Gateway National Recreation Area
Fort Hancock: Defending New York Harbor
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
Fort Hancock tells the military side of the harbor story.
Built in the nineteenth century, it protected the entrance to New York Harbor as coastal artillery technology evolved.
The fort was part of a larger defensive network. Its importance came not from fighting a famous battle here, but from the possibility that it would have to prevent one.
Military landscapes are often about preparation rather than action.