An Adventure Traveling Back In Time Visiting Historic Fort Monroe
There are forts scattered across this great country all with remarkable stories to be told. Some stories are greater than others, for some, the greatest stories have probably faded into the past. Then there is Fort Monroe with the greatest story of them all. Not too many other forts embody the vast historical merit and deserve the momentous reverence that Fort Monroe has rightfully earned. This hexagonal National Monument holds the title of the largest stone fort ever built in the United States. That alone sets it apart from others. It also lays claim to the title of the longest-serving military installation in our history as an active Army base from 1819 through 2011, and until it was decommissioned in 2011, it was the only moat-encircled fort still in active duty. Yes, it has an incredible moat.
Fort Monroe is tied to both the beginning and end of the slave trade in the U.S. In 1619, it was a landing place for the first ships bringing enslaved persons to America. During the Civil War, the fort became a sanctuary for enslaved persons, earning it the nickname “Freedom’s Fortress.”
Within the 565 acres of Fort Monroe are 170 historic buildings and nearly 200 acres of natural resources, including 8 miles of waterfront, 3.2 miles of beaches on the Chesapeake Bay, several trails, and outdoor areas perfect for walking, running, and bird-watching. There are also 110 acres of submerged lands and 85 acres of wetlands. It has a 332-slip marina and shallow water inlet access to Mill Creek, suitable for small watercraft.
The Fort Monroe National Monument is a 325-acre property and The Fort Monroe National Monument Loop covers 1.5 miles. The Fort Monroe Seawall Trail is 3.9 miles of paved trail that runs along the seawall. The Seawall Trail offers incredible views of the water and ships passing in and out of Norfolk Base. Beach and marina access are also available along the water’s edge.
The incredible history of Fort Monroe begins over four hundred, story-filled, years ago when three ships under Captain Christopher Newport, Captain John Smith, and the colonists of Virginia Company established the Jamestown settlement and the British Colony of Virginia on the James River in 1607. Landing on the shore at Point Comfort on one of their initial explorations in this new world, they recognized the site for purposes of great defensive and strategic importance. John Smith described the location as “a little isle fit for a castle”. The name Point Comfort came from “the comfort” the point brought John Smith and his men. In 1609 Fort Algernon, also referred to as Fort Algernourne, was built in the mouth of Hampton Roads at Point Comfort in the Virginia Colony. Its primary objective was to guard the shipping channel leading to and from the Chesapeake Bay. It’s in this exact spot where Fort Monroe was later built in the 1800s. In September of 1609, Captain John Smith was deposed and soon after, returned to England, and the fort was put under the command of the newly arrived Captain James Davis. In mid-1611 an accidental fire destroyed the entire fort except for Davis’ own house and the storehouse, but Davis quickly built it back to its original state. It remained until it fell into despair in 1622. Another fort, known only as “the fort at Old Point Comfort” was constructed in 1632 and also over time evaporated into history. Over the next, almost two centuries, several smaller forts came and went over time, and Point Comfort, or Old Point Comfort as it later became known, was many times left empty with nothing but historic memories and tales.
History however at Point Comfort in the early 1600s, not only pertains to incredible stories of forts but also human history takes center stage. In August 1619 a British-owned Dutch warship, the White Lion, with its cargo of “twenty and odd” Africans captured from the Portuguese slave ship São João Bautista, appeared off Point Comfort. These are said to be the first Africans to come ashore on British-occupied land in what would become the United States. The arrival of these Bantu people from Angola is considered to mark the beginning of slavery in colonial America.
One of the more significant forts built at Point Comfort before Fort Monroe was Fort George in 1727. It was a formidable defensive fort with masonry walls that were separated by nearly twenty feet of sand. Sadly in 1749, it was no match for a major hurricane that destroyed its masonry walls, however, in 1755 the surviving wood buildings in the fort were used by a reduced force until at least 1775. During the American Revolutionary War, as American and French troops marched towards Yorktown in 1781, batteries were established by the British on the Fort George ruins. During the Siege of Yorktown, the French West Indian fleet occupied those same batteries. Fortifications were manned from time to time at this location, throughout the Colonial period but no other fort was built until the construction began on Fort Monroe.
In 1819 construction began once again at Point Comfort on a massive new fort. Fort Monroe, named after the fifth President of the United States, James Monroe served the same purpose as all the smaller forts that preceded it; to be a part of a coastal defense strategy to guard and defend Hampton Roads. Fort Monroe guarded the navigation channel between the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads—the natural roadstead at the confluence of the Elizabeth, the Nansemond, and the James rivers. These bodies of water historically held the key to controlling the Chesapeake Bay and to accessing, by water, the capital of the colonies, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Hampton Roads is a deep-water port and is the northern-most harbor in the US that stays ice-free year-round. It’s one of the largest natural harbors in the world located almost exactly in the middle of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.
