Fort Gansevoort

Fort Gansevoort was a former United States Army fort in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It was also called the White Fort due to its whitewashed exterior.[1] The fort was named for Peter Gansevoort, a Revolutionary War officer. It was located between Gansevoort Street and West 12th Street, near the west end of Gansevoort Street, strategically positioned to defend the Hudson River. The fort was completed in 1812, shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812, and mounted 22 guns, along with a shot furnace, magazine, arsenal, and barracks.[2] Some sources state that construction began in 1808; however, the fort does not appear in the Secretary of War's report on fortifications for December 1811.[3] Forts built with state or local resources did not appear in these reports. The fort was part of what was later called the second system of US fortifications. It did not see action, as New York City was not attacked in that war. It was demolished in either 1849 or 1854 (references vary).[4] It was on the site of a previous weapons development center, where George Bomford developed the first columbiad cannon.[5]

Fort Gansevoort
New York City borough of Manhattan, New York, between Gansevoort Street and West 12th Street
Fort Gansevoort
Fort Gansevoort
Fort Gansevoort
Fort Gansevoort
Coordinates40°44′23″N 74°00′32″W
Site history
Built1812
Built byUnited States Army Corps of Engineers
In use1812-1849
Materialsred sandstone
Fatedemolished 1854
Battles/warsWar of 1812

In 2015 a building near the fort's site was redeveloped as an events center and named Fort Gansevoort.[6][7]

See also

References
  1. Fort Gansevoort at American Forts Network
  2. Fort Gansevoort at FortWiki.com
  3. Wade, pp. 241-246
  4. Roberts, p. 554
  5. Wade, p. 177
  6. Fort Gansevoort website
  7. Fort Gansevoort article at Forbes.com
  • Roberts, Robert B. (1988). Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-926880-X.
  • Wade, Arthur P. (2011). Artillerists and Engineers: The Beginnings of American Seacoast Fortifications, 1794-1815. CDSG Press. ISBN 978-0-9748167-2-2.
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