curved supports “1 1⁄2 in. square.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 18; RG 77; CAB/NACP. 

Reproduced in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 19.) See fig. 8. 

Detail of infill at casemate 

opening and gallery railing, 

third tier. 

Figure 8. Section elevations and details of Castle Williams, 1839. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

31

1840- 1849

Summary 

A considerable effort was undertaken during the years 1841- 44 to put Castle Williams in a 

“good state of repair and efficiency.” The work was overseen by Captain George Dutton with 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who described the undertaking in reports and 

correspondence to Chief Engineer Colonel Totten in Washington, DC. Existing conditions and 

proposed alterations to Castle Williams are also documented in drawings prepared between 

1841 and 1843. Other projects undertaken during these years included repairs to Fort 

Columbus and the building of a permanent (granite) wharf for Governors Island. The work at 

Castle Williams was nearing completion by October 1844, calculated by Captain Dutton to have 

cost approximately $21,000. This included repair of the existing sea wall at Castle Williams and 

infilling of the area between the castle and wall with dirt. Defective stones in the castle walls 

were replaced with new stones, and 60,000 lineal feet of joints were repointed with “good 

cement mortar.” Repairs and modifications were made to the openings [embrasures] in the 

curved wall, with selected openings raised in the second tier, and cracked lintels replaced in the 

third tier. A new parapet wall with coping was constructed on the barbette tier [roof] and the 

joints sealed with an asphaltic composition. The barbette tier [roof] behind the parapet was 

covered with an asphalt pavement topped with clean gravel, and new gutters and conductors 

were installed to drain rainwater. The domed roofs of the two staircases were replaced with 

new wooden roofs of a “plain strong style,” octagonal in shape with side lights, shingle roofing, 

and a painted finish. A granite sill was installed at the entrance to the castle, and repairs were 

made to the wooden components of the sally port [entrance]. The pine- plank floorboards in 

the casemates of both the second and third tiers were in poor condition due to water damage 

from laundry operations in the upper casemates. The floorboards were repaired and their joints 

caulked with oakum and pitch. Brick platforms for fireplaces were also installed in the thirdtier casemates. Carpentry repairs were made to the existing wooden galleries in the second and 

third stories facing the courtyard and a painted finish applied. The exposed ironwork of the 

castle was finished with lacquer. What work, if any, was undertaken at Castle Williams for the 

years 1845- 49 is not known; additional research may yet uncover documentation for these 

years. 

Documentation 

1840 

1840, July 21. Congressional appropriation enacted July 21, 1840: $5,735.00 “for repairs of 

Castle William.” (Statutes at Large, 26th Congress, 1st Session, p. 408; LC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

32

1841 

1841, March 3. Congressional appropriation for the year 1841 includes $10,000 “for 

repairs of sea- wall of Castle William, and other parts of Governor’s island”; and $10,000 “for 

permanent wharves for Fort Columbus, Castle William, and South battery.” (Statutes at Large, 

26th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 415; LC.) 

 1841, April 2. Drawing: “Plan of Upper Tier of Castle Williams, New York Harbor, 

showing the position of the barbette guns, and the proposed increase of the thickness of the 

parapet,” by the “Engineer Department, Washington, April 2, 1841.” The widened parapet 

incorporated the flues of the third- tier chimneys that had formerly vented through the floor of 

the barbette tier (i.e., the roof). Also included is a proposed design for an octagonal cupola 

capping the stair towers that was constructed in 1843- 44. (Drawer 37, Sheet 24; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP.) See fig. 9. 

A report by the Historic American Buildings Survey observed that “although a proposal was 

made in 1841 to heighten and thicken the parapet wall, this does not appear to have been done 

until after 1859 when a second proposal was made.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 2. Note that 

the parapet was in fact reconstructed in the 1840s, as verified by archival documentation found 

by this study at the National Archives in New York City.) 

 

 1841, April 2. Drawing: “Section of Castle Williams, New York Harbour, Engineer 

Department, Washington, April 2, 1841.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 25; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1841, May 27. Schematic plans: “Dimensions of Embrasures, Tongue Holes, Traverse 

Plates, Etc., of the 1st Tier of Castle Williams, Commencing at South Eastern Corner—May 27, 

1841,” and “Dimensions of Embrasures, Tongue Holes, Traverse Plates, Etc., of the 2nd Tier of 

Castle Williams, Commencing at South Eastern Corner—May 27, 1841.” Two sheets. (Drawer 

37, Sheet 24 1⁄2; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

Figure 9. Design of proposed 

octagonal cupola for the stair 

towers at Castle Williams, 1841. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

33

 1841, June 29. Drawing: “Drawing of the Block of stone at the intersection of the Traverse 

Circles, Upper Tier of Castle Williams, June 1841.” Noted on the drawing: “Engineer 

Department, July 2d 1841, received with Capt. Sander’s letter of June 29th, 1841.” (Drawer 37, 

Sheet 26; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1841, September 9. A second congressional appropriation for the year 1841 includes 

$7,000 “for repairs of sea- wall, Castle William and other parts of Governor’s island”; and 

$12,000 “for permanent walls [sic: wharves] for Fort Columbus, Castle William and South 

battery, Governor’s Island, New York harbor.” (Statutes at Large, 27th Congress, 1st Session, p. 

458; LC.) 

1842 

1842, July 17. Drawing: “Dimensions of the Embrasures of Castle Williams, with the 

Position of the Guns When in Battery, & Aligned on the Axis of Embrasure,” July 17, 1842. 

(Drawer 37, Sheet 30; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1842, August 31. Congressional appropriation for the year 1842 includes $5,000 “for 

completing Castle Williams, New York harbor”; $2,000 “for completing Fort Columbus, New 

York harbor”; and $8,000 “for permanent wharves for Fort Columbus, Castle Williams, and 

South Battery, Governor’s Island, New York harbor, and to complete the work according to the 

original estimates.” (Statutes at Large, 27th Congress, 2nd Session, p. 582; LC.) 

1843 

1843, July 21. Drawing: “Dimensions of the Embrasures of Castle Williams with the 

position of the guns when in battery, aligned on the axis of embrasures, 1st or lower tier.” Noted 

on the drawing: “Eng. Dept. July 21, 1843, rec’d with Capt. [illegible] letter of 19 July 43.” 

(Drawer 37, Sheet 30; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1843, July 26. Drawing: “Castle Williams, Plan, Sections & Elevations of embrasures of the 

lower tier, showing the mode proposed of securing the pintle and of relaying the sole.” Noted 

on the drawing: “Engineer Department, July 26, 1843,” and “sent to Capt. Dutton at New York 

with letter of this date.” Drawer 37, Sheet 31; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1843, October 21. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. 

Totten, Chief Engineer, Washington, DC : 

 

Sir, In obedience to the instructions contained in your circular of the 12th

inst.... accompanying General orders no. 58 from the adjutant Generals 

Office, I have the honor to report that upon the works of which I now 

have charge, being the repairs of Castle Williams, Fort Columbus, South 

Battery on Governors Island; Fort Gibson, and the construction of a 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

34

permanent wharf of granite at Gov Island; one clerk is employed at a 

compensation of fifty dollars per month. 

(“Letter Book, Fortifications N.Y. Harbor, 1843 [- 45], Gov. Island.” 

Entry 740; RG 77; NARA – Northeast Region [NY].) 

 1843, October 26. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. 

Totten, Chief Engineer, Washington, DC: 

Sir, I forward herewith an estimate of funds required for the repairs of 

Castle Williams during the month of October 1843—amount $1850, 

which as the appropriation for the work has been exhausted, will I 

presume have to be supplied from the appropriation for “Incidental 

Expenses & c.... 

(“Letter Book.” 

 1843, November 24. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. 

Totten, Chief Engineer, Washington, DC: 

Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st

requiring me to make a careful estimate of the entire expense of 

completing the parapet, altering the embrasures, covering the terreplein 

with asphalt, caulking and smoothing the 2nd floor, pointing all the 

masonry that needs it, relaying the ashlar between the heads of the 

arches, facing the interior, reconstructing or repairing as the case may be 

the two interior galleries, repairing and covering the stairways and other 

indispensable work all of Castle Williams to the end that it may be known 

how much must still be drawn from the Treasury. 

This estimate I shall endeavor to have ready in a few days. The parapet 

wall and its coping have been finished. The repair and alteration of all 

the embrasures was also completed yesterday except the raising of the 

lintels on the inside as you proposed which work if to be done at all will 

have to lay over 'till spring as it is now entirely too late for further work in 

mortar or concrete and the parapet and embrasures now present a 

finished appearance. 

About half the embrasures of the 2d tier from the SE end have now the 

old lintels only 1 inch lower on the inside than your limit whilst those on 

the north side are from 3 to 4 inches lower i.e. the former are 5'5" and the 

latter 5' 2" to 5'3" above the level of the track your plan requiring this 

height to be 5'6". There are many other irregularities in the original 

construction of the work which will be detailed when I return you the 

original drawing and measurements of the embrasures sent me last 

summer which I shall endeavor to do forthwith, having thought proper 

to retain them until the work was done so that they might accompany any 

remarks to be made concerning the embrasures. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

35

The [work?] force has now been reduced on the castle and the work is to 

be confined to pointing the joints of the coping with asphalt and the 

caulking of the floors of the 2nd tier presuming it to be your wish that this 

part of the work should be executed without delay. About $400 in 

addition to the amount on hand on the 1st Nov. inst. on a/c of “Incidental 

Expenses” will be acquired to pay for services rendered and materials 

furnished during November on a/c of Castle Williams which I have to 

request may be furnished me, and with the exception of the work just 

mentioned above I shall proceed no further with the Castle at present 

without additional instructions from you. 

There are required for the 2d tier 26 new Pintle Bolts and 4 for the lower 

tier to replace that number found broke these supposed from firing 

making in all 30 Pintle Bolts for Castle Williams which it would probably 

be well to require the ordnance department to furnish forthwith. 

(“Letter Book.”) 

 1843, November & December. Monthly statement of funds for November and December 

1843 includes permanent wharves for Governors Island; Castle Williams; Fort Columbus; and 

South Battery. (“Letter Book.”) 

 1843, December 9. Letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. Totten, Chief 

Engineer, Washington, DC: 

Sir, In rendering an estimate for the completion of the repairs of Castle 

Williams as required in your instructions of the 21st Nov. I have to remark 

that in my annual report forwarded to the Department on the 21st Octr. 

last (the receipt of which has not yet been acknowledged) I included an 

estimate of $5000 for putting Castle Williams in a good state of repair, 

that amount if provided by appropriation or otherwise to be made 

applicable next year. 

This estimate however did not include the work which was then in 

progress, viz the parapet wall and embrasures, nor the caulking of the 

floor of the 2nd tier or the pointing of the joints of the coping with asphalt 

as it was expected to complete that work the present year. The parapet 

wall and its coping has since been finished and also the embrasure with 

the exception of raising the lintels as reported in my letter of the 24th Nov. 

I also made an attempt to proceed at this time with pointing of the coping 

with asphalt but find that from the lateness of the season it will be 

necessary to defer that work till next year and have it done at the same 

time that the asphalt is put upon the terreplein. The caulking of the floor 

of the 2nd tier may however be done as well now as at any other time. But 

as I have recently closed up and stopped all operations upon the Castle 

for the present I concluded to proceed no further until this estimate was 

sent in to the Department when if you approve of it I will have the 

caulking & c. of these done immediately. The cost of the same you will 

find accurately stated in item No. 1 of the estimate when this is done and 

the new pintles required are finished all the batteries will be in a complete 

state for use. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

36

Among the several leads [heads?] of repair mentioned in your letter of 

the 21st Octbr I observe that you included “relaying the ashlar between 

the heads of the arches, facing the interior.” This part of the work I have 

attentively examined and consider that to have it well pointed with 

cement is all that it will require and that the attempt to relay it would 

require the demolition of a large part of the masonry above it, of the 

curbstones iron railing and a portion of the flagging of the terreplein all 

around whilst the work itself would necessarily be very expensive. The 

pieces or slabs forming the lintels of the embrasures and openings of the 

several stories are many of them racked across near the centre although 

they retain their places perfectly well having a straight arch over them. 

There are 33 of these pieces thus broken whilst one of the embrasures of 

the 2nd tier has had three of the lining slabs on top and one side slivered 

by a round shot fired at the castle. The replacing of all these pieces by 

new ones is embraced in the estimate. 

I have also included the raising of the lintels of the embrasures in case 

you might consider it necessary to have that work done. With respect to 

the galleries on the inside of the work I find that some if not the greater 

part of the floor timbers are still sound. If they were rebuilt of iron which 

would be preferable in many respects, the cost would be as I have 

ascertained upon inquiry at the establishments in New York $5 per lineal 

foot which would make for 645 feet the length of the galleries $3225. If 

they are completely repaired in wood the cost will be as stated in the 

estimate. On steeling up the accounts for work done and materials 

furnished to this date on a/c of the repairs of Castle Williams I find that 

the funds furnished for this object fall short $468.00 which sum is added 

to the estimate in order to show the whole amount required to be drawn 

from the Treasury to cover the cost of the actually and contemplated 

repair of this work. 

Attachment: 

Estimates of funds required for the repairs of Castle Williams December 

9, 1843. 

No. 1 Caulking & smoothing floor of 2nd tier. There are 11500 running 

feet of seams in 13 casemates. The prices of the work will be as follows: 

 11500 lineal feet caulked 

 2300 lb oakum 

 7 Bbls pitch 

 20 days carpentry on floors 

 20 days labor assisting 

 $290.00 

No. 2 Pointing joints of coping with asphalt. These are 266 of these 

joints to be pointed. The materials for this work are already purchased 

and it will require 2 men 60 days to do the work. 

 $84.00 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

37

No. 3 Covering the terreplein with asphalt. There are 12,800 square feet 

on the terreplein to be covered including the small strip of asphalt laid 

down some years since which will require to be renewed. 12,800 covered 

workmanship and materials, [&] additional implements. 

 $1330.00 

No. 4 Pointing joints of masonry throughout. These are 57,800 lineal 

feet of joints to be pointed which will require as follows 

 290 days masonry 

 290 days labor 

 25 barrels cement 

 scaffolding & carpentry 

 $650.00 

No. 5 Roofs over stair cases. These are to be octagonal made of wood in 

a plain strong style, with side lights, shingle roof and painted will cost 

each $125 & the two 

 $250.00. 

No. 6 Repairs of wooden galleries on the inside of the work 9,900 [sq?] 

feet plank & [scanthing?] 312 days carpentry, 400 lbs spikes and nails, 

painting, $870.00 

No. 7 Repairs of broken lintels of embrasures & windows, 200 cubic feet 

cut free stone, workmanship fitting & relaying, 

 $140. 

No. 8 Brick platforms for fire places on 3d story, 2000 bricks on hand to 

be laid, 8 days stone cutting, 12 days carpentry, 

 $30.00 

No. 9 Raising the inside of lintels of embrasures as per plan 78 days 

masonry, 156 days labor, 20 bbls cement, 9 cubic yards gravel, repairs of 

tools. $246.00 

 Total is $4,500 

(“Letter Book.”) 

 1843, December 18. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. 

Totten, Chief Engineer, Washington, DC: 

Sir, I have the honor to return accompanying this letter in a separate roll 

the drawings of the repairs & alterations of the embrasures of Castle 

Williams and the sheets of dimensions sent me with your letter of 

instructions dated July 26, 1843. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

38

As hitherto reported all the work specified in the above plans has been 

done except the raising of the lintels which was required to be done 

upon the embrasures of the 2nd tier & proposed on those of the 1st tier, as 

the lateness of the season put a stop to further operations in masonry. 

Six of the embrasures of the 1st tier have their lintels already at an 

elevation above the track equal to or greater than proposed on the plan 

whilst the remainder are from 4 to 5 inches short of this elevation—and 

on the 2d tier the lintels are in their present state from 1 1⁄2 to 5 inches 

lower than required by the plan as you will perceive by the dimensions 

given in the opposite page. Six of these last might be given the required 

height by chiseling alone. I send also annexed a sketch of the pintle bolts 

of the 1st tier and the tongues of both and you will perceive that the eyes 

of the tongues on 2d tier require to be enlarged from 2 1/8" to 4" 

diameter and that 26 of the 4" bolts are required for 2nd tier and 4 for the 

1st before the batteries can be entire. These bolts being of cast iron are 

liable to break at the neck as has already happened but with the present 

improved construction of the embrasure this may not take place 

hereafter. 

(“Letter Book.”) 

 1843, December 19. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col 

Totten, Chief Engineer, Washington, DC, acknowledging receipt of $5450: 

...being intended for the repairs of Castle Williams and...for Permanent 

Wharf of Governors Island.... I have therefore commenced the work 

required upon the floors of 2d tier of guns which is all that can be done 

upon the Castle at this season of the year. 

(“Letter Book.”) 

1844 

1844, January 2. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. Totten, Chief 

Engineer, Washington, DC, acknowledging receipt of funds: 

...[and] also your letter of 23d [December] in relation to the repairs of 

ashlar over the arches on the inner side of Castle Williams. When I 

received your letter of the 21st Nov. last requiring estimates of the cost of 

repairs of Castle Williams to include the above I inferred from the words 

of your instructions that you designed the whole to be relaid from the top 

of pier to terreplein and I therefore inspected closely this ashlar and 

discovered it to be slightly bulged in one place near the south stair case, 

which can be easily replaced without much more than the cost of 

repointing the same and without interfering with any of the work above 

and its cost was included in the estimate of pointing the work. It was the 

supposition that you wished the whole laid over anew which led to the 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

39

remarks on the subject in my letter of the 9th Decr last transmitting the 

estimate. 

(“Letter Book.”) 

 1844, April 20. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. Totten, 

Chief Engineer, Washington, DC: 

The repairs of Castle Williams were resumed on the 10th inst. and as an 

indispensable step all its occupants have been directed to leave it, with 

the concurrence of the Commanding Officer. 

The covering of the terreplein with asphalte cannot commence until 

some time in June as the [goniron?] ordered for this purpose last year 

cannot be obtained until then. 

The preparation of the asphalte stone is meanwhile progressing. 

(“Letter Book.”) 

 1844, June 17. Letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. Totten, Chief 

Engineer, Washington, DC, acknowledging the receipt of $8,000 for the repair of Castle 

Williams. Dutton says a detailed accounting of how the money will be expended will follow. 

(“Letter Book, Fortifications N.Y. Harbor, 1843 [- 45], Gov. Island.” Entry 740; RG 77; NARA – 

Northeast Region [NY].) 

 1844, June 24. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. Jas 

Bankhead, Commander Governors Island. Dutton mentions the $8,000 appropriation from 

Congress, which is to be used 

...to put this work [Castle Williams] in a good state of repair & 

efficiency.... I have respectfully to request that the present occupants of 

Castle Williams be directed to vacate that place without delay, both 

because the casemates which they occupy must undergo repair and thus 

be rendered untenable and they being chiefly laundresses located upon 

the 3d tier cause from the nature of their occupation great & serious 

injury to the work. 

(“Letter Book.”) 

1844, July 1. Congressional appropriation for fiscal year July 1, 1844 – June 30, 1845, 

includes $8,000 “for repairs of Castle Williams, New York harbor.” (Statutes at Large, 28th

Congress, 1st Session, p. 659; LC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

40

 1844, July 3. Letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Warren Gates of 

Waterford, Connecticut. Dutton is requesting “an additional quantity of stone.” Gates had 

previously provided stone in June, per Dutton. Dutton does not specify for which project. Two 

sizes are requested: 114 pieces of 7'3" by 7" by 8" and 56 pieces of 4'10" by 1'6" by 8". ("Letter 

Book.”) 

 1844, July 26. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. Bankhead, 

Commander Governors Island: 

As it will shortly be necessary to commence upon the Carpentry of the 3d 

tier of Castle Williams, I have to ask your aid or that of the officer who 

may be in command in ejecting from the Castle its present occupants.... 

(“Letter Book.”) 

 1844, August 17. Letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Capt. Hart, 

Commander Governors Island, again requesting that Castle Williams be vacated to facilitate 

complete repairs of “the floors and balconies of the 2d and 3d tiers of that work.” (“Letter 

Book.”) 

 1844, August 20. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. Totten, 

Chief Engineer, Washington, DC Dutton discusses determining the proper proportions of 

“mineral tar and asphalte and stone” for use on the terreplein [roof] at Castle Williams that will 

perform well in both heat and cold. The material needs to remain hard in hot weather, yet not 

crack in cold. After experimentation he has decided that 22 lb. of tar to a bath of 200 lb. is the 

right mix. He further notes: 

The operation on the terreplein of Castle Williams has now been some 

time in progress and I have obtained a very handsome pavement in 

appearance. The gravelling was found the most difficult process of all 

but by dint of perseverance it is now well done. The preparation and 

application of the mastic in this work is most carefully and as I consider 

most perfectly done: the covering is put on to the minimum thickness of 

half an inch equal that of the guile rules but owing to the inequalities of 

the pavement which is nowhere a plane surface the average thickness will 

be greater, nearly 3⁄4 in. whilst the joints of the pavement which have also 

to be filled and which are large increase the quantity of material about 15 

percent—from all which causes it will take about 7 1/2 lb per square foot 

of the compound to cover the terreplein. I should also add that it is 

passed under the parapet wall to the depth of one inch. 

(“Letter Book.”) 

 1844, August. Letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Warren Gates of 

Waterford, CT, requesting “2 pieces of Granite for gate sills free from flaws or other defects...9 

ft. 6 in long by 20 in. wide and 9 inches least thickness.” (“Letter Book, Fortifications N.Y. 

Harbor, 1843 [- 45], Gov. Island.” Entry 740; RG 77; NARA – Northeast Region [NY].) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1840-1849

41

 1844, October 18. Excerpt of letter from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to Col. 

Totten, Chief Engineer, Washington, DC, reporting on “the progress of the repairs and 

improvements on the Public Works of the inner harbor, NY, which are under my charge, 

including Permanent wharf, repairs to Fort Columbus, South Battery, & Castle Williams on 

Governors Island, and Fort Gibson on Ellis Island”: 

Castle Williams: The modification of all the casemate embrasures of this 

work according to your plan and instructions of 26 July 1843 have been 

completed. The floor of the 2nd tier has been smoothed and the seams 

well caulked and pitched throughout rendering it now perfectly tight. 

The guns are all in place and the casemate batteries ready for use as soon 

as 30 new iron pintles are provided by the Ordnance Department. The 

new parapet wall has been completed and the joints of the coping 

pointed with an asphaltic composition. The terreplein of the Castle 

containing 11,000 sq feet has been covered with an asphaltic pavement 

half an inch in minimum thickness, itself covered with fine clean gravel 

well incorporated with the surface. This covering is inserted one inch 

under the parapet wall and adequate openings or culverts have been cut 

thro the transverse circles for the free transmission of water from the 

inside of them. This barbette battery is now in a complete state and 

presents a neat and finished appearance. The finishing of the joints of 

the work throughout with good cement mortar amounting to about 

60,000 lineal feet has been completed including the relaying of some 

portion of the facing over the arches. All the cracked lintel pieces of the 

embrasures and of the window openings of the 3rd tier have been 

renewed as well as all other defective stones in the work. A substantial 

granite sill has been placed under the gateway the woodwork of which is 

now in course of repair. The filling in of earth between the sea wall and 

the Castle has been finished and graded. The complete repair of the 

wooden balconies and bulkhead of the 2nd & 3rd stories is now in progress 

as also the putting up of new gutters and conductors for conveying off 

the water from the terreplein and the lacquering of exposed iron work all 

of which is expected to be completed this fall. The whole amt. expended 

upon repairs of this work since their commencement in 1841 to the 

present time is $20,728.60 and there remains on hand of this 

appropriation last made by Congress the sum of $4,979.71. 

(“Letter Book.”) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1850-1859

42

1850- 1859

Summary 

Scant documentation was found for Castle Williams for the years 1850- 59. A bird’s- eye- view 

drawn in 1851 shows the castle close to the water’s edge, with 12 guns mounted on the barbette 

tier [roof]. Post Fort Columbus became a recruiting depot in 1852; what effect, if any, this had 

on Castle Williams is unknown. Repairs and alterations of an unspecified nature were carried 

out in 1856 at both Castle Williams and Fort Columbus to outfit them for new armament. Plans 

were prepared in 1859 for a rainwater cistern in the courtyard at Castle Williams, and thickening 

and raising of the recently reconstructed parapet. 

Documentation 

1851 

 1851. Bird’s- eye view of New York City and Brooklyn, showing Battery Park and 

Governors Island in the foreground. Lithograph by J. Bachmann; published by A. Guerber & 

Co.; LC.) See detail, fig. 10. 

Figure 10. Detail of the bird’s- eye view showing Governors Island, 

1851. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1850-1859

43

1852 

 1852, November 15. “Fort Columbus continued to be an Artillery Post until November 15, 

1852, when Governors Island became a General Recruiting Depot vice [replacing] Fort Wood, 

pursuant to Genl. Orders No. 38, Series of 1852, A.G. Office.” (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 106.) 

1856 

 1856, September 22. End of fiscal year report from Geo. Dutton, Capt. U.S. Engineers, to 

Brig. Gen. Totten, Washington, DC 

Fort Columbus & Castle Williams, Governors Island. For repairs & 

changes in the traverse circles, to fit them for the new armament, $4,000. 

(Press Copies of Letters Sent 1855- 59. Entry 741; RG 77; NARA – 

Northeast Region [NY].) 

1859 

 1859, April. Drawing: “Sketch of proposed plan of the thickening and raising the parapet 

of Castle Williams.” Noted on the drawing: “Sent to Chief Engineer with letter of April 25th '59.” 

(Drawer 37, Sheet 48; RG 77; CAB/NACP. Cited in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 11, that notes 

“these changes were completed at least by the end of the century.”) 

 1859, November. Drawing: “Plan & Section of Cistern at Castle Williams, Drawn under 

the Direction of Maj. J.G. Barnard, U.S.E., 1859.” Noted on the drawing: “Sent to Engineer 

Dept. with letter of Nov. 3, 1859.” Shows an underground cistern in the courtyard with hand 

pump. (Drawer 37, Sheet 47; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) See fig. 11. 

Figure 11. Plan and section of proposed cistern at Castle Williams, 1859. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

44

1860- 1869

Summary 

Castle Williams served during the 1860s as a defensive fortification, a barracks for the garrison 

quartered on Governors Island, and a prison for Confederate prisoners and deserters from the 

Union Army. The earliest known photographs of Castle Williams were taken by the studio of 

Matthew Brady sometime during the Civil War (1861- 65). One is an exterior view of the castle 

(fig. 12), the other a close- up featuring a gun mounted behind the parapet of the barbette tier 

[roof] (fig. 13). Castle Williams and Fort Columbus were both deemed to be “in good condition 

for defense” in January 1861, just three months before the first volleys of the Civil War were 

fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Castle Williams was described in July of that year as an 

“older” fort armed with 78 “old guns” that required upgrading to modern standards. Only one 

month later, in August 1861, the forts on Governors Island were pressed into service as prisons 

for Confederate prisoners of war. 

Enlisted Confederate prisoners were held at Castle Williams, the officers in the barracks at Fort 

Columbus. Later histories have stated that as many as 1,000 to 1,500 men were imprisoned at 

Castle Williams at one time. While this may have been the case for a few weeks in June 1862, the 

usual occupancy was much less, according to the documentary records. Surgeon William Sloan 

reported that 630 ailing Confederate prisoners were being held in substandard conditions at 

Castle Williams in September 1861. All but the sickest were transferred to Fort Warren in 

Boston Harbor the following month. It was not until April of the following year that prisoners 

were again housed at the castle. Post commander Colonel Loomis wrote in May 1862 of 499 

noncommissioned officers, prisoners of war, who were on Governors Island—most presumably 

held at Castle Williams. Another 539 prisoners arrived in early June, thus crowding the island 

with more than 1,000 prisoners. This condition did not last long, however, since only 486 

prisoners were reported as being present by the end of June in the first official “Monthly 

Abstract from Monthly Returns of the Principal U.S. Military Prisons” dated July 1862. Most 

had been transferred by the end of July, leaving no prisoners at Post Fort Columbus for the 

remainder of 1862, except in September when five were noted. 

The year 1863 was comparatively quiet, with only 15 prisoners held in June and July, 14 in 

August, and 13 in September. Colonel Hoffman, Commissary- General of Prisoners, visited 

Governors Island in December 1863. He described Castle Williams as then being used primarily 

for deserters from the Union Army and only occasionally for prisoners of war, with a maximum 

capacity of 500. More activity occurred in 1864, with eight prisoners recorded on the island in 

January, 78 in February, 301 in September, 303 in October, 316 in November, and 34 in 

December. As in previous months, no breakdown was provided as to the number held at Castle 

Williams versus those at the barracks at Fort Columbus. Prison activity slowed in the final 

months of the war, the number of prisoners at Governors Island dwindling to 135 in January 

1865, 126 in February, 9 in March, and finally none in April. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

45

A few physical descriptions exist of Castle Williams for the years 1861- 65. Colonel Loomis 

wrote in September 1861 that the second and third tiers were then occupied by prisoners. 

Surgeon William Sloan described the crowded castle that same month as being ill- ventilated 

with no cooking facilities, no heating in the lower tier, and no privies. The poorly clothed 

prisoners were reported as having measles, typhoid fever, pneumonia, and intermittent fevers. 

Remodeling of Castle Williams may have occurred during the early months of 1862 after the 

island had been cleared of all prisoners, judging from a letter dated March 1862 by General 

Joseph Totten, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who noted the castle was “nearly ready for 

imprisonment of captured Confederate troops.” No details of this work have yet been found. 

