Satellite view of Fort Tompkins on Staten Island
Fort Tompkins is the main military structure within Fort Wadsworth, which is now part of the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. It is a Third System of Coastal Defenses fort that was built between 1859 and 1876 on the site of a former fort also named Fort Tompkins that was never completed. The fort’s original intention was to protect Battery Weed from a land invasion. However, rifled artillery developed during the Civil War made masonry forts obsolete, so like Battery Weed, Fort Tompkins was outdated before it was completed. In fact, only one gun was ever installed. The fort’s eventual use was as a large enlisted men’s barracks, and its parade ground was used for drills, reviews, and training. While originally grass, much of the parade ground is now paved.
Parade ground at Fort Tompkins
The only way to get inside Fort Tompkins is on a tour of Fort Wadsworth conducted by a National Park Service Ranger. Unfortunately, these aren’t held on a regular basis, and even when you can get inside, the tour only includes a visit to the lower level of the fort, for the walkways to the upper level are in bad shape. You do get to go into some of the interior rooms. Though designed to hold artillery, these were converted into living quarters and furnished with bunks and other furniture. For a schedule, see the National Park Service’s Calendar web page for Gateway National Recreation Area.
Walkways between floors of Fort Tompkins
Interior of Fort Tompkins, part of Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island
Interior of Fort Tompkins, part of Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island
An underground tunnel leads into the gallery, a section of the fort located on the other side of the dry moat. It is not evident when walking in the moat, but the wall opposite the fort (the counterscarp) is the wall of the gallery, not just a wall built to form the moat. The gallery itself is a mini-fort with an inside passageway wide enough so that soldiers have room to maneuver. Rifle ports in the counterscarp allow the men to shoot at any enemy troops that enter the moat. Since men from the main fort can also fire into the moat, enemy soldiers will find themselves in an inescapable crossfire. Men could travel back and forth between the counterscarp gallery and the fort through this underground passageway.
Dry Moat at Fort Tompkins
Tunnel from the main fort to the gallery of Fort Tompkins
Inside the gallery of Fort Tompkins
Just outside of Fort Tompkins is an observation plaza that provides great views of Battery Weed, and if you are camping, you can come to the plaza at night and get a photo of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge when it is lit up.
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at night
Next Stop: Battery Duane
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Last updated on December 15, 2021
