Castle Williams. Castle Williams is a circular fortification of red sandstone on the northwest point of Governors Island, part of a system of forts designed and constructed in the early 19th century to protect New York City from naval attack.
It is a prominent landmark in New York Harbor. Together with Fort Jay, it is managed by the National Park Service as part of Governors Island National Monument.
Castle Williams was designed and erected between 1807 and 1811 under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams, Chief Engineer of the Corps of Engineers and first Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Williams was also a relative of Benjamin Franklin.
The castle was one component of a defensive system for the inner harbor that included Fort Columbus and the South Battery on Governors Island; Castle Clinton at the southern tip of Manhattan, Fort Wood on Liberty Island, and Fort Gibson on Ellis Island. Its pioneering design consisted of multiple levels of enclosed or fortified gun emplacements.
It established a prototype for American coastal fortification design for the rest of the 19th century. The nearly circular fortification, 40 feet high and 210 feet in diameter, was constructed of sandstone walls 7 to 8 feet thick. Each of its four levels had 13 casemates that could hold 26 cannons of varied caliber. The four-tier arrangement was only duplicat
It is a prominent landmark in New York Harbor. Together with Fort Jay, it is managed by the National Park Service as part of Governors Island National Monument.
Castle Williams was designed and erected between 1807 and 1811 under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams, Chief Engineer of the Corps of Engineers and first Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Williams was also a relative of Benjamin Franklin.
The castle was one component of a defensive system for the inner harbor that included Fort Columbus and the South Battery on Governors Island; Castle Clinton at the southern tip of Manhattan, Fort Wood on Liberty Island, and Fort Gibson on Ellis Island. Its pioneering design consisted of multiple levels of enclosed or fortified gun emplacements.
It established a prototype for American coastal fortification design for the rest of the 19th century. The nearly circular fortification, 40 feet high and 210 feet in diameter, was constructed of sandstone walls 7 to 8 feet thick. Each of its four levels had 13 casemates that could hold 26 cannons of varied caliber. The four-tier arrangement was only duplicat
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