Fort Tompkins
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Fort Tompkins (1807-1946) - Established as a masonry Second System fort in 1807 and rebuilt as a Third System fort in 1847. Named after New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins.
Fort Tompkins History
Established on Staten Island to protect the Narrows leading into New York Harbor and to protect the landward approach to Fort Richmond below.
The original Fort Tompkins was a regular pentagon with circular bastions on the seaward corners. The second Fort Tompkins was a five sided fort built on the site of the original and without the circular bastions. The fort had two tiers of casemates without gun openings and all the seacoast cannons were mounted on the third level. The casemates themselves were fitted out as quarters for the troops from Fort Tompkins and Fort Richmond below.
Current Status
Today a part of the Fort Wadsworth complex that includes Fort Tompkins, Fort Richmond, Battery Weed and several Endicott Period Batteries all part of the National Park Service Gateway National Recreation Area on Staten Island.
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Location: Staten Island, New York. Maps & Images Lat: 40.60496 Long: -74.056628
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Sources:
- Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 587-589
- Weaver, John R. II, A Legacy in Brick and Stone: America Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, Redoubt Press, McLean, 2001, First Printing, ISBN 1-57510-069-X, page 115-117
- Lewis, Emanuel Raymond, Seacoast Fortifications of the United States: An Introductory History, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 7th printing, 1993, ISBN 1-55750-502-0, page 26-27
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