Fort Wadsworth

Name	Fort Wadsworth
Location	Staten Island, New York
Caption	Battery Weed at Fort Wadsworth
Type	National Recreation Area unit
Built	1663 (blockhouse)
Controlledby	U.S. Army until 1979 U.S. Navy 1979-1995 National Park Service 1995-present

Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest continually-manned military installation in the United States. It is now maintained by the National Park Service.

History

, commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1870]] The first use of the land for military purposes was as the site of a blockhouse in 1663. During the American Revolution it became known as Flagstaff Fort; captured by the British in 1776, it remained in British hands until the war's end in 1783. It became the responsibility of New York State in 1806, and reverted to federal control during the War of 1812. Divided into several smaller units, including Fort Tompkins and Fort Richmond, its present name was adopted in 1864 to honor Brigadier General James Wadsworth, who had been killed in the Battle of the Wilderness during the Civil War.

In 1910, the fort fired a 21-gun salute to former President Theodore Roosevelt as his ship passed through the Narrows on his return from a nearly year-long trip to Africa and Europe. In 1913, ground was broken by President William Howard Taft for a proposed National American Indian Memorial that was to be built on the site of Fort Tompkins. The monument was to include a statue of an American Indian on the bluff overlooking the Narrows, but difficulties in fundraising and the advent of World War I precluded fruition of the plan.

By 1924, Fort Wadsworth had become an infantry post, and from 1955 until 1974 it was the headquarters of the 52nd AAA Brigade. It then was the site of the United States Army Chaplain school before being turned over to the United States Navy in 1979, which used it as the headquarters of its New York Naval Station. The property became part of Gateway National Recreation Area when the Navy left in 1995. Shortly after that, the United States Coast Guard became a tenant in some of the buildings and housing previously occupied by the Navy. As of 2007, they are occupied by the United States Coast Guard's Sector New York and a Maritime Safety and Security Team.

Historic structures include Battery Weed, directly on the harbor, and Fort Tompkins on the bluff above. Both were built in the mid-19th Century and are open to the public on guided tours only. There are several smaller early 20th Century coastal artillery batteries and an overlook with panoramic views of the Upper Bay, Brooklyn and Manhattan. The National Park Service maintains a visitors' center on site and offers ranger-led tours of the facilities Wednesdays through Sundays.

Neighborhood

The name "Fort Wadsworth" is also sometimes used to denote the residential neighborhood surrounding the former fort, the neighborhood south of Rosebank, west of Shore Acres and north of South Beach. This neighborhood once had a station on the South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway; service on this branch ceased in 1953.

In popular culture

The comic book version of the elite United States military counterterrorism unit was based in "The Pit," a secret underground base beneath the Motor Pool of the Army Chaplains' Assistants School in Fort Wadsworth. After Cobra discovered the location of The Pit and destroyed it in a surprise attack, G.I. Joe relocated its headquarters elsewhere. Although written in 1982, the book still depicted the fort as the home of the "Chaplain's Assistants School", due to Larry Hama's memories of the fort from his years in the service. Also, Ft. Wadsworth did not actually have a proper motor pool; its equipment was serviced at Fort Hamilton.

References

External links

Fort Wadsworth Visitor information

Gateway National Recreation Area

Staten Island tourism info on Fort Wadsworth

Pictures Of Fort Wadsworth at Cognitive Response

Category:Neighborhoods in Staten Island Wadsworth Category:United States Coast Guard bases Wadsworth Category:Museums in Staten Island Category:Military and war museums in New York

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Riding NYC - Fellow Vlogger We5leyz & Fort Wadsworth

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Duration: 6:06
Published: 2010-05-06
Uploaded: 2011-02-12
Author: jorgecornet

Pull-ups in the subway...what??? Asian Opera Singer at Grand Central Station.... We5leyz - Fellow rider/ vlogger/ staten islander,,, en.wikipedia.org

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Duration: 0:38
Published: 2010-06-01
Uploaded: 2010-06-01
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Duration: 0:23
Published: 2007-11-06
Uploaded: 2010-11-10
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Our Team for Kids bus crosses into Staten Island and it's a first glimpse at the thousands of runners congregating for the NYC Marathon 2007. The big tent is Team for Kids, next to the main stage.

