Governors Island

https://www.nps.gov/gois/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty Governors Island National Monument is located in New York City on Governors Island. The island is located off the southern tip of Manhattan Island at the confluence of the Hudson and East Rivers in New York Harbor. Governors Island has become a popular seasonal destination open to the public between May and September. It contains a 43-acre (17 ha) public park, free arts and cultural events, and recreational activities. The island is accessed by ferries from Brooklyn and Manhattan. From 1794 to 1966, the U.S. Army on Governors Island was part of the social, political, and economic tapestry of New York City. It was home to the US Coast Guard from 1966 to 1996. Today, the island is a vibrant venue of art, culture, and performance against the backdrop of two centuries of military heritage and the skyline of one of the great cities of the world. The island is open to the public. Governors Island is located in New York Harbor, 1/2 mile from the southern tip of Lower Manhattan and 400 yards west of the end of Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue and Red Hook waterfront. It is accessible only via ferry. Ferry service from Manhattan is the main way to access the island. The ferry departs from Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street, at South and Whitehall Streets (next to the Staten Island ferry terminal). Check www.govisland.com for ferry schedules. Governors Island Governors Island National Monument has no formal visitor center, but park staff can be found at Castle Williams Fort Jay gate house and moat. Bridge over dry moat leading into a gated fort. An early spring morning view of Fort Jay. The gate house is the oldest structure on Governors Island dating back to 1794. Castle Williams at Governors Island National Monument Front of sandstone brick fort with arched entrance way. Castle Williams at Governors Island National Monument was constructed in 1811 and was a pioneering design in American fortifications. Ranger guided tour of Castle Williams at Governors Island National Monument A park ranger talking to a group of visitors inside a large stone room in a fort. Ranger-led tours of Castle Williams show the pioneering features of fortification architecture that would be used in other masonry forts constructed in the 1800s. Manhattan from Fort Jay Manhattan Skyline stands behind the barracks of Fort Jay History frames our understanding of the present Manhattan from Castle Williams Canon and Manhattan Skyline from top of castle A civil war era canon sitting upon the top of Castle Williams juxtaposes the new and old, with the glimering shine of Manhattan in the background Find Your Park 2019 ad campaign starts with parks in NYC and San Francisco In the fall of 2019, the National Park Foundation rolled out new ads in San Francisco and New York for the Find Your Park campaign. From September 23 through October 28, a series of digital and static outdoor ads appeared in bus shelters, billboards, and other spaces in the city of New York and San Francisco. display ads featuring John Muir National Historic Site Irish Soldiers in the Union Army Although many Irishmen were found throughout the Union, and to a lesser degree, Confederate forces, numerous specifically "Irish" regiments and companies enabled new immigrants to join comrades with a similar background. Most famous was the Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, particularly distinguished for hard fighting at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. Recruiting Poster for the 69th New York, comprised entirely of Irish Americans Preserving Places of Captivity: Civil War Military Prisons in the National Parks During the Civil War, over 400,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were held prisoner at more than 150 diff erent prison sites. Approximately 56,000 of these died in captivity. Although Andersonville is the most famous Civil War prison, it is only one of many Civil War military prisons that are preserved by the National Park Service. Industry and Economy during the Civil War Both North and South mobilized industry to an unprecedented degree. But the North, which already had a head start in nearly every realm of industrial and agricultural development, far outpaced the South during the war. Unhampered by the southern opposition in such areas as providing free land to farmers and subsidizing a transcontinental railroad before the war, Congress passed sweeping legislation to expand the economy. As the war dragged on, in part because many of the ba Lithograph showing industrial and technological advancements of the Civil War Manhattan Sites Volunteer Program An overview of the volunteer program in Manhattan, New York City and instructions on how to apply for the program. A domed and columned white marble building with American Flag buntings out front. Graduates From Mather High School Build A Legacy Mather High School in partnership with the National Parks of New York Harbor open a stone carving classroom on Governor's Island. A handpainted sign that says "WE CARVE STONE HERE" Top Tips for Visiting the Manhattan Sites Plan Like a Park Ranger: Top Tips for Visiting the Manhattan Sites Staff Spotlight: Floyd Myers Meet Floyd Myers, who is the Chief of Business Development and Partnerships for the National Parks of New York Harbor. He was previously the acting Deputy Superintendent at Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and worked at several other parks before that, including the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Site, Booker T. Washington National Historic Site, and others. Floyd Myers in uniform Mather High School Students Learn the Intricacies of Reconstructing Late 1700s Style Log Cabins at Morristown National Historical Park and Governors Island National Monument Read on to learn about how Mather high school students have been working on reconstructing late 1700s style log cabins at Morristown National Historical Park and Governors Island National Monument!

