Fort Greene Park
The highest point in Fort Greene is a 30-acre park from which the area takes its name. Fort Greene Park was built on the site of the early Fort Putnam in the War of Independence. It was later called Fort Washington, ultimately renamed after Gen. Nathaniel Greene, one of George Washington’s key aides.
The grounds were designed in 1867 by Olmsted and Vaux, who also created Central and Prospect Parks. In 1908 a Doric column Martyrs Monument was dedicated to the approximately 11,500 patriots dwho perished on the infamous Prison Ships which consisted of decommissioned and often derelict ships which were used to house prisoners of war during the Revolutionary War in the 1770s. Many of the POWs died of illness and starvation in horrid, overcrowded conditions aboard these British prison ships in Wallabout Bay. The most notorious ship was The Jersey. Their remains are in a crypt below the monument. In 2008, after an extensive renovation the Prison Ship Martyrs Memorial was rededicated with a grand celebration.