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, as well as ultimately being 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 approximately 11,500 patriots during the Revolution in the 1770s. These Americans died of illness and starvation aboard British prison ships in Wallabout Bay. Many of their remains are in a crypt below the monument.
A statue of Gen. Edward B. Fowler, leader of the New York 14th Regiment during the Civil War, stands at the junction of Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street. His troops from the Fort Greene area excelled at the Battle of Gettysburg, halting a brigade of Confederates at great cost in lives. Gen. Fowler’s regiment was so fearsome, the enemy referred to the men as the Red Legged Devils because they ware sprightly red britches.