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Governors Island National Monument New York Island fired some of the first shots of the Battle of Brooklyn. The British prevailed and held New York for the duration of the Revolutionary War, but the experience steeled the resolve of the young nation to protect its major ports and lifelines of commerce. With the Manhattan skyline in the background, the U.S. Army's 16th Infantry Regiment in formation on the Fort Jay parade ground, August 1936. History Governors Island was one of the longest continuously active military posts in the United States. Since the late t8th century, the island has served as a major army headquarters and later as the largest Coast Guard base in the nation. Its military role ended in 1996 after over 200 years of service. New York Harbor's abundant waters and lands first attracted Native American Indian peoples like the Lenape. Dutch settlers in 1624 took advantage of the diverse ecosystem and established maritime enterprises. In 1793, one of the first initiatives of a The British noted the harbor's young United States government was strategic potential and by threat of force, secured it for the crown in 1664. to fortify the nation's port cities. By the War of 1812, six forts in New York In 1776, General George Washington's Harbor—at Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Battery Park and Governors Island— colonial army made a valiant attempt to fend off the British capture of New proved an effective deterrent to the British Navy. York. Patriot cannons on Governors The story begins with the construction of Fort Jay and Castle Williams, which were part of the network of forts built to defend New York Harbor during the War of 1812. While the fortifications on Governors Island were stateof-the-art at the time, advances in weapons technology rendered them obsolete by the 1830s. Their survival as two of the best preserved coastal forts of their day was due to the continuous presence of the military and the important role the island played over two centuries in protecting this nation. Upon their obsolescence, the forts found new life. Confederate prisoners crowded into Castle Williams during the Civil War. In the 20th century, the Castle was part of the U.S. Army prison system. Fort Jay was eventually converted from solider barracks into family housing. successful flight over water. In 1909, Wilbur Wright took off from the island's dusty parade ground and flew around the Statue of Liberty. Over time, this early airstrip would serve as an airfield, polo ground, and 60 building warehouse complex. The island's heritage also includes the accounts of soldiers who temporarily called the island home before being deployed to faraway battlegrounds like Mexico in 1846 and the Normandy beachheads during World War II. The military legacy of Governors Island lies not only in the island's structures, but also in the stories of those who worked to promote the security and values of our nation. One such individual was Secretary of War Elihu Root, who directed the enlarging of the island by 100 acres in 1901. However, Root also recognized the historic significance of Fort Jay and Castle Williams and saved them from army generals who wanted them demolished. At the end of its military career, Governors Island returns to service for public enjoyment and discovery. In 2001 Governors Island National Monument was established to preserve Fort Jay, Castle Williams, and the setting for over two centuries of military life. When the forts around the harbor became obsolete, they were converted to other non-military uses. But in 1878, Governors Island, once considered a remote urban outpost, became the army's headquarters for the eastern United States, and, in 1933, home for the First U.S. Army. As New York City gained in international importance, so did the prestige of a posting to Governors Island. For army officers, it was recognition of accomplishment and a test of leadership that often led to more senior commands in Washington, D.C. Soldiers stationed here enjoyed social, political, and business connections in the city rivaled by few other Army posts in the nation. On June 30,1966, the Army left the island and the U.S. Coast Guard established the headquarters for Atlantic Area Command and its largest base in the nation. For 30 years, the Coast Guard staff and their families enjoyed the same sense of community and military prestige as their predecessors—a touch of small town life in America's largest city. E LL' N: o >5 Q Tf, Jr. Q © © c S ID Q) 2L OJ o ! — Governors Island preserves the stories of personal achievements such as the first 01 OJ m — o < _ O O © 2 E OJ < 5 © Colonel Jonathan Williams designed and constructed the defenses in New York Harbor: Fort Jay and Castle Williams on Governors Island, Fort Wood on Bedloe's Island (now the base for the Statue of Liberty), Fort Gibson on Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton at the Batte

