04/30/2026
, April 30, 1776, Colonel Isaac Nicoll wrote to George Washington from the partially constructed fortifications on Constitution Island.
The New York Committee of Safety had written to Beverly Robinson in the fall of 1775, asking permission to build a fort there. Robinson replied that west half of Constitution island was not his, but rather belonged to his sister-in-law, Margaret Marston Philipse Ogilvie.
Whether or not the rebels got permission (Mrs. Ogilvie's sons were all Loyalists), construction began that fall. Nicoll was aware of the number of Loyalists in the area, writing to Washington to request more troops, as the fortifications were undermanned.
"I think it would be prudent to have them Armed as soon as possible as there are many disaffected Persons in the adjacent Counties of Westchester and Dutches[s] who in case of an Attact at New York (if they knew our weakness) might attempt to take the Garrisons by surprize."
In the ensuing days, imprisoned "Toreys" were sent from Dutchess County to Fort Montgomery to "be put to hard Labour," but Nicholls wrote again to Washington, warning against sending "Any more of these disaffected People" to the under-construction Fort Montgomery when the forts were undermanned. He worried about an uprising and instead suggested that some be sent to Fort Constitution, though he questioned whether it was right to put the prisoners to work.
Fort Constitution, located at water level, was overshadowed by the heights of the Hudson Highlands on either side, and proved unsuitable for a fort. It was abandoned later in 1776 to focus on building fortifications at Fort Montgomery, significantly further south on the western shore of the Hudson. Constitution Island would later prove its military value as the eastern anchor point for the "Great Chain" across the Hudson River.
Image: Detail of 1776 map of the Hudson River, showing "Marder's Rock," or "Martelaer's Rock," the earlier name of Constitution Island, circled in red. "A topographical map of Hudsons River..." 1776. Library of Congress.