Prisoners shared their space with guns in the second- tier casemates, according to a letter dated 

April 1862, which curtailed the use of the castle as a defensive work. Installation of temporary 

bunks for the prisoners was suggested in June of that year, although it is not known if these were 

ever provided. Ammunition continued to be stored at the castle, as noted in a letter dated 

August 1862. Alterations to the barbette tier [roof] were proposed in January 1863, most likely 

to accommodate new armament. A congressional appropriation of $100,000 was made in the 

summer of 1864 for “construction, preservation, and repairs” of several New York Harbor 

fortifications, including Castle Williams. What work, if any, was carried out at the castle is not 

known. The substandard conditions of earlier years seem to have been corrected by November 

1864, when an inspection report of Castle Williams described the quarters as “clean and 

comfortable,” outfitted with “tubs” that served as sinks. An exterior view of the castle from 

across New York Harbor is dated April 6, 1865, the last year of the war (see fig. 14). This print 

shows four poles supported by guy wires on the barbette tier [roof], the function of which has 

not been determined. 

More personal glimpses of life on Governors Island in 1861 and 1862 are provided by the 

journals of three Confederate prisoners of war. These were Alonzo Etheridge Bell, lieutenant 

with the Jonesboro Guards of Camden County, NC; Thomas Sparrow, captain with the 

Washington Grays of North Carolina; and William Drummond, commissary sergeant with the 

First Regiment, Georgia Infantry. All three men were quartered in the barracks at Fort 

Columbus, although their journals include some descriptions of the less desirable 

accommodations for the enlisted men at Castle Williams. 

Documentation of Castle Williams is limited for the years after 1865, following the Civil War. A 

report by the Surgeon General’s Office dated 1868 described the first and second tiers as armed 

with guns, and the third tier used as quarters for recruits, transient troops, and prisoners. The 

castle continued to be armed with guns after the war, described in “armament sheets” dated 

1865, 1866, and 1867. A drawing dated July 1869 details the “gun- embrasures” of the casemates 

in the second tier. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

46

Documentation 

1861- 1865 

 1861- 65. “During the war of the rebellion, as many as eleven hundred prisoners were 

confined in the castle at one time, and it is still used for a few military offenders. We pass a 

sentry at the gate....” (“Garrison Life at Governor’s Island, New York Harbor,” Scribner’s 

Monthly, February 1881, p. 595.) 

 1861- 65. “During the Civil War it is said 1500 [sic*] prisoners were confined in the Castle 

at one time.” (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 56. *Note that while this may have been “said,” the 

official records of the Civil War do not support this statement.)

 1861- 65. “From 1852 to 1878 the island served as a recruiting depot and during the 

conflict itself, Castle Williams became one of the most important prisons for Confederate 

officers and men [sic*]. At one time there were as many as a thousand prisoners on the island, a 

number exceeding the total garrison at most times in its history.” (Governors Island: Its History 

and Development, 1637- 1937, p. 32. *Note that Confederate officers were held at Fort 

Columbus and enlisted men at Castle Williams.) 

 1861- 65. “In the early years of the Civil War, the structure became a prison for captured 

Confederate soldiers. On March 12, 1862, General Totten of the Army Engineer Department 

informed Secretary of War E.M. Stanton that Castle Williams was nearly ready to receive 

political prisoners. As many as 150 could be safely accommodated, but during the war, as many 

as 1,000 were confined within the Castle walls.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 6.) 

 1861- 65. “During the Civil War, Governors Island’s defenses were maintained and kept 

ready, but since the Confederate Army never attempted an invasion of the city, the island 

contributed to the Union cause in a very different way. The island became a recruiting center, a 

supply depot, and a prison.... The army converted Castle Williams into a military prison, housing 

as many as one thousand prisoners at a time.” (“Ordnance and Explosives,” p. 4- 2.) 

 1861- 65. “The men were dying of measles, typhoid fever, and pneumonia. It is not 

surprising that so many died so quickly considering that a 1916 report estimated the maximum 

capacity of Castle Williams to be 350; the numbers of prisoners during the Civil War range 

anywhere from 630 to 1,100 [sic].” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 4, p. 75.) 

 1861- 65. The exterior east elevation of Castle Williams was photographed by Matthew 

Brady’s studio during the Civil War. (Signal Corps Records; Matthew Brady Collection; RG 111; 

SPB/NACP. Reproduced in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 4, p. 77.) See fig. 12. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

47

Figure 12. East elevation of Castle Williams, circa 1861- 65. 

 1861- 65. A second photograph by Matthew Brady’s studio was taken from the upper tier 

of Castle Williams circa 1861- 65, showing the barracks buildings of Fort Columbus in the 

background to the east. (Signal Corps Records; Matthew Brady Collection; RG 111; SPB/NACP. 

Reproduced in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 4, p. 74.) See fig. 13. 

Figure 13. Upper tier of Castle Williams looking east towards 

Fort Columbus, circa 1861- 65. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

48

1861 

 1861, January 18. Report from the Engineer Department to the Secretary of War regarding 

the condition of the forts: “Fort Columbus and Castle William, New York Harbor.—Both in 

good condition for defense.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 1; Washington, DC: 

Government Printing Office, 1899; p. 49.) 

 1861, April 12. Hostilities between the Northern and Southern states officially begin with 

the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. 

1861, July 12. A letter from the Engineer Department to the Secretary of War describes the 

existing fortifications on Governors Island as “finished works,” Castle Williams outfitted with 

78 guns, and Fort Columbus with 87 guns. The following was also noted about the older 

fortifications of New York Harbor: 

It should here be remarked that in the older of these finished forts and 

batteries the platforms for the barbette guns were to some extent made 

for lighter guns than are now thought to be necessary for such important 

positions. Such platforms are to be altered to suit the heavier guns, but it 

is certainly most judicious to retain the old guns—generally 32-

pounders—and the present platforms until there is a supply of 8- inch 

and 10- inch columbiads to be substituted. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 1; pp. 333- 335.) 

1861, August 29. “The Washington Grays [a Confederate unit from North Carolina] were 

taken as prisoners of war [at Fort Hatteras] and transported to Governors Island, New York, on 

August 29, 1861. In February 1862, they were exchanged and reorganized into Company K, 10th

North Carolina regiment.” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 4, p. 73. Original 

source is: http://www.n- ssa.org/TIDEWATER/WASHINGTON/washington_grays.html.) 

1861, September 4. Letter from Commander Fort Columbus to Adj.- General U.S. Army. 

“I have received the whole of the prisoners of war upon this island. The officers are quartered in 

Fort Columbus and the men at the Castle.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; 

Washington, DC: GPO, 1898; p. 34.) 

 1861, September 4 – October 30. Alonzo Etheridge Bell and Thomas Sparrow are among 

the Confederate officers who arrived at Governors Island on September 4, 1861. Both had been 

captured at Fort Hatteras and were quartered together in the north barracks at Fort Columbus. 

Bell was a lieutenant with the Jonesboro Guards of Camden County, NC. Sparrow was a captain 

with the Washington Grays of North Carolina. The two men recorded their experiences as 

prisoners of war on Governors Island in journals that survive in separate archives today. They 

were transferred on October 30, 1861, to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor, MA. (Bell’s journal is 

at the North Carolina State Archives; Sparrow’s journal is at the University of North Carolina at 

Chapel Hill. Both journals have been transcribed by Alex Christopher Meekins, PhD. candidate 

at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

49

 1861, September 10. Letter from Commander Fort Columbus to Asst. Adj.- General U.S. 

Army. Loomis proposes confining prisoners to Castle Williams, while allowing them “a short 

limit outside the castle at certain hours of the day for exercise.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 

2, Vol. 3; p. 39.) 

 1861, September 29. Letter from Commander Fort Columbus to Asst. Adj.- General U.S. 

Army. “There have been two deaths from among the prisoners of war. Doctor Sloan speaks of 

the unhealthiness of Castle William; he cannot account for it but says there has always been 

more or less sickness when troops are quartered there. They should be removed before cold 

weather comes on or prepared for it by some means of warming the position occupied as 

quarters, to wit, the second and third tiers.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 45.) 

 1861, September 30. Letter from William Sloan, Surgeon, U.S. Army, to Commander Fort 

Columbus regarding the condition of prisoners at Castle Williams. 

The condition of the Fort Hatteras prisoners in the castle at this post is 

such as to require the immediate attention of the Government. They are 

crowded into an ill- ventilated building which has always been an 

unhealthy one when occupied by large bodies of men. There are no 

conveniences for cooking except in the open air, no means of heating the 

lower tier of gun rooms and no privies within the area. As the winter 

approaches I cannot see how these 630 men can be taken care of under 

the above circumstances. These men are without clothing and are not 

disposed to use the means prescribed by me for the prevention of disease 

unless compelled to do so. Everything necessary in a sanitary point of 

view has been urged upon them but is only carried out by the persistent 

efforts of the officer in charge of the castle. Under all these 

circumstances with the effect of change of climate and the depression 

resulting from their situation disease must be the result. 

There are now upwards of 80 cases of measles among them, a number of 

cases of typhoid fever, pneumonia, intermittent fever, & c. I have taken 

the worst cases into my hospital and am preparing it with beds to its full 

capacity for the other cases. Every building upon the island being 

crowded with troops, with a large number in tents, I know not how the 

condition of these prisoners can be improved except by a change of 

location to some other place for all or a portion of them, the present 

condition of things resulting principally from deficiency of quarters and 

not from causes within our control. 

[Endorsement] Respectfully forwarded to the Headquarters of the Army. 

Prompt attention to the cleanliness of the castle and the prisoners is 

ordered. If these prisoners are to be kept on this island I would 

recommend that temporary barracks be erected for them upon some part 

of it which shall be selected. Col. Loomis, Commanding Offcr. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 45.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

50

 1861, October 8. Letter from William Sloan, Surgeon, U.S. Army, to Commander Fort 

Columbus. 

I have the honor to report that the condition of the sick prisoners has not 

improved. Deaths occur almost daily and there continues to be a large 

number of cases of measles, pneumonia, typhoid fever, &c. I have taken 

as many cases into the hospital as can be accommodated. The sickness 

will continue and increase so long as so large a body of men is crowded 

together in Castle William. If 100 are removed to Bedloe’s Island as 

contemplated and including a large proportion of the sick there will be 

better facilities for improving the condition of those remaining. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 50.) 

1861, October 26. Order from Asst. Adjutant- General U.S. Army to Commander Fort 

Columbus, directing the “political prisoners and prisoners of war at the several posts in NY 

Harbor” be sent to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, via steam transportation. (The War of the 

Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 2; Washington, DC: GPO, 1897; p. 120.) 

1861, November 30. Excerpt of letter from the Engineer Department, Washington, DC, to 

the Secretary of War, reporting on the condition of the “several forts under construction, and 

the progress of work during the year.” 

Fort Columbus, Castle William, South Battery, Fort Wood, and Fort 

Gibson, all works immediately in front of the southern end of the city of 

New York, and constituting the inner line of defense, are in serviceable 

condition and entirely ready for the whole of their respective armaments. 

Small expenditures are needed at several of them, most of which have 

been heretofore specified. Such as are pressing will be attended to. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 1; p. 687.) 

 1861, December 30. Excerpt of letter from the Engineer Department, Washington, DC, to 

the Governor of New York, regarding the condition of the coastal fortifications including: 

“Castle William, ready for seventy eight 10- inch and 8- inch guns.” (The War of the Rebellion, 

Series 2, Vol. 1; Washington, DC: GPO, 1894; p. 767.) 

1862 

1862, February 15. Excerpt of letter from Commander Fort Columbus to the Secretary of 

State. “There are neither political prisoners nor prisoners of war now at this post. The last 

detachment (sixteen left behind sick) were sent to Fort Warren January 28 ultimo.” (The War of 

the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 2; p. 224- 30.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

51

1862, March 12. Excerpt of letter from Gen. Joseph Totten, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

the Secretary of War, dated March 12, 1862. Totten notes that “the Castle was nearly ready for 

imprisonment of captured Confederate troops.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 12. Original 

source is “Box 144, Castle Williams”—archives not identified.) 

1862, April 17. Excerpt of letter from Adj.- General U.S. Army to Commander Fort 

Columbus. “Confine the prisoners of war for the present in Castle William, but do not put 

paroled soldiers on guard over them.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 459.) 

 1862, April 18. Excerpt of letter from Commander Fort Columbus to Adj.- General U.S. 

Army. 

I have placed these last prisoners from [Fort] Pulaski in the second tier of 

Castle William. Of course they are among the guns, which cannot be 

used while the prisoners are there. The detachment which is to follow it 

is said is larger and it will be difficult to find room for them. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 462.) 

1862, April 22. Edward Drummond, a Confederate commissary sergeant with the First 

Regiment, Georgia Infantry, arrives at Governors Island as a prisoner of war from Fort Pulaski, 

GA. He writes in his journal on April 22, 1862: “Arrived here this evening. The Men have been 

Marched to Castle William. We are in the Officers Garrison with Ten Officers taken at 

Newbern about Six weeks since.” Drummond and his comrades were transferred to Johnson’s 

Island Prison in Ohio on June 19, 1862. (Edward William Drummond, A Confederate Yankee: 

The Journal of Edward William Drummond, A Confederate Soldier from Maine. Knoxville, TN: 

The University of Tennessee Press, 2004, p. 41.) 

 1862, May 5. Excerpt of letter from C.M. Avery, Col. 33rd Regiment North Carolina 

Troops, to Commander Fort Columbus. “In accordance with your suggestion I have examined 

into the condition of the prisoners of war from North Carolina confined in the castle. Of the 

156 prisoners scarcely any of them have a change of apparel. If they are not speedily furnished 

with underclothes I feel satisfied that disease of a malignant character must ensue.” (The War of 

the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 522.) 

 1862, May 6. Letter from Chas. Olmstead, Col. First Volunteer Regiment of Georgia, 

Prisoner of War, to Commander Fort Columbus. 

Understanding that I was to visit my men in the castle with a view to 

ascertaining their absolute wants I have the honor to report that I have 

made such a visit and find that in four of the companies of my late 

command many of the men are in need of certain articles of clothing. 

Some are almost barefooted, others want pants, others shirts, &c. The 

Fifth Company . . . is well provided for and is in want of nothing. If the 

Government will supply the above necessities I can make a more specific 

report. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 523.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

52

 1862, May 6. Excerpt of letter from Commander Fort Columbus to Commissary- General 

of Prisoners. “I have on this island 499 non- commissioned, & c. and 37 commissioned officers, 

prisoners of war. Many of the rank and file need clothing.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, 

Vol. 3; p. 522.) 

 1862, June 8. Excerpt of letter from Adj.- General U.S. Army to Commander Fort 

Columbus. “Your letter of the 2d instant reporting the arrival of 539 prisoners of war on the 

Star of the South does not state from what part they came; neither does it say how the four 

colored men are held, whether as rebel prisoners of war or how.” (The War of the Rebellion, 

Series 2, Vol. 3; p. 665.) 

 1862, June 17. Excerpt of letter from Commissary- General of Prisoners to the Secretary of 

War. 

Pursuant to instructions heretofore rec’d I have ordered that the rebel 

officers, prisoners at Fort Delaware and Fort Columbus be sent to the 

depot at Sandusky [Johnson’s Island Prison—includes Edward 

Drummond], the movement to take place the latter part of the week.... 

Governors Island is better adapted for the reception of prisoners than 

any place in the interior and I would respectfully suggest that sheds for 

the accommodation of 5,000 be erected there immediately. The cost of 

transportation thence to an inland camp would go far toward covering 

the expense of the buildings. I would respectfully suggest also that bunks 

be put in Castle William for the accommodation of prisoners confined 

there. By this means more can be provided for there and good police and 

health will be promoted. Of course they would be so arranged as to be 

easily removed. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 4, Washington, DC: GPO, 1899, 

pp. 35- 36.) 

 1862, July 9. Excerpt of letter from the Secretary of War to Adj.- General U.S. Army. 

“You will take immediate measures to remove the prisoners of war from Governors Island to 

some place of security and also to guard Fort Columbus and Castle William from any danger by 

surprise otherwise from prisoners there.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 4; p. 159.) 

 1862, July 10. Letter from Adj.- General U.S. Army to the Secretary of War. “The Baltic 

will be ready this evening and will take from Fort Columbus all the prisoners of war, including 

one officer, except a few sick, over a thousand [sic?], and from Fort Lafayette, about 120, leaving 

there some forty political prisoners. Not a man is now in Castle William. I send a guard of 4 

officers and 100 men.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 4; p. 165.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

53

 1862, July 31. First monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

486 prisoners are on hand June 30 

472 transferred 

13 died 

1 escaped 

0 prisoners remaining July 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8. Washington, DC: GPO, 1899, p. 

986.) 

1862, August 14. Letter from Commander Fort Columbus to General U.S. Army. “I have 

just received 33 prisoners of war from General Hunter, Port Royal [SC]. Shall I send them to 

Fortress Monroe? There is a very large amount of ammunition in Castle William, and I have no 

other place to confine them and have more than 100 prisoners sent by Kennedy, chief of police.” 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 4; pp. 390- 91.) 

1862, August 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. No listing for Fort Columbus 

[?]. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 986.) 

1862, September 30. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. No listing for Fort 

Columbus. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 987.) 

1862, October 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

5 prisoners on hand September 30 

1 transferred 

4 released 

0 prisoners remaining October 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 987.) 

1862, November 30 and December 31. Monthly abstracts of U.S. Military Prisons. No 

listings for Fort Columbus. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 988.) 

1863 

1863, January 31. Drawing: “Castle Williams, Plan & Sections of the Barbette Tier, 

Showing Changes that are to be Made Therein.” Noted on the drawing: “Engr. Dept. Jan’y 31st, 

1863,” and “copy sent to Mr. Trowbridge with a letter of this date.” The chimney flues for the 

third- tier casemates are shown incorporated into the parapet. Another undated copy of this 

drawing has the following notation in red ink: “Engineer Department, Nov. 3, 1866, rec’d with 

Genl. Barnard’s letter of Nov. 3, 1866.” (Drawer 37, Sheets 50 and 51; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1863, January - May. Monthly abstracts of U.S. Military Prisons. No listings for Fort 

Columbus. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; pp. 988- 90.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

54

 1863, June 6. Excerpt of letter from Commissary- General of Prisoners to Commander 

Fort Columbus. Regarding “the fourteen Indian prisoners of war belonging to the rebel army... 

will remain at Fort Columbus until further notice.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 5; 

Washington, DC: GPO, 1899; pp. 752- 53.) 

 1863, June 7. Letter from Commander Fort Columbus to Commissary- General of 

Prisoners. “The prisoners of war are confined in one of the casemate rooms of the castle. They 

may need some clothing. If so I will send you a list of the articles needed. These Choctaws say 

they were forced into the rebel service.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 5; p. 755.) 

1863, July 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

15 prisoners on hand June 30 

0 transferred, released or died 

15 prisoners remaining July 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 991.) 

1863, August 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

15 prisoners on hand July 31 

1 transferred 

14 prisoners remaining August 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 991.) 

1863, September 30. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

14 prisoners on hand August 31 

271 joined 

203 transferred 

2 died 

67 released 

13 prisoners remaining September 30 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 992.) 

1863, October 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

13 prisoners on hand September 30 

244 joined 

257 transferred or released 

0 prisoners remaining October 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 992.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

55

1863, November 30. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. No listing for Fort 

Columbus. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 993.) 

1863, December 12. Excerpt of report from Commissary- General of Prisoners to the 

Secretary of War. 

I then visited Fort Columbus, on Governor’s Island. The fort itself 

furnishes no room for prisoners, but in Castle Williams, an outwork of 

two tiers of guns in casemates and one of 15- inch guns in barbette, the 

third floor or which consists of arched rooms for the garrison, some 500 

prisoners may be accommodated. The floors are of wood, and though 

they may be set on fire there is less risk of it than at Fort Schuyler, as the 

prisoners occupy separate rooms. This castle is used at times for 

prisoners of war, but it is generally devoted to deserters from our Army, 

and I recommend that it continue to be so used and for prisoners under 

sentence. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 6. Washington, DC: GPO, 1899; p. 

688.) 

1863, December 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. No listing for Fort 

Columbus. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 993.) 

1864 

1864, January 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

0 prisoners on hand December 31 

8 joined 

1 sick 

0 transferred 

8 prisoners remaining January 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 994.) 

 1864, February 29. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

8 prisoners on hand January 31 

78 joined 

8 transferred 

8 citizens 

78 prisoners remaining February 29 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 994.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

56

 1864, March 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

78 prisoners on hand February 29 

78 transferred 

8 citizens 

0 prisoners remaining March 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 995.) 

1864, April - July. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. No listings for Fort 

Columbus. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; pp. 995- 97.) 

1864, July 1. Congressional appropriation for fiscal year July 1, 1864 – June 30, 1865, 

includes $100,000 “for repairs of Fort Columbus, Castle Williams, South Battery, Fort Wood, 

New York harbor.” (Statutes at Large, 38th Congress, 1st Session; LC.) 

1864, July 18. General Order No. 231, War Department, Adjt. General’s Office. 

An Act making appropriations for the construction, preservation, and 

repairs of certain fortifications and other works of defense, for the year 

ending the 330th of June, 1865. [A long list, including:] repairs of Fort 

Columbus, Castle Williams, South Battery, Fort Wood, and Fort Gibson, 

New York Harbor, one hundred thousand dollars. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 4; Washington, DC: GPO, 1900; p. 

504.) 

1864, August 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. No listing for Fort Columbus. 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 997.) 

1864, September 30. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

0 prisoners on hand August 31 

301 joined 

2 sick 

301 prisoners remaining September 30 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 998.) 

 1864, October 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

301 prisoners on hand September 30 

6 joined 

4 died 

7 sick 

303 prisoners remaining October 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 998.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

57

1864, October 31. Excerpt of report from Asst. Adj.- General U.S. Army to the Secretary of 

War. “Recruiting for the Regular Army.... Only two principal depots for the general service are 

now maintained, one for infantry at Fort Columbus, New York Harbor, and one for mounted 

service at Carlisle, Pa. At these points the recruits are collected and forwarded to batteries and 

regiments in the field.” (The War of the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 4; p. 807.) 

 1864, November 8. Excerpt of letter from Inspecting Officer to Commander Fort 

Columbus, regarding the inspection of Fort Columbus and “the condition of the prisoners of 

war at this station for the week ending November 7, 1864.” 

- Conduct: orderly and quiet 

- Cleanliness: good 

- Clothing: rather deficient of necessary clothing 

- Bedding: none, some having no blankets 

- State of quarters: clean and comfortable 

- State of mess- houses: have none 

- State of kitchen: same kitchen as used by recruits 

- Food, quality of: good 

- Food, quantity of: according to order 

- Water: good 

- Sinks: use tubs in casemate, kept in good order, plenty of lime 

- Police of grounds: good 

- Drainage: none required 

- Police of hospital: have none 

- Attendance of sick, good 

- Hospital diet: same as other patients in hospital... 

- General health of prisoners: good 

- Vigilance of guard: excellent 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 7; Washington, DC: GPO, 1900; p. 

1110.) 

1864, November 30. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

303 prisoners on hand October 31 

410 joined 

389 transferred 

7 died 

1 released 

40 sick 

316 prisoners remaining November 30 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 999.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

58

1864, December 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

316 prisoners on hand November 30 

3 joined 

272 transferred 

11 died 

2 released 

40 sick 

34 prisoners remaining December 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 999.) 

1865 

1865, January 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

34 prisoners on hand December 31 

104 joined 

2 transferred 

1 released 

13 sick 

135 prisoners remaining January 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 1000.) 

 1865, January 31. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams, January 31, 1865. 

Mounted in the casemates were 21 42- pounders (smooth- bore guns), 26 32- pounders 

(smooth- bore), and five 42- pounders (rifled). Five 15- inch, smooth- bore guns were mounted 

on the barbette tier [roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 1; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1865, February 28. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

135 prisoners on hand January 31 

17 joined 

21 transferred 

5 died 

126 prisoners remaining February 28 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 1000.) 

 1865, March 31. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

127 [sic?] prisoners on hand February 28 

0 joined 

115 delivered or exchanged 

3 died 

9 prisoners remaining March 31 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 1001.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

59

 1865, April 6. Print of “Governor’s Island and Fort, New York Harbour.” Written on 

border: “Apr. 6, 1865.” (New York Public Library.) See fig. 14. 

 1865, April 9. The war ends with the surrender of General Lee to General Grant at 

Appomattox Courthouse, VA. 

1865, April 30. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. 

Fort Columbus: 

9 prisoners on hand March 31. 

6 joined 

15 transferred 

0 prisoners remaining April 30 

(The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 1001.) 

 1865, May - September. Monthly abstract of U.S. Military Prisons. No listings for Fort 

Columbus. (The War of the Rebellion, Series 2, Vol. 8; p. 1001.) 

After 1865 

 “In the decades following the Civil War the Castle continued to be used as a prison. In 

addition until 1878 when the principal depot of the general recruiting service was transferred 

from Governors Island, the Castle served an important function as quarters for recruits.” 

(HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 6.) 

Figure 14. “Governor’s Island and Fort, New York Harbour,” 1865. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

60

1866 

 1866, June 30. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams, June 30, 1866. Mounted in 

the casemates were 21 42- pounders (smooth- bore guns), 26 32- pounders (smooth bore), and 

five 42- pounders (rifled). Five 15- inch, smooth- bore guns were mounted on the barbette tier 

[roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 2; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1867 

 1867, June 30. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams June 30, 1867. Mounted in 

the casemates were 21 42- pounders (smooth- bore guns), 26 32- pounders (smooth bore), and 

five 42- pounders (rifled). Five 15- inch, smooth- bore guns were mounted on the barbette tier 

[roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 3; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1867, December 1. “Map Showing the Position of all Buildings on Governors Island 1st

Dec. 1867, from a Survey Made Under the Direction of Maj. John G. Barnard, Corps of 

Engineers. Major Nicholas Bowen.” Items of interest at Castle Williams include a “Kitchen and 

Mess Room” in the courtyard, a nearby “pump,” and a “Wash House for Men of the Garrison” 

outside the castle, all keyed as additions and changes made after 1857. (Drawer 37, Sheet 55; RG 

77; CAB/NACP.) See fig. 15. 

 “Wash House

 for Men of the 

 Garrison” 

 “Kitchen and 

 Mess Room” 

“Pump” 

located over 

the 1859 

cistern 

Figure 15. Detail of Castle Williams from a map of 

Governors Island, 1867. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1860-1869

61

1868 

“A report made by the Surgeon General’s Office in 1868 indicates that the upper tier was used as 

quarters for recruits and transient troops as well as for the confinement of prisoners. The lower 

two tiers still contained guns.” (“Governors Island, Record of Medical History of the Post, 

Washington, DC, May 14, 1868.” U.S. Surgeon General’s Office. Cited in HABS, “Castle 

Williams,” p. 6.) 

1869 

1869, July. Three drawings: “Plan of Castle Williams, Governor’s Island, Ground Tier,” 

“Castle Williams: Horizontal Section Through 2nd Tier of Gun- Embrasures,” and “Castle 

Williams” showing the barbette tier [roof]. Stamped on each of the drawings: “Rec’d 

Headquarters Corps of Engineers, July 31, 1869.” The casemates of the first tier are noted to 

have brick floors, while the casemates of the second tier were wood. Guns were mounted in the 

first, second, and barbette [roof] tiers. (Drawer 259, Sheet 39; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1870-1879

62

1870- 1879

Summary 

The U.S. Army post at Fort Columbus on Governors Island continued to serve as a recruiting 

station until 1878, when it became the Headquarters of the Division of the Atlantic. Castle 

Williams was used as quarters for recruits, transient troops, and prisoners, until the 

reorganization in 1878. A report dated 1875 describes five of the 13 casemates in the third tier 

occupied by prisoners and their guards, with the remaining eight used as quarters for recruits. 

Casemates in the second tier accommodated large numbers of men, possibly for transient 

troops, who bedded among the guns. A portion of the first tier was occasionally employed as a 

mess hall. After the recruiting depot left Governors Island in 1878, Castle Williams is said to 

have been used increasingly as a military prison. 

Limited information is available regarding repairs and/or alterations that were carried out at 

Castle Williams during the 1870s. A congressional appropriation of $52,000 was made in 1870 

for “Fort Columbus,” which presumably included Castle Williams. No details of how this 

appropriation was expended have yet been found. Later work is mentioned in correspondence 

dated 1879, including the need for a new roof, repairing the interior wooden galleries, and 

painting the exterior walls with a color wash. Plumbing had most likely been installed in Castle 

Williams by August 1879, judging by a drawing of the island by the Office of the Post 

Quartermaster entitled “Map of Water, Drain, and Sewer Pipes on Governors Island.” 

Castle Williams is documented during this decade by drawings, sketches, and maps. These 

include a plan and elevation drawing (1872), a color- washed bird’s eye view (1874), a sketch of 

the castle illustrating sheet music (1875), a plan of the barbette tier [roof] (1875), and maps of 

Governors Island showing its forts, buildings, and infrastructure (1879). 

Documentation 

1870 

 1870. “The upper tier of casemates [of Castle Williams] is used for quarters for recruits 

and transient troops, and for confinement of prisoners.” (A Report on Barracks and Hospitals 

with Descriptions of Military Posts, Circular No. 4, War Dept, Surgeon General’s Office. 

Washington, DC, 1870, p. 7.) 

 1870, June 1. Drawing: “Water Closet Castle Williams.” Noted on the drawing: 

“Approved by Secretary of War, June 1, 1870.” (Misc. Forts File, Sheet 36; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

See fig. 16. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1870-1879

63

Figure 16. “Water closet” 

for Castle Williams, 

approved by the Secretary 

of War, June 1870. 

 1870, July 1. Congressional appropriation for fiscal year July 1, 1870 – June 30, 1871, 

includes $52, 000 “for Fort Columbus, Governor’s Island, New York.” (Statutes at Large, 41st

Congress, 2nd Session, p. 222; LC.) 

1871 

1871. Report: Outline Description of U.S. Military Posts and Stations in the Year 1871, by the 

War Department, Quartermaster General’s Office, Washington, DC. Government Printing 

Office, 1872. (CAB/NACP.) 

Fort Columbus, New York Harbor 

Quarters. ...In addition to the quarters above enumerated [inside and 

outside Fort Columbus] there are always quartered in Castle Williams 

general prisoners and transient troops (recruits generally.) Can 

accommodate about four hundred men; is unfit for quarters by reasons 

of dampness, more especially in midsummer. Within the circle of the 

castle yard is a rough wooden building, 60 by 30 feet, used as a messroom and kitchen for recruits, & c. 