Governors Island National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Governors Island National Monument New York Prisoners on the Island A pre-World War I postcard depicting Castle Williams' courtyard prior to the addition of the concrete-enclosed catwalks that currently dominate the Castle's interior walls Changing Times and Changing Needs Fort Jay and Castle Williams, both constructed in the early 19th century to protect New York Harbor, did their jobs without ever firing a shot during the War of 1812—the British never entered the Harbor during that conflict. They were both admirable fortifications, and, especially in the case of Castle Williams, would create a new standard for coastal defense structures. However, changing technology allowing weapons to fire farther and more accurately forever changed Governors Island's role by the 1840s in the defense of New York City and the nation. Governors Island, come the mid-1800s, would no longer be used primarily for the defense of New York Harbor as it had been for decades before. The army would find other uses for it. A Question of Rank By the summer of 1861, as both the Union and the Confederacy found the ongoing Civil War to be dragging on much longer than they expected, Castle Williams' bombproof casemates, once used to compelling both governments to deal with the house over 100 cannon in total, would serve several purposes over their military careers Library of Congress inevitable collection of prisoners they were assembling. Neither side was prepared to deal with the tremendous number of captives they amassed, and over the course of the war both sides collectively established 150 makeshift, improvised prisons constructed out of everything from simple fences around swampland to abandoned warehouses. The US Army, scrambling to find lodgings for captured Southerners, turned to forts along the Atlantic coast, including old Fort Jay and Castle Williams. Captured officers were sent to the northern barracks of Fort Jay, while interred enlisted men were crammed into the old artillery casemates of Castle Williams, now sealed and barred off into individual cells. Officers kept in the barracks at Fort Jay were well taken care of. Their lodgings were snug but comfortable, they were allowed to stroll most of the island at their leisure, they were permitted to write home to their friends and families, and they occasionally played baseball in the fort's parade grounds. In general, officers on both sides respected each other and treated each other as gentlemen. Captured enlisted men kept in Castle Williams have a very different experience, however: while frequently the Castle was kept well below capacity (at one point as few as five prisoners), during at least two periods throughout the war it peaked at well over 1,000 men crammed into the cells. With many inmates per cell and no heating, running water, or beds—the structure had been built, after all, to house cannon, not people—conditions at the Castle were squalid. Disease was rampant: cholera, typhoid, and measles all were frequent killers, and the frequent vomiting induced by water-borne diseases made summertime inmates especially miserable when the Castle was kept full. While those captured early in the war were occasionally given outdoor time, by the end of the war, all those interred within the walls of Castle Williams were confined to their cells twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. These conditions | Lieutenant Alonzo Bell poses for mirrored those found in prisons throughout the South. the camera prior to his capture at Lieutenant Alonzo Etheridge Bell of the North Carolina Volunteers spent a few months in 1861 as a prisoner in the barracks at Fort Jay. He writes at length about the prisoner's life on Governors Island, particularly discussing the calm, comfortable climate in the officers' quarters, the pervasive boredom, and the constant funerals that all on the island attended for the enlisted men in Castle Williams. Bell's spirits are clearly affected by the grim routine of a funeral every few days, though his status as an officer allowed him some separation from the worst conditions on the island. Other Civil War-era prisons make Castle Williams look tame, however: prisons both North and South at places like Elmira, New York and, most famously, Andersonville, Georgia had deaths tolls numbering in the thousands. Camp Sumter at Andersonville consisted of nothing more than fenced-off swamps in which hundreds of men were thrown and told to create shelter out of whatever materials they could find. The A Confederate prisoner sits in a Union prison camp, his captors standing guard behind him National Park Service prisoners had to contend with pervasive disease and malnutrition along with greedy prison gangs, who would beat and even kill other prisoners for their food and shelter. Vigilante justice became common at these prisons—entire trials would be held for captured gang members, ending frequentl

