Harbor Defense Museum facts for kids
| Established | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Location | Fort Hamilton, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn New York, United States |
| Type | Military museum |
| Visitors | 20,000/year (1995) |
The Harbor Defense Museum, also known as The Caponier, is a special place located inside Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York City. It's a military museum, which means it shows how the military protected New York Harbor long ago. It's the only military museum in New York City and one of about seventy in the whole United States that is supported by the government's Defense Department.
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What is The Caponier?
The museum is housed in a building called a Caponier. This is a special type of structure built to protect a fort from attacks, especially from the back. At Fort Hamilton, the Caponier was like a small fort inside the bigger fort. Its job was to guard the main fortress. Today, it helps us understand the long history of Fort Hamilton.
A Well-Preserved Building
The Caponier was used as a warehouse after it was no longer needed for battles. Because of this, it stayed in much better condition than other parts of the fort. In the mid-1990s, the museum and fort were almost closed because of money problems. However, people worked hard to save them. An agreement with the United States Army Center of Military History and efforts by the Fort Hamilton Historic Society helped keep the museum open. It continues to teach visitors about the history of how New York Harbor was defended.
Fort Hamilton's Long History
Fort Hamilton is a very old military base. It is the second-oldest federal post in the United States that has been continuously used. Only West Point, a famous military academy, is older. The fort has strong ties to the local community, which makes the museum even more special.
Ready for Battle, But Never Fought
Even though The Caponier was always prepared for battle, with a large 24-pound cannon pointed at New York Harbor, the fort itself never actually experienced a real battle. This means it was always ready to defend, but thankfully, it never had to fight.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has many interesting items from New York's military history. You can see things from the American Revolutionary War, which was a very long time ago. There are also old military uniforms from different wars.
Unique Exhibits and Artifacts
- Old Maps: You can look at old maps of the fort to see how it changed over time.
- Switchboard: The museum has the post's old telephone switchboard.
- Secret Tunnel: There's an exhibit about a secret tunnel that once connected Fort Hamilton to another military base about half a mile away!
- Confederate Mine: You can see a mine from the Confederate side of the American Civil War.
- U-boat Net: There's even a piece of the giant net that protected New York Harbor from German U-boats (submarines) during World War I.
- Time Capsule: The museum is also temporarily holding a Bay Ridge time capsule. This time capsule was dug up earlier than planned because of construction in the area.
