Fort Slocum: 1861, Davids Island (80 acres), New Rochelle, NY. Named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, hero of Antietam and Chancellorsville. 1861 used as a Medical Facility with 22 temporary structures built to house 1,800 Confederate POWs. After Gettysburg grew to over 2,538 then later used as a Coastal Artillery post.
In 1921 gun emplacements included
Battery Overton, 2 - 12" Mortars
Battery Haskin, 2 - 12" Mortars
Battery Kinney, 2 - 3" Pedestal
Battery Fraser, 2 - 3" Pedestal
AA, 2 - 3"
Taken from Joe McCusker's list of Air Force Bases www.airforcebase.net/usaf/joeslist.html [link opens new window]
Slocum AFB, Davids Island, New Rochelle, N.Y. (Headquarters First Air Force was at Ft. Slocum from 1946 until 1949. Ft. Slocum, on an island near New York City and accessible only by ferry boat, was redesignated Slocum AFB in June 1949. Headquarters First Air Force moved to Mitchel AFB four months later. The base was then looked after by the 166-person 2226th Standby Base Squadron, and later by a much smaller fire guard, until June 30, 1950, when the New York District Engineer assumed custody of the property and Slocum AFB ceased to exist. Ft. Slocum was reactivated as an Army post late in 1950, and closed in 1965. Twice swept by fires, the island--which is owned by the City of New Rochelle--has been in ruins for many years.)
Fort Slocum, NY
