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Fort Tilden, also known as Fort Tilden Historic District, is a former
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
installation on the coast in the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough of
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
. Fort Tilden now forms part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and is administered by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
. Fort Tilden Historic District is located on the Rockaway Peninsula, between Jacob Riis Park to the east and Breezy Point Tip to the west. All three of these sites are operated by the National Park Service. Since its decommissioning, the former installation has largely become a natural area of beaches, dunes and maritime forest. Most of the old military installations are abandoned, and military structures which formerly housed artillery (batteries) and ammunition (magazines) are covered in graffiti. A few buildings have been renovated and are used by local arts groups, and some large open areas are used as sports grounds. Atop one of the old batteries, Battery Harris East, a viewing platform has 360-degree views that include the city,
New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...
, and the Atlantic Ocean. The wilder parts of Fort Tilden are popular with bird-watchers and other nature-lovers, and the beach areas are frequently used for fishing.


Military history

The fort first served as a coast artillery installation and ended its service as a
Nike Hercules The Nike Hercules, initially designated SAM-A-25 and later MIM-14, was a surface-to-air missile (SAM) used by U.S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range air defense. It was normally armed with the W31 nuclear warhead, bu ...
and Nike Ajax missile site. However, the historic gun batteries and other military fortifications remain closed to the public. Some of these structures are very hazardous.


World War I

The fort was established as Camp Rockaway Beach shortly after the United States entered
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in April 1917. Several temporary military installations had been built at or near the site since the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
against the British. It was named after Samuel J. Tilden, one-term
Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor h ...
State and Democratic Presidential candidate in 1876. The first unit deployed to the fort was an unnamed battery from the
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
. This battery, with four 12-inch coast defense mortars, was soon joined by two batteries of two 6-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts, Battery Kessler and Battery East (renamed Battery Fergusson in 1939).Berhow, p. 209Fort Tilden at FortWiki.com
/ref> The mortars were taken from Battery Piper at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, and the six-inch guns were brought in from Battery Burke at Fort Hamilton and Battery Kinney at Fort Slocum on Davids' Island. However, as the mortars were sited adjacent to Naval Air Station Rockaway there were concerns that when fired they could potentially cause damage to the installation. In 1919–1920 the fixed mounts were replaced with railway mortars that could be moved away from the air station for firing.Fort Tilden website archived from Geocities at web.archive.org
/ref> In 1918–1919 a battery of two 3-inch antiaircraft guns was installed at the fort. The facility became part of the Harbor Defenses of Southern New York, joining Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. The railway mortars and their tracks were probably removed in 1921 to make room for Battery Harris.


Inter-war period

In March 1921, the city of New York would become one of the first locations in the United States to be defended by 16-inch M1919 guns; these were the most powerful weapon in the United States' arsenal when construction began on Battery Harris. The coastal artillery installation became operational in December 1924. Its two guns were originally mounted in the open; ammunition was delivered on a railway system. This had evolved from its initial design as one of the first dispersed batteries; the two unprotected guns were spaced at , about twice the of earlier batteries for 12-inch guns. As the dispersed battery concept was improved, the spacing at later works increased to and finally at Fort Story. The battery was named for Henry Leavenworth Harris, a career Army officer who died in 1920.


World War II

In 1941–1942, a massive concrete
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" me ...
was built to enclose the guns at Battery Harris. The bunker, which was constructed to provide protection against air attack, also contained ammunition magazines and the fire control system. Fort Tilden was supplemented during the war with another 16-inch gun battery at the Highlands Military Reservation near Navesink, New Jersey. As both batteries had 16-inch guns, all the older heavy guns defending New York were subsequently removed and scrapped in 1942–1944, except two pairs of long-range 12-inch guns at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook in New Jersey. Additional 16-inch batteries were proposed for Fort Wadsworth and a location that is now part of JFK Airport, but these were never built. Several smaller batteries were built in and near Fort Tilden during the war. Battery 220 was completed but not armed; it was primarily an ammunition bunker for two 6-inch guns that were never delivered. Four Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) batteries were built during the war, two each at Norton Point and Rockaway Point (aka Breezy Point). Norton Point had AMTB 18 with four 3-inch M1902 guns and AMTB 19 with four 90 mm dual-purpose guns. The 3-inch guns were all on pedestal mounts; the 90 mm AMTB batteries were authorized two fixed guns and two towed guns. Rockaway Point had AMTB 20 with two 3-inch M1902 guns and AMTB 21 with four 90 mm guns. All six 3-inch guns for these batteries came from Battery Catlin at Fort Wadsworth, and AMTB 18 was also called Battery New Catlin. After the war it was determined that gun defenses were obsolete, and Fort Tilden was disarmed, with all guns removed for scrap in 1948.


Cold War

In 1950, as the fear of Soviet air attack grew, a battalion of sixteen 90 mm guns was deployed at Fort Tilden, which was renamed Site NY-43 as part of the United States' air defense system. The site remained active until 1954. An additional four-gun 90 mm battery was in the area 1951–54, and two four-gun batteries of 120 mm guns were at the fort 1952–55. In 1955, the AA guns were replaced by a Nike–Ajax missile site called NY–49. A photograph shows at least two launch sites with six rails each were at Fort Tilden. These were converted to the nuclear-capable Nike-Hercules missile in 1958. The Nike–Hercules system was deactivated throughout the US in 1972.


Army Reserve post

From the late 1960s until at least 1978, Fort Tilden was an Army Reserve Post, housing a Signal Corps unit, the 411th Engineer Brigade, and an Army Reserve self-propelled 8" howitzer battalion, originally the 5/51st Field Artillery (FA) and renamed in the early 70's the 7/ 9th FA. From the late 1960s until the 1980s, Fort Tilden served as a
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...
post, with the 187th Infantry Brigade's 5/ 5th FA; a towed 105 mm howitzer battalion stationed there until the 187th was deactivated in 1995. Fort Tilden was also the location of the 411th Engineer Brigade, which was headquartered there from 1968 to 1978. Fort Tilden remained an Army installation until the late 1970s, when it was decommissioned and turned over to the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
, and made part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. A number of structures are included in an
historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...
listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
, including the two concrete
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" me ...
s for the
16"/50 caliber M1919 gun The 16 inch gun M1919 (406 mm) was a large coastal artillery piece installed to defend the United States' major seaports between 1920 and 1946. It was operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Only a small number were ...
s of Battery Harris.


Nature area

Fort Tilden is an important nesting area for the threatened
Piping Plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead ...
, a species which NPS—as part of a large global effort—is working to protect. The eggs and chicks are very small and highly camouflaged, so they are extremely difficult to see. It is very easy to step on the eggs and kill the unhatched chicks. "Under New York and Federal laws persons may be arrested and fined for killing, harassing, teasing, or in any way disturbing birds nesting in this area." Keep out of areas delineated by string fences and signs.PDF of Gateway NRA rules
/ref> Common terns and least terns also make their nests on the beach at Fort Tilden. These two species are threatened in New York State as well.


See also

* Seacoast defense in the United States


References

* * *


External links


Fort Tilden
Visitor information {{authority control Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Tilden, Fort Parks in Queens, New York Rockaway, Queens Gateway National Recreation Area Tilden Beaches of Queens, New York National Register of Historic Places in Queens, New York Historic districts in Queens, New York