Fort Greene (Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York)
Fort Greene, Brooklyn · New York · American Revolutionary War, War of 1812
History & Significance
In 1776, American Major General Nathanael Greene supervised the construction of Fort Putnam on high ground that is now part of the park. The fort was a star-shaped earthwork that mounted six 18-pound cannons and was the largest on Long Island.
It held a garrison of 5 companies and was part of a line of three principal forts and two redoubts set along a range of hills that created a continuous defense a mile and a half wide from the Gowanus Creek in the south to Wallabout Bay in the north. During the Battle of Long Island, the Continental Army withdrew from the fort and retreated to Manhattan.
The site acquired tragic significance as the British held thousands of captives on prison ships anchored in the East River, with over 11,500 men and women dying of overcrowding, contaminated water, starvation, and disease aboard the ships. The fort was renamed for General Greene and rebuilt for the War of 1812.
Newspaper editor Walt Whitman rallied popular support for converting the site to parkland. In 1847, Washington Park was established as Brooklyn's first park on a 30-acre plot around the old fort, and in 1864, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux were contracted to design the park. Washington Park was renamed for Fort Greene in 1897.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Elevated Revolutionary War fortifications with restored earthworks
- Monument to General Nathanael Greene at park center
- 19th-century park design by Central Park architects
- Views across Brooklyn and lower Manhattan from hilltop
- Historic cannon and interpretive signage about two wars
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Greene_Park
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Greene,_Brooklyn
- https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-greene-park/history
- https://museum.dmna.ny.gov/forts/putnam
- https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/10/what-were-the-brooklyn-line-of-forts-in-1776/
- https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-greene-park.htm