The Revolutionary War Prison Ship Martyr's Monument IN Brooklyn Needs Help - Read and Comment to National Park Service ASAP

THE PRISON SHIP MARTYR’S MONUMENT - By Pieter Prall - artist, Naturalist and Autho

Re: Contact National Park Service Representative Amanda Jones with comments by March 31st. [email protected]

The protection of The Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, New York should be of concern to everyone. Regardless of political or cultural affiliation - residents of every state and territory of the United States and free thinkers in every other country on earth - should respond to the universal need to recognize the need to protect this memorial to the sacrifice that thousands upon thousands of individuals made by giving their lives away in the struggle for freedom during the American Revolution. The movement toward democratic government - by the people and for the people - in what became the United States of America - established a trend for freedom from archaic rule that changed the future pattern of life on a global basis. The basic freedoms that are afforded to anyone fortunate enough to live in a free state are clearly evident wherever they are released from bondage.

The Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument itself; is a monument to an estimated 11,500 American Patriots who perished while imprisoned on numerous British Prison Ships anchored in the East River during The American Revolution.

During the duration of the conflict many of these prisoners died of disease and malnutrition. And as a daily ritual, the bodies of the dead were brought up from the holds of the ships wherein they had been imprisoned for disposal. They were either; carried ashore in boats to be buried on the shore of Wallabout Bay near where the Brooklyn Navy Yard is situated today, or they were simply thrown overboard into the tidal waters of the East River to drift away.

Shortly after the American Revolution ended, groups of volunteers located and retrieved the remains of the prisoners from the shores of Wallabout Bay and adjacent waters. They were stored for a while and then initially interred in the vicinity of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1808.
It took about 100 years for the remains of the patriots that had been recovered to find a suitable permanent resting place. That which follows here is a brief description of the path the patriots had to follow to find a permanent resting place.

It has been stated that in the remains of the prison ship’s victims were ignored in the immediate aftermath of the revolution. At this period the area around Wallabout Bay was put into use for the construction and maintenance of commercial vessels.

In 1801 the plan to construct the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the vicinity of the Wallabout was introduced. Plans for the site put a focus on the remains of the American patriots that were to be seen strewn across the muddy the shoreline at the area. When construction of the navy yard began workers concerned about what to do with the remains of the patriots began to collect and store the bones of the patriots in casks and boxes. And, it was in 1808 that the first crypt and monument were dedicated. This original memorial site consisted of a small square building with an eagle perched on the peak of the roof. It was situated above buried stone vaults near the Brooklyn Navy Yard near an area that is now known as Vinegar Hill. Here, the remains of the patriots rested until growth of population in the area demanded finding a more suitable and permanent location.
Although no one knew it at the time, it was during this initial period that the future resting-place of the patriots was in the act of formation.

British aggression during the War of 1812 fueled renewed anti-British sentiment, ultimately leading to the reconstruction a former revolutionary war fort site uphill from the navy yard. This was the former site of revolutionary war era Fort Putnam; a site which had been supervised by General Nathaniel Greene a supporter of General George Washington during the revolutionary war era Battle of Brooklyn. Upon experiencing renewed British aggression in 1812, the Fort Putnam site was rebuilt as a fort. Nothing ever came of the British threat in the vicinity of New York City and the rebuilt fort fell into disuse. People from the surrounding began to visit the site for their enjoyment and it soon became a popular local park. Some time during this period it became known as Washington Park.

For a period of time the presence of the crypt and attracted little interest; but then In 1864 landscape architects Fredrick Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the designers Central Park and Prospect Park, were commissioned to redesign Washington Park, including a new mausoleum to memorialize the remains of the Prison Ship Martyrs. This was to be situated a short distance away up the hill where a newly redesigned and configured Washington Park. It was in June of 1873 that the bones of the patriots were removed from the original crypt and moved to the new location at Washington Park.
A third solution:

In the period between the Civil War and the beginning of the Twentieth Century the predicament of the Prison Ship Martyrs was still unsettled. Construction around the Brooklyn Navy Yard was continually turning up more remains. There was much concern about what to do with them.
In 1896 the Fort Greene Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was formed to promote the construction of a more suitable monument. During 1899 and 1900 additional work in the area continued to turn up more remains.

The DAR was actively promoting the construction of a new monument at Ft. Greene. And, in 1900 The House and the Senate passed a measure via which the US Government would provide $100,000 for design and construction provided that the funds would be matched to a provide the total of $200,000 needed to complete the project.

In 1903, The Prison Ship Martyr’s Association was formed to oversee the work on the new monument and the renowned architectural partnership that included the famed architect Stanford White, was retained to design the new monument. This organization, McKim, Mead & White proceeded to design - the 149ft tall Doric column - ensconced with bronze gas-lit lantern - and the 100 foot wide ninety-nine step staircase - new crypt and landscape for the grounds.

After the design was completed in 1905, construction of the monument was then to be undertaken by the Carlin Construction Corporation. This construction was to be overseen by a monument construction commission that included The US Secretary of War, William Howard Taft; W.L. Marshall of the U.S. Corps of Engineers and the President of The Martyr’s Monument Association.

Construction of the monument proceeded for the next three years and when finished it was dedicated on November 15, 1908 with (then) President - elect William Howard Taft presiding over the event. The event dedication included thousands of participants including military units in regular service, National Guard units, veterans, civic organizations and elected officials.

One would think that after years of dedicated effort the Prison Ship Martyrs might have found a safe resting-place; but in fact there has been steady disturbance and vandalism at the site.
A good final solution to security problems:

This important monument clearly needs to be protected by a 24 hour 365 day per year a day presence. Esteemed persons having good standing in the community have been lobbying for a federal presence at the site for decades. Vandalism caused a need for restoration in 1937 and 1948. The four bronze eagles surrounding the base of the column want missing in 1974. The bronze plaque dedicated to the memory of the 700 Spaniards who died on the prison ships disappeared shortly after dedication by King Juan Carlos at the bicentennial in 1976. BY the year 2000 the monument was missing other plaques, the plaza was potholed, the crypt had a plywood door and the eternal flame was extinguished.

Restoration was carried out prior to the 2008 centennial of the dedication of the monument; but additional damage has occurred since then.

The Monument to the Prison Ship Martyrs clearly needs the help of patriot citizens everywhere. The grounds themselves are - at times - a notoriously dangerous place to be.
Despite the efforts of local government and conservancy groups, the monument needs further protection than is currently available. Those thousands who gave their lives in the freedom effort clearly deserve the attention of every US citizen.

What can the concerned public do to help?

Your cooperation is requested in the matter of requesting that The National Park Service designate The Fort Greene Monument as a National Memorial. The National Park Service is reviewing information regarding the designation of this site as such right now.

Thee National Park Service are seeking letters of support for the act of providing federal protection to this important historic site in Brooklyn, NY right now.

The remains of approximately 11,500 American Revolutionary Patriots - who died of disease and starvation on British Prison Ships anchored in the East River during the American Revolution - are interred within the crypt beneath the monument. Their spirits are undoubtedly unsettled.

The monument that memorializes their existence and patriotic sacrifice needs recognition and protection.
To attain federal protection it needs to hear concerned persons everywhere.

Federal designation as an element of The National Parks Service will provide 24-hour presence and protection of the site.

Please send supportive comments to National Parks Representative Amanda Jones supporting this action as soon as possible.

Send e-mail comments to [email protected]

Please do this as soon as possible.

Let the National Parks Service know that you support the designation of The Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument as an element of The National Parks System.

The deadline for comments is March 31st, 2017