Description: Governor's Island, located in Brooklyn, hosted many fortifications due to its strategic location in New York Harbor. The island was initially occupied by the Dutch in 1624, who hid within the walls of the Nooten Eylandt Fort. Later, the island was utilized by American forces as a battery in 1776 and was garrisoned by the British from 1776-1782 following the empire’s occupation of the city. Fort Jay was built in 1794 and subsequently upgraded in 1803, and then renamed “Fort Columbus”. It was later reverted back to Fort Jay in 1904. Castle William was constructed in 1811 and used for the incarceration of Confederate prisoners from 1862 to 1870. The South Battery was built in 1812 and there was an Army Arsenal on the island from 1833 until 1920. In 1840, a blockhouse was built as well. Governor’s Island was also used as the headquarters for the Second Corps Department of the East and later the First United States Army. It was later used as a USCG Regional Headquarters until its closure in 1996, with its future disposition uncertain.