Fort No. 8 - NYC

 (1776-1782) - A British Revolutionary War fortification established in 1776 in New York City, Bronx County, New York. Abandoned and destroyed by the British in 1782.

History of Fort No. 8
A British Revolutionary War fortification established in 1776 in New York City after the British invasion of the City. Built on the east side of Harlem River as four-pointed star fort with an abatis. This fort was located opposite the Patriot Laurel Hill Battery on the west side of the Harlem River. Fort No. 8 was active in the bombardment during the attack on Fort Washington on 16 Nov 1776. Fort Washington was surrounded and fell that same day along with all the outlying Patriot fortification.

In 1779 the British abandoned the outer ring of defenses around New York City but kept Fort No. 8 and reinforced it with materials from the closed forts. The garrison was strengthened to include one captain, one subaltern, and fifty privates. The increasingly frequent raids of the Patriots convinced the British to abandoned the fort early in October 1782 and they destroyed it on 20 Oct 1782.

Current Status
Archeological remains and a memorial/marker. The actual site is variously reported as being on the campus of Bronx Community College (BCC) (formerly an NYU campus) and near the site of the Gustave Schwab House (now South Hall on the BCC campus). These sites are adjacent to one another.

The Bronx Community College site sits on high ground at University Heights in Fordham overlooking the Harlem River. That site has a memorial with a flagpole and four cannons, see this blog post. The memorial can be viewed via Google Maps or Google earth. The Gustave Schwab House, built in 1857, is now a part of the campus of the Bronx Community College.

See Also:
 * Fort Washington
 * Laurel Hill Battery
 * New York City Forts

Sources: Links:
 * , page 602.
 * Schwab, John Christopher, The Revolutionary History of Fort Number Eight on Morris Heights, New York, 1897, New Haven, Private Printing, Babel.
 * North American Forts - Fort No. 8 - NYC
 * New York State Military Museum - Fort No. 8 - NYC
 * Fort Number 8 Restoration
 * Description of BCC