Description: Castle Williams was a fortification constructed from sandstone located on Governor’s Island in Brooklyn, New York. The construction began in 1807, and the structure was completed by 1811, just before the outbreak of the War of 1812. The fort was constructed under the leadership of engineer Johnathan Williams, for whom the fort is named. Williams was the nephew of Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin. The fort, next to other structures of its time, was comparatively monstrous. At forty feet tall, and more than 200 feet in diameter, the building towered over New York Harbor. During the Civil War, the base served as a point for newly recruited Union troops to group together before their deployment to the frontlines in the American South. Following the Civil War, the castle was made into a low-security military prison. After a century of operation in this form, though, the prison was decommissioned by the United States Army. Now, the structure serves as a museum and as a venue for community events. And finally in 2003, the castle, along with its neighbor, Fort Jay, were put under new management: the National Park Service. Notes: - The castle featured a three tiered horseshoe shaped roundhouse which boasted 100 guns, was 200 feet in diameter, 40 feet high, and 8 feet thick. - Williams based the fort's structure on a French design. - Castle Williams was the first casemated fort in North America, its multi-tiered parapets provided greater firepower than earlier fort designs. - The fort held Confederate prisoners from 1862 to 1870.

County: Kings

City, State: Governor's Island, Brooklyn, New York

Conflict/Time Period: 1811

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