page_title: Harbor Defenses of New York
section_title: Present
hierarchical_section_title: Harbor Defenses of New York / Present
caption_attribution_description: English: 16 inch gun and projectile at Fort John Custis, later Cape Charles Air Force Station, now Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Charles, Virginia, USA. The gun is a spare gun tube from the USS Missouri., which was mounted aboard the battleship in September 1945 at the formal surrender of Japan. It is not the same gun used in the US Army coastal fortification when it was active. Français&#160;: Canon de 16 pouces et projectile à Fort John Custis, futur poste de l'armée de l'air du cap Charles, aujourd'hui réserve naturelle de la côte est de la Virginie, Cape Charles, Virginie, États-Unis
context_page_description: The Harbor Defenses of New York was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of New York City from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program, some of which were located in New Jersey. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1895 as an Artillery District and became the Coast Defenses of Eastern New York and Coast Defenses of Southern New York in 1913. Circa 1915 the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook separated from the latter command. In 1925 the commands were renamed as Harbor Defense Commands, and in 1935 the Harbor Defenses of Eastern New York was almost entirely disarmed, although possibly retaining the minefield capability. The New York and Sandy Hook commands and the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound were unified as the Harbor Defenses of New York on 9 May 1942.
context_section_description: Fort Wadsworth, Fort Tilden, and Fort Hancock are parts of the Gateway National Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service and open to the public. Fort Jay and Castle Williams are in Governors Island National Monument, also a national park; they are also open to the public with a collection of Civil War-era cannon and good interpretive signage. The third system fort at Fort Schuyler has been fully converted to office space as part of the State University of New York Maritime College. The old fort is well-preserved, but the Endicott batteries are all demolished or buried. A magazine for the 12-inch battery and a mostly-buried mine casemate remain. Fort Slocum has been mostly demolished; however, a 15-inch Rodman gun remains on the island, along with three of the four mortar pits an 1890s practice battery. Fort Totten is partly used as an Army Reserve center; the stone fort is open to the public but the preserved Endicott batteries are not. The minefield control area is largely intact, but is in use by the New York Police Department. The former Fort Totten Officers' Club, one of many buildings in the United States resembling the Army Corps of Engineers' castle symbol, is now home to the Bayside Historical Society.
  Fort Wood remains as the foundation of the Statue of Liberty; Fort Gibson on Ellis Island was demolished in 1892 to make room for the immigration station, and a plaque on the island commemorates it. Castle Clinton remains intact and is used for concerts. Fort Gansevoort was demolished in 1854; the North Battery also no longer exists. Fort Lafayette was demolished in 1960 to make room for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
  Fort Hamilton is the last active Army post in New York City; a number of weapons are displayed at or near the fort, although none of the Endicott batteries remain. These include an experimental 20-inch Rodman gun, the largest US-made weapon of the Civil War era, in John Paul Jones Park just north of the fort (with many projectiles for it at the fort), 10-inch Rodman converted rifles on the fort property, and an ex-Navy 12"/45 caliber Mark V Mod 8 gun, generally similar to the biggest guns at the fort in the Endicott era. Only about a third of the old fort remains intact; however, the fort's remaining caponier houses the Army's Harbor Defense Museum.
  Most of the Endicott batteries at Fort Wadsworth have been buried. Paradoxically, much of Battery Duane, the 8-inch battery abandoned in 1915, remains intact near Fort Tompkins. The third system forts Battery Weed and Fort Tompkins are also intact. Battery Weed and Fort Tompkins are only accessible on a ranger-led tour. Battery Dix, Battery Barry, and many of the 1870s emplacements remain unburied but are deteriorating.
  Fort Tilden's 16-inch battery can be viewed but not entered. The former Nike Site NY-49 is in use by the park service and not open to the public.
  Fort Hancock has one of the largest collections of preserved Endicott batteries anywhere, including various experimental batteries at the former proving ground. Significant remains include the dynamite gun battery and the test battery for the 14-inch gun turrets of Fort Drum in Manila Bay, Philippines. Many of the garrison buildings survive, and there are a 20-inch Rodman and a 10-inch Rodman on site. Also rare are the pair of remounted 6-inch M1900 guns at Battery New Peck a.k.a. Battery Gunnison. Only a small part of one wall of the third system fort, with four embrasures, remains. Nike Site NY-56 is partially preserved, with a radar area and some display missiles. The Highlands Military Reservation is now Hartshorne Woods Park, and a Navy 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun has been placed on display at one of the 16-inch casemates.
caption: 16-inch Mark 7 gun displayed at Fort John Custis, Virginia, similar to the display at Hartshorne Woods Park, the former Highlands Military Reservation.
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