West Point, (then Fort Clinton) was a fortified site during the Revolutionary War. Originally picked because of the abnormal S-curve in the Hudson at this point, it was founded by one of the best military engineers of the time, Polish General Tadeusz Kościuszko. It was manned by a small garrison of Continental soldiers through the entirety of the war. A great iron chain was laid across the Hudson at this point in order to impede British Navy vessels, but it was never tested by the British. The site comprised multiple redoubts, including Fort Putnam, which is still preserved in a Revolutionary-period design.