Hudson River Chains: Difference between revisions

The Hudson River Chain may refer to any of several chains used as a blockade across the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, intended to prevent British naval vessels from entering the river during the American Revolutionary War.

This barricade was constructed by placing chevaux-de-frise and stretching a chain to block the river between Fort Washington, on the island of Manhattan, and Fort Lee, across the river in New Jersey. However, an opening was left for the passage of American ships, and the British obtained its location with the help of a local inhabitant. Fort Washington was captured on November 16, 1776, rendering the barrier useless.

A chain and boom were stretched across the river from Anthony's Nose to Fort Montgomery, at the lower entrance to the Highlands. However, the capture of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton by the British on October 6, 1777, allowed them to dismantle the chain and raid upriver as far as Kingston, New York.

In the spring of 1778, the most notable of all these obstructions, a heavy chain supported by huge logs, was stretched across the Hudson from West Point to Constitution Island, opposite. It was constructed at the Sterling Iron Works, in Warwick, Orange County, by Peter Townsend, under the supervision of Timothy Pickering. The task was completed in six weeks.

The Hudson River's narrow width and sharp turns at West Point created adverse sailing conditions and prompted construction of The Great Chain in 1778 as an obstacle to the movement of British Ships north of West Point. West Point was chosen for the placement of The Great Chain because of the distinctive "S-Curve" the Hudson makes there, which would force any large ship to slow down in order to navigate it, thus making the ship an easier target.

American soldiers positioned the chain to impede the progress of a ship should it attempt to turn into the east-west channel against frequently unfavorable winds and a strong current. Due to the Lower Hudson River actually being an estuary, it is subject to significant tidal currents which make navigation by sailing vessels particularly difficult. Cannons were placed in forts and batteries on both sides of the river to destroy the ship as it slowed to a halt against the obstacle.

When finally completed, the 600-yard chain contained iron links two feet in length and weighing 114 pounds. The links were carted to New Windsor, where they were put together, and floated down the river to West Point on logs late in April. Including swivels, clevises, and anchors, the chain weighed 65 tons. For buoyancy, 40-foot logs were cut into 16-foot sections, waterproofed, and joined by fours into rafts fastened with 12-foot timbers. Short sections of chain (10 links and a clevis) were stapled across each raft and later, in the river, the chain sections were united.

On 30 April 1778, Captain Thomas Machin, the Artillery Officer and engineer responsible for assembling and installing the obstruction, oversaw the extension of the chain across the river. Its northern end was anchored to Constitution Island and the southern end was secured to a small cove on the western bank of the river. The Constitution Island side was protected by Marine Battery and the emplacement on the West Point side was protected by Chain Battery. Chevaux-de-frise were also placed in the channel between Pollopel's Island and the western shore of the river, just above the North Gate of the Hudson Highlands.

Both ends were anchored to log cribs filled with rocks, keeping the ends in place. A system of pulleys, rollers, ropes, and mid-stream anchors adjusted the chain's tension to overcome the effects of river current and changing tide. Until 1783, the chain was removed each Winter and reinstalled each Spring to avoid destruction by ice.

A log "boom" (resembling a ladder in construction) also spanned the river about 100 yards downstream (south of the chain) to absorb the impact of a ship attempting to penetrate the barrier.

The British never attempted to disturb the chain; but it was said that Benedict Arnold, when he prepared for the execution of his treason, took measures for weakening the chain though how he did this is not stated. Peter Townsend received a great sum of money from the Continental Congress for manufacturing the chain.

The greater system of fortifications at West Point, of which the chain was part, was designed and built by Polish Engineer Tadeusz Kościuszko. George Washington was responsible for delegating this responsibility.

Several links of the chain are currently located at Trophy Point at West Point. A section of the boom was recovered from the river in 1855 and is now on display at Washington's Headquarters Museum in Newburgh, New York.

• Hudson River Chain. Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History, Vol. IV, p.447, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1905.
• Information plaques at Trophy Point at West Point, New York.
• West Point Fortifications

• West Point Fortifications
• The Great Chain
• Chaining of the Hudson in 1778
• The Great Chain