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Duration: 6:22
Published: 2010-03-28
Uploaded: 2010-09-22
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Last week Manda, Roman, Alex, and I went to Fort Wadsworth. This is just some film I put together before we actually went deeper into the forts... Haunted playground~ woo!

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Duration: 0:45
Published: 2007-11-07
Uploaded: 2010-08-14
Author: meedog

NYC Marathon, Staten Island - Fort Wadsworth. 11/4/07.

Fort Wadsworth Overlook Tour.MP4

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Duration: 2:13
Published: 2010-04-25
Uploaded: 2010-08-19
Author: Fortdweller

A light-hearted 360-degree view from the overlook at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, NY; Staten Island unit, Gateway National Recreation Area, National Park Service.

Staten Island, NY Real Estate for Sale - Fort Wadsworth- One Family Detached

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Duration: 0:31
Published: 2011-01-13
Uploaded: 2011-01-13
Author: LianeSpodek

Charming detached three bedroom home near VZ bridge for sale. Close to shopping and public transportation. Detached garage and large yard with pool. Call for more details! Liane Spodek 718-987-3000 ex. 53 Master Realtors Staten Island, NY

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Duration: 1:32
Published: 2011-01-16
Uploaded: 2011-01-16
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2010 10 23 1203 FORT WADSWORTH #2939 GREAT LOCATION, MINUTES TO VZ BRIDGE, MiNT CONDITION CALL DEFALCO 718 987 7900

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Published: 2010-06-22
Uploaded: 2010-08-26
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Published: 2009-09-19
Uploaded: 2010-08-08
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Nice circle over Bay Bridge in a helicopter

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Published: 2010-09-02
Uploaded: 2011-02-01
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Is it Rome? San Francisco? Nope. It's NYC! Artists Cynthia von Buhler and Jen Ferguson show you the most beautiful view in all of New York City. Located near Von Buhler's Fort Hill Castle home on Staten Island you can visit this site. It is called Fort Wadsworth and you can get there by doing the following: Take the Verazzano Bridge (lower level) and take the far right Bay Street exit. Take a right on Bay Street and you'll see a little toll booth. Drive through, pass a few buildings, and take a left down an unmarked road. Park your car and walk up to the ledge and look over. This video was brought to you by forgottenborough.com

Urban Explorers: Battery Weed AKA Fort Richmond

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Duration: 2:08
Published: 2008-04-17
Uploaded: 2010-08-26
Author: TheZenTurtle

Fort Richmond: 1663-1776-1807-1812, Staten Island. The site was first fortified with a 1663 blockhouse and then during the Revolutionary War as the American redoubt Flagstaff Fort (1776), taken by the British it was enlarged and used to 1783. NYS Started a masonry fortification here in 1807 - 1811, (Water Battery, 1811) on East coast of Staten Island for harbor defense. Controlled by Fort Tompkins 1812. In the early 1860s on an early 1840 recommendation of the Engineering Officer at Fort Hamilton (a CPT RELee, later of the Confederate Army) it was rebuilt as a five foot thick, three-tiered battlement, with gun and rifle ports. Later called Battery Weed, in honor of Brevet BG Steven Weed killed at Gettysburg. Incorporated into Fort Wadsworth.

bikingtobeach

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Duration: 0:55
Published: 2008-09-01
Uploaded: 2010-08-08
Author: lcasner

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Duration: 0:32
Published: 2009-07-31
Uploaded: 2010-03-09
Author: Jersey2Bronx

.Well, not exactly. These goats live at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, a fort that once protected New York Harbor.

bikingtobeach

Order: Reorder
Duration: 0:54
Published: 2008-09-01
Uploaded: 2008-09-01
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Duration: 2:41
Published: 2009-06-08
Uploaded: 2011-02-25
Author: vbdenny

Driving across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Isdland. Yeah, I am kind of diappointed by the video stability on the Zi6 camera. See what you think. I haven't yet figured out how to add captions to this format. When it opened in 1964, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was the world's longest suspension span. The ends of the bridge are at historic Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn and Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, both of which guarded New York Harbor at the Narrows for over a century. The bridge was named after Giovanni da Verrazano, who, in 1524, was the first European explorer to sail into New York Harbor. Its monumental 693 foot high towers are 1 5/8 inches farther apart at their tops than at their bases because the 4260 foot distance between them made it necessary to compensate for the earth's curvature. Each tower weighs 27000 tons and is held together with three million rivets and one million bolts. Seasonal contractions and expansions of the steel cables cause the double-decked roadway to be 12 feet lower in the summer than in the winter. Located at the mouth of upper New York Bay, the bridge not only connects Brooklyn with Staten Island but is also a major link in the interstate highway system, providing the shortest route between the middle Atlantic states and Long Island. In Brooklyn, the bridge connects to the Belt Parkway and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and to the largely residential community of Bay Ridge. On Staten Island, which saw rapid <b>...</b>

