The lowest and one of the largest of the pleasure grounds of the city, is
the park lying at the extreme end of the island, at the junction of the
Hudson and East rivers, and known as the Battery. At the first
settlement of the Dutch, the fort, for the protection of the little
colony, was built at some distance from the extreme edge of the island,
which was then rocky and swampy, but near enough to it to sweep the point
with a raking fire. This fort occupied the site of the present Bowling
Green. In 1658 Governor Stuyvesant erected a fine mansion, afterwards
known as "The Whitehall," in the street now called by that name, but
"Capsey Rocks," as the southern point of the island was called, remained
unoccupied. In 1693, the Kingdom of Great Britain being at war with
France, the Governor ordered the erection of a battery "on the point of
rocks under the fort," and after considerable trouble, succeeded in
obtaining from the Common Council, who were very reluctant to pay out the
public money for any purpose not specified in the charter--a virtue which
seems to have died with them--the sum necessary for that purpose. In
1734 a bill was passed by the General Assembly of the Province, ordering
the erection of a battery on Capsey Rocks, and forbidding the erection of
houses which would interfere with the fire of its guns, "on the river, or
on parts which overflow with water, between the west part of the Battery,
or Capsey Rocks, to Ells Corner on the Hudson River," (the present
Marketfield street).
During the years preceding the Revolution, and throughout that struggle,
the Battery was used exclusively for military purposes. About the year
1792 measures were taken for filling up, enclosing, and ornamenting the
place as a public park, to which use it has since been devoted.
During the first half of the present century the Battery was the favorite
park of the New Yorkers, and was indeed the handsomest. The march of
trade, however, proved too much for it. The fashion and respectability
of the city which had clustered near it were driven up town. Castle
Garden, which had been a favorite Opera House, was converted into an
emigrant depot, and the Battery was left to the emigrants and to the
bummers. Dirt was carted and dumped here by the load, all sorts of trash
was thrown here, and loafers and drunken wretches laid themselves out on
the benches and on the grass to sleep in the sun, when the weather was
mild enough. It became a plague spot, retaining as the only vestige of
its former beauty, its grand old trees, which were once the pride of the
city.
In 1869, however, the spot was redeemed. The sea-wall which the General
Government had been building for the protection of the land was finished,
and the Battery was extended out to meet it. The old rookeries and
street-stands that had clustered about Castle Garden were removed, the
rubbish which had accumulated here was carted away, and the Battery was
again transformed into one of the handsomest of the city parks.
It now covers an area of about twelve acres, and is tastefully and
regularly laid off. Broad stone paved walks traverse it in various
directions, and the shrubbery and flowers are arranged with the best
possible effect. A tall flag-staff rises from the centre of the park,
and close by is a stand from which the city band give their concerts at
stated times in the summer. A massive stone wall protects the harbor
side from the washing of the waves, and at certain points granite stairs
lead to the water.
The view from the Battery embraces a part of Brooklyn and the East River,
Governor's and Staten islands, the Inner Bay, the Jersey shore, North
River and Jersey City. The eye ranges clear down to the Narrows, and
almost out to sea, and commands a view which cannot be surpassed in
beauty. Here the sea breeze is always pure and fresh, here one may come
for a few moments' rest from the turmoil of the great city, and delight
himself with the lovely picture spread out before him.