The construction of Fort Monroe was finalized in 1834. The largest stone fort ever built in America cost nearly two million dollars, covered 63 acres of land, and took over fifteen years to complete. The fort’s immense walls, up to ten feet thick and a whopping thirty-five feet tall, stretch nearly a mile and a half around. The granite for the walls came from rock quarries in Virginia and Maryland and was shipped via boat, an incredible undertaking, especially for the period. The fort was first designed by General Simon Bernard for 380 big guns, later expanded to a 412 gun capacity, but was never fully armed. The fort was planned for a peacetime garrison of 600 men and a wartime garrison of 3000 or more. The vaulted chambers, better known as casemates inside the fort’s walls, consist of a series of arches above, below, and in the walls that connect the chambers, giving the structure formidable strength. Casemates allow the soldiers to fire cannons from relative safety. The casemates in Fort Monroe have been used for defense, living quarters, a prison, an officers’ club, and a museum.
As a young lieutenant, Robert E. Lee was stationed at Fort Monroe when he was just 24 years old from 1831 – 1834. Quarters 17 or “Lee’s Quarters”, built in 1823, can be seen today as beautiful as ever. It is a historic officer’s quarters. Lee was responsible for directing large engineering projects during the construction of Fort Monroe. The moat, through Lees’ supervision, was excavated to its appropriate depth, and he was responsible for the direction, angle, and finishing of key walls. While at Fort Monroe, Lee married Mary Anna Custis and they had their first child. George Washington Custis Lee was born at Fort Monroe on September 16, 1832.
Fort Monroe, throughout the American Civil War (1861–1865) played a significant role. South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860. On April 12, 1861, only four months later, troops from Fort Moultrie opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, officially starting the civil war. Virginia’s legislature five days later passed the Ordinance of Secession of Virginia to withdraw from the Union and join the newly formed Confederate States of America. On May 23, 1861 voters of Virginia ratified the state’s secession from the Union. Even though most of Virginia became part of the Confederate States of America, Fort Monroe remained in Union hands. President Abraham Lincoln had Fort Monroe quickly reinforced so that it would not fall to Confederate forces. It was held by Union forces throughout the Civil War, which launched several sea and land expeditions from there.
See where the war planning of a famous president took place and where honest Abe hung his hat. “Quarters One” was constructed in 1819 and is the oldest house inside the moat. From 1819 to 1907 it was the headquarters of Fort Monroe and served as the Fort Monroe commander’s quarters.
On May 7, 1861, Abraham Lincoln stayed in Quarters 1 while visiting Fort Monroe for four days. The President and his party inspected the USS Monitor, visited Fort Calhoun across the channel, visited the burnt-out town of Hampton, and held a long conference back at Quarters 1. May 8th was spent on scouting expeditions and strategy planning. It was decided that an invasion of Norfolk would commence, landing at Ocean View and moving south to capture Norfolk. The attack began on May 9th and ended on May 10th with the formal surrender of Norfolk, Virginia.
Visiting Fort Monroe allows you the opportunity to walk in the footprints of so many prominent people from our storied past. The incredible historic figures that have graced their presence within the walls of Fort Monroe, and in some cases assisted with the building of the walls themselves, are vast and amazing. Andrew Jackson visited Fort Monroe numerous times in 1829, 1831, 1833, and 1834. John Tyler stayed at Fort Monroe during his honeymoon on July 4-6, 1844. Rutherford B. Hayes gave a speech at Naval Review at Fort Monroe on July 4, 1879, and November 11, 1880.
Also Presidents James A. Garfield, Millard Fillmore, and Chester Arthur. Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Inspected Fort Monroe July 29, 1940), Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight Eisenhower (To attend son’s wedding before Presidency June 10, 1947), Harry Truman all visited Fort Monroe. On November 1, 2011, a couple of months after its decommissioning, President Barack Obama visited, signing a proclamation to designate portions of Fort Monroe as a National Monument. This was the first time that President Obama exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law to protect sites deemed to have natural, historical, or scientific significance.
Also, Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Raven,” was stationed at Fort Monroe and Harriet Tubman served there in 1865 as a Matron Nurse, treating sick and wounded African American soldiers.
