Knox Battery - West Point
Knox Battery - West Point (1779-1783) - A Revolutionary War Battery established in 1778 on the present day military reservation of the United States Military Academy on West Point in Orange County, New York. Abandoned at the end of the war in 1783. Repurposed and rearmed with civil war era guns and carriages that were still in place in 1901.
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Knox Battery - West Point History
Constructed in the spring of 1778 to cure deficiencies in the original plan. Covered the South Dock from the cliff above. Because of the high position of the battery only plunging fire was possible (Guns could not be depressed enough for direct fire). Ship speed at this point in the river would probably have precluded accurate plunging fire.
Available photographs indicate that the battery site was repurposed and rearmed with Civil War era guns and carriages and was in use as late as 1901. The 1867 West Point guide seems to indicate that the battery was used as a ceremonial battery "whose armament proclaims the tidings on all occasions of national joy or sadness."
Current Status
No remains, the site is now overbuilt by the BOQ parking lot on the United States Military Academy, Orange County, New York. The site is on an active Military installation and access may be restricted.
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Location: United States Military Academy on West Point, Orange County, New York. Maps & Images Lat: 41.39278 Long: -73.95278 |
See Also:
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 591.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2091620.
- West Point Fortifications Staff Ride Note Cards, 3rd ed, USMA History Department, January 1994 changed 1998 and 2008, Pdf, 82 pages, page 36.
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