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Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings

	FORT HAMILTON New York
Kings County, at the entrance to the Narrows, Brooklyn. U.S. Army

This fort—located on the Narrows, the strait separating Staten Island and Brooklyn—for more than a century has been part of the New York Harbor defenses. Although the Dutch and the English, during their occupations of New York, recognized a need for a defense along the Narrows, they erected no permanent fortification. In 1805 Col. Jonathan Williams surveyed New York Harbor and planned a series of fortifications. As a result the city of New York erected Fort Richmond on Staten Island and Fort Diamond (later Fort Lafayette) on Hendrick's Reef, a few hundred yards off the Brooklyn shore. During the War of 1812 the threat of British attack gave renewed impetus to defense projects in New York Harbor. In 1814 New York City donated a tract of land on the Brooklyn shore along the Narrows to the Federal Government. The Army and Navy jointly surveyed the tract, and in 1825 the Army laid the cornerstone for a new fort, Fort Hamilton. Lt. J. K. F. Mansfield supervised construction, completed in 1831.

The fort consisted of a granite, casemated quadrangular inner fort, protected on the land sides by a high earthwork. A ravelin—capable of mounting 70 guns—within the earthwork covered the sally port. Other structures, including officers' quarters and a parade ground, completed the 160-acre reservation. During the Civil War the Army added a shore battery, a south battery, and an east battery. Late in the 19th century it added additional armament facilities. Though never under attack, Fort Hamilton served as a troop processing center during the Mexican War and the Civil War. Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson served there in the 1840's. It served as a staging area during the two World Wars and the Korean war and is still active today.

A rebuilding of the fort in the period 1954-63 destroyed most of the original structures. A portion of the original pier and the northeastern face of the inner fort, including its sally port and casemates, still remain. All other structures probably postdate the Civil War.

	FORT ONTARIO New York
Oswego County, on a secondary road, along U.S. 104, just east of Oswego. Fort Ontario State Historic Site

This fort, a key post in the colonial struggle between England and France, was also involved in the War of 1812. The British built the original fort in 1755, but the following year the French destroyed it. In 1759 the British rebuilt it and used it as a base for a successful attack on Fort Niagara. The following year troops from the fort invaded Canada and captured Montreal. Abandoned in 1777, the fort was partially burned the following year by Continental troops. In 1782 the British regarrisoned it and held it until 1796. In 1803 and again in 1812-14 U.S. troops were stationed there. During the War of 1812 the fort served as a U.S. supply depot. In 1814 the British destroyed it. Between 1839 and 1844 the U.S. Army rebuilt it.

The fort, a pentagonal structure having bastions at each corner, is today a State-owned historic site and is open to the public. Most of the interior buildings date from the final rebuilding or later, but the ramparts are original. A museum on the second floor of the enlisted men's barracks interprets the history of the fort.

	JOHN JAY HOUSE New York
Westchester County, on N.Y. 22, between Bedford and Katonah. John Jay Homestead State Historic Site

John Jay built this home when he retired, in 1800, and lived in it until his death, in 1829. The house was thereafter occupied by five succeeding generations of the Jay family. The 1,000-acre tract of land on which Jay built the house had been purchased from an Indian chief by Jay's grand father Jacobus Van Cortlandt. Jay distinguished himself as a lawyer early in his career and later held many high offices in the Federal Government. He was a Member of the First and Second Continental Congresses; author of "Address to the People of Great Britain," which protested England's mismanagement of her colonies; president of the Continental Congress; chairman of the committee that drafted the New York State constitution; one of the commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence; author of some of The Federalist Papers; the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, under President Washington; and negotiator of Jay's Treaty (1794), clarifying U.S. relations with Great Britain. In 1795 he was elected Governor of New York.

Jay's house, on a lovely site, is in nearly original condition. The wing built in 1922 contains many Jay possessions, including an outstanding collection of 18th-century oil paintings. Many of the furnishings are original, and documents and letters of historical importance are preserved. In 1958 Westchester County purchased the house and immediately turned it over to the State. It is open to the public.

NHL Designation: 05/29/81

	SACKETS HARBOR New York
Jefferson County. Sackets Harbor Chamber of Commerce

Founded by Augustus Sackett in 1801 on the shore of Lake Ontario, Sackets Harbor was first known as Sacketts Harbor. It became a center of trade with Canada and by 1812 consisted of about 50 houses. During the War of 1812 U.S. forces erected a base, Fort Tompkins, on the western side of the harbor and stored there naval and military supplies. A large shipyard in the village constructed naval vessels for use on the lake. In Sackets Harbor the northern campaign opened in the War of 1812. In July a British squadron of five vessels attacked the village. The British were determined to seize the U.S.S. Oneida, but the small U.S. force seriously damaged three of their vessels and soon compelled them to retreat. Another battle occurred in May 1813, when about 1,000 British regulars and Indians under Gov. Gen. Sir George Prevost attacked the garrison at Sackets Harbor. Jacob Jennings Brown, brigadier general of the New York Militia, commanded the defense, which drove off the British. Though never again attacked during the war, the town remained a key supply and shipbuilding center. The Sackets Harbor Battlefield is at the north end of Main Street, in a public park, overlooking Lake Ontario. It contains a monument to the memory of the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Sackets Harbor.