History of Fort Schuyler
Fort Schuyler
The narrow land-spit now known as Throgg's Neck, which juts into Long Island Sound at its junction with the East River, takes its name from John Throgmorton, who obtained a license to settle there from the Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam on October 2, 1642. Throgmorton's Neck was shortened through the years to Throgg's Neck.
Construction of a fort at the point was first considered in 1818. A tract of 52 acres was purchased by the Federal Government from William Bayard in 1826 and construction of the fort began in 1833. This was intended to close the western end of the Sound and thus protect New York from attack by sea from this direction.
In December 1845, the fort was ready for its armament of 312 seacoast and garrison guns, six field pieces and 134 heavy guns. The installation of the armament was completed in 1856, and the fortification was named Fort Schuyler, in honor of General Philip Schuyler, who commanded the Northern Army in 1777, and whose conduct of the campaign is credited with laying the groundwork for the final defeat and capture of Bugoyne by Schuyler's successor, General Horatio Gates. The fort was built of granite brought from Greenwich, Conn., in an irregular pentagon, and is said to have been the finest example in the United States of the French type of fortification for the purpose of both sea and land defense. It was built to accommodate a garrison of 1,250 men.
Three full bastions at the salient of the waterfront, two demibastions flanking the gorge on the land front, and the bastioned cover face and covered way protecting the land side were armed for firing from every angle. The fort had two tiers of guns in casemates and one en barbette. The casemates had two embrasures each. Two gun embrasures and one howitzer embrasure were closed later on to make room for a torpedo casemate. On the land side, approach was over a drawbridge, after the manner of a medieval castle. This opened into a tunnel with narrow slits in each side for riflemen who thus would be able to pour a heavy fire upon any attacking force from that quarter.
The fort was re-garrisoned by the infantry on June 28, 1877. Construction of modern defenses was begun in 1896. Under this program two ten-inch and two twelve-inch guns on disappearing carriages; two five-inch rapid fire guns, two fifteen-pounders and battery commanders' stations for the ten-inch and twelve-inch batteries were installed. The coast artillery now garrisoned the fort.
After October 12, 1870, when artillerymen left, the post stood abandoned; but three years later work was begun on widening the terreplein of the north and east waterfronts for barbette batteries of fifteen-inch guns, leaving the emplacements unchanged on the south front and the demibastions of the gorge. This work was suspended in 1875 for the want of funds. It was in 1874 that the New York State Merchant Marine Academy, now to occupy the old fort, was founded.
In October, 1931, the fort was taken over by the Headquarters and Service Platoon and Company A, Twenty-ninth engineers, which were making a fire control map of New York and vicinity. This last garrison was officially withdrawn on May 1, 1934, and plans were begun for converting the fort into a home for the Academy.
Restoration of Fort Schuyler as the permanent land base of the New York State Merchant Marine Academy has been under way since the summer of 1934. Only those familiar with the property prior to that time can fully appreciate the vast amount of work that has been done. While outwardly the main building remains much the same, with the exception of the roof, the interior has been completely transformed. These changes are visible. In and around the fortification many improvements now hidden to view were made in the process of modernizing the structure and making it ready for school purposes.