Fuel, Forage, and Water. Fuel is received, on yearly estimates, from the 

chief quartermaster of the department at New York City, and the yearly 

consumption is generally delivered on or before the 1st of November in 

each year.... Water is obtained at the post from springs and cisterns, and 

is sufficient to supply the wants of the depot, except in warm and dry 

weather, when Croton water is supplied from the city of New York, on 

requisition on the chief quartermaster. The Croton water is pumped into 

the cisterns at the depot from the water- tanks of the steamer in the 

service of the Quartermaster’s Department (pp. 128 and 1219). 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1870-1879

64

Figure 17. Detail of 1874 bird’s- eye view 

showing Castle Williams and Fort Columbus 

on Governors Island (right foreground). 

1872 

1872, December. Drawing: “Plan and Elevation of Castle Williams, Governors Island, 

prepared under the direction of BVT Maj. Genl. John Newton, U.S. Engineers, for the use of the 

U.S. Light House Board, December 1872.” Includes two plans and one elevation. (Drawing 

files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1873 

1873, December 12. “Sketch of Castle William, Governor’s Island, Showing its present 

armament December 12th 1873.” Guns were mounted in 10 casemates of the second tier (32-

pounders) and on the barbette tier [roof] (five 15- inch). There were no guns in the first and 

third tiers. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 5; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1874 

 1874. Bird’s- eye view of New York showing the waterfront, Brooklyn Bridge, with Battery 

Park and Governors Island in the foreground. (LC.) See detail, fig. 17. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1870-1879

65

Figure 18. Detail of sheet music dated 1875 showing Castle 

Williams (upper left). 

1875 

1875. Drawing: “Barbette of Fort Castle Williams 1875.” (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 6; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP.) 

1875. “In 1875, of the 13 casemates on the third tier [of Castle Williams], five were 

occupied by prisoners and their guard. The remaining eight held 16 bunks each as quarters for 

recruits. A portion of the lower tier was occasionally used as a mess hall. Although retaining 

guns, the second tier frequently accommodated large numbers of men whose bedding was 

spread on the floor around the gun carriages.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 6. Original source 

is Circular No. 3, A Report on the Hygiene of the United States Army, with Descriptions of Military 

Posts, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1875.) 

 1875. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams, 1875. Lists five 15- inch Rodman 

guns mounted on the barbette tier [roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 6; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1875. Cover page of sheet music shows Castle Williams and Castle Garden (Castle 

Clinton) in the background, entitled “Harringan & Hart’s New Song and Chorus, The Gallant 

Sixty- Ninth.” Lithograph by R. Teller, 62 Church Street, New York; copyright 1875 by William 

A. Pond; LC.) See detail, fig. 18. 

1878 

 1878. “[Governors Island] remained a recruiting post until 1878, when it became 

Headquarters of the Division of the Atlantic under command of General Winfield S. 

Hancock.... By then all thought of Governors Island as an effective military fortification was 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1870-1879

66

vanishing and it became an important administrative center for army affairs....” (Governors 

Island: Its History and Development, 1637- 1937, p. 34.) 

 1878. “Three years later [in 1878] the general recruiting service was transferred to Fort 

Slocum, and the Castle was increasingly utilized as a military prison.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” 

p. 6.) 

 1878, July 12. Letter from James B. Fry, A.A. General, “Asking for a new roof for Castle 

Williams.” (“Index to letters received Aug. 1877- April 1884,” p. 113. Entry 778; RG 77; NARA – 

Northeast Region [NY].) 

1879 

 1879. “Map of Governors Island N.Y.H. Surveyed by 1st Lieut. Eugene Griffin, Corps 

Engrs., and Frederick N. Owen Assistant Engr. 1879.” Noted on the drawing: “Received this day 

from Adjt Gen’l [illegible] with letter from Genl. W.S. Hancock to Adjt Genl dated Feb. 25, 

1880.” Includes Fort Columbus, Castle Williams, South Battery, contours, and building 

schedule. Notable features at Castle Williams include a large unidentified structure and a flag 

pole in the courtyard, and a long building outside the castle labeled “62—Bath House.” (Drawer 

37, Sheet 63; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) See fig. 19. 

Figure 19. Detail of Castle Williams from a map 

 of Governors Island, 1879. 

 1879, August 30. “Map showing location of Water, Drain and Sewer Pipes on Governors 

Island, Office of the Post Quartermaster, Fort Columbus, N.Y.H. Aug. 30th, 1879.” Noted on 

drawing: “This tracing was furnished by Col. A.J. Perry Nov. 15, 84.” Two water lines are shown 

at Castle Williams: one to the “Mess” building in the courtyard, the other to the bath house 

 Note 

 unidentified 

 structure 

 and “Flag 

 Staff” in the 

 courtyard of 

 Castle 

 Williams. 

 Building 62, 

 identified in

 the key as a 

 “Bath 

House.” 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1870-1879

67

outside the castle. The symbol for a cistern is shown in the courtyard at the salient angle. 

(Drawer 13, Sheet 63; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) See fig. 20. 

“Water from the City (Ridgewood) was introduced by mains under Buttermilk Channel about 

1880 soon after General Hancock’s arrival.” (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 102.) 

Figure 20. Detail of Castle Williams from a map 

of Governors Island, 1879. 

 1879, September 30. Letter from J.P. Sanger, Capt. 1st Arty. Commander Fort Columbus, 

regarding, “copy of his letter relating to certain repairs required at Castle Williams and 

endorsement thereon.” (“Index to letters received Aug. 1877- April 1884,” p. 114. Entry 778; 

RG 77; NARA – Northeast Region [NY].) 

 1879, October 14. Letter from E.H. Woolton, being a “proposal to cover terreplein of 

Castle Williams with cement and rock asphalt.” (“Index to letters received Aug. 1877- April 

1884,” p. 114. Entry 778; RG 77; NARA – Northeast Region [NY].) 

 1879, November 17. Letter from Chief of Engineers, U.S.A., regarding “Roof of Castle 

Williams to be repaired with asphalted felting as suggested, wooden gallery to be made safe. 

Material to color wash the Castle to be furnished to Comdg. Officer.” (“Index to letters received 

Aug. 1877- April 1884,” p. 114. Entry 778; RG 77; NARA – Northeast Region [NY].) 

 1879, November 18. Letter from T. New, who “Agree[s] to cover terre- plein of Castle 

Williams with asphalted felting at 3 cents per superficial foot.” (“Index to letters received Aug. 

1877- April 1884,” p. 114. Entry 778; RG 77; NARA – Northeast Region [NY].) 

 1879, December 1. Letter from J.P. Sanger, Capt. Arty. Comdr. Fort Columbus, regarding 

“Estimate for material to color wash exterior of Castle Williams.” ("Index to letters received 

Aug. 1877- April 1884," p. 114. Entry 778; RG 77; NARA – Northeast Region [NY].) 

Water lines 

supplied the 

“Mess” in the 

courtyard and 

bath house 

outside the 

castle walls. 

 Note symbol for a 

 “cistern” inside 

 the walls of the 

 castle. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1880-1889

68

1880- 1889

Summary 

Castle Williams is documented in the 1880s by several articles published between 1881 and 1888 

that describe Castle Williams as an aging and obsolete fortification. The most detailed is 

“Garrison Life at Governor’s Island, New York Harbor,” by Scribner’s Monthly dated February 

1881. Castle Williams then served as a low- security prison that was only partly occupied by “a 

few military offenders.” Not all the guns were mounted, suggesting its diminishing role as a 

defensive work. The condition of the castle had deteriorated by this time to a state of 

“crumbling decay,” with flakes of whitewash littering the floors of the casemates. Sketches 

illustrating the article provide the earliest known views of the courtyard and an interior 

casemate (figs. 22- 23). Dominating the courtyard is a round stair tower topped by a glazed 

octagonal roof structure dating to the 1840s. Galleries that appear to be made of wood connect 

the casemates of the second and third tiers. A railing rims the interior edge of the barbette tier 

[roof]. Inside the casemates, the exposed masonry of the walls is clearly delineated, with wide 

plank boards on the floor, exposed wooden framing at the ceiling, and guns in place at the 

exterior embrasures. 

Castle Williams and Fort Columbus were both characterized as “antiquated fortresses” that 

could offer “but a feeble resistance” to an invading fleet in an article published in New York’s 

The Daily Graphic in February 1886. The article was titled “Seacoast Defences: Our Great Cities 

at the Mercy of Any Hostile Fleet; How New York Ought to be Defended—War Ships, Forts 

and Great Guns—Lieutenant Griffin’s Report.” It was richly illustrated with sketches of 

fortifications, including a rare view of Castle Williams that shows the side facing Fort Columbus. 

A wide passageway cut in the earth connects the two fortifications, terminating at the sally port 

(entrance) of the castle with voussoir- arched opening. The sally port is set in one of two low 

walls of the ravelin [triangular outwork]; overlooking it is the bartizan [sentry turret] at the 

salient angle of the ravelin. The hulking masses of three large guns are visible on the barbette 

tier [roof] of the castle, aimed towards the harbor. 

A detailed description of the deteriorating stone walls of Castle Williams was provided the 

following year in an article on “The Cause and Prevention of the Decay of Building- Stone” 

published by The Manufacturer and Builder in December 1887. Pitting of the walls was noted to 

be “quite deep, in some cases rounded, but oftener in elongated holes, which have penetrated 

the stone a quarter of an inch or more.” 

The use of Governors Island as a military installation was in question by the end of the decade, 

as illustrated in an article published in the New York Times in July 1888. A New York 

Congressman then proposed that Governors Island be given to the State and converted to “a 

marine park for the people.” 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1880-1889

69

Documentation 

1881 

1881, February. “Garrison Life at Governor’s Island, New York Harbor,” by William H. 

Rideing, Scribner’s Monthly, February 1881, pp. 593- 602, with three illustrations of Castle 

Williams (figs. 21- 23). Excerpts from that article follow. 

Castle Williams was completed in 1811. This is a circular granite [sic] 

battery built on a bed of rocks at the extreme westerly point of the island, 

which being submerged at low water was formerly a peril to navigation. 

The castle, with its tiers of cannon, has a formidable look to passengers 

by the Staten Island ferry- boats which pass and repass within hailing 

distance of it, but it is in a condition of crumbling decay, and the guns of a 

Thunderer would make short work of leveling it. During the War of the 

rebellion, as many as eleven hundred prisoners [sic] were confined in the 

castle at one time, and it is still used for a few military offenders. We pass 

a sentry at the gate...and beyond the narrow portals we stand in the 

reverberant amphitheater formed by the circular walls. It is chilly and 

humid in here: the air is prison- like, but the dome of azure sky and 

feathery clouds is ample. The prisoners are not deprived of sunshine and 

cannot complain of austere treatment. They are employed about the 

grounds of the fort, and though they are guarded in deference to the 

military code by a soldier with loaded musket and revolver, they usually 

find so much fellow- feeling in him that their industry is not overtaxed. 

The cells are entered from galleries around the amphitheater, and their 

space is alternated with batteries. Not all the guns are mounted, and 

parts of the tiers are unoccupied. The crust of whitewash is falling off the 

stone walls in flakes which spot the floor, and the buildings have an air of 

untidiness. The heavy doors of the cells are grated, and the windows are 

set in port- holes six or seven feet through the walls of the castle. The 

bedding is rolled up, and on a center- table of common boards a small 

Bible and prayer- book are swamped in a superabundant assortment of 

sensational periodicals. 

Massive as the walls of the castle are, the concussion produced by the 

discharge of a cannon causes them to sway alarmingly. Some time ago, 

the commandant was Colonel Loomis [Aug. 1861- 64], who, either on 

Washington’s birthday or on the Fourth of July, delayed ordering a salute 

until a late moment. The guns were quickly loaded, and in the haste they 

were discharged before their muzzles were properly out of the portholes. A petty officer and his wife occupied one of the apartments over 

the battery. Every piece of furniture in their room was completely 

dismembered; the chairs and tables fell into chaotic heads; the feathers 

fluttered out of a new- fashioned helmet, and an infirm old lady bounded 

into the air with the resilience of childhood. This incident was narrated 

to us by Hospital- Steward Robertson, who has been stationed at Fort 

Columbus some twenty- five years. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1880-1889

70

The view from the parapet of the castle reaches far and wide over the 

river and bay.... There are guns even up here.... 

Some of the men in the garrison aver that the ghost of John Yates Beall, 

who was hanged here [sic: Fort Columbus] in 1865, stalks along the 

parapet in the moonlight.... 

The island is at present the head- quarters of the Department of the 

Atlantic, of which General Hancock is commander. Fort Columbus is 

occupied by two batteries of artillery, numbering about one hundred 

men. Many improvements have been made under General Hancock’s 

administration.... The yield of the wells being impure, Brooklyn water 

has been introduced by a flexible pipe carried under Buttermilk Channel, 

and it is proposed to bring illuminating gas to the island the same way.... 

On the sea- wall outside Castle William stands the gun which, as the sun 

disappears behind the deep- blue hills in the west, proclaims the end of 

the day to the city. At the same moment the flag flutters down from the 

staff, the bugle calls to quarters, and night falls on the garrison at 

Governors Island. 

Figure 21. “The sundown gun” outside Castle Williams, 1881. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1880-1889

71

Figure 22. The courtyard of Castle Williams, 1881. 

Figure 23. “A Gun Casemate,” in Castle Williams, 1881. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1880-1889

72

1883 

1883, June 30. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams dated June 30, 1883. Exact 

locations of guns are not recorded. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 4; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1885 

 1885, May 15. Excerpt of a news article, “Buttermilk: Views from the Familiar Channel So 

Named,” in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle: 

Governor’s Island has long been in possession of the United States, and 

its interior defenses, greatly improved since the close of our internecine 

war, are said to be all but impregnable. Fort Columbus is in the heart of 

the island, and is so commodious that it can accommodate, besides the 

appliances of war and rations for many months, 800 soldiers. Castle 

William, which in 1812 was considered strong enough to withstand the 

shot and shell of an enemy, even if a British man of war should fire them, 

is now worthless for defense. The heavy guns of the present time would 

speedily flatten its walls to the earth. It is questionable if it would be used 

even if we should ever be so situated as to have a formidable armed 

vessel, belligerently disposed, get within reasonable range of it. 

(BPL: http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.) 

1886 

1886, February 13. “Seacoast Defences: Our Great Cities at the Mercy of Any Hostile 

Fleet; How New York Ought to be Defended—War Ships, Forts and Great Guns—Lieutenant 

Griffin’s Report,” The Daily Graphic: New York, Saturday, February 13, 1886, p. 722; 

illustrations follow page 715. The article describes a recent report by Lieutenant Eugene Griffin, 

Corps of Engineers, entitled “Our Seacoast Defences.” (Bound volume, Daily Graphic, N.Y., 

January- June 1886, in the library of the Historic Architecture Program and Architectural 

Preservation Division, Lowell, Massachusetts, on loan from the Statue of Liberty NM.) See fig. 

24. 

Fort Columbus, one of the antiquated fortresses on Governor’s Island, 

and Castle William, the other, are shown. Either of these would offer but 

a feeble resistance to the invading fleet of a warring nation. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1880-1889

73

Figure 24. East elevation of Castle Williams, 1886. 

1886, November 28. Excerpt of an article entitled “Coast Defenses” published in the 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 28, 1886: 

The report of General Duane, Chief of Engineers, to the Secretary of War 

in regard to the state of fortifications on our coasts will attract public 

attention and should lead to immediate action on the part of Congress. It 

is not too much to say that at present we are without coast defenses 

capable of resisting the assaults of iron clads. Modern guns have now 

become weapons of such fearful power that fortifications built even so 

late as a quarter of a century ago have grown utterly obsolete. Our huge 

granite or brick fortresses, like Castle Williams, would only prove death 

traps to their garrisons if attacked by modern guns. 

(BPL: (http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.) 

1887 

 1887, December. “The Cause and Prevention of the Decay of Building- Stone,” by Thomas 

Engleston, The Manufacturer and Builder, December 1887, p. 275. 

In the stone of Castle William, on Governor’s Island,...[pitting] is quite 

deep, in some cases in rounded, but oftener in elongated holes, which 

have penetrated the stone a quarter on an inch or more. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1880-1889

74

1888 

1888, July 30. News article: New York Times, July 30, 1888. (Excerpt included in “Historic 

Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 8, p. 13.) 

Governor’s Island For A Park. Congressman Cox, who is greatly 

interested in the conversion of Governor’s Island into a marine park for 

the people, says that the committee on Military Affairs will soon report 

formally upon his bill for the surrender of the island to the State by the 

Federal Government.... Governor’s Island is of no use for that [defense 

against a foreign enemy], and will never again be used as a fortress by the 

nation. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1890-1899

75

1890- 1899

Summary 

The 1890s may be characterized as the decade when Castle Williams was increasingly adapted 

for use as a military prison. All the casemates of the third tier were “used as prison” in 1892, 

according to an armament inventory for that year. Guns were mounted in two casemates of the 

first tier and 11 casemates of the second tier. Five guns sat on the barbette tier [roof] throughout 

the 1890s. A report dated June 1895 described the first tier of casemates as then used for 

storage, the second tier outfitted with 25 obsolete guns, and the third tier occupied by 50 

military prisoners and the post exchange. The report also described a “granite battlement of 

recent construction,” indicating that the parapet on the barbette tier had been recently rebuilt. 

Expansion of the prison to the lower tiers of the castle was mandated the following month, in 

July 1895, when Fort Columbus was designated as one of 12 Army posts for the confinement of 

military prisoners. An armament inventory taken the following year described guns mounted in 

six of the 13 casemates in the first tier, and six casemates in the second tier, with the remainder 

of the castle “used as prison.” The number of prisoners confined in the third- tier casemates had 

increased to an average of 80 by 1897, according to an article in the New York Times dated April 

of that year. A guard room, wash room, kitchen, and dining room, were described as being 

located “below,” suggesting that renovations had occurred sometime between 1895 and 1897. 

These probably included the installation of plumbing fixtures and central heating. A 

recommendation was made in 1898 by the commander of Fort Columbus to remodel Castle 

Williams to accommodate sick and wounded soldiers and prisoners returning from the 

Spanish- American War for a total capacity of 400, although this does not appear to have 

occurred. Rather, the castle continued to function as a military prison, the first and second tiers 

“used as prison or storerooms” and the third tier “used as prison,” according to the armament 

inventory for 1899 that listed only five guns on the barbette tier. 

Detailed descriptions of the armament of Castle Williams for the 1890s are recorded inventories 

and sketches dated 1892, 1893, and 1896- 99. The earliest known photograph of Castle Williams 

that shows the southeast elevation facing Fort Columbus has been dated circa 1898 (fig. 27). 

Documentation 

1890s 

“By the 1890s, Castle Williams was a full- fledged prison, armed with a few obsolete guns 

used for firing the sunrise and sunset guns as well as for ceremonies.” (“Historic Resource 

Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 6, p. 113. No source is cited.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1890-1899

76

1891 

1891, August 2. Engraving of Castle Williams included in a news article published in The 

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “To Governor’s Island: A Trip in the Little Steam Tug to Castle William.” 

See fig. 25. (BPL: http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org). 

Figure 25. Engraving of Castle Williams published in 1891. 

1892 

1892, April 1. Drawing: “N.Y. Harbor Sketch Showing Armament, April 1, 1892.” (Drawer 

250, Sheet 2- 7; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1892, April 1. Drawing: “Castle Williams, Governors Island, N.Y. Harbor, sketch showing 

Armament April 1, 1892.” The first tier had three 8- inch guns mounted in two casemates. The 

second tier had 20 6 1⁄2- inch guns mounted in 10 casemates, and one 8- inch gun in one 

casemate. No guns were mounted in the third tier, where all the casemates were “used as 

prison.” Five 15- inch guns were mounted on the barbette tier [roof]. (Drawer 250, sheet 2- 7; 

RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1892, April 1. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams April 1, 1892. Exact locations 

of guns are not recorded. Also noted: “3dTier, 26 emplacements—platforms removed and 

casemates now used as prisons.” (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 8; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1890-1899

77

1893 

1893. “The guns, except those on the parapets, were removed [from the Castle] in 1893.” 

(Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 85.) Note that this is not an accurate statement, since armament 

inventories and sketches record guns mounted in the casemates of Castle Williams through 

1898. 

1893, April 27. News article, New York Times, June 27, 1893, p. 2. 

[Castle Williams]...has been called a fort for a good many years, and I 

believe there are guns in some of the holes. There are soldiers there, too 

a full garrison, but regret to say that I fear that noble old fort would not 

last long if a modern gunboat of the second class once got in range. 

(Quoted in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 8, p. 11.) 

 1893, December. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams, December 31, 1893. 

Exact locations of guns are not recorded. Also noted: “3d Tier, 26 emplacements, platforms 

removed and casemates now used as prison.” (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 9; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1895 

 1895. Painting by Granville Perkins (1830- 95) entitled “Castle Williams.” (Courtesy of 

William Vareika Fine Arts Gallery, Newport, RI.) See fig. 26. 

Figure 26. Castle Williams, 1895. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1890-1899

78

 1895, June 8. “In 1895, the Secretary of War instructed a committee of engineers and 

officers to survey the buildings at Governors Island to see how best to accommodate more 

troops there.” An excerpt from that report, dated June 8, 1895, follows. 

[Castle Williams,] a circular work located on the exterior northwest 

point of the island, was built about 85 years ago. It is 200 feet in diameter, 

has casemates for three tiers of guns, and emplacements also for guns en 

barbette. The castle is built of random coursed sand- stone rubble, with 

dressed facings, and is surmounted with a raised granite battlement of 

recent construction. At present in the third tier of casemates is located 

the post exchange and some fifty military prisoners are there confined. 

The first tier of casemates is used for storage purposes, and in the second 

tier are mounted some 25 guns that were obsolete forty years ago. 

(“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 7, pp. 123- 124. Original 

source is Entry 89, packet #84234; RG 92; NAB.) 

 1895. “Pursuant to General Orders No. 55 Adjutant General’s Office of 1895, the Island 

was designated one of ten [sic: 12] Army posts for the confinement of military prisoners.” 

(HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 6.) 

1895, July 7. News article published in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “Military Prisons 

Named”: 

Washington, DC, July 6—A general order has been issued by the war 

department establishing prisons for the confinement of persons 

convicted of military offenses at the following posts: Alcatras Island, 

Cal.; Fort Warren, Miss.; Fort Columbus, N.Y.; Fort Thomas, Ky.; Fort 

Monroe, Va.; Fort Sheridan, Ill.; Fort Snelling, Minn.; Fort Riley, Kan.; 

Fort Sam Houston, Tex.; Fort Logan, Col.; Fort Croog, Neb, and 

Vancouver barracks, Wash. 

This was made necessary by the transfer of the military prison at Fort 

Leavenworth to the war department. The posts above named, with the 

exception of Alcatras Island, had no prisons, but had guard houses, as at 

other posts. 

(BPL: http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.) 

 1895, September 30. Excerpt in a news article published in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle,

“Allison’s Attempted Escape”: 

Castle William is only used as a place of confinement for military 

prisoners ... and two young men occupied the same cell on the top floor 

of the prison. Andrews, who is 22 years old, was sentenced about five 

months ago to a year and a half’s imprisonment at hard labor for 

deserting the Third cavalry, and arrived at the island six weeks ago. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1890-1899

79

Allison, who fled from the Jefferson barracks, Missouri, was sentenced 

for the same length of time and arrived on August 11. 

(BPL: http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.) 

1896 

1896, December 31. Drawing: “Armament Sketch Drawn Under Direction of Major H.M. 

Adams, Corps of Engineers, December 31, 1896.” More of the castle had been converted to 

prison use by this time, including seven casemates in the first tier, seven casemates in the second 

tier, and all the casemates of the third tier. Two types of guns were mounted in the 12 casemates 

of the first and second tiers not designated as prison space: 8- inch Rodman guns and 6 1⁄2- inch 

guns. Five 15- inch Rodman guns were also mounted on the barbette tier [roof]. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 10; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1896, December 31. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams, December 31, 1896. 

Exact locations of guns are not recorded. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 11; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1897 

 1897, April. “Two years later [in 1897] the third tier quartered an average of 80 prisoners. 

Immediately below were the guardroom, washroom, kitchen, and dining room.” (HABS, 

“Castle Williams,” p. 6. Original source is an unidentified article in the New York Times, April 4, 

1897.) 

1897, December 31. Drawing: “Armament Sketch Castle Williams, New York, drawn 

under direction of Major H.M. Adams, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 1897.” Most 

of castle’s casemates were then “used as prison,” including six in the first tier, eight in the second 

tier, and all the casemates in the third tier. Guns were mounted in seven casemates in the first 

tier and five casemates in the second tier. In addition, five 15- inch Rodman guns remained on 

the barbette tier [roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 12; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1890-1899

80

1898 

1898, Autumn.

In the autumn of 1898, the Adjutant General authorized the hire of a 

building in New York City that could be used by those sick and wounded 

who came back from the fighting [of the Spanish- American War].... But 

because no suitable and affordable building surfaced in an extensive 

search in the City, the commander of Governors Island recommended 

that Castle Williams be renovated so as to house convalescents and 

prisoners. 

In order to house both prisoners to be transferred to Fort Levenworth or 

back to their own commands, or the injured, Castle Williams was 

renovated extensively. [Was the plan actually carried out?] The plan of 

the second tier of the building [source?] showed how domesticated the 

fort would become. Starting from the southwest opening in the castle 

walls, the plans show casemates renovated into a guardroom and a wash 

room. Further along and next to the wash room was a kitchen. The 

dining room was next to that further along the circle. Approximately half 

of the second tier was given over to casemates, open cell spaces, with 

barred windows; these appear to have been a large open space shaped as 

the original gun emplacements would have been shaped and are likely 

the barracks for the general group of prisoners. This area is not accessed 

by either of the circular staircases. The final quarter of tier 2 was the Post 

Exchange, accessed by one of the circular staircases, and with the porch 

running in front of it. The plans allowed for the housing of about four 

hundred soldiers. 

(“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 6, p. 115. Original source is 

RG 92, Entry 89, packet #84234, NAB.) 

1898, December 31. Drawing: “Armament Sketch Castle Williams, New York Drawn 

Under the Direction of Major H.M. Adams, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 1898.” 

Conditions were unchanged from the previous year. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 14; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP.) 

 1898, December 31. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams, December 31, 1898. 

Exact locations of guns were not recorded. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 15; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1890-1899

81

 Circa 1898. A photograph taken circa 1898 shows the exterior southeast elevation of 

Castle Williams. (Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General: U.S. Military Posts of the 

Late 19th Century, Folder #15- Fort Columbus (N.Y.), #92- F- 15- 3, SPB/NACP.) See fig. 27. 

Figure 27. Exterior southeast elevation of Castle Williams, circa 1898. 

1899 

1899, December 31. Drawing: “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, 

drawn under direction of Lieut. Col. W.H.H. Benyaurd, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 

31, 1899.” All the guns had been removed from the interior of Castle Williams by this time, with 

the casemates in the first and second tiers “used as prison or storerooms” and those in the third 

tier “used as prison.” Only five 15- inch Rodman guns remained mounted on the barbette tier 

[roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 3- 14; RG 77; SPB/NACP.) 

 1899, December 31. Inventory of “Armament” for Castle Williams, December 31, 1899. 

Exact locations of guns not recorded. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 16; RG 77; SPB/NACP.) 

Ordnance 

Sergeant’s 

Quarters. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

82

1900- 1909

Summary 

The first decade of the new century was significant as a period of radical change on Governors 

Island. Castle Williams continued to function as a military prison during these years, retaining 

its formidable 19th- century form and appearance as illustrated in a postcard view dated 1900 and 

a print dated 1905 (figs. 28 and 31). The work of enlarging the island with fill removed from 

subway excavations in New York City commenced in 1901, more than doubling its size when 

the project was completed in 1912. A commitment was made at this time by Secretary of War 

Elihu Root to preserve the old fortifications, Castle Williams and Fort Columbus, and to 

harmonize new structures with them. Casemates in the first and second tiers of Castle Williams 

were noted in December 1900 to then be in use as prison and store rooms, and those in the third 

tier devoted exclusively to prison use. Five guns were mounted on the barbette tier [roof]. 

Alterations to fit up Castle Williams as a “model prison” were underway in January 1903, 

according to correspondence initiated by Thomas Bulfin, Keeper of the Governors Island Light, 

who had been evicted from his castle store room. Plans dated September 1902 suggest that this 

may have included updating of existing plumbing and central heating systems. The name of the 

military post of which Castle Williams was a part, Fort Columbus, and the fortification of the 

same name, were changed to “Fort Jay” in January 1904. Electric lighting was introduced on 

Governors Island in the spring of that year. Numbers had been assigned to the structures and 

buildings of Governors Island by 1908, with Castle Williams designated as number “55.” 

Documentation 

1900 

 1900. Postcard dated 1900 shows the northwest elevation of Castle Williams labeled 

“Governor’s Island, N.Y. City,” with handwritten note, “Castle Williams U.S. Military Prison.” 

(“Governors Island Army Brats” web site: www.govislandarmybrat.com/IslandArtifacts.html.) 

See fig. 28. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

83

Figure 28. Postcard of “Castle Williams, U.S. Military Prison,” 1900. 

1900, December 31. Drawing: “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, 

drawn under direction of Major W.L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 

1900.” Five 15- inch Rodman guns are recorded on the barbette tier [roof], with no guns in the 

first, second, and third tiers. The casemates in the first and second tiers were “used as prison or 

storerooms,” while all the casemates of the third tier were “used as prison.” (Drawer 250, Sheet 

3- 16; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1900, December 31. Inventory of “Armament” at Castle Williams, December 31, 1900. 

Exact locations of guns are not recorded. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 17; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1901 

1901, January 6. Excerpt of a news article published in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle entitled 

“Proposed Enlargement of Governor’s Island,” including an engraving of “Old Castle William.” 

See fig. 29. 

