Castle William

Category: Harbor Defenses

Seasonal public tours. Free ferry from the Battery Maritime Building.

Built: 1807-1811
Owner: National Park Service
Designation: National Register of Historic Places

Description: The sister fort of Castle Clinton sits on a rocky promontory looking out on the harbor channel. The first casement fort built in North America, Castle William is named for its designer, Lt. Colonel Jonathan Williams, the first superintendent of West Point. It looks like a medieval castle with its 40-foot high, 8-foot thick sandstone walls, still guarded by some of the original canons. Twenty-seven French 35-pound cannons lined the lower tier, and thirty-nine 20-pounders lined the second tier. Castle Williams served as a prison camp for confederate soldiers during the Civil War and, decades later, as jail to U.S. World War II recruits Walt Disney and boxer Rocky Graziano.