Signal Hill (Flagstaff Fort) June 1776

British Fort built in June 1776 replacing rebel redoubts. Image courtesy National Archives and Records Administration.

At a strategic high point overlooking the Narrows (the entrance to Upper New York Bay) stood many previous forts built by the Dutch and the British. Crown Forces occupied the Island for the remainder of the war, improving on the fort in July 1779 and throughout the revolution, until evacuating New York City in 1783.