Washington, January 5—Plans have been formulated and estimates 

submitted for greatly enlarging the present area of Governor’s Island by 

filling in the shoal adjoining the present sea wall and for the construction 

of piers and the erection of a number of permanent store houses. It is 

proposed to spend $1,595,000 on these improvements.... 

(BPL: http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org). 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

84

Figure 29. “Old Castle William,” January 1901. 

1901, March 3. “On March 3, 1901, $260,000 was appropriated toward the enlargement of 

Governors Island and for construction of storehouses and other buildings.” (“Historic 

Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 8, p. 23.) 

 1901, June 11. Excerpt of a news article published in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle entitled 

“Governor’s Island”: 

There is a proposition to spend a million and a half of dollars on 

Governor’s Island, for the purpose of improving it as an Army station.... 

At present the island is a depot and a prison. Castle Williams is used as a 

place of confinement for deserters and other offenders, and there are 

pleasant cottages which are occupied by officers, but as a station it has no 

consequence, except as a place of storage.... Governors Island, on the 

contrary, has many advantages as a public park. It is worthless as a 

defense, and by mans of ferries it could be put in reach of thousands who 

at present occupy rookeries in lower Manhattan and tenements in 

crowded parts of Brooklyn.

(BPL: http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.) 

1901, June 29. Excerpt of letter from Elihu Root, Secretary of War, to McKim, Mead and 

White, Architects, regarding the enlargement of Governors Island. 

The two old structures on the island, Castle William and the old fort, are 

to be preserved, and it seems desirable that the new structures should be 

in harmony with them.... 

(The letter is quoted in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 8, p. 

22.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

85

 1901, August. “The actual extension of work was begun August 1901, and the sea wall was 

first built to enclose the area.... The number of acres is 103.55 in the extension, as compared 

with 69.8 in the Old Island, 173.35 acres in all.... The work was done by the Engineer 

Department...Corps of Engineers. The estimated cost of this improvement was $1,100,000.... 

The approximate cost per acre was $10,000.” (Smith, Governors Island, p. 156.) 

 1901, December 31. Drawing: “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, 

drawn under direction of Major W.L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 

1901.” Conditions were unchanged from the previous year, with the interior casemates of the 

castle “used as prison or storerooms,” and five 15- inch Rodman guns mounted on the barbette 

tier [roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 3- 18; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 1901. “A seawall is constructed and backfilled with 4,787,000 cubic yards of fill from the 

excavations for New York’s Lexington Avenue subway to create the current island, increasing 

its size from 90 [sic] to 172 acres.” (“Governor’s Island, New York,” p. 11.) 

 

 1901- 12. “In 1880 New York graciously ceded to the island 103 acres of land completely 

submerged under the waters of the harbor. Between the years 1901 and 1912 these acres were 

filled.” (Governors Island: Its History and Development, 1637- 1937, p. 34.) 

1902 

1902, April 16. Drawing: “Sketch Plan Showing Extension of Governor’s Island, New 

York,” with Secretary of War Elihu Root’s signature, by McKim, Mead and White, Architects. 

(Blueprint File, Governors Island, NY; RG 92; CAB/NACP.) 

Though the firm of McKim, Mead, and White prepared a design for 

Governors Island buildings as early as 1902, only a few of those planned 

buildings were actually constructed. By the time the final 1928 design 

was prepared, each of the principals had died ... and the building of the 

Governors Island structures was overseen by Lawrence Grant White, 

Stanford’s son. 

(“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 9, p. 118.) 

 1902, September. Drawings: “Castle Williams, Fort Columbus, N.Y.: Plan of Lower Tier, 

Plan of Middle Tier, Plan of Upper Tier, and Details.” Four sheets, stamped on the back “Sept. 

24, 1902” and “Sept. 27, 1902.” The casemates were numbered in clockwise order, beginning 

with the third tier. Functions assigned to the first- tier casemates included “Store Room,” 

“Dining Room” (three casemates), “Kitchen,” “Wash Room,” “Boiler,” “Laundry,” “Prison 

Store Room,” “Office,” “Carpenter Shop,” “Guard Room,” and “Tool Room.” The casemates in 

the second tier were designated as prison cells, with the exception of three labeled “Barber 

Shop” and “Chapel.” All 13 casemates in the third tier were then used as cells, one reserved for 

“Solitary” confinement. Plumbing and had been installed in the castle by this time, judging by a 

detail drawing of the Wash Room showing both “old” and “new” plumbing fixtures. Central 

heating may have been proposed, based on the presence of a “boiler” room and radiators shown 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

86

in one elevation drawing. (RG 92, Blueprint File, Ft. Columbus, N.Y., Sheets 1- 1, 1- 2, 1- 3, and 

1- 4, CAB/NACP.) See fig. 30. 

 

1902, December 31. Drawing: “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, 

drawn under direction of Major W.L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 

1902.” Conditions were unchanged from the previous two years, with the interior casemates 

“used for prison and storehouse purposes” and five 15" Rodman guns mounted on the barbette 

tier [roof]. (Drawer 250, Sheet 3- 30; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1903 

 1903, January 31. Letter from Thomas Bulfin, Keeper of the Governors Island Light, to the 

Light- House Inspector. 

I very respectfully inform you that the place where I stored my oil and 

other Light House property in one of the basements [sic: first- story 

casemates] of Castle Williams, I cannot use it any longer, for the reason, 

that they are making alterations in the Castle and every basement is going 

to be occupied, consequently there will be no place to hold my property. 

Figure 30. 

“Castle Williams, Fort 

Columbus, Details,” 

September 1902. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

87

The bell house is so small that, I can scarcely turn around. I cannot store 

anything in it. I would respectfully suggest that a small house be built 

close to the bell house for use as store room. Next week when I have to 

remove the oil out of the Castle, I will have to leave it exposed to the 

weather, as there is no storage room at the post. 

(Quoted in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 6, pp. 115- 16. 

Original source is Entry 103, letter #46107/2; RG 77; NAB.) 

The reply, from Samuel R. Jones, Major and Quartermaster: 

As the Castle is being fitted up as a model prison, I would not deem it 

advisable to use any part of same for storing property of any kind which 

would necessitate giving entry to persons not connected with the prison. 

(Quoted in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 6, pp. 115- 16. 

Original source is Entry 103, letter #46107/2; RG 77; NAB.) 

1904 

1904, January 25. General Orders No. 18, War Department, Washington, DC, January 25, 

1904. 

The fortification on Governor’s Island, New York Harbor, partly built 

1794- 95, enlarged and completed 1798- 1801, and partly rebuilt 1806-

1808, now known as Fort Columbus, is hereby restored to its original 

name of Fort Jay; and the said fortification and the Military post located 

on the said Island will hereafter be known and designated as Fort Jay. 

Elihu Root, Secretary of War. 

(Order transcribed in Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 112.) 

 1904. “Electric lighting was introduced [on Governors Island] on May 10, 1904.” (Smith, 

Governor’s Island, p. 101.) 

1905 

1905. A view of “Castle Williams from the Battery” shows the east exterior elevation of the 

castle from across the harbor. Print copyrighted 1905 by the Society of Iconophiles, New York; 

(LC.) See fig. 31. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

88

Figure 31. View of “Castle Williams from the Battery,” 1905. 

1907 

 1907. A “Bird’s eye view, looking south,” shows the proposed expansion of the island. 

Accompanying text reads: “Governor’s Island as it will appear when the present plans are 

carried out. As completed, the island will be three times its present size, 101 acres being now in 

process of reclamation by means of sea walls and dredging. It will accommodate a regiment of 

1,200 men.” Written in the border is “Nov. 30, 1907.” (Scientific American, New York Public 

Library.) See fig. 32. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1900-1909

89

Figure 32. Bird’s- eye view of Governors Island 

showing proposed expansion, 1907. 

1908 

 1908. Drawing: “First U.S. Army Engineers Map of Governors Island, 1908, from a 

drawing by J.M. Hilton.” Original map is dated March 1962. Castle Williams is labeled at 

building number “55.” (Cited and reproduced in “Ordnance and Explosives,” reference 

documents.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1910-1919

90

1910- 1919

Summary 

Castle Williams continued to be used as a military prison during the years 1910- 19, becoming 

the Atlantic Branch of the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in 1915. The physical form 

of the castle was significantly altered in 1912- 13 with the remodeling of the original angled walls 

of the entrance ravelin [triangular outwork] facing Fort Jay. The interior sides of these stone 

walls were removed, as were the two original magazines inside the courtyard that flanked the 

gate, leaving only the exterior face of the walls and the bartizan [sentry turret] intact. Stones 

salvaged from the disassembled structures appear to have been reused in the new two- story 

addition built on the interior side of the old walls. The work had been completed by 1916, when 

it was labeled as the “2nd story new addition” on a plan of the second tier. Rooms in the new 

addition included a “Garrison Gd. [Guard] House” in the first story, and “Commandants 

Office,” “Library & Recreation Room,” and two toilet rooms in the second story. Also included 

on the plan were the casemates of the main castle, with a “Kitchen,” two “Laundry” rooms, and 

a “Boiler Room” indicated in the first tier, and a “Barber Shop” and 12 prison cells in the second 

tier. No similar notations exist for the casemates of the third tier, which presumably continued 

to be used as prison cells. Remodeling of the existing plumbing was the purpose of the 1916 

plan, which included the installation of “new water closets” (toilets) in the prison cells, “basins” 

(sinks) in the barber shop, and water and sewer connections. 

Documentation on the prisoners and prison administration at Castle Williams indicates that 

most of the inmates had committed only minor offenses and were incarcerated less than a year. 

The number of prisoners at the castle during this decade, while undoubtedly available, has not 

been noted in existing scholarship. The progressive movement to reform prisoners is reflected 

at Castle Williams with the inclusion of a “Library” and a “Recreation Room” in the addition 

constructed in 1912- 13. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1910-1919

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Documentation 

1910 

 1910. Postcard dated 1910, labeled “Castle Williams, Governors Island.” (“Governors 

Island Army Brats” web site: www.govislandarmybrat.com/IslandArtifacts.html.) See fig. 33. 

Figure 33. Postcard of “Castle Williams, Governors Island,” 1910. 

1912- 13 

 Ca. 1912. An aerial photograph taken circa 1912 shows Castle Williams and adjacent 

buildings. The east powder magazine had been demolished by this time, but reconstruction of 

the salient angle as a two- story guardhouse had not yet commenced. (U.S. Geog. File, New 

York City, Governors Island, Prints and Photographs Division; LC; digital identification: cph 

3c19973, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c19973.) See fig. 34. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1910-1919

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Figure 34. Aerial view of Castle Williams, circa 1912. 

 1912. “The Castle was repaired...in 1912 when the buildings inside the walls were torn 

down and the fort was converted into a military prison. It was during this latest renovation that 

the concrete galleries within the exterior walls were added [sic].” (“National Register 

Nomination: Castle Williams,” 1972.) 

 1912. “[Sometime after 1904] a second change altered the appearance of the structure. 

Masonry magazines at each end of the circular portion of the Castle were demolished. The 

stones were used to create a two- story structure in the southeast corner of the Castle using the 

existing walls in that area as the exterior first story walls. Windows and a door were cut in the 

existing first story wall.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 2.) 

1912- 13. “[Castle Williams] had on each side of the gate on the inside a stone building. 

One of these was used for a powder magazine and one for solitary confinement at some 

period.... The stone buildings referred to here have been taken down (1912- 13) and the 

material is being used for the building of a two- story structure on the same site. The lower story 

contains a guard house and the upper story rooms for court martial and other purposes. It is an 

admirable re- arrangement, giving at once much needed facilities for garrison administration 

and increasing the military appearance of the interior court of the Castle.” (Smith ,Governor’s 

Island, p. 56.)

1913. “The Castle is still [1913] used as a Military Prison. The stone magazines at the gate 

have been taken down to provide place for a much- needed guard house, which is being built of 

the same material just inside the main gate.” (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 83.)
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1910-1919

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1915 

1915. “Governors Island became the Atlantic Branch of the Fort Leavenworth 

Disciplinary Barracks in 1915, while Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco was the 

Pacific Branch.” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 6, pp. 117- 18. Original source is 

K.T. Smith, “Annual Report of the Atlantic Branch, United Disciplinary Barracks, Governors 

Island, N.Y.”; Governors Island, NY: Office of the Commandant, 1916.) 

 1915. “Most of the criminals housed in Castle Williams during this early period of time 

had committed only minor offenses. In the 1915 report, 163 out the 257 prisoners were interred 

for desertion, and most men served a year or less for their crimes.” (“Historic Resource Study,” 

Draft 2; Chapter 6, pp. 117- 18. Original source is K.T. Smith, “Annual Report of the Atlantic 

Branch,” 1915, p. 100.) 

 1915. “While on the island, prison authorities made surprising efforts to make respectable 

men out of the prisoners. For example, prisoners went to night school to learn basic skills like 

reading, spelling and arithmetic.... In addition to education, prison officials emphasized 

vocations training for each prisoner in order to provide them with a means to support 

themselves after they were released.... Vocational work on the island included jobs such as: 

barbers, carpenters, canners, firemen, laundrymen, painters, tailors, cooks, clerks, laborers, 

messengers, waiters, weavers, and librarians.” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 6, 

pp. 118- 19. Original sources are two reports by K.T. Smith: “Annual Report of the Atlantic 

Branch,” 1915 (p. 94) and 1916 (p. 18.) 

 1915. “Another example of progressive treatment of prisoners can be seen in the kind of 

entertainment allowed for the prisoners. Inmates formed various sports teams, such as soccer 

and baseball, and played against civilian teams from New York Harbor. They also put on 

vaudeville performances and purchased a victrola with the income they were allowed to keep 

from taking in laundry. Most remarkably, the prisoners produced their own weekly newspaper 

called The Castle, comprised of news articles about happenings within the barracks, poems and 

articles by the prisoners, and editorials by the chaplain.” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; 

Chapter 6, p. 120. Original sources are two reports by K.T. Smith: “Annual Report of the 

Atlantic Branch,” 1915 (p. 93) and 1916 (p. 18.) 

1916 

1916, April. “A drawing...dated April 1916 on file in the U.S. Coast Guard Facilities 

Engineering Division on Governors Island refers to the structure [at the southeast corner of the 

castle] as a ‘new addition.’ At the time, the rooms above the sally port were used as a library and 

recreation rooms.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” pp. 2- 3.) 

 1916, April. Drawing: “Plan of Prison Bldg #55, Ft. Jay, NY, 2nd Tier, showing location of 

proposed new water closets in cells and basins in the Barber Shop, Cell #21, with water & sewer 

connections.” (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. Also reproduced by 

HABS in 1982- 83, negative no. NY- 5715- 2- 28.) See fig. 35. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1910-1919

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Figure 35. Plan of the second tier of Castle Williams, 1916. 

1919 

1919, May 31. A photo essay on Castle Williams entitled “With the M.O.’s [military 

offenders] at Castle Bill” is published in Collier’s: The National Weekly magazine, May 31, 1919, 

Vol. 63. No. 22. One caption reads, “The prison methods at Castle William [sic] are thoroughly 

modern. There is an honor association, a uniformed honor battalion, athletic teams, and a trade 

school. Here is the print shop.” The cupolas of the stair towers were then used by armed prison 

guards as “watch towers.” (Park archives, Governors Island NM.) See fig. 36. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1910-1919

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Figure 36. Interior courtyard of Castle Williams, 1919. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1920-1929

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1920- 1929

Summary 

Castle Williams continued its use as a military prison during the years 1920- 29, becoming the 

Eastern Branch of the United States Disciplinary Barracks in August 1921. Some consideration 

was given to removing the disciplinary barracks from Governors Island in 1927 and converting 

Castle Williams to a storage depot for heating oil. This plan, however, was never enacted. 

Documentation on Castle Williams as gathered to date is otherwise scarce for this period, 

lacking both drawings and descriptions of repairs and/or alterations. 

Documentation 

1921 

 1921, May and November. Map: “New York Harbor, Fort Jay, Governors Island General 

Map.” (Cited in “Ordnance and Explosives,” reference documents.) 

1921, August. “In August 1921, Castle Williams became the Eastern Branch of the United 

States Disciplinary Barracks and remained a prison until the Army vacated the island in 1966.” 

(“National Register Nomination: Governors Island,” Item 8—Statement of Significance, 1983, p. 

8; and HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 6.) 

1927 

1927, April 25. Excerpt of memorandum from General Summerall, Army Chief of Staff. 

1. The Secretary of War desires a complete study be made of the 

utilization of Governors Island in connection with the construction of 

the new barracks provided for in the Deficiency Bill. 

2. The subject should embrace especially the removal of the disciplinary 

barracks from Governors Island to some other place. Fort Schuyler has 

been suggested and consideration might be given to the Curtiss Air 

Factory on Long Island City.... Consideration should also be given to the 

removal of the present coal landing and coal storage location. In this 

connection it is believed that oil fuel should be used for the new barracks 

and that oil should be substituted for coal as far a possible in heating on 

Governors Island on account of the contracted area and the dirt that 

results from the storage of large quantities of coal. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1920-1929

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3. Should the disciplinary barracks be removed, it is barely possible that 

Castle Williams might be available for fuel storage. 

(Transcribed in “Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 9, pp. 184-

185. Original source is RG 93, NAB.) 

 1927. “Despite the General’s efforts, plans for creating a new post on Governors Island 

got sidetracked for the next several years. Castle Williams continued to serve as the Disciplinary 

Barracks almost until World War II.... A fire destroyed the building in which vocational 

education was carried out at the prison.... The Disciplinary Barracks found another location for 

its training.” (“Governors Island Historic Resources Study,” Chapter 9, Draft 2, June 4, 2004, 

pp. 185- 86.) 

 1927, September- October. The September- October Issue of The Journal of the Army 

Ordnance Association features a photograph of the barbette tier [roof] of Castle Williams on the 

front cover. Note the navigation- aid tower on the left side of the photograph and flagstaff on 

the right side. (Park archives, Governors Island NM.) See fig. 37. 

Figure 37. Barbette tier of Castle Williams, 1927. 

1928 

 1928, September 1. Map: “Fort Jay, Governors Island, N.Y., Buildings and Roads.” (Entry 

393, Box 102, File: Ft. Jay, 3 of 7; RG 77; NAB. Cited in “Ordnance and Explosives,” reference 

documents.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1930-1939

98

1930- 1939

Summary 

Considerable work was undertaken during the 1930s at Castle Williams, which continued to 

serve as a military prison. This is documented by drawings prepared by the Fort Jay 

Quartermaster Office, the Post Utilities Office, and the U.S.A. Work Program of the Works 

Project Administration (WPA). A new system for numbering the buildings on Governors Island 

had been instituted by this time, with Castle Williams designated as number “501.” Work 

delineated on the drawings of Castle Williams dated 1931- 32 included new water supply lines, 

steel reinforcement for floors and roof, steel grating for cells in the second and third tiers, and 

solitary confinement cells. Later drawings prepared in 1938 and 1939 were for renovations of 

the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems. A one- story addition enlarging the kitchen also 

appears to have been constructed at this time on the southwest side of the courtyard, west of the 

stair tower. A photograph of the opposite side of the courtyard taken sometime in the 1930s 

shows the northeast stair tower with its 1840s octagonal roof structure still intact, and the 

adjacent galleries in the second and third tiers rebuilt in concrete (fig. 38). By June 1939 Castle 

Williams held 400 prisoners. 

Documentation 

1930s 

1930s. “During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration undertook various projects 

on the Island, and alterations to Castle Williams were among those projects. A new steel and 

concrete framing system replaced the original heavy timber framing system within the Castle 

casemates. Also a new concrete balcony was constructed around one of the stair towers as a 

connection with adjacent cells. The balcony is shown...[in] a photograph [dated] ca. 1930.” 

(HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 3.) 

 Circa 1930s. A “view of courtyard” is taken by an unknown photographer. This shows the 

original northeast stair tower, which still retained its octagonal wooden roof structure built in 

the 1840s. (Reproduced in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 21. The photograph was then at the U.S. 

Coast Guard Support Center, Special Services Office, Governors Island, N.Y.) See fig. 38. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1930-1939

99

Figure 38. View of the northeast courtyard at Castle Williams, circa 1930s. 

1931 

1931, April 7. Drawing: “Proposed Location of New Water Supply Lines, Castle William—

Gov’s Il’se N.Y.” By the Office of Quartermaster, 2nd Corps Area, Fort Jay, Governors Island. 

One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1932 

1932, April. “Reconstruction of Castle Williams, Governors Island.” By the Office of 

Quartermaster, 2nd Corps Area, Fort Jay, Governors Island. Ten sheets. Castle Williams is 

labeled as building number “501.” (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

 1931- 32. “Drawings from 1931- 32 include the proposed location of new water lines, floor 

and roof reinforcement, plans of solitary confinement cells and grating on second and third tier 

cells. The new steel structural system is also included in these drawings.” (HABS, “Castle 

Williams,” p. 12.) 

1934 

1934. “Building 114, a rectangular plan two- story brick neo- Georgian style building 

was...designed by architects Rogers and Poor and built in 1934. The building was adjacent to 

[east of] Castle Williams. This new structure was intended to be a ‘home’ for the nurses 

employed by the new hospital. A well- built bakery and ‘two unimportant buildings’ were 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1930-1939

100

knocked down to make room for it.” [The hospital, Building 515, is located south of Castle 

Williams.] (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 9, p. 196.) 

Late 1930s 

Late 1930s. “Plans from the late 1930s are for electrical, plumbing and heating systems.” 

(HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 12.) 

1938 

1938. Drawing: “Castle William Building No. 501, First Floor Plan—Electrical, Second 

Corps Area, Fort Jay, Gov’s Isl.” Prepared by: U.S.A. Work Program, WPA, Project no. 365- 97-

2- 16. Three sheets. Specifications for “complete electrical wiring installation” were included 

on the drawings. The casemates in the first tier were then labeled “Mess Hall” (three 

casemates), “Kitchen” (two casemates), “Latrine,” “Boiler Room,” “Shower Room,” “Linen 

Room,” “Carpenter Shop,” and prison “Cell[s]” (three casemates). Eight casemates in the 

second tier were designated as prison cells, the other five as a “Gymnasium,” “Recreation,” 

“Library,” and “Hospital” (two casemates). All 13 casemates in the third tier were used as prison 

cells, with two partitioned into smaller solitary lockups. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

Island, GIPEC. 

1938, September 6. Drawing: “Diagram of Boiler Rm, Bldg #501.” Prepared by Post 

Utilities Office, Fort Jay, Governors Island. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

Island, GIPEC. 

Ca. 1938- 1939 

 1938- 39. Drawings: “Castle William, First Floor Plan Construction, and Sanitary Sewer 

Drainage—Reinf. Concrete Pavement, Second Corps Area, Fort Jay, Gov’r’s Isl.” Prepared by 

the U.S.A. Work Program, WPA, Project # 565- 97- 2- 3.” Two sheets. (Drawing files, Building 

910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

1939 

 1939. Drawings: “Castle William B’L’D’G #501, Second Corps Area, Fort Jay, Governors 

Island.” Prepared by the Works Project Administration, City of New York, Project No. 765- 97-

2- 15. Two sheets: “Plumbing & heating Layout” and “Framing Plan, Alteration to Kitchen, 

Castle William.” (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

 1939, June. “Castle Williams held 400 prisoners.” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; 

Chapter 10, p. 201. Original source is RG 93, “Record of Equipment and Condition of Buildings, 

1939- 41,” NAB.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1940-1949

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1940- 1949

Summary 

The most extensive renovations to date were made to Castle Williams in 1947- 48, shortly after 

World War II. It was at this time that the interior courtyard achieved its existing industrial 

appearance, lined with concrete balconies enclosed with steel sashes. The work is well 

documented by architectural drawings; drawings of construction details; and heating, plumbing, 

and electrical plans. These were prepared for the Office of the Post Engineer by Gerson T. 

Hirsch, Architect, and Leonard S. Wegman & Co., Engineers, both of New York City. Design 

work was also subcontracted to the Reinforcing Steel Engineering Bureau, Inc., Structural 

Engineers; the Stewart Iron Works Company; the Fairmont Iron Works; and Nathan SyrausDuparquet, Inc., Food Service Equipment. The castle was still used as a prison, its various 

functions recorded on plans of the first, second, and third floors. Communal and support areas 

were relegated to the casemates in the first tier, including a storage room, mess rooms, a kitchen, 

latrine, boiler room and coal bin, shower room, linen room, property room, and supply room. 

Prison cells occupied most of the casemates in the second and third tiers, except for two 

casemates in the second tier used as a library. Other prisoner amenities included a barber shop, 

a store, visitor and recreation rooms, and a toilet room in the first story of the main- entrance 

addition built in 1912- 13. Located above these in the second story were rooms for prison 

administration consisting of four offices, an interview room, quarters, and two toilet rooms. 

Most visually impacted by the work of 1947- 48 was the courtyard, where the remaining wooden 

galleries in the first and second tiers were replaced by cantilevered balconies made of reinforced 

concrete, whose side walls consisted of steel sashes with semi- security wire glass. A new threestory brick addition was constructed on the northwest side of the courtyard, containing a steel 

stair with concrete treads. An exposed wooden stairway on the courtyard side of the 1912- 13 

addition was replaced by a steel stairway covered by a roof of corrugated transite (asbestos). 

Inside the casemates, existing wooden partitions were replaced by brick partitions in most of the 

second- tier spaces, but were retained in the third- tier casemates. Existing concrete floors in 

the first- tier casemates were repaired, and surviving wooden floorboards in the second and 

third tiers were removed and replaced with concrete floors. Existing wooden sashes and 

louvers in the embrasures of the exterior walls were replaced with maximum- security steel 

sashes glazed with polished wire glass. Windows on the exterior side of the 1912- 13 addition 

also received maximum- security sashes, while semi- security sashes were used on the courtyard 

side. Existing wooden enclosures and doors in the openings of the casemates facing the 

courtyard and balcony were removed and replaced by metal grille fronts with sliding grille 

doors, or else with hollow metal frames and doors with semi- security sashes. Existing steel 

grilles recently installed in the 1930s were retained. Partition walls in the first story of the 1912-

13 addition were reconfigured and an interior stairway removed. All interior walls and ceilings, 

and exposed iron and steel, were painted. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1940-1949

102

The castle’s heating, plumbing, and electrical systems were also upgraded at this time. An 

existing coal- fired boiler was converted to oil, its coal bin removed, and a 5,000- gallon oil tank 

installed in its place. An existing metal chimney for the heating system was removed from the 

courtyard and replaced by a brick chimney located next to the new brick structure enclosing the 

steel stair. Water closets (i.e., toilets) and lavatories were repaired or replaced where necessary, 

and new toilet rooms replaced existing toilets in the 1912- 13 addition. Existing electrical 

fixtures were replaced with new fixtures, and light fixtures were installed in the new enclosed 

concrete balconies. 

Documentation 

1941 

1941, June 30. “By June 30, 1941, 172 T- buildings (temporary buildings) had been built. 

Some of those...were built south of Castle Williams, and included a prison guard’s barracks and 

a recreation building for the hospital.... There were 500 prisoner spaces [in Castle Williams]....” 

(“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 10, p. 201.) 

1943- 1944 

World War II. “Interestingly, for an island that had long held prisoners, there were no 

prisoners- of- war housed on Governors Island. Italian prisoners of war apparently worked at 

Fort Jay but did not live there.” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 10, p. 206.) 

1947 

 1947. “The interior face of the Castle underwent further change in 1947. The wooden 

balconies which provided access to cells on the second and third tiers were removed and 

replaced by an enclosed cantilevered steel and concrete passage with brick spandrels and 

continuous semi- security steel sash glazed with polished wire glass. A three- story brick 

structure with the same semi- security sash windows was constructed to house a stairway on the 

northwest wall. A new brick chimney was built adjacent to the new stair structure. On the 

interior, wooden enclosures at the casemate arches were replaced by grille fronts with sliding 

grille doors. New 8" brick partitions filled the arched openings between cells and new concrete 

floors were laid.” (Cited in HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 3.) 

1947. “Drawings of the 1947 modifications to the Castle include floor plans, plumbing, 

electrical and heating plans, and details of reinforced concrete and security systems.” (HABS, 

“Castle Williams,” p. 12.) 
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103

1947, March – August. Drawings: “Renovation & Alteration Castle Williams, Castle 

Williams, Governors Island,” March- Aug., 1847. Prepared by Leonard S. Wegman & Co., 

Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect, for the Office of the Post Engineer, Headquarters 

Fort Jay. Nineteen sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. Four of 

these drawings were reproduced by HABS in 1982- 83, negative numbers 5715- 2- 24, 25, 26, and 

27.) See figs. 39- 42. 

Figure 39. First- floor plan of Castle Williams, March 1947. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1940-1949

104

Figure 40. Second- floor plan of Castle Williams, March 1947. 

Figure 41. Third- floor plan of Castle Williams, March 1947. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1940-1949

105

Figure 42. Security details for Castle Williams, 1947. 

1947, July. Drawings: “Castle Williams, Fort Jay, Governors Island,” July 1947. Prepared 

by Leonard S. Wegman & Col, Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect and Reinforcing 

Steel Engineering Bureau, Inc., Structural Engineers, NYC, and J. Rosenblum, Inc., Contractor. 

Five sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

1947, June- August. Drawings: “Castle Williams, War Department, Fort Jay, Governors 

Island, New York—Order No. 8978,” June- Aug., 1947. By The Stewart Iron Works Co. 

Cincinnati, OH. Fifteen sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

1947, August- September. Drawings: “Castle Williams, Fort Jay, N.Y.,” AugustSeptember, 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. Wegman & Co., Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, 

Architect, and Fairmount Iron Work, NYC. Four sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC. 

 1947, October. Drawings: “Castle Williams, Building 55, Governors Island, NY,” October 

1947. Prepared by Nathan Syraus- Duparquet Inc., NY, Food Service Equipment. Two sheets 

(includes dishwashing equipment). (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

 1947. Construction photographs of Castle Williams taken in 1947, formerly in the Office 

of the Public Affairs Officer at Governors Island. (Park archives, Governors Island NM.) See 

fig. 43. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1940-1949

106

 Figure 43. Construction photographs of Castle Williams with original captions, 1947. 

