Military
1
Completed in 1811, Castle Williams was a red sandstone bastion with walls forty feet high and eight feet thick that bristled with over one hundred cannon. Named after its designer, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams, it was also nicknamed the "Cheesebox" because of its circular shape. Along with its twin fort, Castle Clinton in the Battery, it was built to guard the waterway between Governor's Island and New York City. Together, these forts provided such a formidable defense that the British fleet never attempted to attack New York City during the War of 1812. Today, it is under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard.
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New York, New York · United States
