Fort Clinton was the main defensive garrison of the
Revolutionary WarThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
defense network at West Point. Commanded by and named after
Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army but switched sides to the British Empire. While he was still a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted...
before his betrayal of the Revolutionary Army and defection to the British, it was later renamed after General
James ClintonJames Clinton was an American Revolutionary War soldier who obtained the rank of major general.He was born in Ulster County in the colony of New York, in a location now part of Orange County, New York...
. Construction was begun under Captain Louis de la Radiere, and completed under the command of
Tadeusz KosciuszkoAndrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian military leader. He is a national hero in Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, and the United States...
between 1778–1780; it was the key defensive fort, overlooking the turn in the
Hudson RiverThe Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into...
and the
Great ChainThe Hudson River Chain may refer to any of several chains used as a blockade across the Hudson River intended to prevent British naval vessels from proceeding up the river during the American Revolutionary War.-The Great Chain :...
.
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Fort Clinton was the main defensive garrison of the
Revolutionary WarThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
defense network at West Point. Commanded by and named after
Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army but switched sides to the British Empire. While he was still a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted...
before his betrayal of the Revolutionary Army and defection to the British, it was later renamed after General
James ClintonJames Clinton was an American Revolutionary War soldier who obtained the rank of major general.He was born in Ulster County in the colony of New York, in a location now part of Orange County, New York...
. Construction was begun under Captain Louis de la Radiere, and completed under the command of
Tadeusz KosciuszkoAndrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian military leader. He is a national hero in Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, and the United States...
between 1778–1780; it was the key defensive fort, overlooking the turn in the
Hudson RiverThe Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into...
and the
Great ChainThe Hudson River Chain may refer to any of several chains used as a blockade across the Hudson River intended to prevent British naval vessels from proceeding up the river during the American Revolutionary War.-The Great Chain :...
. After the war, the remains of Fort Clinton fell into disrepair and were eventually demolished to make way for the expansion of the
United States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
, founded at the garrison in 1802. Today, all that remains of the fort are some earthworks and stone base structure, easily seen off of Thayer Road as its rounds the Plain and the soccer fields at West Point.