“4 July 47 view of yard showing status of 

work to date cells #33, #34, #35 ground 

floor” 

“View of roof and cannon on Williams 

Castle 6 Aug. 47” 

“View of east tower 

showing crooked tower 

Williams Castle 6 Aug. 47” 

“Cells #5, 6, 7 plus scaffold 

in front of #8 work to 

date” 

“Cells #8 - #9 from roof 

showing work to date” 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1950-1959

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1950- 59

Summary 

Documentation for Castle Williams for the 1950s is provided by architectural drawings and 

plans, most on file at the former U.S. Coast Guard Facilities Engineering Division in Building 

910 on Governors Island, now part of Governors Island Preservation & Education Corporation 

(GIPEC). These show the castle still in use as a prison and designated as Building 501. Proposed 

work included alterations to three cells, alterations to a shower room in the first tier, zoning of 

the heating system, and a new exhaust system for the kitchen. 

Documentation 

1952 

 1952. Drawing: “Alterations of Cells #11, 12 & 13, Fort Jay, Governors Island, NY,” 1952. 

Prepared by Office of the Post Engineer. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

Island, GIPEC. 

1953 

1953, May. Plan: “Site Plan of Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York,” May 1953. (Cited 

in “Ordnance and Explosives,” reference documents.) 

1955 

 1955, December 16. Drawings: “Alt[eration] to Shower Rm 1st Fl., Castle Williams, Bld. 

501,” December 16, 1955. Prepared by Office of the Post Engineer. Two sheets. (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

1956 

1956, July 6. Drawing: “Proposed Heating Zoning for Bldg. 501, Castle Williams, Fort Jay, 

Governors Island, NY,” July 6, 1956. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

Island, GIPEC. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1950-1959

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1958 

1958, April 9. Drawing: “Kitchen Exhaust System, Castle Williams, Fort Jay, Governors 

Island, NY,” April 9, 1858. Prepared by Office of the Post Engineer. One sheet. (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

1959 

1959, May 6. Drawings: “Building No. 501, New York Base, Governors Island,” May 6, 

1959. Prepared by USCG, 3rd Dist., Governors Island. Two sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1960-1969

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1960- 1969

Summary 

Castle Williams continued to be used as a military prison until 1966, when the U.S. Army left 

Governors Island. The island was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard in June 1966, becoming 

headquarters for the Third Coast Guard District and the Atlantic Area. Numbers assigned to 

the buildings and structures of Governors Island by the Army were retained by the Coast Guard, 

including #501 for Castle Williams. Plans to convert the castle from a prison to a community 

center were prepared in 1966 and 1967 for the Coast Guard by Roberts & Schaefer Co., 

Architects and Engineers, and Carlson & Sweatt, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers. The new 

community center offered a variety of amenities and activities for Coast Guard personnel and 

their families stationed at Governors Island. These were a nursery for children up to the age of 

10, meeting rooms for Scouts and clubs, a club room for teens, a woodworking shop, studios for 

ceramics and minor arts and crafts, a photography laboratory, and a museum. Casemates in the 

first tier of the castle accommodated the nursery, woodworking shop, ceramics studio, crafts 

supply and storage area, heating plant, and toilet rooms. Second- tier casemates were 

designated as meeting rooms, arts and crafts rooms, a photography laboratory, and an 

administrative office. Third- tier casemates were slated for club rooms and museum display 

areas. Other functions were located in the 1912- 13 addition at the main entrance, including a 

snack bar, variety store, and toilets in the first tier, and teen club room in the second tier. 

The renovation of Castle Williams by the Coast Guard involved the following work. Minor 

repairs were made to the security windows and sashes to ensure that they were weather- tight. 

Existing doors were either repaired or replaced. Brick partition walls, and nonstructural stud 

and plywood walls, were removed from several casemates and rooms. Linoleum and vinyl 

asbestos tiles were installed on the floors of selected areas, along with suspended acoustical 

ceilings. Plaster and painted finishes required minor refurbishing. The heating plant and 

equipment were retained and repaired. Incandescent light fixtures were replaced by fluorescent 

lights to increase illumination, and new electrical outlets were installed as required. Showers, 

wash basins, and associated plumbing were removed from the prison shower room in the first 

tier to make room for an infant sleeping area for the nursery. The prison latrine was remodeled 

as toilet rooms for men and women, and toilets were removed from former prison cells in the 

second and third tiers. New wash basins and toilets were planned for the nursery areas, and 

darkroom sinks for the photography laboratory. Wooden decking was specified for the roof of 

the castle at the northern quadrant, to enable sightseeing and display of museum artifacts. 

Isolation and solitary confinement cells in three casemates of the third tier were retained as 

historical remnants of the prison era. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1960-1969

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Documentation 

1964 

1964, September 1. Plan: “Site Plan, Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York,” September 1, 

1964. Cited in “Ordnance and Explosives,” reference documents.) 

1966 

1966. “In 1966, the Army elected to leave Governors Island and consolidate First Army 

and other units at Fort Meade, Maryland. The Army left for budget reasons, but so far little 

discussion of what it meant to give up an island that generations of Army supporters had fought 

to retain and enjoy has emerged from this study.... The Army turned Governors Island over to 

the U.S. Coast Guard on June 30, 1966.... By consolidating all its New York- based activities and 

some out- of- town training courses, the Coast Guard organized the largest Coast Guard base in 

the world on the island.” (“Historic Resource Study,” Draft 2; Chapter 10, pp. 209- 11.) 

 1966. “Shortly after transfer of the Island to the Coast Guard [in 1966], the Castle was 

converted to a new use. Although solitary confinement cells, metal grille prison doors and 

security windows remained in place, the Castle served as meeting rooms for youth 

organizations, including the Boy Scouts, and as a day care facility.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 

6.) 

1966, June 16. Drawings: “Building 501,” June 16, 1966. Prepared by Roberts & Schaefer 

Co., Inc., Architects & Engineers, and Carlson & Sweatt, Mechanical & Electrical Engineers. 

Twenty- three of 191 sheets survive. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1967 

1967, March 14. Drawings: “Conversion of Castle Williams, New York Base, Building 

501,” Mar. 14, 1967. Prepared by Roberts & Schaefer Co., Inc., Architects & Engineers, and 

Carlson & Sweatt, Mechanical & Electrical Engineers. Three sheets. (Drawing files, Building 

910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

 1967, April 17. Drawing: “Second Floor Part[ition] Plan, New York Base, Building 501,” 

April 17, 1967. Prepared by USCG 3rd District, Governors Island, Civil Engineering. One sheet. 

(Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1967, May 29. Drawings: “Building No. 501,” May 29, 1967. Prepared by USCG 3rd

District, Governors Island, Civil Engineering. Two sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC.) 
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1967, June 2. Drawing: “Electrical Usage—Craft Shop,” June 2, 1967. Prepared by USCG, 

Governors Island, New York Base, Civil Engineering, Public Works Division. One sheet. 

(Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. 

1969 

1969, May 6. Drawing: “Structural Installation of Indirect Lighting,” May 6, 1969. 

Prepared by USCG, New York Base, Governors Island. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1970-1979

112

1970- 1979

Summary 

Castle Williams continued to serve as a community center for the Coast Guard through the 

1970s. Plans were prepared in 1970 for alterations to the meeting rooms in the second tier used 

by the Girl Scouts, the details of which have not yet been studied. Recognition of Castle 

Williams as a structure of national significance was conferred in July 1972 when it was 

individually entered in the National Register of Historic Places. Repair to the upper walls of the 

original stair towers, which had been rebuilt in brickwork by this time, took place in 1974. The 

stair- tower roofs were probably also replaced at this time. 

Documentation 

1970 

 1970. Drawing. “Girl Scout Rooms, Bldg. No. 501,” August & September, 1970. Prepared 

by USCG Base New York, Public Works Division, Engineering. Two sheets. (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1972 

 1972. “National Register of Historic Places, Inventory –Nomination Form: Castle 

Williams.” New York, New York. By Stephen S. Lash Associates. New York City Landmarks 

Preservation Commission, September 3, 1971. Entered in the National Register July 31, 1972. 

1974 

 1974. “The brick stairtowers on the north and south walls have undergone several changes 

since the Castle was constructed in the first decade of the 19th century. Figure 1 shows conical 

roofs on the towers in 1813. [A photograph] taken in the 1930s or 1940s shows a polygonal 

fourth story with flat roof [sic: the “flat” appearance may be due to the camera angle]. The date 

of the alteration was not documented [sic: this change was made in the 1840s]. At some point 

afterward, the fourth story was altered [1947?] becoming circular once again. By 1967, the upper 

portions of the fourth floors were badly deteriorated, and the roofs were in danger of blowing 

off. The brickwork [sic?] was finally replaced in 1974.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” p. 3. 

Original source for the condition of the stair towers in 1967 was “Coast Guard Facilities 

Engineering vertical files.”)
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

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1980- 1989

Summary 

Documentation of Castle Williams was undertaken in 1982- 83 by the Historic American 

Buildings Survey (HABS) of Washington, DC. Twenty- eight black- and- white, large- format, 

photographs were taken by John T. Lowe, including aerial, exterior, and selected interior views. 

These were accompanied by a written report that incorporated limited archival research and an 

assessment of existing conditions. No measured drawings were prepared by HABS, although 

the report incorporated drawings dated 1813, 1916, and 1947. The castle was then used by the 

U.S. Coast Guard for storage, workshops, and offices. Its physical condition was judged to be 

“fair.” Of particular concern were the original sandstone walls that suffered from extensive 

spalling and deterioration. Castle Williams was assessed as a significant contributing resource in 

a district nomination of Governors Island to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, 

encompassing 121 acres on the north side of the island. The nomination was accepted and 

entered as a National Historic Landmark District in 1985. A new heating system for one of the 

workshops at Castle Williams—the furniture repair shop—was proposed that same year. It is not 

known if this work was accomplished. 

Documentation 

1982- 83 

 1982- 83. “It [Castle Williams] presently serves as storage space, workshops and offices.... 

The structure is in fair condition with considerable spalling evident on the exterior walls. Much 

of the interior space is used for storage and lack of proper maintenance in these areas has 

resulted in deterioration of walls.” (HABS, “Castle Williams,” pp. 6- 7.) 

 1982- 83. Photographs: Documentary photographs are taken of Castle Williams by John T. 

Lowe of the Historic American Buildings Survey in October 1982 and September 1983. (HABS 

No. NY- 5715- 2; negative numbers 5715- 2- 1 through 5715- 2- 23.) See figs. 44- 65. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

114

Figure 44. Aerial view of Castle Williams looking 

northwest, 1982- 83. 

Figure 45. Aerial view of Castle Williams looking south, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

115

Figure 46. Exterior east elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 47. Exterior sally port [entrance] of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

116

Figure 48. Exterior southeast elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 49. Exterior south elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

117

Figure 50. Detail of vegetation on the exterior 

south wall of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 51. Exterior southwest elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

118

Figure 52. Detail of exterior embrasures in the first 

and second tiers of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 53. Exterior west elevation of Castle Williams, with the 

World Trade Center towers in the background, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

119

Figure 54. Exterior east elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 55. Interior southeast elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

120

Figure 56. Interior south elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 57. Interior west elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

121

Figure 58. Interior northeast elevation of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 59. View looking north from the southeast barbette tier 

of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

122

Figure 60. View looking west from the northeast barbette tier 

of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 61. View looking west from the east barbette tier 

of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

123

Figure 62. Interior of the northeast stairway at the 

third tier of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 63. Interior casemate doorway in the northeast quadrant 

of the third tier of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

124

Figure 64. Isolation prison cell in the northeast 

quadrant of the third tier of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 

Figure 65. Interior casemate in the north quadrant of the third tier 

of Castle Williams, 1982- 83. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1980-1989 

125

1984 

1984. A report is prepared by the Historic American Buildings Survey: “Governors Island, 

Castle Williams, Castle Williams,” HABS No. NY- 5715- 2.” Washington, DC: Historic 

American Buildings Survey, National Park Service, 1984; LC. 

1985 

1985, February 4. Castle Williams and Fort Jay are described as significant contributing 

resources in a nomination of a portion of Governors Island to the National Register of Historic 

Places. (“National Register of Historic Places, Inventory – Nomination Form: Governors 

Island,” by Barbara Hightower, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American 

Engineering Record, Summer 1983. Entered as a National Historic Landmark District February 

4, 1985.) 

 1985, November 7. Drawing: “New Heating System in Furniture Repair Shop, Building 

501.” Prepared by USCG Support Center, New York, Governors Island, NY, Facilities 

Engineering. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1990-1999

126

1990- 1999

Summary 

Shortly before the departure of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1997, plans were made to replace the 

existing roof of Castle Williams. These were prepared by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Civil 

Engineering Unit in July 1993. The architectural demolition plan called for removing the 

existing built- up roofing, chain link fence, gutters and downspouts, and a spotlight. Existing 

concrete roof decks beneath the roofing were to be repaired, and the parapet and coping 

repointed. Two types of new roofing were specified for specific areas: built- up roofing, and an 

inverted roofing membrane assembly (IRMA) roof system. Also included were new gutters, 

downspouts, copper counterflashing, railings, and an observation deck. Exactly when this 

project was carried out is not known. 

The U.S. Coast Guard announced its plans to leave Governors Island for budgetary reasons in 

October 1995. A programmatic agreement signed the following spring ensured that structures 

located within the National Historic Landmark District, including Castle Williams, would 

continue to receive maintenance treatment following the Coast Guard’s departure. Although 

most Coast Guard personnel had vacated the island by August 1996, the ceremony marking the 

closure of the base did not take place until September 30, 1997. A skeleton crew manned by the 

Coast Guard continued to provide security, fire protection, and facility maintenance, pending 

disposal of the island by the General Services Administration. 

Several reports and planning studies were contracted by the U.S. Coast Guard and the General 

Services Administration in preparation for the base closure. These included the following 

documents: 

“Final Environmental Assessment for the Closure of Support Center,” May 1995; 

“Phase IA Archaeological Assessment of the Governors Island National Historic 

Landmark District, Governors Island, New York,” by James C. Garman and Holly 

Herbster; Pawtucket, RI: Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc., June 1996 (revised August 

1996); 

“Ordnance and Explosives Archives Search Report Findings, U.S. Coast Guard Support 

Center, Governors Island,” by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; St. Louis, MO: U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, July 1997; 

“Governors Island Land Use Study: Land & Facility Assessment,” by Beyer Blinder Belle 

Consortium, September 1997; and 

“General Services Administration Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Disposition of Governors Island, New York,” by Edwards and Kelcey Engineers, Inc., 

for the U.S. General Services Administration, November 4, 1998. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1990-1999

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Documentation 

1992 

 1992. “A natural gas supply and distribution system was installed [on Governors Island by 

the U.S. Coast Guard] in 1992 to replace existing oil heat which had required delivery of heating 

oil. Gas is supplied from Brooklyn via an 8- inch...natural gas pipe under Buttermilk Channel 

which was also installed in 1992.” (“Governors Island Land Use Study,” p. 21.) 

1993 

1993. Drawings: “Roof Rehabilitation of Building 501, Castle Williams at USCG Support 

Center New York, Governors Island, New York,” July 30, 1993. Prepared by USCG Civil 

Engineering Unit, New York, NY. Twelve sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

Island, GIPEC.) 

1995 

 1995. “In October 1995, the Coast Guard announced its plans for the cessation of its 

operations at Governors Island. Coast Guard facilities in Bayonne, NJ; Staten Island, NY; 

Tidewater, VA; and Charleston, SC, will assume the responsibilities of the closed base. The 

Coast Guard hopes to sell the island through the disposal agency, GSA, by 01 October 1998. 

Releasing the property is expected to save the Coast Guard thirty million dollars a year.” 

(“Ordnance and Explosives,” pp. 4- 5.) 

 1995, May. An environmental- assessment report concludes that no significant 

environmental impacts would result from closure of the U.S. Coast Guard base on Governors 

Island under the preferred alternative of “Standard Maintenance.” (“Final Environmental 

Assessment for the Closure of Support Center, New York, Governors Island,” May 1995.) 

 1995, October 16. “On October 16, 1995, the USCG announced that it would close 

Governors Island by the end of Summer 1997. This decision was made in response to the 

Presidential mandate to meet the goals of the National Performance and Results Act, and the 

challenge of reducing the Federal budget deficit. The Coast Guard was charged with identifying 

a permanent, recurring savings of $400 million. A cost/benefit analysis performed for the 

possible closure of Governors Island and the relocation of facilities estimated an annual savings 

to the Coast Guard to be initially $59.5 and $33 million thereafter.” (“Final Environmental 

Impact Statement, p. i.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1990-1999

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1996 

 1996. “The Coast Guard left the Island in a money- saving move in 1996, which ended the 

centuries of federal military use of the place [Governors Island.]” (“Historic Resource Study,” 

Draft 2; Chapter 10, p. 214.) 

 1996, April. “In April 1996, a Programmatic Agreement was signed by the USCG, United 

States General Services Administration (GSA), Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, New 

York State Historic Preservation Officer, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation 

Commission regarding the USCG’s and GSA’s consultation responsibilities under Sections 106 

and 110(f) of the National Historic Preservation Act for the closure and disposal of the USCG 

Support Center on Governors Island. The agreement established that the closure and disposal 

of the island would be administered in accordance with a series of stipulations. Included in the 

Programmatic Agreement were the following stipulations: the continuation of caretaker 

maintenance on structures in the Governors Island National Historic Landmark 

district...[etc.].” (“Final Environmental Impact Statement,” p. i.) 

 1996, June. An archeological assessment identifies 10 areas as having moderate 

archeological sensitivity including “Area C,” the interior courtyard of Castle Williams, and the 

grassy perimeter area outside the castle walls. Potential archeological resources at Castle 

Williams were identified as the remnants of two original buildings that formerly sat within the 

courtyard, and artifacts associated with the construction and use of the fort as a defensive work. 

No subsequent archeological testing was conducted in the courtyard due to the presence of 

modern paving and extreme disturbance caused by underground utility lines. Twelve (12) test 

pits were excavated in the grassy areas outside the exterior wall, uncovering a mixture of 

modern, Native American, and Euro- American artifacts in sandy fill soil. Historic artifacts 

included coal, coal by- products, ceramic sherds, nails and other metal hardware, window and 

bottle glass, and clay pipe fragments. No builder’s trenches or natural land surfaces were 

identified. No further archeological survey work was recommended for Castle Williams. 

(“Phase Ia Archeological Assessment, June 1996 [revised August 1996].) 

 1996, June 18. The Governors Island National Historic Landmark District is also 

designated a New York City Historic District. 

 1996, August. Report: “By August 1996 all Coast Guard residents and dependents had 

been relocated from Governors Island to other facilities.” (“Final Environmental Impact 

Statement,” p. i.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1990-1999

129

1997 

 1997, July. A report on the historical use of ordnance and explosives on Governors Island 

is prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the U.S. Coast Guard. (“Ordnance and 

Explosives Archives Search Report Findings, U.S. Coast Guard Support Center, Governors 

Island,” by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, July 1997.) 

 1997, September. The characteristics of Castle Williams are summarized the report “Land 

Use Study,” prepared by the Beyer Blinder Belle consortium for the U.S. Coast Guard and the 

General Services Administration, September 1997. 

Building Assessment Database Summary 

A. Building Number 501 

B. Building Use Other 

C. Ground Floor Area (sq. ft.) 21,600 

D. Total Building Floor Area (sq. ft.) 65,000 

E. Outside Dimensions (ft.): 240 x 90 

F. Building Height (# of stories) 3 

G. Ground Floor to Ceiling Dimensions (ft.) 10 

H. Typical Floor Dimension (ft.) 10 

I. Exterior Wall Material Stone 

J. Construction Date 1811 

K. Building Style Military 

L. Heating System [Blank] 

M. A/C System [Blank] 

N. Roof Material & Age [Blank] 

O. Window Type & Age [Blank] 

P. Fire Suppression system None 

Q. Architectural Significance Individually listed on the 

National Register of 

Historic Places & 

Designated NYC 

Landmark Building 

R. Exterior Building Condition Good- minor repairs 

required 

S. Interior Building Condition [Ditto] 

T. Views from Building Direct views of water 

U. Construction Type Other 

V. Code Compliance [Blank] 

W. Suitability for Addition to Existing 

Building 

[Blank] 

X. Eligibility for Demolition [Blank] 

Y. Reuse Potential [Blank] 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 1990-1999

130

 1997, September 30. “The Coast Guard officially departed September 30, 1997, after a low 

key but nostalgic ceremony.” (“Governors Island Memories: June 1966 to September 1997,” 

The Reservist, December 1997.) 

 1997, October 1. “On October 1, 1997, a 57- person caretaker crew of civilian and military 

Coast Guard personnel began providing security, fire protection and facility maintenance on 

Governors Island until its disposal, which is the responsibility of the GSA.” (“Final 

Environmental Impact Statement,” p. i.) 

 1997. “The proposed action is the disposition of Governors Island, New York. The 

General Services Administration has been directed by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to 

dispose of the island, for fair market value not before the year 2002. The Balanced Budget Act 

directs GSA to provide the right of first offer to the State and or City of New York. Governors 

Island was vacated by the United States Coast Guard in 1997 after determining that the island 

was no longer necessary to fulfill their mission.” (“Final Environmental Impact Statement,” 

abstract.) 

1998 

 1998, November 4. An environmental study identifies the preferred alternative for 

Governors Island to be “the disposition of the island, in compliance with the Balanced Budget 

Act of 1997.” (“Final Environmental Impact Statement,” Introduction.) 
 CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 2000-2004

131

2000 – 2004

Summary 

The General Services Administration (GSA) developed a “Preservation Design Manual” to 

provide additional guidance in the federal decommissioning and sale of Governors Island. The 

final document, published January 28, 2003, was prepared in consultation with the New York 

City Planning Department, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, the New 

York State Historic Preservation Office, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its purpose was to guide the development of the 

historic district portion of the island to ensure preservation of its historic and architectural 

resources. The three components of the “Preservation Design Manual” are (1) “Preservation & 

Design Standards,” (2) “Design & Development Guidelines,” and (3) “Building & Property 

Summary Sheets.” Castle Williams and Fort Jay were described in the manual as two of the 

“most significant structures on Governors Island.” 

National monument status was conferred on a portion of the Governors Island Historic District 

upon the signing of Presidential Proclamation 7402 by President William J. Clinton on January 

19, 2001. This designated approximately 20 acres of the island as the Governors Island National 

Monument, which included Castle Williams and Fort Jay. Governors Island was cited in the 

proclamation as providing “an excellent opportunity for the public to observe and understand 

the harbor history, its defense, and its ecology.” 

The national monument property was actually conveyed two years later, on January 31, 2003, 

from the United States of America, acting through the General Services Administration, to the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation, which subsequently the same property to the Secretary 

of the Interior. On the same date, GSA conveyed the rest of the island (150 acres) to the 

Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, a business corporation acting on 

behalf of New York State and the City of New York. 

Monument Preservation Covenants in the quitclaim deeds between GSA and the National 

Trust, and subsequently between the National Trust and the Department of the Interior, restrict 

the use of the monument property for national monument purposes, and for other monumentpermitted uses, defined as: “(a) museums and historic sites, such as national parks and 

monument areas; (b) not- for- profit cultural facilities; (c) historic interpretation sites; (d) other 

non- commercial uses customary for national parks and monument areas; (e) commercial uses 

necessary for and limited to visitor services ancillary to the use of the Monument Property; and 

(f) office and administrative space ancillary to the use of the Monument Property.” 

Presidential Proclamation 7647, signed by President George W. Bush on February 7, 2003, 

clarified the boundaries of the national monument, increasing the acreage from approximately 

20 to 22 acres. It also noted that the proximity of Governors Island to lower Manhattan “makes 

it an appropriate location from which to reflect upon the tragic events of September 11, 2001.” 

This proclamation also states: “it would be in the public interest to preserve Castle Williams, 

Fort Jay, and certain lands and buildings necessary for the care and management of the Castle 
 CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 2000-2004

132

and Fort as the Governors Island National Monument.” The monument property, including 

Castle Williams, is managed and maintained by the National Park Service. 

Documentation 

2000 

2000, April. Castle Williams is characterized as “one of the most significant structures on 

Governors Island” in a report prepared for the General Services Administration in April 2000. 

The following detailed description is provided under the subheading “What is Important to 

Preserve?” 

The appearance of Castle Williams has been altered only minimally over 

the decades. The overall design and form of the building is important, 

along with exterior materials and courtyard. In addition, the remaining 

vistas to and from the Castle are important to preserve. 

Exterior elements of the structure that should be preserved include its 

exterior design, stone masonry construction, casement [sic: casemate] 

openings, and orientation on the site. 

The courtyard and interior spaces of the Castle have been modified 

extensively to accommodate changes in uses. Accordingly, there are no 

interior elements that should be preserved, however, the multistory 

courtyard should be maintained, either as an open or enclosed space. 

(“Governors Island Historic District: Building & Property Summary 

Sheets,” by John Cullinane Associates April 2000. This report was a 

component of a “Preservation Design Manual” that was intended to 

provide guidance for the protection and maintenance of resources within 

the historic district.) 

2001 

2001, January 19. President William J. Clinton establishes Governors Island National 

Monument, reserving approximately 20 acres of land including the fortifications Castle Williams 

and Fort Jay, to be managed by the Secretary of the Interior acting through the National Park 

Service. (Presidential Proclamation 7402, signed January 19, 2001. The property, however, 

remained subject to a public law stipulating that the State and City of New York have a right of 

first offer in the sale of Governors Island, including the monument property. This right was 

subsequently waived.) 
 CASTLE WILLIAMS CHRONOLOGY 2000-2004

133

2003 

 2003, January 31. The United States of America, through the Property Disposal Division of 

the General Services Administration, conveys 150 acres of the island to the Governors Island 

Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), a business corporation acting on behalf of 

the State and City of New York. GSA also conveys the national monument property to the 

National Trust for Historic Preservation, which conveys the same property to the U.S. Secretary 

of the Interior. Preservation covenants contained in the quitclaim deeds restrict the uses of the 

monument property for national monument purposes, and for other monument- permitted 

uses. (Quitclaim deed, copy at Governors Island NM).) 

 2003, February 7. President George W. Bush issues a Presidential Proclamation that 

describes the transfer of Governors Island and clarifies Governors Island National Monument 

boundaries, which encompass approximately 22 acres of land including the fortifications Castle 

Williams and Fort Jay. (Presidential Proclamation 7647, signed February 7, 2003.) 

135

ARCHITECTURAL 

DESCRIPTIONS 

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS GENERAL INFORMATION

137

General Information

Name / Building Number 

Castle Williams was named for Colonel Jonathan Williams “in honor of the commandant of the 

United States Corps of Engineers who designed and erected it,” by order of Colonel Burbeck, 

Commandant of the Harbor of New York, dated November 24, 1810. Castle Williams was also 

assigned building number “55” by the U.S. Army by 1908, which was changed to number “501” 

by 1955. The U.S. Coast Guard retained the Army’s numbering system during its jurisdiction on 

Governors Island from 1966 to 1997.

Dimensions 

The following dimensions have been derived from the 1808 report on the state of the 

fortifications by Jonathan Williams and various secondary sources. Note that selected 

dimensions were described in a written report prepared by the Historic American Buildings 

Survey in 1983- 84, but no existing- conditions drawings were prepared at that time. 

The curved portion of Castle Williams encompasses five- sixths of a circle. The exterior 

diameter of Castle Williams is approximately 210 feet, and the interior diameter of the courtyard 

approximately 124- 125 feet. The walls are approximately 51 feet high, including the upper 

masonry parapet that is 6 feet high. The exterior masonry walls are 8 feet thick in the first tier 

and 7 feet thick in the second and third tiers; the interior masonry walls are 5 feet thick. Cross 

walls connecting the exterior and interior walls are 7 feet thick. On the southeast side, two 

straight walls, each 80 feet long, form a ravelin [triangular outwork] that completes the circle. 

This feature was remodeled in 1912- 13 as a guardhouse. 

The interior of the castle contains 39 casemates that are evenly distributed, with 13 casemates on 

each of the three tiers. The casemates are trapezoidal in shape and roughly equal in size, 

measuring approximately 30 feet at the exterior wall, 22 feet at the interior wall, and 24 feet at 

the side walls. The height from floor to ceiling is approximately 12 feet. 

The casemates have always been numbered, but the numbers have changed repeatedly over the 

years. For the purposes of this report, they have been numbered in clockwise order as 

casemates 1 through 13. The tiers within the casemates are identified by a second number 

following the casemate number. Thus, casemate 1- 1 would be the first casemate, first tier. A 

diagram showing the numbers follows. 
Diagrams showing casemate numbering system 

Third (barbette) Tier 

Second Tier

First Tier

 138
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS GENERAL INFORMATION

139

Armament 

One large gun (cannon) remains at Castle Williams today. This is mounted on the barbette tier 

[roof] of the castle, also called the terreplein, facing north. No information has yet been found 

on the age and/or the significance of this single gun. It has been in place since at least 1982- 83, 

judging by photographs of that date by the Historic American Buildings Survey. It also closely 

resembles a gun that was photographed on the barbette tier circa 1861- 65 (fig. 13). Castle 

Williams was designed to accommodate as many as 100 guns, including 78 guns in three tiers of 

casemates and 22 guns on the barbette tier. In actual practice, however, the third tier served 

other functions, such as a barracks and laundry for the garrison. The guns were originally 

carried on iron- wheeled gun carriages that were specially designed to fit the openings 

(embrasures) of the casemates, as described by Colonel Jonathan Williams in his report of 

November 1808. Target practice to test the “efficiency” of the completed castle’s guns was 

carried out in August 1812. Iron spikes, or pintle bolts, securing the carriages to the walls in the 

first and second tiers were replaced with new bolts in 1843. Updating of the carriage’s floor 

tracks, or “traverse circles,” was required in 1856 for new armament. Guns remained in place in 

the casemates during the Civil War when the castle was used as a prison for Confederate 

prisoners. They were finally removed from the castle by 1899, except for those retained on the 

barbette tier. 