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Duration: 0:26
Published: 2009-05-07
Uploaded: 2010-02-14
Author: zhongshangor

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Duration: 10:03
Published: 2007-06-29
Uploaded: 2011-02-06
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fort adventure

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Duration: 2:17
Published: 2009-03-30
Uploaded: 2010-04-04
Author: jakt2good4u

i went into a hidden room of the fort with my step brother. im afraid of the foreign dark.

Bronx

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Duration: 5:59
Published: 2008-05-31
Uploaded: 2010-04-28
Author: tneuage

Day tripping through the Bronx over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn and Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island. Then to City Island in the Bronx and back through Marble Hill at Metro-North Railroad station over the George Washington Bridge and back home. More videos by Terrell Neuage at ournews.mobi

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photo: US Coastguard / PO Mike Lutz.

FORT WADSWORTH, N.Y. (Jan. 14, 2005) Lt. Justin Peters gives a speech before relieving Lt. Craig E. MaClennan as commanding officer of Station New York at Fort Wadsworth, NY on January 14, 2005. USCG photo by PO Mike Lutz. (99291) ( CHANGE OF COMMAND (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA3 Mike Lutz

FORT WADSWORTH, New York (Jan. 14, 2005)--U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Craig E. MaClennan gives a speech during Station New York's change of command at Fort Wadsworth, NY on January 14, 2005. Lt. Justin Peters relieved Lt. MaClennan as Commanding Officer. USCG photo by PA3 Mike Lutz (99297) ( CHANGE OF COMMAND (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PO Mike Lutz.

FORT WADSWORTH. N.Y. (Jan. 14, 2005) U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Craig E. MaClennan receives a shadow box in appreciation of 26 years of active duty during his retirement ceremony at Fort Wadsworth, NY on January 14, 2005. Just before the retirement ceremony Lt. Justin Peters relieved Lt. MaClennan as Commanding Officer of Station New York. USCG photo by PO Mike Lutz. (99294) ( CHANGE OF COMMAND (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA1 Tom Sperduto,U.S. Coast Guard

FORT WADSWORTH, NY (July 30, 2003)--Coast Guard personnel from the 91106 Marine Safety and Security Team (MSST) perform morning calisthenics at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island July 30, 2003. The new Coast Guard anti-terrorism team is training for duty in New York and New Jersey to begin in September. USCG photo by PA1 Tom Sperduto,U.S. Coast Guard (91188) ( TRAINING (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA1 Tom Sperduto,U.S. Coast Guard

FORT WADSWORTH, NY (SI) (July 30) --Coast Guard personnel from the 91106 Marine Safety and Security Team (MSST) perform a early morning run at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island July 30, 2003. The new Coast Guard anti-terrorism team is training for duty in New York and New Jersey to begin in September. Photo by PA1 Tom Sperduto,U.S. Coast Guard (91002) ( COAST GUARD ANTI TERRORISM TEAM )

photo: US Coastguard / PA3 Dan Bender

NEW YORK, New York (April 19, 2006)--Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Harry Wong, a member of the Sector New York Police Department, sits on an all-terain vehicle used to patrol Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island where Sector New York is located April 19, 2006. Officers routinely patrol the fort including areas such as Battery Weed, pictured below, that are part of the national park colocated at Fort Wadsworth and unreachable by patrol cars. USCG photo by PA3 Dan Bender (105724) ( PEOPLE (FOR RE

photo: US Coastguard / PAC Tom Sperduto.

