SIGNIFICANCE

After Kosciuszko arrived at West Point in March 1778, he set about to create his distributed network of smaller forts and batteries meant to defend the larger forts. The establishment of the additional batteries on Constitution Island began that year but were not completed until August of 1780, the year Kosciuszko left to become chief engineer of the Southern Theater.

No detailed drawings of Redoubts #5,#6, or #7 and their possible companion batteries have survived to the present. Consequently, it is impossible to describe their appearance accurately. Archaeological traces of most of the ruins are very close to those depicted in Villefranche’s 1780 map, particularly Redoubts #5, #6 and #7. “By August 1779, all redoubts had been accurately sited and identified…Redoubts #5 and #6 probably had palisades erected on top of their parapets…”  Highlands Fortress p 151

REDOUBT 5

“L’Enfant’s drawing of Redoubt 5 indicates a blockhouse inside Redoubt 5, although there is no evidence to support that in the ruins today. The scarp wall is clearly visible along the  the eastern side of the redoubt and measures relatively low, about two to three feet, and about seven feet wide. The great amount of soil that has covered most of the exterior scarp and interior revetment implies that the parapet must have been built to considerable height…The entrance to the redoubt is on the north side…that was also the direction from which an attack might come.” Highlands Fortress, p 154

REDOUBT 6

Redoubt 6 shows considerable similarity to Redoubt 4, having a large re-entrant angle on the north. Like Redoubt 5, that angle contains the entrance to the redoubt for the same reasons, causing the design to be unique also. The scarp wall of the rampart, averaging nine feet in height and eight to ten feet in width, was constructed of well-laid dry masonry, also in an excellent state of preservation. The steep sides of the small knoll on which the redoubt was constructed alleviated the need for high parapet walls. The ruins, moreover, give no indication that guns were located inside the redoubt. L’Enfant’s drawing shows a large embrasure on the south wall of the redoubt, raising the possibility of cannons inside.

REDOUBT 7

Redoubt 7 sits atop Magazine Point on Constitution Island and can be readily viewed from Trophy Point across the river. Old photographs show a massive flag pole on the site which most likely flew a Revolutionary War flag some time during the last century.

According to the authors of Highland Fortress, Redoubt 7 is a magnificent example of dry masonry and that is still true today although one parapet has caved in. One feels the presence of the Revolutionary soldiers who performed the task of laying the thousands of stones to create  walls that are “as much as 17 feet  in height and vary in thickness at the top from six to nine feet.”  Guns were recommended for the redoubt, but no trace of either an external battery or an internal gun positions can be found today.

The roof on Redoubt 7 in L’Enfant’s sketch indicates its conversion into a powder magazine. Major General Henry Knox, commander of the Highlands Department, reported that “The redoubt on Constitution Island, which is intended as a temporary magazine for the powder at Fish Kill and Newburgh, will be ready to receive it in three or four days.”  This work was clearly completed, for a survey of fortifications at West Point prepared in December 1782 reported, “Fort No. 7 Is now a magazine for the powder of the department.” Highlands Fortress, p 154