The numbers and types of guns mounted at Castle Williams have varied over the years. The 

earliest were French 36- pounders, 11 of which were in place by January 1810, according to a 

report by the Governor of New York. One gun on the barbette tier [roof] was photographed by 

Matthew Brady’s studio circa 1861- 65 (fig. 13). A report dated 1863 generally noted that guns 

were mounted in the first and second tiers, with “15- inch guns in barbette” (Report from 

Colonel W. Hoffman to the Secretary of War, Dec. 12, 1863). Inventories of armament provide 

more details for later years, including 1865, 1866, 1867, 1869, 1873, 1875, 1883, 1885, 1892, 1896, 

1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, and 1902 (CAB/NACP). One example is the armament inventory 

for 1869 that describes both smooth- bore and rifled 42- pounder guns in the first- tier 

casemates with iron or wooden carriages, wooden chassis, and traverses laid on the brick floor; 

smooth- bore 32- pound guns in the second- tier casemates with iron carriages, wooden chassis, 

and iron rails laid on the wooden floors; and four 15- inch Columbiad guns on the barbette tier 

[roof] with iron carriages, 4- inch pintles, and high traverse stones. An article on Governors 

Island published in 1881 included two engravings showing two guns in the second- tier 

casemates and one on the barbette tier (figs. 22- 23). 

Fewer guns were in place in the castle by March 20, 1885, including four “4 F.P. 8" guns on iron 

carriages” (three on the first tier, one on the second tier), 20 “32- Pdr guns on iron carriages and 

wooden chassis” on the second tier, and five “C.D. 15" guns on iron carriages” on the barbette 

tier (“Ordnance and Explosives Report,” reference documents). Two histories of Governor’s 

Island published in 1913 and 1937 state that the guns were removed from the casemates in 1893. 

However, a report to the Secretary of War written two years later noted “in the second tier are 

mounted some 25 guns that were obsolete forty years ago” (report dated June 8, 1895). The 

armament inventory taken in 1896 also recorded 12 guns still in place in the first- tier casemates 

and 12 in the second tier. These had been removed by 1899, when guns remained only on the 

barbette tier, described as “five 15" Rodman guns mounted, high traverse, 5" center pintle with 
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140

key, serviceable.” Sixteen additional platforms on the barbette tier were also noted to be vacant 

but serviceable, able to accommodate “10" Rodman guns, high traverse, 4" pintle with keys” 

(Drawer 250, Sheet 3- 14; RG 77; NAB.) How many guns were on the barbette tier of the castle 

in 1966 when the U.S. Army left Governors Island has yet to be determined. Only one was in 

place on the barbette tier by 1982- 83 when the castle was documented with photographs by 

HABS (figs. 44- 45 and 61). 
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141

Exterior Elements

Existing Exterior Elements 

Addition on Southwest Side of Courtyard 

A one- story brick addition is located on the southeast side of the courtyard, incorporating 

casemates 1 through 7. This addition existed by 1938 and is believed to have been built 

sometime in the 1930s. Two stories were added to the addition when wooden galleries in the 

second and third tiers were rebuilt using steel and concrete in 1947. 

Bartizan 

A bartizan, or sentry turret, is located on the exterior southeast side of Castle Williams, at the 

salient angle of the ravelin [triangular outwork] facing Fort Jay. The bartizan is constructed of 

the same sandstone as the walls of the castle and features three narrow window openings. This 

is an original feature of the castle that was constructed sometime between 1808 and 1811. The 

earliest known documentation in a cross- sectional view of the castle dated 1813 that shows the 

bartizan in profile (fig. 1). This turret would have provided protection to a soldier standing 

guard on top of the castle wall. It was retained when a two- story addition was constructed on 

the interior side of the exterior walls in 1912- 13. Access to the interior of the turret was 

thereafter from the newly constructed “Commandant’s Office,” as shown on a plan of the 

second story dated 1916. This connection appears to have been closed by 1947, according to a 

plan of that date. 

Chimneys 

One brick chimney constructed in 1947 is located on the southwest side of the courtyard, on the 

north side of a three- story brick structure enclosing a steel stair. Both the chimney and the 

structure to which it is attached are documented by architectural drawings prepared in 1947 by 

Leonard S. Wegman & Co., Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect, for the Office of the 

Post Engineer, Headquarters Fort Jay (see fig. 39). These are identified in the drawings as the 

“new chimney” and “new brick stair tower.” The chimney ventilates the exhaust from the 

heating plant’s boiler located in casemate 1- 7. The brick chimney replaced an existing metal 

chimney, according to a note on the 1947 drawing. The date of this earlier chimney is unknown, 

although some type of chimney would have been required for the boiler when it was installed 

circa 1902- 03 in casemate 1- 7. 

The parapet of the castle’s barbette tier [roof] historically functioned as a chimney because it 

incorporates the flues of 13 fireplaces. These fireplaces and their interior chimneys, formerly 

located in the casemates of the third tier, are missing today. Only the 10- inch- square flue 
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142

openings remain today, covered by cast stone caps installed in the 1990s. Drawings of the castle 

dated 1839 indicate that the flues originally vented through the barbette tier [roof]. A later 

drawing prepared in 1841 shows the flues incorporated into the widened parapet, which was 

constructed in 1843- 44. One of these flues is visible in the foreground of an early photograph of 

the parapet taken by Matthew Brady’s studio circa 1861- 65 (fig. 13). 

Courtyard/Parade 

The curved walls of Castle Williams enclose a large area open to the sky known as the courtyard 

or parade. Colonel Williams described the space in a report dated November 1808 as “the area 

within the interior Wall [that] is 124 feet in diameter open to the Heavens....” No information 

has yet been found on the original flooring of the courtyard—whether dirt, sod, or some kind of 

paving material. Concrete paving, probably installed by the U.S. Army before 1966, existed by 

1983 and covers the ground surface today. 

Doorways 

Doorways are located on both the exterior side and the courtyard side of Castle Williams. The 

original main entrance to the castle, or sally port, is described in the section entitled “Sally Port.” 

Southeast Exterior Doorway

An exterior doorway on the southeast side of Castle Williams, south of the original sally port, 

dates to 1912- 13; the steel- plate door is a later replacement installed in 1947. This doorway 

served as the main entrance to the new “Garrison Gd [Guard] House” as it was called on a plan 

dated April 1916. The doorway was retained when the space was remodeled as the prison 

“Visitors and Recreation Room” in 1947, and a community center “Variety Store” in 1967. 

Courtyard Doorways

Doorways openings and doors on the courtyard side of Castle Williams date to various periods 

of construction and remodeling: 1807- 11, 1912- 13, the 1930s, 1947, and 1967. 

Original openings of 1807- 11 vintage are located at casemates 7 through 13 in the first tier and 

in the ground story of the two original stair towers. The original large openings of the three end 

casemates (11, 12, and 13) are enclosed with iron grilles dating to the 1930s. The openings of the 

remaining casemates (7 through 10) have enclosures of semi- security glass and single hollow 

metal doors installed in 1947. The doorways of the original stair towers are enclosed with metal 

fire- escape doors dating to 1967. Fire- escape doors also replaced selected casemate doors in 

1967. 
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The doorways of the two- story guardhouse on the southeast side of the courtyard date to the 

construction of that structure in 1912- 13. These openings were remodeled with the existing 

hollow- metal doors and a sliding grille door in 1947. 

The doorways of a one- story brick addition on the southwest side of the courtyard, enclosing 

original casemates 1 through 6, date to the construction of that structure in the 1930s. These 

openings were remodeled with the existing hollow- metal doors in 1947 and fire- escape doors 

in 1967. 

A single doorway in the ground story of the three- story brick stair enclosure on the west side of 

the courtyard is contemporary with that structure built in 1947. It was retrofitted with metal 

fire- escape doors in 1967. 

Barbette- Tier (Rooftop) Doorways

Two doorways provide access to the barbette tier or terreplein (rooftop) of Castle Williams. 

One doorway each is located in the upper brick story of the castle’s two original stair towers. 

These upper stories, along with the doorway openings, replaced wooden structures dating to the 

1840s in 1974. See the section entitled “Stair Structures” for more information.

Embrasures 

Seventy- eight embrasures [openings with splayed sides] pierce the curved stone walls of Castle 

Williams. These embrasures are distributed evenly between the first, second, and third tiers, 

with 26 openings in each. The embrasure openings are paired, each pair corresponding to an 

interior casemate. The embrasures are an original feature of the castle dating to its construction 

in 1807- 11. They were designed as openings through which large guns (cannons) could be 

fired. Profiles of the openings differ by floor, to accommodate the different firing requirements 

at each level. Angled apertures in the interior wall beneath the embrasures, approximately 3 feet 

deep, were for the tongue of the gun carriage. The carriage was secured to the wall by an iron 

spike, or pintle bolt, that passed through the stool of the embrasure. 

Construction of the embrasures was described in detail by Colonel Jonathan Williams in a 

report dated November 1808: 

The Embrasures one tier of which is nearly completed [the first tier] are 

so composed as to have but one length of stone across or along them so 

that they must be shattered before they can be dislocated and the throat 

of this aperture is so small that there is not space for a Ball to pass 

between the muzzle of the Gun & its side as will be hereafter particularly 

explained.... 

(Col. Jonathan Williams, Nov. 1808 report) 
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144

Repairs and alterations to the embrasures were carried out in 1843- 44. This included replacing 

33 cracked lintels and raising or chiseling selected lintels to standardize the height of the 

openings. Damage to an embrasure in the second tier caused by “a round shot fired at the 

castle” was also repaired at this time. (Letter from Capt. Dutton, Nov. 24, 1843) 

Foundations 

The foundation of Castle Williams is not visible above the level of the ground. It was, however, 

described by Colonel Jonathan Williams in his report of November 1808, and is illustrated in a 

section- elevation drawing dated 1839 (fig. 8). Williams noted that the foundation was 

constructed at Perkins Point for the “circular Castle” on a bed of red clay, rocks, and stones 

,using stones, gravel, and mortar strengthened with iron borings. These materials were 

compacted to render the foundation “similar to one solid Mass of Stone.” The foundation for 

the exterior curved wall was sloped at a 45- degree angle on the water side and surfaced with 

flagstones to deflect the force of the surf in storms. Support for the guns and the piles of shot in 

the casemates of the first tier were provided by extending the foundations inwards by 5 feet at 

both the exterior and interior walls. Piers supporting the cross walls were further strengthened 

with reverse arches made of brick. Williams also mentioned building “solid” foundations for a 

magazine, two winding stone staircases, and two furnaces (probably shot furnaces) within the 

interior walls of Castle Williams, but provided no detailed descriptions. 

Galleries 

Galleries located on the interior (courtyard) side of Castle Williams provide communication 

between the casemates in the second and third tiers. The galleries achieved their existing 

appearance, enclosed with concrete and steel security sashes, in the 1930s- 40s. Galleries were 

an original feature of the castle dating to its construction in the early 19th century. The secondtier gallery had been partially completed when it was described in a report by Colonel Jonathan 

Williams dated November 1808 as “a Gallery communicating with every other arcade & each 

stair case.” Documented repairs to the wood- framed galleries were carried out in 1843- 44 and 

again in 1879. These were illustrated as being of cantilevered design with simple horizontal 

railings in an elevation drawing dated 1839 (fig. 8) and in a sketch of the courtyard published in 

1881 (fig. 22). The galleries on the northeast side of the courtyard only were enclosed with 

concrete and steel sashes in the 1930s (fig. 38); the remainder retained their earlier open 

configuration and wooden railings. The remaining wood galleries, then called “balconies,” were 

replaced with enclosed structures made of cantilevered steel and concrete in 1947. 

Guardhouse 

The guardhouse is a two- story stone structure on the southeast side of Castle Williams that 

incorporates the original sally port. It was constructed in 1912- 13 on the interior side of the two 

walls forming the original entrance ravelin [triangular outwork] facing Fort Jay. The work had 

been completed by April 1916, when it was labeled as the “2nd story new addition” on a plan of 

the castle entitled “Plan of Prison Bldg #55, Ft. Jay, NY, 2nd Tier.” The 1807- 11 exterior stone 
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145

walls and bartizan [sentry turret] of the ravelin were retained for the guardhouse. The interior 

walls were built in 1912- 13, probably using stones salvaged from the two original magazines at 

either end of the castle’s curved walls. Windows and doorways were added to the original 

exterior walls in 1912- 13. 

Gutter Equipment 

Metal gutters and leaders channel the water from the flat roofs of Castle Williams to the 

concrete paving of the interior courtyard. Standing water in the courtyard drains through 

grated openings to a storm sewer. The gutter equipment is contemporary with the existing 

membrane (IRMA) roofing installed in the 1990s. Water collected on the barbette tier [roof] of 

the castle was formerly conveyed by “new gutters and conductors” installed in 1844, according 

to a letter written by Captain George Dutton, U.S. Engineers. This water may have been 

collected in rainwater cisterns, the location of which has not been identified. 

Navigation Aids 

An aid to navigation for marine vessels is mounted on the northwest quadrant of the barbette 

tier [roof] of Castle Williams. This is a steel tower with light beacon that is maintained by the 

U.S. Coast Guard. The date of the existing structure is not known, although a photograph 

published in 1927 shows this tower or one of similar design (fig. 37). It replaced an earlier oilfueled lamp documented by correspondence from the light keeper who wrote in 1903 of 

difficulties finding storage space for the oil in the castle that was being remodeled. 

A fog horn is located outside the castle near the water. A fog bell and siren had previously been 

mounted “on top of the castle” in 1913 as noted in a history of Governors Island published in 

that year. (Smith, Governor’s Island, pp. 56- 57.)

Parade (See Courtyard) 

Parapet 

A parapet encircles the barbette tier or terreplein [roof] of the castle. It consists of sandstone 

ashlar on the interior side, and rough- faced coursed granite ashlar on the exterior and some 

portions of the interior sides. The purpose of the parapet was to provide protection for the guns 

mounted on the terreplein and the gunners who manned them. The parapet is an original 

feature of the castle that was altered in 1843- 44 and again in 1895. The work of 1843- 44 

consisted of heightening and thickening the walls and pointing the joints of the coping with an 

asphaltic composition, as documented by a drawing dated 1841 and correspondence dated 

1843- 44. The parapet wall was extended outward and heightened with granite circa 1895, 

according to a report to the Secretary of War that described “a raised granite battlement of 

recent construction.” 
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146

Railing (Rooftop) 

A railing made of iron runs along the courtyard side of the barbette tier or terreplein [roof]. The 

exact date of this railing is unknown, although it appears to have existed by 1839, based on an 

elevation drawing of that date (fig. 8). The railing is also illustrated in a sketch of the courtyard 

dated 1881 (fig. 22) and a photograph taken in the 1930s (fig. 38). Components of the railing 

include posts topped with a small ball finial, top and bottom rails, 11 plain balusters per section, 

and curved supports that attach the railing to the stone wall. 

Roofs 

The various roofs of Castle Williams are either flat or slightly sloped, except for the conical roofs 

of the round stair towers, which are discussed in a separate section. These include the roofs of 

the original castle, the two- story guardhouse (1912- 13), the one- story addition on the 

southwest side of the courtyard (1930s), the cantilevered galleries on the interior courtyard side 

(1930s- 40s), and the three- story brick stair tower on the west side of the courtyard (1940s). 

The materials covering these roofs today include built- up roofing and membrane roofing 

(IRMA) as specified in drawings dated July 1993. The work was presumably carried out shortly 

thereafter. 

The roof of Castle Williams, historically called the barbette tier or terreplein, appears to have 

been covered originally with stone flagging. This is suggested by a description of repairs carried 

out in 1835- 36 that noted “the flagging of the barbette platform of Castle William [sic] has been 

relaid on a thick bed of cement mortar, which appears to be perfectly tight” (Report from the 

Engineer Dept., Nov. 30, 1836). It was next resurfaced in 1843- 44 with an asphaltic pavement, 

approximately three- quarters of an inch thick, covered with “fine clean gravel well 

incorporated with the surface” (Letter from Capt. Dutton, Oct. 18, 1844). Repairs were again 

required in 1878, with asphalted felting chosen for the work in 1879 (Letter dated Nov. 17, 

1879). Existing “tar- and- gravel” roofing was described in 1983 by HABS (HABS, “Castle 

Williams”). “Built- up roofing” was removed down to the “cementitious parge coat” in the 1990s 

and replaced by the membrane roofing that covers the surface today. Built- up roofing had also 

covered the roofs of the guardhouse and other flat- roofed additions within Castle Williams. 

Sally Port 

The original sally port, or main entrance, of Castle Williams is located in the east angled wall of 

the ravelin [triangular outwork] facing Fort Jay. This was historically the only means of entering 

and exiting the castle until a second opening was created in 1912- 13 (see “Doorways”). The 

sally port is an arched opening with stone voissoirs on the exterior side that bear the inscriptions 

“Castle Williams” on the keystone above the opening, “Commenced 1807” to the left of the 

opening, and “Compleated 1811” to the right of the opening. These carvings were assumed to 

date to 1811 when they were described in a history of Governors Island published in 1913 

(Smith, Governor’s Island, pp. 84- 85). The earliest documentation of the inscriptions on the 

side stones is an elevation drawing by Henry Waller dated 1839 (see fig. 6). The exterior 

opening is equipped with double wooden doors of board- and- batten construction, 5 inches 
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147

thick, supported by two pairs of decorative strap hinges. The antiquity of these doors and 

hinges is unknown. The sill is granite, supplied in 1844 by Warren Gates of Waterford, CT 

(Letters dated Aug. 1844 and Oct. 18, 1844). An enclosed space, labeled the “portal” on 

architectural drawings dated 1947, was created on the courtyard side of the sally port when a 

guardhouse was constructed in 1912- 13. Before that time, the sally port opened directly onto 

the interior courtyard of the castle. 

Stair Structures and Exterior Stair 

Three brick structures enclose stairways on the interior courtyard side of Castle Williams: one 

on the northeast side, the other on the opposite southwest side. Two of the stair structures date 

to the original construction of Castle Williams; the third was built in 1947. An exterior steel 

stairway, also dating to 1947, is located on the south side of the courtyard at the guardhouse. 

The original stairways are enclosed in round towers, four stories tall, constructed of brick laid in 

a Flemish bond. The stairways enable communication between the three tiers of casemates and 

the barbette tier [roof]. The upper portions were also utilized as “watch towers” for armed 

guards when the castle functioned as a prison, as noted in a photographic essay published in 

1919 (“With the M.O.’s at Castle Bill,” Collier’s The National Weekly, May 31, 1919). The 

winding stairways contained within the towers are sandstone—the same used for the exterior 

walls of the castle. The stairways provided access to the upper two tiers of casemates and to the 

barbette tier [roof]). The earliest reference to the stairways is found in a report written by 

Colonel Jonathan Williams in November 1808, in which he noted, “at convenient distances are 

two foundations for winding stone staircases.” Early illustrations of the towers dated 1813 and 

1823- 24 show them topped with distinctive bell- shaped roofs (figs. 1 and 4). These roofs were 

replaced in 1843- 44 and the upper story of each tower rebuilt as an “octagonal made of wood in 

a plain strong style, with side lights, shingle roof and painted” (fig. 9) [Letter from Capt. Dutton, 

Dec. 9, 1843]. This octagonal configuration was retained for many years, as illustrated in a 

sketch published in 1881 and a photograph taken sometime in the 1930s (figs. 22 and 38). Small 

window openings were also located in the brick walls of the first and second stories, as shown in 

these two views. It was not until 1947 that the upper story of each tower was rebuilt in brick in a 

round style similar to the lower stories, but with six window openings (fig. 43). The roofs of the 

towers were described in 1984 as metal (HABS, “Castle Williams,” pp. 3 and 8). 

A later stairway structure of rectangular shape three stories tall is located on the west side of the 

courtyard. This structure is depicted on an architectural drawing dated March 1947 with the 

note “new brick stair tower, steel stair, concrete treads.” Construction had commenced by 

August 1947, as shown in a photograph of that date (fig. 43). The brickwork walls are laid in a 

Flemish bond similar to the original round stair towers. A large bank of windows with steel 

sashes provides natural light to the interior. 

An exposed steel stairway is attached to the two- story guardhouse on the south side of the 

courtyard. This is a straight- run stair with a metal pipe railing and landing at the second- story 

level. A roof of corrugated transite (asbestos) provides protection to the stairway and landing. 

This stair is documented on the March 1947 architectural drawing by the following note: 

“replace wood stairs with steel stairs and new corrugated roof over.” 
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148

Walls 

The walls of Castle Williams are made of sandstone, brick, and concrete dating to various 

periods of construction. Original walls dating to 1807- 11 comprise the circular portion of the 

castle, the two straight walls that form the entrance ravelin that completes the circle on the 

southeast side, and two round stair towers within the courtyard. The materials used to 

construct these early walls were red sandstone and red brick. The use of sandstone for the 

fortifications of New York Harbor was initially suggested to Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan 

Williams by military agent Captain R. Wiley in a letter dated June 2, 1806: 

I have formed an idea that red free stone, will answer better than the hard 

blue, as it works easier, is sufficiently durable & much less dangerous to 

the Troops that defend the Works.... 

Although no contemporary descriptions have been found of the quarry from which the 

sandstone was procured, the stone was later described as “Newark red sandstone,” by R.S. 

Guernsey in his book New York City and Vicinity during the War of 1812- 15, first published in 

1889. The bricks appear to have been obtained from Philadelphia, PA, judging by a letter by 

Lieutenant Colonel Williams dated May 13, 1807, expressing his wish for “the best Philadelphia 

brick to turn the arches of my casemates,” and a letter from a military agent in Philadelphia 

dated October 16, 1809, informing Williams of a large shipment of bricks. 

The thick curved walls of the original castle consist of an exterior wall facing the outside and an 

interior wall facing the courtyard. Both walls have an exterior- facing side, an interior- facing 

side, and a center core. The exterior- facing sides of the walls are constructed of sandstone 

ashlar. These stones each measure 2 cubic feet, are laid in a Flemish bond, and are dovetailed to 

render them “immovable unless broken,” according to a report by Colonel Williams dated 

November 1808. The facings of the stones were originally tooled with vertical striations, 

although most have lost this detailing due to erosion. The interior sides of the walls are 

constructed of coursed rubble sandstone. The center core of the walls has not been examined, 

but is presumably filled with the same unsorted rubble and mortar used at Castle Clinton 

(constructed the same time as Castle Williams). This fill was identified during a conditions 

assessment of Castle Clinton in 1998 as consisting of densely packed sandstone, gneiss, and 

schist pieces bound together and to the adjacent sidewalls with mortar. The mortar used to lay 

the walls was described by Colonel Williams in his report of November 1808 as “a cement of 

mortar and iron borings.” Bricks were also incorporated into the construction of the walls to 

serve as relieving arches over the embrasures, giving the walls additional structural stability. 

Two original straight walls in the shape of a ravelin [triangular outwork], together with an 

original bartizan [sentry turret] at the ravelin’s salient angle, also survive today on the exterior 

southeast side of the castle. Construction of these walls is similar to that of the curved walls 

described above, except that both the exterior and interior (courtyard) sides used sandstone 

ashlar. The courtyard side of this wall is covered today by a two- story guardhouse constructed 

in 1912- 13, the sandstone walls of which are believed to have been salvaged from two original 

powder magazines that were demolished at this time. 

The brickwork walls of two round stair towers, from the ground to the third tier, also date to the 

original construction of the castle. The bricks are laid in a Flemish bond, similar to the ashlar 
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149

walls. Projecting brick stringcourses provide a decorative finish to the otherwise plain brick 

towers. The brickwork of the upper (rooftop) stories replaced wooden octagonal structures in 

1974. 

Later concrete and brick walls dating to the 1930s and 1940s are located on the courtyard side of 

the castle. Reinforced concrete was used in the reconstruction of the wooden galleries at the 

second and third tiers, and bricks were employed for a one- story addition and a three- story 

stair tower on the west side of the courtyard. The bricks were laid in a Flemish bond, similar to 

the castle’s original brickwork. 

Windows 

The window sashes at Castle Williams date to extensive remodelings in the 1930s and 1947, 

when the castle served as a prison. Existing wooden sashes and louvers were then replaced by 

maximum- security steel sashes glazed with polished wire glass on the exterior side, and semisecurity sashes glazed with the same glass on the courtyard side. Windows with semi- security 

sashes were also installed in the new concrete galleries, and in a new brick stair tower on the 

west side of the courtyard. Minor repairs only were made to these windows in 1967 to ensure 

that they were weather- tight. 

The earliest window sashes at the castle were most likely installed in the embrasures of the third 

tier sometime in the early 19th century, since these casemates appear to have served as barracks 

rather than gun emplacements. No information has been found on the appearance of these 

early sashes, nor do any remain today. Sashes were undoubtedly added to all the embrasures, in 

addition to the openings on the courtyard side, when central heating was introduced around 

1903. These may have been the “wooden sashes and louvers” that were replaced with the 

existing steel sashes in 1947. Window openings were added to the two original ravelin walls on 

the southeast side of the castle when the walls were incorporated into a new guardhouse in 

1912- 13. A floor plan of the second tier dated 1916 provides the earliest known documentation 

of sashes in the embrasures, along with glazed partitions enclosing the casemates on the interior 

courtyard side. Steel windows and grilles were first introduced in the three end casemates of all 

three tiers on the northeast side in the 1930s. These were retained in 1947 when the remaining 

wooden sashes and louvers were replaced with new steel sashes containing wire glass, and they 

are extant today.
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Missing Exterior Elements 

Chain- Link Fence 

A barrier of chain- link fencing had been installed on the courtyard side of the roof of the 1912-

23 guardhouse by 1982- 83, as illustrated in photographs by HABS (figs. 55- 56). While no 

documentation of this fencing has been found, it was undoubtedly installed when the castle was 

still in use as a prison—that is, sometime before 1966. The fencing was removed when the 

current membrane (IRMA) was installed, as noted on architectural drawings dated July 1993. 

Cistern 

The earliest documentation for construction of a rainwater cistern at Castle Williams is found in 

correspondence of the Acting Chief Engineer dated 1858 (Entry 77; RG 77; NARA – Northeast 

Region [NY]). A color- washed plan of the proposed cistern with hand pump, situated in the 

center of the courtyard, was prepared the following year (see fig. 11). Rainwater was channeled 

to the cistern by gutters and downspouts attached to the castle. That the cistern was actually 

constructed is confirmed by a plan dated 1867 showing a pump in the location of the cistern (fig. 

15), and a plan dated 1879 that included a symbol for a cistern within the castle walls. The 

castle’s original well had become unreliable by 1868, making an alternate source of water such as 

a cistern desirable (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 102). A report dated 1871 described 

replenishing the cisterns of Governors Island in warm and dry weather with “Croton water” 

from New York City, delivered in the water tanks of a steamer. The cistern may have been made 

obsolete by the introduction of water lines to the castle by 1879 (Map of Governors Island, July 

1879; and Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 102). It was most likely filled with the excavations from a 

new chapel in 1905- 06, along with the other old cisterns on the island (Smith, Governor’s Island, 

p. 103). 

Flagstaff 

There is no flagstaff at Castle Williams today, although one was in place before 1913. A flag is 

shown flying from a flagstaff on the barbette tier [roof] in a cross- sectional view of the castle 

dated 1813 (fig. 1). No descriptions or other supporting documentation for this early flagstaff 

have been found. The flagstaff appears to have been moved to the center of the courtyard by 

1879, judging by a plan of that date showing it in place (see fig. 19). Edmund B. Smith wrote in 

1913 of this courtyard flagstaff as having been used “25 years ago” (i.e., 1888) for saluting and 

other special purposes only, the garrison flag being at located at Fort Jay. Smith also noted that 

it had been removed “about twenty years ago,” or around 1893. (Smith, Governor’s Island, pp. 

104- 105) The flagstaff appears to have been removed sometime later, however, based on a 

painting of 1895 (fig. 26), a photograph dated circa 1898 (fig. 27), a postcard dated 1900 (fig. 28), 

and an engraving published in 1905 (fig. 31), all of which show a flag flying from a tall flagstaff 

within Castle Williams. A shorter flagstaff had again been installed on the barbette tier of the 

castle by 1927, judging by a photograph of that date (fig. 37). 
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151

Mess Hall and Kitchen 

A large wooden building stood in the courtyard of Castle Williams from the 1860s until at least 

1879; it had been demolished by 1908. Edmund Smith described this structure in 1913 as a 

“cooking house” that had been erected during the Civil War (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 56). It 

appears to have been equipped with baking ovens, as suggested by an entry in the journal of 

Thomas Sparrow, a captain with the Washington Grays of North Carolina who was quartered at 

the barracks at Fort Jay as a Confederate prisoner. Sparrow observed the following when 

visiting his men at the castle on September 9, 1861: “Twice each day detachments come to the 

Bakers in this enclosure [Castle Williams] for loaves of bread.” A plan dated 1867 labeled the 

structure as a “Kitchen and Mess Room,” and keyed it as having been constructed after 1857 

(fig. 15). It also appears on a plan of 1871 labeled as a “Mess Hall.” Concern was expressed in a 

document dated December 7, 1871, that “the fires kept in a wooden building used as a mess 

room and kitchen renders the opening and closing of the [powder] magazines dangerous” 

(Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 109). The structure was depicted as a rectangular structure labeled 

“Mess” on the east side of the castle courtyard on a map of Governors Island dated 1879. It 

appears to have been removed by 1908, based on another map of the island that shows the 

courtyard as empty. Edmund Smith recalled the then- missing building in 1913: 

As late as 1870 there was in the courtyard of the Castle a reminder of the 

Civil War time in a long wooden building used as a mess hall and kitchen 

for recruits.... The wooden building in the Castle was 60 x 30 feet and 

had a roof- pitch of 8 feet. It contained three small store- rooms and was 

furnished with two doors and ten windows. (Smith, Governors Island, p. 

109.) 

