Satellite view of Battery Weed on Staten Island
Battery Weed, part of Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, is a masonry fort from the Third System of Coastal Defenses (it is visited on the Fort Wadsworth Walking Tour). Construction started in 1847, but it wasn’t until the Civil War that it was completed. Comprised of three levels of enclosed casemates and a top level of gun emplacements exposed to the elements, the fort held 116 guns. However, rifled artillery developed during the Civil War rendered masonry forts obsolete, so Battery Weed was outdated by the time it was completed.
Battery Weed at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Battery Weed was built on a spot originally occupied by an older fort named Fort Richmond. In fact, Fort Richmond was Weed’s original name. In 1865 the name was changed to Fort Wadsworth in honor of General James Wadsworth, who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness during the Civil War. When the entire army post was renamed Fort Wadsworth in 1902, the fort itself was renamed Battery Weed. Why it is called a battery, I don’t know since a battery is a reinforced concrete and rebar structure, not a masonry fort. There were no batteries installed within the fort.
Entrance into Battery Weed at Fort Wadsworth, Gateway National Recreation Area
Interior of Battery Weed on Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Bastions of Battery Weed, part of Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Battery Weed was not open when I visited, but it is typically open on weekends throughout the summer months. For a schedule, check the Calendar web page for Gateway National Recreation Area (enter BATTERY WEED in the By Keyword search box). If you can’t get inside, the best view of the battery is from the observation plaza located next to Fort Tompkins.
View of Battery Weed from the observation plaza near Fort Tompkins, Gateway National Recreation Area
A lighthouse known as the Fort Wadsworth Lighthouse was erected on top of Battery Weed in 1903. It remained active until 1965 when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened. In 2002, volunteers worked to restore the light, and in 2005 it was re-lit using solar power.
Fort Wadsworth Lighthouse on the terreplein of Battery Weed, Gateway National Recreation Area
Next Stop: Torpedo Shed and Wharf | Previous Stop: South Cliff Battery
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Last updated on December 2, 2024
