Fort Columbus - Fort Columbus

Fort Columbus

With the presidential election of Thomas Jefferson in 1802 there was a shift of power from the Federalists to the Democratic-Republican Party. Jefferson's party objected to the negotiations of John Jay with Britain, which resulted in the Jay Treaty of 1794, which resolved outstanding issues from the American Revolution. The Democratic-Republicans therefore brought about the renaming of the fort in New York harbor as Fort Columbus after famous European explorer Christopher Columbus. In 1806, under the direction of Jonathan Williams, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Columbus was reconstructed and enlarged with granite and brick walls.

Fort Columbus played an important role in the military life of New York as the largest army post defending the city. The fortification, in concert with Fort Wood on Liberty Island, Fort Gibson on Ellis Island, Castle Clinton at the Battery in Lower Manhattan, and two other fortifications on Governors Island, South Battery and Castle Williams, provided protection for New York City and Upper New York Bay. This system of coastal fortifications discouraged the British from taking any naval action against the city during the War of 1812.