Pathway to Fort Jay 

Castle Williams was connected to the northwest bastion of Fort Jay by a recessed path with 

banked sidewalls, referred to by Colonel Jonathan Williams in his report of November 1808 as a 

“covered defile.” The earliest known illustration of this feature is a map of Governors Island 

dated 1813 (fig. 2). It is also clearly illustrated in a bird’s- eye view dated 1874 (fig. 17) and an 

engraving dated 1886 (fig. 24). The remains of the pathway were still visible in 1913, although a 

large tree was then growing in the center and much had been destroyed by modern 

constructions (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 57). No remnants of this feature are visible today in 

the vicinity of the castle, although traces may be seen closer to Fort Jay. Surviving features of the 

defile now covered with earth include brick retaining walls and cobblestone paving, which were 

identified by archeological excavations undertaken in 1997- 98 by the Public Archeology 

Laboratory of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. (Shannon Wright and Timothy Binzen, “Archeological 

Overview and Assessment of Governors Island National Monument, New York, New York”; 

Amherst, MA: The University of Massachusetts, 2003; p. 93.) 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS EXTERIOR ELEMENTS 

152

Powder Magazines 

Two magazines for storing powder and ammunition for the guns were formerly located in the 

courtyard of Castle Williams. These were original features of the castle that were constructed 

sometime between 1808 and 1811. Colonel Williams noted in his report of November 8, 1808 

that “a solid foundation for a magazine” had been laid. Two magazines were completed by 1811, 

one at either end of the castle’s curved walls. These were small gable- roofed structures with 

thick stone walls. The magazines were depicted in early plans and elevation drawings dated 

1813 (figs. 1- 2) and 1839 (fig. 6). The gable end of the south magazine was also captured in a 

sketch of the courtyard published in 1881 (fig. 22). Powder is said to have been stored in these 

structures until the arrival of General Hancock in 1878, who removed most of the powder from 

the island (Smith, Governors Island, p. 109). One of the magazines is also said to have been 

employed for some period of time as a solitary confinement cell (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 

56). Both magazines were demolished in 1912- 13 (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 83). Their 

stones are believed to have been used in the construction of the existing guardhouse on the 

southeast side of the castle. 

Privy 

No documentation has yet been found for a privy or privies within the walls of Castle Williams. 

William Sloan, a surgeon with the U.S. Army, wrote of the condition of Confederate prisoners 

confined in the castle on September 30, 1861, including the inconvenience of having “no privies 

within the area.” A “wash house for men of the garrison” may have existed outside the walls of 

the castle at this time (fig. 15). This was a small wood- framed building constructed sometime 

1857 and 1867 that was most likely supplied with water from a subterranean rainwater cistern 

installed in the courtyard of the castle in 1859 (fig. 11). The wash house was replaced by a larger 

“water closet [for] Castle Williams” illustrated in a color- washed drawing and approved by the 

Secretary of War in 1870 (fig. 16). The water closet was connected to a water line by July 1879, 

according to a map of that date (fig. 20), the water piped by mains from Ridgewood, Long Island 

(Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 102). It is not known exactly when indoor plumbing fixtures were 

installed within the casemates of Castle Williams. This may have occurred in 1895 when Fort 

Columbus was designated as one of 12 Army posts for the confinement of military prisoners. An 

article published in the New York Times on April 4, 1897 described both a “wash room” and 

“kitchen” as then existing in the lower casemates. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS EXTERIOR ELEMENTS 

153

Well 

An “inexhaustible well of the finest water” was noted by Colonel Jonathan Williams as being 

enclosed within the walls of Castle Williams in a report on the “State of the Fortifications” dated 

November 8, 1808. The earliest known illustration of the well is provided by a plan of the castle 

dated 1839 depicting a small round structure on the southeast side of the courtyard at the salient 

angle (fig. 6). Edmund Smith described an engineer map dated 1857 that “shows a pump in the 

courtyard of the Castle just 15 feet south of the centre” (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 108). The 

well appears to have become unreliable by 1868, furnishing only “a small supply of tolerably 

good water. It dries in ten minutes and requires some time to refill” (Smith, Governor’s Island, 

p. 102) The well was most likely made obsolete around 1879 with the introduction of water 

piped to Governors Island from Ridgewood, Long Island (Map of Governors Island, July 1879; 

and Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 102). The well was covered in 1912- 13 by a guardhouse 

addition built on the interior side of the castle’s walls. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS INTERIOR ELEMENTS

154

Interior Elements

Layout and Use 

Casemates: First Tier

The 13 casemates in the first tier of Castle Williams were originally designed as emplacements 

for 26 guns, two per casemate. Guns were mounted and remained in place throughout much of 

the 19th century. Confederate prisoners may have been quartered here during the Civil War 

(1861- 65), although most accounts place the prisoners in the upper tiers of the castle. A portion 

of the first tier was occasionally used as a mess hall by 1875, according to a report of that date. 

Eleven of the 13 casemates were vacant by 1892, with guns mounted in two casemates, 

according to the armament inventory for that year. A report dated June 1895 described the first 

tier of casemates as then “used for storage purposes.” Expansion of the prison to the lower tiers 

of the castle was mandated the following month when Fort Columbus was designated as one of 

12 Army posts for the confinement of military prisoners. Approximately half of the 13 

casemates in the first tier were thereafter converted for use “as prison” as noted in armament 

inventories for 1896, 1897, and 1898, with guns mounted in the remaining casemates. 

Subsequent armament inventories for the years 1899- 1901 record no guns in the casemates of 

the first tier, which were then being “used as prison or storerooms.” A plan dated 1902 for 

remodeling of the castle as a “model prison” shows the casemates of the first tier outfitted as a 

store room, three dining rooms, a kitchen, wash room, boiler room, laundry, prison store room, 

office, carpenter shop, guard room, and tool room. Four first- story casemates were also 

referred to in a plan of the prison’s second tier dated 1916, including the “Kitchen,” two 

“Laundry[s],” and a “Boiler Room.” Space had been added to the casemates on the southwest 

side of the courtyard by the 1930s by the construction of a one- story addition. Specific uses for 

the individual casemates were identified on a plan of the prison dated 1938, including a mess 

hall, kitchen, latrine, boiler room, shower room, linen room, carpenter shop, and three prison 

cells. The carpenter shop had been converted to a utilities room by 1947, and two of the prison 

cells had become property and supply rooms. The castle remained a prison until the U.S. Army 

left Governors Island in 1966. It was then adapted for use as a community center by the U.S. 

Coast Guard in 1967, with the casemates in the first tier remodeled as a nursery, woodworking 

shop, and ceramics studio. 

Specific uses for the first- tier casemates are summarized on the following charts as identified in 

armament sketches and architectural plans of Castle Williams dated 1892, 1896, 1897, 1898, 

1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1916, 1938, 1947, and 1967. Please refer to the diagrams included 

previously showing the casemate numbering system. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS 

Use of Casemates: First Tier 

1892 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896- 1898 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1899- 1901 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1902 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1916 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1938 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

(Ar

Casemate 1- 1 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#27: “Store Room” 

#27: Not identified 

Cell #27: Not identified 

Cel Sto

Casemate 1- 2 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#28: “Dining Room” 

#28: Not identified 

Cell #28: Mess Hall 

Cel Me

Casemate 1- 3 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#29: “Dining Room” 

#29: Not identified 

Cell #29: Mess Hall 

CelMe

Casemate 1- 4 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#30: “Dining Room” 

#30: Not identified 

Cell #30: Kitchen 

CelMe

Casemate 1- 5 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#31: “Kitchen” 

#31: Kitchen 

Cell # 31: Kitchen 

CelKit

155
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS 

Use of Casemates: First Tier 

1892 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896- 1898 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1899- 1901 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1902 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1916 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1938 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

(Ar

Casemate 1- 6 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#32: “Wash Room” 

#32: Laundry 

Cell #32: Kitchen (south side) and Latrine (north side) 

CelSam

Casemate 1- 7 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#33: “Boiler” 

#33: Boiler Room 

Cell #33: Boiler Room 

CelBoi

Casemate 1- 8 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#34: “Laundry” 

#34: Laundry 

Cell #34: Shower Room 

CelSho

Casemate 1- 9 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#35: “Prison Store Room” 

#35: Unknown 

Cell #35: Linen Room 

CelLin

Casemate 1- 10 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#36: “Office” 

#36: Unknown 

Cell #36: Carpenter Shop 

CelUti

156
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS 

Use of Casemates: First Tier 

1892 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896- 1898 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1899- 1901 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1902 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1916 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1938 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

(Ar

Casemate 1- 11 

Gun platforms (one gun mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#37: “Carpenter Shop” 

#37: Unknown 

Cell #37: [Prison Cell] 

Cel(Isocagrem

Casemate 1- 12 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#38: “Guard Room” 

#38: Unknown 

Cell #38: [Prison Cell] 

CelProRoo

Casemate 1- 13 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used a prison or storerooms”

#39: “Tool Room” 

#39: Unknown 

Cell #39: [Prison Cell] 

CelSup

157
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS INTERIOR ELEMENTS

158 

Casemates: Second Tier

The 13 casemates in the second tier of Castle Williams were originally designed as 

emplacements for 26 guns, two per casemate. Guns were mounted and remained in place 

throughout most of the 19th century. Casemates in both the second and third tiers were used 

during the Civil War (1861- 65) as quarters for Confederate prisoners. Large numbers of men, 

both transient troops and recruits, were quartered among the guns of the second- tier casemates 

in 1875, according to a report of that date. Twenty- one guns were mounted in 11 casemates of 

the second tier in 1892, 12 guns in six casemates in 1896, and 10 guns in five casemates in 1897 

and 1898. The guns were described as “obsolete” in 1895, the same year Fort Columbus was 

designated as one of 12 Army posts for the confinement of military prisoners. Seven casemates 

in the second tier were being “used as prison” by 1896, and eight casemates in 1897 and 1898, 

according to armament inventories for those years. 

The guns had been completely removed and all the casemates put to use as “prison or 

storerooms” by 1899. A plan dated 1902 for remodeling of the castle as a “model prison” shows 

the casemates of the second tier outfitted as prison cells, a barber shop, and chapel. The barber 

shop had been moved to another casemate by 1916 and the chapel converted to a prison cell. A 

prison recreation room replaced the barber shop by 1938 and four of the prison cells were 

outfitted as a gymnasium, library, and hospital. A plan dated 1947 shows 11 of the 13 casemates 

designated as prison cells and two as the prison library. The castle remained in use as a prison 

until the U.S. Army left Governors Island in 1966. It was then adapted for use as a community 

center by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1967. The casemates in the second tier were remodeled by the 

Coast Guard as a photography laboratory, meeting rooms, studios for minor arts and crafts, an 

administrative office, and equipment storage. 

The specific uses for the second- tier casemates are summarized on the following charts as 

identified in armament sketches and architectural plans of Castle Williams dated 1892, 1896, 

1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1916, 1938, 1947, and 1967. Please refer to the diagrams 

included previously showing the casemate numbering system. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS 

Use of Casemates: Second Tier 

1892 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896- 1898 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1899- 1901 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1902 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1916 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1938 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

(Ar

Casemate 2- 1 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#14: “Barber Shop” 

#14: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #26: [Prison Cell] 

CelIso(weCelQu(eas

Casemate 2- 2 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#15: “Chapel” 

#15: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #25: [Prison Cell] 

Cel[Pr

Casemate 2- 3 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#16: “[Prison] Cell” 

#16: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #24: [Prison Cell] 

Cel[Pr

159
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS 

Use of Casemates: Second Tier 

1892 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896- 1898 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1899- 1901 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1902 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1916 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1938 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

(Ar

Casemate 2- 4 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun Platforms (two guns mounted) 

 “Used as 

prison or storerooms”

#17: “[Prison] Cell” 

#17: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #23: [Prison Cell] 

Cel[Pr

Casemate 2- 5 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#18: “[Prison] Cell” 

#18: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #22: [Prison Cell] 

Cel[Pr

Casemate 2- 6 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun Platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#19: “[Prison] Cell” 

#19: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #21: [Prison Cell] 

Cel[Pr

Casemate 2- 7 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun Platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#20: “[Prison] Cell” 

#20: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #20: Gymnasium 

Cel[Pr

Casemate 2- 8 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#21: “[Prison] Cell” 

#21: Barber Shop 

Cell #19: Recreation 

CelLib

Casemate 2- 9 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#22: “[Prison] Cell” 

#22: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #18: Library 

CelLib

Casemate 2- 10 

Gun platforms (two guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#23: “[Prison] Cell” 

#23: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #17: Hospital 

Cel[Pr

160
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONS 

Use of Casemates: Second Tier 

1892 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896 

(Armament 

Sketch) 

1896- 1898 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1899- 1901 

(Armament 

Sketches) 

1902 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1916 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

1938 

(Architectural 

Plan) 

(Ar

Casemate 2- 11 

Gun platforms (one gun mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#24: “[Prison] Cell” 

#24: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #16: Hospital 

Cel[Pr

Casemate 2- 12 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#25: “[Prison] Cell” 

#25: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #15: [Prison Cell] 

Cel[Pr

Casemate 2- 13 

Gun platforms (no guns mounted) 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison” 

“Used as prison or storerooms”

#26: “[Prison] Cell” 

#26: [Prison Cell] 

Cell #14: [Prison Cell] 

Cel[Pr

161
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION INTERIOR ELEMENTS

 162

Casemates: Third Tier

Each of the 13 casemates in the third tier was originally designed as an emplacement for two 

guns, although no documentation has yet been found of guns ever being mounted in this tier. 

These casemates were also intended to serve as quarters, judging by surviving evidence of 

fireplace flues in the roof parapet. Laundry facilities occupied an unknown number of the 

casemates by 1844, causing water damage to the casemates below. Casemates in both the second 

and third tiers were used as quarters for Confederate prisoners during the Civil War, 1861- 65. 

Two of the casemates in the third tier were designated as “sick wards” in September 1861, as 

noted in the journal of Confederate Captain Thomas Sparrow. 

After the war the casemates were inhabited by recruits, transient troops, and prisoners, 

according to a report dated 1868. A more detailed report prepared in 1875 described eight 

casemates in the third tier as occupied by recruits and five casemates by prisoners and their 

guards. Armament inventories dated 1892 and 1893 describe the casemates of the third tier 

“now used as prison.” Fifty prisoners shared the third tier with a post exchange by 1895, as 

noted in another report. This had changed by 1900 when all 13 casemates of the third tier were 

designated as “prison” space in an armament sketch of the castle. A plan dated 1902 labels all 

the casemates from 1 to 13 in clockwise order as “cells,” one designated as “solitary.” The same 

numbering system was used for later plans dated 1938 and 1947 that also labeled the casemates 

as “cells.” Alterations in the 1930s included the partitioning of Cell #1 (casemate 3- 1), and the 

installation of isolation and solitary confinement cells in Cells 11, 12, and 13 (casemates 3- 11, 3-

12, and 3- 13). Use of the castle as a prison ceased when the U.S. Army left Governors Island in 

1966. It was then adapted for use as a community center by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1967. The 

casemates in the third tier were assigned room numbers 301 through 313 and slated for 

recreational activities such as a ham radio club, a model railroad club, and museum display 

areas. 

Guardhouse: First- Story Rooms

The first story of the guardhouse originally served as a guard house for the garrison when it was 

constructed in 1912- 13, according to a floor plan of the second story dated 1916 that notes 

“Garrison Gd. House under.” It also incorporated the original sally port of the castle. By 1938 

the area north of the sally port was partitioned into two rooms, the larger designated the 

“Guard’s Room,” and the smaller on the courtyard side “Office No. 3.” The area south of the 

sally port was partitioned into four rooms, including a “Store Room” at the salient angle 

followed by “Office No. 1,” “Office No. 2,” and a “Barber Shop” adjacent to the first casemate of 

the castle. The first story was remodeled in 1947 to incorporate a prison “Barber Shop” and a 

“Store” on the north side of the sally port, and a “Visitors & Recreation Room” with toilets on 

the south side. An emergency generator and diesel oil tank were installed in place of the store 

sometime between 1947 and 1967. Additional changes occurred in 1967 when the castle was 

converted from a prison to a community center by the U.S. Coast Guard. A “Variety Store” was 

then located on the north side of the sally port, and a “Snack Bar” on the south side. The store 

was assigned room “115” and the snack bar room “101.” 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION INTERIOR ELEMENTS

 163

Guardhouse: Second- Story Rooms

The second story of the guardhouse originally served as the prison “Library & Recreation 

Room” on the north side, and “Commandant’s Office” with two toilet rooms on the south side 

when it was constructed in 1912- 13, according to a floor plan of the second story dated 1916. 

By 1938 the large north room was designated as an “Auditorium” on a floor plan, and the south 

side was partitioned into several offices including a “Sergeant Major’s Office,” “Adj. Office,” 

“Office,” “Commandants Office,” “Psychiatrist’s Office,” and two toilet rooms. The space was 

later remodeled in 1947 to accommodate an interview room for prisoners, four offices, quarters, 

and two toilet rooms. Few changes appear to have been made to the layout of the second story 

in 1967, when the castle was converted from a prison to a community center by the U.S. Coast 

Guard. The existing rooms were then assigned numbers 201 through 210. Only one room, a 

large former office on the east side, was assigned a use—as a “Teen- Club Room.” 

Floors 

The floors of Castle Williams are wood and concrete. Wooden floorboards are located in the 

first- and second- story rooms of the guardhouse built in 1912- 13, and are presumably 

contemporary with that structure. These floors are covered with vinyl asbestos tiles and 

carpeting installed by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1967. The floors in all three tiers of the castle 

consist of reinforced concrete beams and slabs installed by the U.S. Army in 1931- 32 and 1947. 

These floors had been originally constructed with thick pine planks supported by large oak 

joists, as described by Colonel Jonathan Williams in his report of November 1808. Plans of the 

castle prepared in 1839 noted that floorboards in the first tier were 3 inches thick, in the second 

tier 1 1⁄2 inches thick, and in the third tier 2 inches thick. Repairs were made to the floors in 

1843- 44 using oakum (hemp or jute fiber) and pitch to fill the joints between the floorboards. 

Floors “of wood” were cited as a possible fire hazard in December 1863, when the castle served 

as a prison for Confederate soldiers. By 1869, the floorboards in the first tier had been replaced 

by brick flooring, according to a plan of that date. Installation of structural steel beams and 

reinforced concrete floor slabs is documented by architectural drawings dated 1931- 32 and 

1947. 

Walls 

The interior walls of the castle’s casemates are the original coursed- rubble sandstone, most 

covered with paint. Brickwork partitions dating to 1947 enclose the arched openings between 

the casemates in the second tier and subdivide casemate 2- 1. Plaster partitions that existed by 

1938 (which may be considerably older) infill the arched openings between the casemates in the 

third tier. The interior rooms of the two- story guardhouse are finished with plaster that most 

likely dates to the original construction of that structure in 1912- 13. Original surviving 

partitions in the second story of the guardhouse consist of lath and plaster applied to wood 

studs, while later partitions installed in the 1930s used plywood and gypsum board. Brickwork 

walls in the first story of the guardhouse were installed in 1947 to create new toilet rooms. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION INTERIOR ELEMENTS

 164

Ceilings 

The ceilings of the casemates of the first and second tiers are reinforced concrete slabs 

supported by steel beams that were installed by the U.S. Army in the 1930s and 1940s. These 

materials replaced the original exposed oak joists and pine- plank boards depicted in an 

engraving published in 1881 (fig. 23). The brick- vaulted ceilings of the third tier date to the 

construction of the castle in the early 19th century. Rooms in the first and second stories of the 

1912- 13 guardhouse have concrete- slab ceilings installed in the 1930s- 40s. Acoustical ceiling 

panels in selected casemates and rooms date to renovations by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1967. 

Doorways 

Casemate Doorways

Wide openings, or doorways, in the stone side walls of the casemates are original features of 

Castle Williams dating to 1807- 11. These were described by Colonel Jonathan Williams in his 

report of November of 1808 as “openings or doorways on each side of each arcade of about 80 

square feet” that were designed to dissipate smoke generated by the firing of the guns, along 

with large openings on the courtyard side and high ceiling spaces. These openings were later 

enclosed with partitions when the castle was adapted for use as a military prison. Surviving 

brick enclosures in the second tier date to 1947, while wooden partitions in the third tier may be 

as early as 1912- 13. 

Guardhouse Doorways

Interior doorways within the 1912- 13 guardhouse date from various periods of construction 

and remodeling, including 1912- 13, in the 1930s, and 1947. In the first story, two interior 

doorway openings of 1912- 13 vintage are in the side walls of the main entry; steel doors 

replaced earlier doors in 1947. Two toilet rooms and their doorways, located in the large room 

west of the entry, also date to 1947. Upstairs, the earliest (1912- 13) doorway openings survive 

in the original plaster partition walls on the north side of the guardhouse. Later partitions and 

their doorways installed in the 1930s are in the south portion. 

Windows 

Interior windows are located in the main entry to Castle Williams on the southeast side of the 

courtyard. These windows, and the walls in which they sit, date to the 1912- 13 construction of 

the two- story guardhouse. Their function is to provide natural light to this otherwise dark 

interior space. The existing steel window sashes with wire glass replaced earlier wooden sashes 

in 1947. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION INTERIOR ELEMENTS

 165

Stairways 

There are four interior stairways at Castle Williams: two dating to the original construction of 

the castle, the third built in 1947. All three stairways exist in brickwork enclosures located 

within the courtyard. 

The original stairways, located in round towers on the southwest and northeast sides of the 

courtyard, have wedge- shaped sandstone steps. Colonel Jonathan Williams described these 

stairways in his report of November 1808 as “winding stone staircases.” The stone stairways 

provide access to the end galleries in the second and third tiers and the barbette tier [roof]. 

The later stairway is located in a three- story brick addition on the west side of the courtyard. It 

is documented by architectural drawings dated March, August, and September 1947 as a “new 

brick stair tower, steel stair, concrete treads.” This stairway provides access to the center 

galleries in the second and third tiers. It is currently being replaced. 

A fourth interior stairway, missing today, had provided interior communication between the 

first and second stories of the 1912- 13 guardhouse. This stairway is shown as existing in the 

south portion of the guardhouse on architectural drawings dated 1938. It was removed during 

renovations in 1947, as noted on an architectural drawing dated March 1947: “remove existing 

toilets, stairs, and partition.” An exterior steel stairway, which replaced an existing wooden stair 

way in 1947, is now used to access the second story. 

Prison Cells 

Physical remnants of prison cells are located in the casemates in the second and third tiers of 

Castle Williams. These include metal doorway grilles, security window sashes, and individual 

toilets and lavatories installed in the 1930s and 1940s. Metal “isolation” and “solitary 

confinement” cages dating to the 1930s are preserved in three end casemates of the third tier 

(11, 12, and 13). Also surviving are brick partition walls installed in 1947 that divided one 

casemate on the second tier into “quarantine” and “isolation” cells, and another casemate on the 

third tier into separate lockups for “officers” and “NCO” (noncommissioned officers). These 

penal elements are documented by architectural drawings dated 1938 and 1947. 

No prison- cell elements are known to survive for the years prior to 1938. Castle Williams was 

first used as a prison during the American Civil War, 1861- 65, when enlisted men captured 

while fighting for the Confederacy were held in the upper stories. The third tier continued to be 

used in the years following the war as a low- security guardhouse for prisoners. The first and 

second tiers of the castle were converted to prison space beginning in 1895, when Fort 

Columbus was designated one of 12 Army posts for the confinement of military prisoners. 

Castle Williams was fitted up as a “model prison” in 1903. In 1915 the fort was designated the 

Atlantic Branch of the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks, and in 1921 it became the 

Eastern Branch of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. Castle Williams ceased operation as a military 

prison in 1966, when the U.S. Army left Governors Island. 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION UTILITY AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

 166

Utility and Mechanical Systems

Electrical System 

Governors Island is supplied with electrical service by Con Edison of Brooklyn, New York. 

Two- hundred- amp service enters Castle Williams via an underground supply line on the east 

side, which has existed since at least 1938. Electrical control panels and switches are located in a 

small room within the sally port. Like the plumbing, the electrical system is an assemblage of 

equipment and fixtures dating from various time periods. Much of the equipment installed 

when the castle was first wired for electricity around 1904 was replaced by extensive rewiring 

campaigns in the 1930s and 1940s, as documented in architectural drawings. Incandescent, 

ceiling- mounted light fixtures were also installed at this time. The U.S. Coast Guard replaced 

many of these incandescent lights with florescent lights in 1967, when the castle was converted 

from an Army prison to a community center. Additional wiring was also installed by the Coast 

Guard to supply specialized equipment in the new woodworking, ceramics, and arts and crafts 

studios located in casemates in the first and second tiers. 

Heating System 

Castle Williams is equipped with a steam- heating system fueled with natural gas (piped from 

Brooklyn) that is not operational today. Central heating may have been installed as early as 1895 

when the castle was designated as a one of 10 military prisons for the U.S. Army. The date of the 

existing heating equipment—including the boiler in casemate 1- 7, steam mains, and radiators—

is thought to date to renovations of the heating system in the 1930s and 1940s. A separate oilfired, warm- air furnace was specified in 1985 for the “Furniture Repair Shop” in one of the 

casemates (1- 5) of the first tier. 

Only the casemates in the third tier appear to have been outfitted for heating in the early 19th 

century. Each of the 13 casemates had one projecting chimney situated at the exterior wall 

between the embrasure openings, as depicted on plans and elevation drawings of Castle 

Williams dated 1839 (figs. 7- 8), 1841, and 1863. These vented through the floor of the barbette 

tier [the roof], just inside the parapet. “Brick platforms for fire places on 3d story” were 

installed in 1843, according to Captain George Dutton, who oversaw repairs to the castle (letter 

dated December 9, 1843). In addition, the 13 chimney flues were lengthened at this time by 

incorporating them into the enlarged parapet. No traces of the fireplace chimneys or hearths 

remain in the casemates today, although their flue openings survive in the parapet. These 13 

openings, each measuring approximately 10 inches square, were covered with cast- stone caps 

when new roofing was installed in the 1990s. 

The fact that there was “no means of heating the lower tier of gun rooms” became an issue 

during the Civil War when Confederate soldiers were imprisoned at the castle (Letter from 

surgeon William Sloan dated Sept. 1861). Some type of heating equipment may have been 

introduced in the later years of the war, based on an inspection report dated November 1864 

that described the prison quarters as then being “clean and comfortable.” 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION UTILITY AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

 167

Central heating may have been installed in 1895; it definitely existed by 1903 when Castle 

Williams was fitted up as a “model prison.” Plans for the renovation dated September 1902 

show a “Boiler” room in one of the casemates of the first tier and free- standing radiators. 

Expansion of the heating system would have occurred in 1912- 13, when the angled walls of the 

ravelin [triangular outwork] on the southeast side were remodeled as a two- story guard house. 

Renovations were made to the heating system in the 1930s, the details of which have not yet 

been researched. More work was done in 1947, including conversion of the existing coal- fueled 

boiler for the steam heating system to oil fuel, installation of a new brick chimney in the 

courtyard, and replacement of the old coal bin with a 5,000 - gallon oil tank. Steam mains were 

also relocated, but most of the wall- mounted radiators were retained. The existing heating 

plant was “repaired as required” in 1967 when the castle was remodeled as a community center. 

Conversion from fuel oil to natural gas occurred sometime after a natural gas supply became 

available on Governors Island in 1992. 

Plumbing System 

Water is provided to Governors Island by the New York City Division of Water Supply from 

mains in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Sewage is collected and pumped to a wastewater treatment 

plant in Red Hook, NY. The existing plumbing equipment within Castle Williams is an 

assemblage of materials and fixtures dating from various time periods. Although plumbing had 

been installed in the castle by 1897, most of this early equipment appears to have been replaced 

during several remodelings of the prison by the U.S. Army in the 1930s. Documentation 

suggests that the following plumbing fixtures and equipment are of 1930s vintage: water supply 

lines, sewer lines, toilets and lavatories located in former prison cells in the second and third 

tiers, and toilets and lavatories in the original (1912- 13) toilet rooms in the second story of the 

guardhouse. Toilet rooms added to the first story of the guardhouse in 1947 retain their original 

(1940s) fixtures. New plumbing fixtures installed by the U.S. Coast Guard during the years 

1967- 70 include toilets and lavatories in the former prison latrine (casemate 1- 6), child- size 

toilets and lavatories in two former prison cells in the first tier (CM 1- 11 and 1- 12), kitchen 

fixtures for a snack bar in the former prison visitors’ and recreation room (first story of the 

guardhouse), and kitchen and toilet- room fixtures in a former prison cell in the second tier 

(casemate 2- 1). The Coast Guard also removed existing plumbing equipment in 1967, including 

kitchen sinks and dishwashers from the former prison kitchen(CM 1- 5), shower heads and 

drains from the former prison shower room (CM 1- 8), and selected toilets and lavatories from 

former prison cells in the second and third tiers. 

Early sources of water at Castle Williams included a well and a rainwater cistern. An 

“inexhaustible well of the finest water” was described in the courtyard in a report by Colonel 

Jonathan Williams written in November 1808, which was noted to have become unreliable by 

1868 (Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 102). Laundresses working in the casemates of the third tier 

in 1843- 44 may have hauled water from the well. The well water was supplemented by a 

subterranean rainwater cistern installed in the courtyard of the castle in 1859 (fig. 11). The 

cistern most likely supplied water to two wood- framed structures constructed between 1857 

and 1867: a mess kitchen located within courtyard, and a small “wash house for men of the 

garrison” located nearby but outside the walls of the castle (fig. 15). The wash house was 

replaced by a larger “water closet [for] Castle Williams” illustrated in a color- washed drawing 
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION UTILITY AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

 168

and approved by the Secretary of War in 1870 (fig. 16). Both the mess kitchen and wash house 

were connected to water lines that had been installed on Governors Island by August 1879, 

according to a map of that date (fig. 20), the water piped by mains from Ridgewood, Long Island 

(Smith, Governor’s Island, p. 102). 

