Fort Hamilton

Fort Hamilton

The National Register of Historic Places lists Fort Hamilton as the second oldest continuously garrisoned federal post in the United States. Built between 1825 and 1831 as the first granite fort in New York harbor, the Army base has contributed to the histories of the Civil War and both world wars.

With volunteer regiments being trained at the fort during the Civil War, Brooklynites could see ships lined across the Narrows to help defend Fort Hamilton from Confederate raiders. 

Then during both world wars, the base was used as an embarkation and separation station.

The fort also gave troops to help put down the draft riots of July 1863, when New Yorkers attacked blacks and caused chaos over resentment of losing jobs to black workers. 

As the fort reached its slower days, it became used as a recruiting command post and a military entrance and processing station for the city in the mid-1990s.

Brooklyn-born Norm Goldstein is retired, after working 44 years for the Associated Press, the global news agency, where he served as a reporter, feature writer, editor, author and administrator. He also worked for AP as director of Educational Services and editor of the AP Stylebook.

He graduated from Brooklyn College and the Penn State Graduate School of Journalism.           

He currently lives in Brooklyn Heights.