The South Battery
Governors Island
The South Battery, or Half-Moon Battery, was erected prior to the War of 1812, in concert with the construction of Castle Williams. A battery is a fortification equipped with artillery. This arrow-shaped fortification was built into the hillside overlooking Buttermilk Channel to the east of the Island. Its position provided protection against any attack through the channel from the harbor. A single story barracks was located inside.
From 1836 until 1878, the fortification became home to the Army Music School of Practice, a school for young, enlisted boys to become drummers and fife players. In 1878, the school was moved to Fort Jay, and South Battery was converted for use as an officers’ mess and Catholic chapel. In 1904, a major remodeling campaign converted the building to an amusement hall and lecture room for enlisted men. During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) – a program created to provide jobs to the nation’s growing number of unemployed – rebuilt the interior of Corbin Hall, a large room on the second floor, as a dining room and ballroom.
In 1939, the building was renovated for use as the Officers’ Club. The club was created to help meet the needs of active duty officers and the large number of very high ranking, retired Army officers who settled in New York City after World War II. The South Battery continued to serve as the Officer’s Club for the Coast Guard until 1996 and was used for banquets, weddings, dances and other social functions.
Marker is on Evans Road, on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