Governors Island National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Governors Island National Monument New York Castle Williams is a circular defensive work of red sandstone on the west point of Governors Island in New York Harbor. It was designed and erected between 1807 and 1811 under the direction of Colonel Jonathan Williams, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The castle was one component of a defensive system for the inner harbor that included Fort Jay and the South Battery on Governors Island, Castle Clinton at the tip of Manhattan, Fort Gibson (at Ellis Island) and Fort Wood (now the base for the Statue of Liberty). Williams tested his design by inviting U.S. Navy ships to fire at point blank range on the castle while he stood inside. He proudly told the Secretary of War that almost no Jonathan Williams learned military engineering while helping his great damage occurred from the exercise. uncle, Benjamin Franklin, in France during the American Revolution in the 1770's. Returning to America, he applied his own ideas to classical military engineering, making the castle a pioneering effort in American fortifications design. Today, named after its designer, Castle Williams is the best preserved of its type in the country and is featured in the background of this portrait and of is featured as a landmark many other paintings of New York Harbor. Its usefulness as a fortification began to end in the 1830's and afterwards it served as barracks for new recruits and transient troops. During the Civil War, Castle Williams served alternately as a barracks for troops headed to war, such as the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment from Boston, and as a prison for Confederate soldiers and deserters from the Union Army. In 1895, Castle Williams was designated as a military prison. In 1901, Secretary of War, Elihu Root, who worked hard to modernize the Army, also made a commitment to preserve the castle and overruled army leaders who wanted to demolish it and Fort Jay. By 1903, the castle was fitted up as a model, state-of-the-art prison facility. In 1947, extensive renovations were carried out with the wooden catwalks replaced by concrete enclosed walk ways, hiding the beautiful stone arches on the third level and resulting in the industrial appearance of the courtyard today. Castle Williams ceased operations as a military prison in 1963 just before the U.S. Army left Governors Island. The castle again faced a challenge as Coast Guard officials in Washington, D.C. who took over Governors Island in 1966 wanted to demolish it. Instead, finding use for the historic building, it was remodeled into a youth community center with a nursery, meeting rooms for Scouts and clubs, a woodworking shop, art studio, photography lab and a museum. By the late 1970's the community center moved to another location and the fort became the landscape shop for the Coast Guard base. Over time the roof failed and broken windows allowed serious water damage to occur inside the castle. In the mid-1990's, the roof was replaced and new windows were installed to stop further water damage to the structure. But today, the interior remains closed until it can be made safe for public access. The National Park Service proposes to stabilize and restore the castle and eventually provide access to the roof, allowing the public to admire the harbor and the modern skyline of the great city this fortress once protected. Right: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the only branch of the Army to have their own dress uniform buttons. The image on the button is of New York Harbor and Castle Williams, a suitable tribute to Williams, one of the early Chief Engineers of the United States Army. "Essayons" on the ribbon in the beak of the eagle is French for "Let Us Try" the motto for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A Past and a Future... The National Park Service plans to remove the modern style barracks next to Castle Williams and restore the open landscape as it was when the fortification protected New York City. The Castle has always been a prominent landmark in New York Harbor as it was at the time of this early Hudson River School painting in 1820. Mathew Brady took this Civil War-era photo in the 1860's from the location of today's ferry dock. Brady often posed in his pictures and may be the tiny figure standing on a rock in the center of the photo. One of the first aerial photos taken of Governors Island in 1912 featured a bird's eye view of Castle Williams next to the island's trash incinerator. The National Park Service also plans to reestablish the path between Castle Williams and Fort Jay the "covert way" — an important route for the movement of troops and ammunition in time of emergency. The interior of Castle Williams will retain the courtyard and a sampling of the prison cells and gun emplacements. The remainder will offer exhibit spaces for the Governors Island Harbor and History Center. The roof or parapet of Cast