Another, very famous resident was Jefferson Davis. The one-time lieutenant in the U.S. Army and later President of the Confederacy was at Fort Monroe on two occasions: once as the Secretary of War and once as a prisoner. Following the Civil War, accused of treason, plotting the assassination of Lincoln, and the mistreatment of Union prisoners of war, in May of 1865 Davis was escorted to a casemate cell within the walls of Fort Monroe. He was chained in ankle irons and heavily guarded by soldiers for three days. He remained in the casemate for six months until he was moved to a better-appointed cell inside Carroll Hall. Upon being permitted to post $100,000 bail, paid by prominent northerners Horace Greely, Gerrit Smith, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, Davis was released from Fort Monroe a year and a half later. He was never brought to trial.
Even though Fort Monroe was decommissioned on September 15, 2011, it beckons you to come and take an incredible stroll back in time. Stand upon the top of its awesome walls and take in the incredible and beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay and make sure you check out all the highlights that Fort Monroe has to offer.
Begin your visit at the Visitor & Education Center and Casemate Museum
Within the fort is the Casemate Museum, which chronicles the military history of Fort Monroe from the construction of Fort Algernourne, the first defensive fortification at the site in 1609, through the last major command to be headquartered at Fort Monroe, the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. The museum features the room where Jefferson Davis was held briefly as a prisoner following the American Civil War, highlights the 1861 “Contraband of War” decision that granted three enslaved men, and thousands who followed, the sanctuary at Fort Monroe, earning it the nickname “Freedom’s Fortress.” Open Thursday through Saturday 10 am – 3 pm. Free admission.
The Chapel of the Centurion is one of the oldest wooden churches on an army base in the country. It was consecrated in May 1858 and is still used as a Christian church today. The Chapel is named for the Centurion Cornelius, the first Roman soldier and gentile converted to Christianity, as depicted in the window above the chapel’s altar. Some of its stained-glass windows are original Louis Comfort Tiffany windows.
Old Point Comfort Lighthouse
In the late 1700s, before the Old Point Comfort lighthouse was built, a soldier was stationed there to keep a lantern burning at night, to warn passing ships of the small but treacherous point of land. The lighthouse was built in 1802, and it has served as a beacon ever since. It is the oldest operating lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay. During the War of 1812, British forces under Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn used the lighthouse as an observation post. And in 1862 it watched over the invasion of Norfolk. The octagonal stone tower stands 54 feet and is still an active aid to navigation maintained by the United States Coast Guard. The glass prism of the lens magnifies the light so it is visible for 18 miles. Two lighthouse keepers and their families shared the house next door to the lighthouse, built in 1875 until the light was automated in 1973.
The Lincoln Gun is one of the largest smoothbore cannons ever made. This massive, 15-inch Rodman Gun made of solid iron weighs an incredible 49,000 pounds. The cannon could fire a 300-pound projectile more than four miles. It was cast in 1860 and used during the Civil War. It was named in 1862 to honor the president, who had a very strong interest in ordnance. The cannon was the first of its kind, and it was used on the beach to protect Hampton Roads from attacks by the armored CSS Virginia. This gun was eventually taken out of active use when the fort acquired guns of similar size with rifled barrels – which meant greater accuracy-and the Lincoln Gun was moved to Fort Monroe’s parade ground.
Fort Monroe’s Parade Ground has existed far longer than the fort itself and is surrounded by trees affectionately known as the Live Oaks. The biggest one was examined by experts, who determined that it was here when Captain John Smith arrived in 1607. It’s said to be upwards of five hundred years old.
Battery Parrot / Irwin
By the end of the 19th century, the old smoothbore cannons were becoming obsolete. New weapons made of steel were developed that would change the face of Coast Artillery. Large concrete batteries were also needed to house these guns. Known as the “Endicott Period,” modern battery structures were under construction all across the United States. From 1891 to 1899 Fort Monroe would see the construction of 12 separate concrete artillery batteries mounted with 10 and 12-inch disappearing guns, 12-inch mortars, and 3 and 6-inch rapid-fire barbette guns. Battery Parrot, which held two 6-inch rapid-fire guns, and Battery Irwin, which held four 3-inch guns, can be visited along the Fort Monroe waterfront. Rapid-fire guns were used to sweep torpedo boats or other fast-moving craft from the battle area. In 1907, Fort Monroe became the home of the Coast Artillery Corps where thousands of soldiers learned how to use these weapons.
Our thoughts go back to that day in 1607 when Captain John Smith stated “a little isle fit for a castle” while standing on the very land where Fort Monroe would be built over two centuries later. How did he possibly know that a “castle” would be built one day and that “castle” would stand the test of time, educate vast generations with its tremendous history, and leave all of us in awe of this absolute historic gem?