Fort Slocum (New York)

Fort Slocum
Part of Coast Defenses of Eastern New York
Davids' Island, town of New Rochelle, New York
Mortars similar to the type used at Fort Slocum
Fort Slocum Show map of New York City Fort Slocum Show map of New York Fort Slocum Show map of the US Location in New York City area
Coordinates	40°53′02″N 73°46′12″W / 40.884°N 73.770°W / 40.884; -73.770Coordinates: 40°53′02″N 73°46′12″W / 40.884°N 73.770°W / 40.884; -73.770
Type	Coastal Defense fort, hospital, training base
Site information
Owner	Town of New Rochelle
Site history
Built	1862
Built by	United States Army Corps of Engineers
Demolished	2008
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids' Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the town of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps commander in the American Civil War.

Military use of the island dates from 1861, when the 3rd Regiment (63rd New York Infantry) of the Irish Brigade established Camp Carrigan. The next year, 1862, Davids' Island was leased by the U.S. Government. This marked the first use of Davids' Island by the Regular Army. At that time, De Camp General Hospital (named for Dr. Samuel G. I. de Camp) was established to serve thousands of wounded individuals from the battlefields of the American Civil War. By late 1862, De Camp was the Army’s largest general hospital, housing more than 2,100 patients. Originally, De Camp General Hospital treated only Union soldiers, but following the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the War Department opened it to care for hundreds of wounded Confederate soldiers. Even though a prison camp had been established on Hart Island in 1865 Davids' Island soon held more than 2,500 Confederate prisoners of war. Most had recovered by October, and they were moved to prisoner-of-war camps elsewhere. A ferry connection was established during the war from Neptune Island, under the control of Simeon Leland.