Fort Schuyler
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Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century fortification housing a museum in New York City.
Historically, the name was also used for two other fortifications:
- A fort built at Utica, New York in 1758 and abandoned after the French and Indian War.
- Official name assigned to Fort Stanwix by the Continental Army in the revolution, even though most still referred to it as Stanwix.
The surviving Fort Schuyler was dedicated in 1856 and was designed to protect New York City from naval attack through Long Island Sound. It is located on Throgs Neck at a point where the East River meets Long Island Sound in the southwest Bronx. Fort Totten faces it on the other side of the river entrance. At its peak the fort boasted 440 guns, and it was named in honor of Major General Philip Schuyler of the Continental Army.
In 1934 the Fort was decommissioned by the U.S. Army, and by 1938 had been converted into a school, The New York Merchant Marine Academy. The school still occupies the site, but operates as a branch of the State University of New York or SUNY.
In 1986 a portion of the Fort was dedicated as the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler. The museum houses exhibits of both the maritime industry and the history of Fort Schuylar, and is open to the public (free) on weekdays.
External links
- The Maritime Museum web site (http://maritimeindustrymuseum.org/index.htm)
- New York State Military Museum (http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/forts/fortsQ_S/schuylerFort.htm)
- 1920 map of Fort Slocum, Fort Totten, and Fort Schuyler (PDF) (http://www.cdsg.org/mapspdf/HDEY1921.pdf)
- Coast Defense Study Group (http://www.cdsg.org/cdlist1.htm)