NEW YORK (Sept. 12, 2005) Coast Guard Petty Officer Larry Knight smiles while his daughter Camaria Knight, 2, (right), his cousin Shairelle Knight, 8, and his sister Sharon Knight get adjusted in their new home provided by the Coast Guard at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. The Knight family lost their home and all of their belongings in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The Coast Guard community on Fort Wadsworth furnished and decorated the two apartments provided to the family of eig

photo: US Coastguard / PA3 Angelo Patti

Fort Wadsworth, N.Y. (Oct. 1999) -- Cool weather and chance of showers couldn't stop the Octoberfest '99 softball tournament for Activities New York Coast Guard members. Octoberfest is one of many morale events held each year by the Activities. USCG photo by PA3 Angelo Patti (115343) ( WELLNESS (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / U.S. Coast Guard photo/Chief Petty Officer Bob Laura

NEW YORK - After leaving Coast Guard Sector New York and historic Fort Wadsworth, thousands of runners cross the Verrazano Narrows Bridge during the New York Marathon, Nov 1, 2009. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Chief Petty Officer Bob Laura) (704085) ( New York Marathon )

photo: US Coastguard / PAC Tom Sperduto

A portrait of Rev. Msgr. James J. Dorney, the Catholic Chaplain at Coast Guard Sector New York on Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island March 18, 2008. Dorney has been with the chapel for 12 years and is the highest ordered priest on Staten Island. U.S. Coast Guard photo by PAC Tom Sperduto (241567) ( )

photo: US Coastguard / PAC Tom Sperduto

photo: US Coastguard / U.S. Coast Guard photo/Chief Petty Officer Bob Laura

photo: US Coastguard / PA2 Mike Lutz

NEW YORK, New York (Apr. 16, 2005) Coast Guard active duty and auxiliary members combine with the Park Service and Cub Scout Pak 43 to help clean up the beach at Fort Wadsworth, NY, on April 16, 2005. The effort was part of the 35th anniversary of Earth Day. USCG photo by PA2 Mike Lutz (100740) ( EARTH DAY CLEAN UP (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA1 Tom Sperduto

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (July 30, 2003)-- Coast Guard personnel from the 91106 Marine Safety and Security Team (MSST) perform morning calisthenics at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island July 30, 2003. The new Coast Guard anti-terrorism team is training for duty in New York and New Jersey to begin in September. USCG photo by PA1 Tom Sperduto (90999) ( MSST 91106 TRAINING (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PAC Tom Sperduto

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Guard and Petty Officer 2nd Class Carlos Alexander, in a server room located at Coast Guard Sector NY on Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, NY, June, 26, 2007. Coast Guard Information Systems Technician's are responsible for establishing and maintaining Coast Guard systems. U.S. Coast Guard photo by PAC Tom Sperduto (142905) ( Coast Guard People (For Release) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA2 Mike Lutz

NEW YORK, New York (Apr. 16, 2005) One of many hypodermic needles found on the beach at Fort Wadsworth, NY, on April 16, 2005 during the Earth Day beach clean up. Coast Guard active duty and auxiliary members combined with the Park Service and Cub Scout Pak 43 to do their part for the 35th anniversary of Earth Day. USCG photo by PA2 Mike Lutz (100737) ( EARTH DAY CLEAN UP (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA2 Mike Lutz

NEW YORK (Apr. 16, 2005) U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael S. Perraut, Maritime Safety and Security Team 91106, helps clean up the beach at Fort Wadsworth, NY, on April 16, 2005. Coast Guard active duty and auxiliary members combined with the Park Service and Cub Scout Pak 43 to do their part for the 35th anniversary of Earth Day. USCG photo by PA2 Mike Lutz (100731) ( EARTH DAY CLEAN (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA2 Mike Lutz

FORT WADSWORTH, New York (Jan. 13, 2005)--U.S. Coast Guard Seaman Maria E. Sabat teaches students to read and do basic arithmetic as part of the Great Leaps program at Berta A. Dreyfus Intermediate School 49, on Staten Island, NY, Jan. 13, 2005. The volunteers work with students for about 20 minutes a day, four days a week after the normal school day. USCG photo by PA2 Mike Lutz (99276) ( COMMUNITY RELATIONS (FOR RELEASE) )

photo: US Coastguard / PA2 Mike Lutz

NEW YORK, New York (Apr. 16, 2005) U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Colter Sonneville, marine science technician Activities New York, helps clean up the beach at Fort Wadsworth, NY, on April 16, 2005. Coast Guard active duty and auxiliary members combined with the Park Service and Cub Scout Pak 43 to do their part for the 35th anniversary of Earth Day. USCG photo by PA2 Mike Lutz (100734) ( EARTH DAY CLEAN (FOR RELEASE) )