Constitution Island
Constitution Island Association Inc.
Box 41, West Point NY, 10996
Between Garrison and Cold Spring
E-Mail: executivedirector@constitutionisland.org
Constitution Island was originally part
of a land grant from the British crown circa 1697 to the Philipse family.
George washington studied the island in 1775 as
a potential fort against the British, but the project was never completed
because the men and materials were needed to build forts Montgomery and
Clinton on the west shore of the Hudson River.
In 1777, the British take both forts Montgomery
and Clinton and head north to Constitution Island. The island was guarded
by only a handful of American troops and the British were successful in
their capture of the island. The British remained on the island 20 days
, long enough to destroy all remaining defenses. However, the Americans
built new defenses and barracks on Constitution island in conjunction
with those at West Point in 1778, the same year that the great chain was
installed between west Point and the island in an effort to thwart
further British attempts to move upriver.
George Washington's personal lifeguard was
mustered out of the service on the island in 1783.
In 1836, Henry Warner, an attorney from New York City, purchased
the island. He and his daughters, Susan and Anna, moved to the island
and it became the family home until 1915.
The sisters, Susan and Anna, were well-known
literary figures of the 19th century. Susan wrote a novel, "The Wide,
Wide World", in 1850 that became the most widely printed novel of the
day second only to "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Anna is perhaps best known
for writing the words to the hymn, "Jesus Loves Me". Both sisters taught
Bible classes to the West Point cadets for forty years.
Visitors may tour the Warner House and spend an afternoon
on the island every Wednesday and Thursday from mid-June to October.
The two hour tour leaves the West Point South Dock at 1:00pm and 2:00
pm. Reservations required. 18th CENTURY
19th CENTURY
20th CENTURY