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Fort Clinton was a stone-and-earthworks fortification on an elevation within what is now Central Park in New York City. It was built in 1814 near the present line of 107th Street, slightly west of Fifth Avenue. According to maps of the time, Fort Clinton was the easternmost of a connected series of forts, connected to Nutter's Battery on the west by earthworks and a gatehouse over the Old Post Road at the bottom of McGowan's Pass. Fort Clinton and Nutter's Battery were commanded from a third fort at the top of the pass, Fort Fish, which had a sweeping view of Long Island Sound, northern Manhattan, and Westchester County. Fort Fish was across the road from Fort Clinton and connected to Nutter's Battery by another line of earthworks.

The fort was named after DeWitt Clinton, a mayor of New York City.

Previously, during the American Revolution, the site had been a redoubt used by British and Hessian soldiers to protect McGowan's Pass during their occupation of New York City from 1776 to 1783.

A memorial consisting of a commemorative plaque and two cannons surrounded by benches and a flagpole now occupies the site.

See also

• Blockhouse No. 1

References

1. Lossing, Benson (1868). The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812. Harper & Brothers, Publishers. p. 972.
2. "Northern Forts" page at michaelminn.net has a detail of a contemporary map.
3. Edward Hagaman Hall, McGown's Pass and Its Vicinity, 1905.
4. I. N. Phelps Stokes, The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1928.
5. CPC site here.

v t e Central Park
Manhattan, New York City
Geographical features Cedar Hill Conservatory Garden Conservatory Water Great Lawn and Turtle Pond Harlem Meer Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir McGowan's Pass North Woods and North Meadow The Pond and Hallett Nature Sanctuary The Ramble and Lake Rat Rock Sawkill (historical) Seneca Village (historical) Sheep Meadow Strawberry Fields
Sculptures and public art 107th Infantry Memorial Alice in Wonderland sculpture Angel of the Waters Balto Simón Bolívar Burnett Memorial Fountain Robert Burns Christopher Columbus Cleopatra's Needle Delacorte Clock Duke Ellington Memorial Frederick Douglass Memorial Eagles and Prey The Falconer Fitz-Greene Halleck Alexander Hamilton Victor Herbert Indian Hunter King Jagiello Monument José Martí Giuseppe Mazzini Samuel Finley Breese Morse Romeo and Juliet José de San Martín Sir Walter Scott Seventh Regiment Memorial William Shakespeare J. Marion Sims (moved 2018) The Gates (temporary, 2005) The Tempest Untermyer Fountain Three Dancing Maidens USS Maine National Monument Daniel Webster Women's Rights Pioneers Monument
Other features Arsenal Ballplayers House Belvedere Castle Bethesda Terrace and Fountain Blockhouse Bridges Bow Carousel Central Park Casino (demolished) Cherry Hill Fountain The Dairy Delacorte Theater Diana Ross Playground Fort Clinton Heckscher Playground Lasker Rink Mall Marionette Theatre McGown's Pass Tavern (demolished) Richard Morris Hunt Memorial Rumsey Playfield Tarr Family Playground Tavern on the Green Victorian Gardens Wollman Rink Zoo Zoo York Wall Zoo York
Events Be-Ins The Concert UAE Healthy Kidney 10K New York Mini 10K Concerto: One Night in Central Park Shakespeare in the Park SummerStage
Transport Border roads Frederick Douglass Circle 110th Street Duke Ellington Circle Eighth Avenue Central Park Fifth Avenue Columbus Circle 59th Street Grand Army Plaza Transverses 66th 79th 85th 97th Subway stations Fifth Avenue–59th Street 59th Street–Columbus Circle 72nd Street 81st Street 86th Street 96th Street 103rd Street Cathedral Parkway–110th Street Central Park North–110th Street
Notable figures Elizabeth Barlow Rogers Andrew Haswell Green Jacob Wrey Mould Frederick Law Olmsted Ignaz Anton Pilat Starr Saphir Calvert Vaux Egbert Ludovicus Viele George E. Waring Jr.
Notable animals Barry Flaco Gus Mandarin Patinkin Pale Male Pattycake
Miscellaneous Birdwatching incident Conservancy Jogger case Medical Unit Popular culture
See also: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

40°47′43″N 73°57′8″W / 40.79528°N 73.95222°W / 40.79528; -73.95222

• Central Park
• Military installations established in 1814
• 1814 establishments in New York (state)
• History of Manhattan
• Forts in Manhattan
• American Revolutionary War sites