Plumbing fixtures appear to have been installed within the casemates of Castle Williams by 1897, 

according to an article in the New York Times dated April 4, 1897, that described a “wash room” 

and “kitchen” in the lower casemates. This may have occurred shortly after Castle Williams was 

designated as one of 10 military prisons for the U.S. Army in 1895. Renovation of the plumbing 

system was most likely carried out in 1902 when the castle was fitted up as a “model prison.” 

Plans dated September of that year included a kitchen, wash room, boiler room, and laundry in 

the first tier, all requiring plumbing fixtures. More work improvements were made in 1916, 

based on a drawing of the second tier entitled “Plan...showing location of proposed new water 

closets in cells and basins in Barber Shop, cell #21, with water & sewer connections.” Existing 

water and sewer lines are shown crisscrossing the courtyard on the 1916 plan, with a note to 

replace the present 2- inch water pipe with a 2 1⁄2- inch pipe. Twelve of the 13 casemates are 

depicted as prison cells, each with a water closet (toilet) and lavatory (basin). The barber shop 

also had these fixtures, along with four additional basins. Two toilet rooms were conveniently 

located in the second story of the castle’s recently constructed guardhouse. Rooms in the first 

tier in 1916 that were undoubtedly connected to plumbing, included a kitchen, two laundry 

rooms, and a boiler room. Updating of the plumbing by the U.S. Army is documented by 

architectural drawings prepared in 1931, 1932, 1938- 39, and 1947. The most recent updating 

and alterations to the plumbing were made by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1967 and 1970. 

Security System 

There is no electronic security system at Castle Williams. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES 

169

CHARACTER- DEFINING 

FEATURES 

CASTLE WILLIAMS CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES 

171

Definition

“Character- defining features” (CDFs) are defined in Director’s Order (NPS)- 28: Cultural 

Resources Management Guidelines, Release No. 4, as follows: 

A prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic of a historic 

property that contributes significantly to its physical character. 

Structures, objects, vegetation, spatial relationships, views, furnishings, 

decorative details, and materials may be such features.1

By this definition, a CDF can date from any period in the history of a property. In the case of a 

building or structure, this could span the time period from its date of construction to the present 

day. 

A more restrictive definition is cited in The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment 

of Historic Properties, in which CDFs are tied to the “historic character” of a building or 

structure: 

Character- defining features...[are] those architectural materials and 

features that are important in defining the building’s historic character.... 

The character of a historic building may be defined by the form and 

detailing of exterior materials, such as masonry, wood, and metal; 

exterior features, such as roofs, porches, and windows; interior materials, 

such as plaster and paint; and interior features, such as moldings and 

stairways, room configuration and spatial relationships, as well as 

structural and mechanical systems.2

“Historic character” is thereby tied to historical significance, which Director’s Order (NPS)- 28 

defines as “the meaning or value ascribed to a structure, landscape, object, or site based on the 

National Register criteria for evaluation. It normally stems from a combination of association 

and integrity.”3

An excerpt of the statement of significance for the National Historic Landmark District 

nomination for Governors Island, which includes Castle Williams as a significant contributing 

resource, reads as follows: 

The Governors Island historic district derives its significance largely 

from the island’s role as a major component in the defense system of one 

 1

Director's Order (NPS)- 28, Cultural Resources Management Guidelines, Release No. 4, Appendix A 

(U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, History Division, 1994), p. 188. 2

 Kay E. Weeks and Anne E. Grimmer, The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of 

Historic Properties, with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic 

Buildings ( U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resource Stewardship and 

Partnerships, Historic Preservation Services, 1995), p. 63. 3 Director's Order (NPS)- 28, Appendix A, p. 193. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES 

172

of the country’s most important harbors, New York Harbor.... The 

present fortifications, Fort Jay, a square four bastioned fort, and Castle 

Williams, a circular casemated work, erected as part of the second 

American System of fortification in the years preceding the War of 1812, 

were two of the harbors largest defense works.... The island is also 

significant for its role as a major Army administrative center for nearly a 

century. Beginning in 1878 when the Military Division of the Atlantic 

and the Department of the East were transferred to the island, the post 

served as headquarters for major Army commands until 1966.4

One aspect of Castle William’s history is not mentioned in the National Historic Landmark 

District nomination: its use as a prison. This use was deemed to be significant by the NPS team 

currently writing the monument’s General Management Plan (GMP), as described in the 

purpose/significance statement of the draft GMP. The period of historical significance for 

Governors Island as defined by the National Register nomination therefore spans the years 

1794, when Fort Jay was originally constructed, to 1966, when the U.S. Army left the island. 

 4

 National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form, “Governors Island,” entered 

February 4, 1985. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES 

173

Castle Williams:

Character- Defining Features

Few alterations have been made to Castle Williams since the U.S. Army left Governors Island in 

1966. Most existing features therefore contribute to the historic character of Castle Williams for 

the period of significance 1794 to 1966, as defined by the National Historic Landmark District 

nomination for Governors Island. These character- defining features are briefly described 

below and on the following pages. 

Site Orientation 

Castle Williams sits on its original site on the northwest point of Governors Island that was 

historically called Perkins Point or Hendricks Reef. This was a strategically important location 

overlooking the Upper Bay of New York Harbor and the entrance to the North River. From this 

position Castle Williams, together with Fort Jay and Castle Clinton on the southern tip of 

Manhattan Island, provided protection to nearby New York City from enemy invasion by sea. 

Overall Design and Form 

The overall design and form of Castle Williams are character- defining features that have 

remained mostly unchanged since the castle’s original construction in the early 19th century. 

Castle Williams is a circular work of heavy masonry construction, three stories high, with a 

ravelin [triangular outwork] composed of two straight walls on the southeast (back) side facing 

Fort Jay. The courtyard inside the castle, open to the sky, is a character- defining feature. 

Within the courtyard are two original brick stair towers with stone steps connecting three tiers 

of original casemates and the roof. Portions of the ravelin walls date to original construction in 

1807- 11. These include the exterior stone walls in the first story, the bartizan [sentry turret] at 

the exterior salient angle, and the sally port [main entrance] in the east wall. A remodeling in 

1912- 13 widened and heightened the angled walls to their present configuration, using the 

stones from two original powder magazines located within the courtyard. The existing 

industrial appearance of the courtyard dates to the 1930s- 40s, when concrete galleries enclosed 

by steel windows were erected, along with a brick- enclosed metal stairway. 

Fenestration 

The original exterior fenestration of Castle Williams is remarkably intact, and as such is a 

character- defining feature. This includes three tiers of embrasures, or splayed openings, in the 

circular portion of the castle. There are two embrasures in each of the 13 casemates in the first, 

second, and third tiers, making a total of 78 openings. Of a different design, but also original, are 

the slit openings in the round bartizan [sentry turret] on the ravelin. The sally port, or main 

entrance, to the castle survives in the exterior east angled wall of the ravelin [triangular outwork] 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES 

174

facing Fort Jay. This is an arched opening with the words “Castle Williams” carved in the 

keystone, together with “Commenced 1807” and “Compleated 1811” in the upper flanking 

stones. The precise date of these carvings is unknown, although a history of Governors Island 

published in 1913 describes them as existing by that time. Doorway openings in the brickwork 

walls of the two original stair towers in the courtyard are also early features. 

Other doorway and window openings in Castle Williams are character- defining features of later 

vintage. These include the openings in the walls of the interior courtyard and in the guardhouse. 

Most date to the mid- 20th century. 

Construction Materials 

The materials of which Castle Williams is composed date from many periods of construction 

and remodeling, and collectively are character- defining features. The predominant building 

materials used in the original construction are red sandstone blocks and bricks for the walls and 

steps, and wooden boards for the floorboards and ceilings. A granite parapet wall in the upper 

tier dates to the mid- 1890s. Modern materials (concrete, steel, and hard bricks) characterize 

the remodeling work of the 1930s and 1940s, when Castle Williams served as a military prison. 

Spatial Configurations 

The interior spaces of Castle Williams are another character- defining feature. The spaces of the 

original 39 casemates contained within the circular walls of the castle have remained relatively 

unaltered, although modified and adapted for different uses over the years. Closure of the 

interconnecting openings between the casemates most likely dates to the 1860s, when the castle 

served as a prison for captured Confederates. The rooms contained within the south and east 

angled walls of the castle were constructed in 1912- 13, retaining the original exterior stone 

walls. These rooms achieved their present configuration during a remodeling by the U.S. Coast 

Guard to convert the castle to a community center in 1967. 

The two round stair towers, with their exposed brickwork walls and spiral stairways made of 

stone, are character- defining features that date to the original construction of Castle Williams in 

1807- 11. 

Prison Cells and Materials 

Features and materials remaining from the use of Castle Williams as a military prison from 1861 

through 1966 are character- defining features. Most date from reconstructions of the facility by 

the U.S. Army in the 1930s and 1940s. These include isolation and solitary confinement cells in 

three casemates of the third tier, security window sashes with wire glass, steel doors and grilles, 

and concrete floors and balconies. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES 

175

Nonhistoric Features and Materials

Alterations and improvements made after 1966 by the U.S. Coast Guard, and later by the 

General Services Administration, are considered to be noncontributing to the historic character 

of Castle Williams. These include fluorescent light fixtures that replaced existing incandescent 

light fixtures, wood doors that replaced steel doors, most of the existing plumbing fixtures, 

vinyl- asbestos floor tiles, suspended acoustical ceilings, and the existing membrane roofing. 

 177

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 179

Governors Island: History

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Fort Jay

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Descriptive Data.” Survey number HABS NY- 5715- ID. Washington, DC: National 

Park Service, Department of the Interior, 1984. 

Lash, Stephen S., Associates. “National Register of Historic Places, Inventory –Nomination 

Form: Fort Jay.” New York, NY: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, 

September 3, 1971 (entered 1974). 

Records of the Chief of Engineers. National Archives, Northeast Region, New York, NY (see 

“Castle Williams” for details). 

Castle Clinton

Jacob, Judy. “Castle Clinton National Monument, Evaluation of Exterior Stone and Structure,” 

draft manuscript. New York: National Park Service, Northeast Cultural Resources 

Center, Building Conservation Branch, August 31, 1998. 

Pitkin, Thomas M. “Historic Structures Report, Part I, Castle Clinton, Castle Clinton National 

Monument.” New York: Statue of Liberty National Monument, May 6, 1960. 

- - - - - - . “Supplementary Material Relating to the Construction of West Battery—Castle 

Clinton, from the Jonathan Williams Papers, Lilly Library, Indiana University.” New 

York: Statue of Liberty National Monument, April 1963. 

Historic Preservation

Director’s Order (NPS)- 28, Cultural Resources Management Guidelines, Release No. 4, U.S. Dept. 

of the Interior, National Park Service, History Division, 1994. 

Weeks, Kay E., and Anne E. Grimmer. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment 

of Historic Properties, with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and 

Reconstructing Historic Building. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, 

Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, Historic Preservation Services, 1995. 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 185

Jonathan Williams

Cullum, Bvt. Major- General George W. Campaigns of the War of 1812- 15 Against Great Britain, 

Sketched and Criticised; with Brief Biographies of the American Engineers. New York: 

James Miller, 1879. 

Garraty, John A., and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography, Vol. 23. New York, 

NY: Oxford University Press, 1999. 

Williams, Jonathan. Jonathan Williams Papers, Manuscripts Department, Lilly Library, Indiana 

University, Bloomington, IN. 

Drawings and Maps

1813 “Map of the Islands and Military Points in the Harbor of New York, their 

distances and Situations,” with profiles through Governors, Bedloes and Ellis 

Islands, and the works thereon, by Joseph Mangin, 1813. (Drawer 36, Sheet 20; 

RG 77; CAB/NACP. Reproduced as Plates 1 and 2 in a report by HABS, 

“Governors Island, Castle Williams, Castle Williams,” 1984, pp. 2 and 16; LC.) 

1813 “A Map of Governor’s Island,” showing plans of Castle Williams and Fort 

Columbus, by Joseph Mangin, 1813. (Drawer 37, Sheet 1; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Plan and Section of Castle Williams.” Two sheets. (Drawer 37, Sheet 2; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP.) 

1819 “Map of Governors Island with Plan & Profile of the Works thereon,” by W. Tell 

Poussin, 1819. (Drawer 37, Sheet 4; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1824 “A rough plan of Castle Williams in the Harbour of New York, 1824.” Noted on 

the drawing: “Engr. Dept. Recd from Lt. Mansfield with his letter dated New 

York July 2, 1824.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 5; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1830 “Section of Castle Williams” and “Sketch exhibiting the alterations alluded to in 

the Report of the repairs required at Fort Columbus, N. York.” (Drawer 37, 

Sheet 6; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1832 “Plan exhibiting the Iron Piazzas proposed for the upper Tiers of Castle Williams 

on Governor’s Island, New York—Also a front view of the manner it is intended 

to close the arches of the third tier,” and “A plan exhibiting a perpendicular 

section through Castle Williams wherein the Stairway is proposed to be 

Constructed. Signed by [?] DeRussy, Major Engr.” (Drawer 154, Sheet 43- 7; RG 

77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 186

1839 “Plan of a casemate, 1st tier of guns, Castle Williams.” Noted on the drawing: 

“Rec’d Sept. 4, 1839 from Capt. Barnard U.S. Engrs. with his letter dated 

Governors Is. September 2, 1839.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 11; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Interior Elevation of Embrasure, Castle Williams, N.Y.H.” Noted on the 

drawing: “Rec’d Sept. 4, 1839, from Capt. Barnard U.S. Engr. With his letter dated 

Governors Island Sept. 2, 1839.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 12; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Plan of a Casemate, 2nd

 Tier of Guns, Castle Williams, N.Y. Harbour,” Sept. 1st, 

1839.” Noted on the drawing: “Rec’d from Capt. Barnard, U.S. Eng. with his 

letter dated Governors Island Sept. 2, 1839,” and “Corrections made in red ink 

June 1841.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 13; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Profile of Casemate 1st and 2nd tier of Guns on the Line a, b, c, d, e, Castle 

Williams, 1st Sept. 1839.” Noted on the drawing: “Rec’d Sept. 4 1839 from Capt. 

Barnard U.S. Engineer with his letter dated Governors Island Sept. 2, 1839.” 

(Drawer 77, Sheet 14; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Sheet No. 2, Plan and Details of Castle Williams, Governor’s Island, New York 

Harbor,” by Henry Waller, C.E., 1839. Noted on the drawing: “Received with 

Capt. Barnard’s letter of Jan. 10th, 1840.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 16; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP.) Reproduced in a report by HABS, “Governors Island, Castle 

Williams, Castle Williams,” 1984, p. 17; LC.) 

 “Sheet No. 3, Horizontal Section Through 2nd Tier of Gun Embrasures and 3rd

Story of Castle Williams, Governor’s Island, New York Harbor,” by Henry 

Waller, C.E., December 1839. Noted on the drawing: “Received with Capt. 

Barnard’s letter of Jany. 10th, 1840.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 17; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

Reproduced in a report by HABS, “Governors Island, Castle Williams, Castle 

Williams,” 1984, p. 18; LC.) 

 “Sheet No. 4, Details Castle Williams, Governors Island, New York Harbor,” by 

Henry Waller, C.E., circa 1839. Noted on the drawing: “Received with Capt. 

Barnard’s letter of Jany. 10th, 1840.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 18; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1841 “Plan of Upper Tier of Castle Williams, New York Harbor, showing the position 

of the barbette guns, and the proposed increase of the thickness of the parapet.” 

Engineer Department, Washington, April 2, 1841. (Drawer 37, Sheet 24; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP.) 

1841 “Dimensions of Embrasures, Tongue Holes, Traverse Plates, & c. of the 1st and 2d 

Tier of Castle Williams, Commencing at the South Eastern Corner—May 27, 

1841.” Two sheets. (Drawer 37, Sheet 24 1⁄2; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Section of Castle Williams, New York Harbor,” Engineer Department, 

Washington, April 2, 1841. (Drawer 37, Sheet 25; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 187

 “Drawing of the Block of stone at the intersection of the Traverse Circles—Upper 

Tier of Castle Williams, June 1841.” Noted on the drawing: “Engineer 

Department July 2d 1841, received with Capt. Sander’s letter of June 29th, 1841.” 

(Drawer 37, Sheet 26; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1843 “Dimensions of the Embrasures of Castle Williams, with the position of the guns 

when in battery, aligned on the axis of embrasures, 1st or lower tier.” Noted on 

the drawing: “Eng. Dept. July 21, 1843,” and “rec’d with Capt. [illegible] letter of 

19 July 43.” (Drawer 37, Sheet30; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

“Castle Williams, Plan, Sections & Elevations of embrasure of the lower tier, 

showing the mode proposed of securing the pintle and of relaying the Sole.” 

Noted on the drawing: “Engineer Department, July 26, 1843,” and “Sent to Capt. 

Dutton at New York with letter of this date.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 31; RG 77; 

CAB/NACP.) 

1859 “Plan & Section of Cistern at Castle Williams, Drawn under the direction of Maj. 

J.G. Barnard, U.S.E., 1859.” Noted on the drawing: “Sent to Engineer Depart. 

with letter of Nov. 3, 1859.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 47; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Sketch of proposed plan of thickening and raising the parapet of Castle 

Williams.” Also noted on the drawing: “Sent to Chief Engineer with letter of 

April 25th '59.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 48; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1863 “Castle Williams, Plans & Sections of the Barbette Tier, Showing Changes that are 

to be Made Therein.” Noted on the drawing: “Engr. Dept., Jan’y 31st, 1863,” and 

“Copy sent to Mr. Trowbridge with a letter of this date.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 50; 

RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1865 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, January 1, 1865. (Drawer 250, Sheet 

2- 1; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1866 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, June 30, 1866. (RG 77, Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 2; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Castle Williams, Plans & Sections of the Barbette Tier, Showing Changes that are 

to be Made Therein.” The same as RG 77, Drawer 37, Sheet 50, but undated. 

Noted in red ink: “Engineer Department, Nov. 3, 1866, Rec’d with Genl 

Barnard’s letter of Nov. 3, 1866.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 50; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1867 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, June 30, 1867. (Drawer 250, Sheet 2-

3; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Map Showing the Position of all Buildings on Governors Island 1st Dec. 1867, 

from a Survey Made Under the Direction of Maj. John G. Barnard, Corps of 

Engrs, Major Nicholas Bowen.” (Drawer 37, Sheet 55; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 188

1869 Three sheets: “Plan of Castle Williams, Governors Island, Ground Tier,” “Castle 

Williams, Horizontal Section Through 2nd Tier of Gun Embrasures,” and “Castle 

Williams” showing the barbette tier [roof]. The drawings are stamped “Rec’d 

Headquarters Corps of Engineers July 31, 1869.” (Drawer 259, Sheets 39, 39a, 

and 39b; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1870 “Water Closet Castle Williams.” Noted on the drawing, “Approved by Secretary 

of War June 1, 1870.” (Misc. Forts File, Sheet 36; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1872 “Plan and Elevation of Castle Williams, Governors Island, prepared under the 

direction of BVT Maj. Genl. John Newton, US Engineers, for the use of the U.S. 

Light House Board, December 1872.” Includes two plans and one elevation. 

(Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island [formerly the U.S. Coast Guard 

Facilities Engineering Division], GIPEC.) 

1873 “Sketch of Castle William, Governor’s Island, Showing its present armament 

December 12th 1873.” (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 5; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1875 “Armament” inventory, barbette tier [roof] of Castle Williams, 1875. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 6; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1879 “Map of Governors Island N.Y.H. Surveyed by 1st Lieut. Eugene Griffin Corps 

Engrs. and Frederick N. Owen Assistant Engr. 1879.” Noted on the drawing: 

“Received this day from Adjt Gen’l [illegible] with letter from Genl. W.S. 

Hancock to Adjt. Genl dated Feb. 25, 1880.” Includes Fort Columbus, Castle 

Williams, South Battery, contours and building schedule. (Drawer 37, Sheet 63; 

RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Map showing location of Water, Drain and Sewer Pipes on Governors Island, 

Office of the Post Quartermaster, Fort Columbus, N.Y.H., Aug. 30th, 1879.” 

Noted on the drawing: “This tracing was furnished by Col. A.J. Perry Nov. 15, 

84.” (Miscellaneous Fortifications File, Drawer 13; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1892 “Castle Williams, Governors Island, N.Y. Harbor, sketch showing Armament 

April 1, 1892.” (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 7; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1893 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, December 31, 1893. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 9; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1896 “Armament Sketch drawn under direction of Major H.M. Adams, Corps of 

Engineers, December 31, 1896.” (Drawer 250, Sheet 2- 10; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, December 31, 1896. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 11; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1897 “Armament Sketch Castle Williams, New York, drawn under direction of Major 

H.M. Adams, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 1897.” (Drawer250, 

Sheet 2- 12; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 189

1898 “Armament Sketch Castle Williams, New York, drawn under direction of Major 

H.M. Adams, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 1898. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 14; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, December 31, 1898. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 15; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1899 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, December 31, 1899. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 16; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, drawn under direction 

of Lieut. Col. W.H.H. Benyaurd, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 

1899.” Armament inventory for Castle Williams and Fort Columbus. (Drawer 

250, Sheet 3- 14; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1900 “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, drawn under direction 

of Major W.L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., December 31, 1900.” 

Armament inventory for Castle Williams and Fort Columbus. (Drawer 250, Sheet 

3- 16; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1900 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, December 31, 1900. (Drawer 250, 

Sheet 2- 17; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1901 “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, drawn under direction 

of Major W.L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A.,” December 31, 1901. 

Armament inventory for Castle Williams and Fort Columbus. (Sheet 250, Sheet 

3- 18; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Armament” inventory for Castle Williams, December 31, 1901. (Sheet 250, Sheet 

3- 19; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1902 “Sketch Plan Showing Extension of Governor’s Island, New York,” with Secretary 

of War Elihu Root’s signature, by McKim, Mead and White, Architects. 

(Blueprint File, Governors Island, NY; RG 92; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Castle Williams, Fort Columbus, N.Y., Plan of Lower Tier.” Stamped on back: 

“Sept. 27, 1902.” (Blueprint File, Ft. Columbus, N.Y., Sheet 1- 1; RG 92; 

CAB/NACP.) 

 “Castle Williams, Fort Columbus, N.Y., Plan of Middle Tier.” Stamped on back: 

“Sept. 24, 1902.” (Blueprint File, Ft. Columbus, N.Y., Sheet 1- 2; RG 92; 

CAB/NACP.) 

 “Castle Williams, Fort Columbus, N.Y., Plan of Upper Tier.” Stamped on back: 

“Sept. 24, 1902.” (Blueprint File, Ft. Columbus, N.Y., Sheet 1- 3; RG 92; 

CAB/NACP.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 190

 “Castle Williams, Fort Columbus, N.Y. Details.” Stamped on back: “Sept. 24, 

1902.” (Blueprint File, Ft. Columbus, N.Y., Sheet 1- 4; RG 92; CAB/NACP.) 

 “Armament Sketch, Forts on Governors Island, New York, drawing under 

direction of Major W.L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A.,” December 31, 

1902. (Drawer 250, Sheet 3- 30; RG 77; CAB/NACP.) 

1908 First U.S. Army Engineers Map of Governors Island, 1908, from a drawing by 

J.M. Hilton. Map is dated March 1962. Castle Williams is labeled as building 

number “55.” (Cited in “Ordnance and Explosives Archives Search Report 

Findings,” July 1997, reference documents.) 

1916 “Plan of Prison Bldg #55, Ft. Jay, NY, 2nd Tier, showing location of proposed new 

water closets in cells and basins in the Barber Shop, Cell #21, with water & sewer 

connections.” (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC. Also 

reproduced by HABS in 1982- 83; negative no. NY- 5715- 2- 28; LC.) 

1921 “New York Harbor, Fort Jay, Governors Island General Map.” (Cited in 

“Ordnance and Explosives Archives Search Report Findings,” July 1997, 

reference documents.) 

1928 “Fort Jay, Governors Island, N.Y., Buildings and Roads.” (Cited in “Ordnance 

and Explosives Archives Search Report Findings,” July 1997, reference 

documents; original source is Entry 393, Box 102, File: Ft. Jay, 3 of 7; RG 77; 

NAB.) 

1931 “Proposed Location of New Water Supply Lines, Castle William—Gov’s Il’se 

N.Y.” By the Office of Quartermaster, 2nd Corps Area, Fort Jay, Governors Island, 

April 7, 1931. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

 Island, GIPEC.) 

1932 “Reconstruction of Castle Williams, Governors Island.” By the Office of 

Quartermaster, 2nd Corps Area, Fort Jay, Governors Island, April 1932. Ten 

sheets. Castle Williams is labeled as building number “501.” (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1938 “Castle William Building No. 501, Second Corps Area, Fort Jay, Gov’s Isl.” 

Prepared by U.S.A. Work Program, WPA, Project no. 365- 97- 2- 16. Three 

sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

 “Diagram of Boiler Rm, Bldg #501.” Prepared by Post Utilities Office, Fort Jay, 

Governors Island, September 6, 1938. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

Ca. 1938- 39 “Castle William, Second Corps Area, Fort Jay, Gov’r’s Isl.” Prepared by the U.S.A. 

Work Program, WPA, Project # 565- 97- 2- 3. Two sheets. (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 191

1939 “Castle William B’L’D’G #501, Second Corps Area, Fort Jay, Governors Island.” 

Prepared by the Works Project Administration, City of New York, Project No. 

765- 97- 2- 15. Two sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, 

GIPEC.) 

1947 “Renovation & Alteration Castle Williams, Castle Williams, Governors Island,” 

March- Aug., 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. Wegman & Co., Engineers, and 

Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect, for the Office of the Post Engineer, Headquarters 

Fort Jay. Nineteen sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, 

GIPEC. Four of these drawings were reproduced by HABS in 1982- 83; negative 

numbers 5715- 2- 24, 25, 26, and 27; LC.) 

1947 “Castle Williams, Fort Jay, Governors Island,” July 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. 

Wegman & Co, Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect. Also noted: 

Reinforcing Steel Engineering Bureau, Inc., Structural Engineers, NYC, and J. 

Rosenblum, Inc., Contractor. Five sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

 “Castle Williams, War Department, Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York—

Order No. 8978,” June- Aug., 1947. By the Stewart Iron Works Co. Cincinnati, 

OH. Fifteen sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

 “Castle Williams, Fort Jay, N.Y.,” Aug.- September 1947. Prepared by Leonard S. 

Wegman & Co., Engineers, and Gerson T. Hirsch, Architect and Fairmount Iron 

Work, NYC. Four sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, 

GIPEC.) 

 “Castle Williams, Building 55, Governors Island, NY,” October 1947. Prepared by 

Nathan Syraus- Duparquet Inc., NY, Food Service Equipment. Two sheets—

includes dishwashing equipment. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, 

GIPEC.) 

1952 “Alterations of Cells #11, 12 & 13, Fort Jay, Governors Island, NY,” 1952. 

Prepared by Office of the Post Engineer. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 

910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1953 “Site Plan of Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York,” May 1953. (Cited in 

“Ordnance and Explosives Archives Search Report Findings,” July 1997, 

reference documents.) 

1955 “Alt. to Shower Rm 1st Fl, Castle Williams Bldg. 501,” December 16, 1955. 

Prepared by the Office of the Post Engineer. Two sheets. (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1956 “Proposed Heating Zoning for Bldg 501, Castle Williams, Fort Jay, Governors 

Island, NY,” July 6, 1956. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

Island, GIPEC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 192

1958 “Kitchen Exhaust System, Castle Williams, Fort Jay, Governors Island, NY,” April 

9, 1958. Prepared by the Office of the Post Engineer. One sheet. (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1959 “Building No. 501, New York Base, Governors Island,” May 6, 1959. Prepared by 

USCG, 3rd Dist., Governors Island. Two sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1964 “Site Plan, Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York,” September 1, 1964. Cited in 

“Ordnance and Explosives Archives Search Report Findings,” July 1997, 

reference documents.) 

1966 “Building 501,” June 16, 1966. Prepared by Roberts & Schaefer Co., Inc., 

Architects & Engineers, and Carlson & Sweatt, Mechanical & Electrical 

Engineers. Twenty- three of 191 sheets survive. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1967 “Conversion of Castle Williams, New York Base, Building 501,” Mar. 14, 1967. 

Prepared by Roberts & Schaefer Co., Inc., Architects & Engineers, and Carlson & 

Sweatt, Mechanical & Electrical Engineers. Three sheets. (Drawing files, 

Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

 “Second Floor Part. Plan, New York Base, Building 501,” April 17, 1967. Prepared 

by USCG 3rd District, Governors Island, Civil Engineering. One sheet. (Drawing 

files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

 “Building No. 501,” May 29, 1967. Prepared by USCG 3rd District, Governors 

Island, Civil Engineering. Two sheets. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors 

Island.) 

 “Electrical Usage—Craft Shop,” June 2, 1967. Prepared by USCG, Governors 

Island, New York Base, Civil Engineering, Public Works Division. One sheet. 

(Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1969 “Structural Installation of Indirect Lighting,” May 6, 1969. Prepared by USCG, 

New York Base, Governors Island. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, 

Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1970 “Girl Scout Rooms, Bldg. No. 501,” August and September 1970. Prepared by 

USCG Base New York, Public Works Division, Engineering. Two sheets. 

(Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

1985 “New Heating System in Furniture Repair Shop, Building 501,” November 7, 1985. 

Prepared by USCG Support Center, New York, Governors Island, NY, Facilities 

Engineering. One sheet. (Drawing files, Building 910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 
CASTLE WILLIAMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

 193

1993 “Roof Rehabilitation of Building 501, Castle Williams at USCG Support Center 

New York, Governors Island, New York,” July 30, 1993. Prepared by USCG 

Civil Engineering Unit, New York, NY. Twelve sheets. (Drawing files, Building 

910, Governors Island, GIPEC.) 

National Park Service 

U.S.Department of the Interior 

 

 Historic Architecture Program 

 Northeast Region 

 115 John Street, 4th Floor 

 Lowell, MA 01852 

 

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA TM

 View of “Castle Williams from the battery.” 

 Print copyrighted 1905 by the Society of Iconophiles, New York 

 Library of Congress.