Fort Jay
| Fort Jay Fort Columbus |
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| Part of Governors Island | |
| New York County, New York, USA | |
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| Type | Fortification |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Public - National Park Service |
| Controlled by |
United States of America |
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Fort Jay
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| Coordinates | 40°41′28.89″N 74°0′57.63″W / 40.6913583°N 74.0160083°WCoordinates: 40°41′28.89″N 74°0′57.63″W / 40.6913583°N 74.0160083°W |
| Visitation | 126,000 (2008) |
| NRHP Reference # | 74001268 |
| Added to NRHP | March 27, 1974 |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Good |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1794, 1806, 1833 |
| Built by | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jonathan Williams |
| In use | 1794-1997 |
| Materials | Sandstone, Granite, Brick |
United States of America
Fort Jay, a coastal star fort and the name of the former Army post, is located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Fort Jay is the oldest defensive structure on the island. It was built to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes. The National Park Service administers Fort Jay together with Castle Williams as the Governors Island National Monument.
Fort Jay is situated on the location of earthworks originally built to defend New York City during the American Revolution. General Israel Putnam constructed the first earthen fortification on this site starting in April 1776, and armed it with eight cannons for the defence of New York Harbor. Additional artillery were added and on 12 July 1776 Fort Jay engaged HMS Phoenix and HMS Rose. The American cannons inflicted enough damage to make the British commanders cautious of entering the East River, which later contributed to the success of General George Washington's 29–30 August retreat from Brooklyn into Manhattan after the defeat in the Battle of Brooklyn. The Americans abandoned the earthworks that September with the eventual British occupation of New York City. The British Army improved the existing earthworks and used the island as a British Navy hospital until they departed on 25 November 1783. At that time Governors Island was conveyed to the State of New York.
In the years following the end of British occupation of New York in 1783, the works deteriorated. A decade later in 1794, the State of New York began to finance improvements to improve the earthworks, then in ruins. The fort was reconstructed as a square with four corner bastions, and was named after the Federalist New York governor, John Jay. By 1797 Congress appropriated $30,117 for continued construction. Eventually, to allow for continued federal funding and upkeep of the works, the state conveyed Governors Island and the works at Fort Jay to the Federal government in February 1800 for one dollar.
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Wikipedia