Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...
, at
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States. It was renamed ...
, the southern tip of the
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...
, United States. Along with
Fort Wool
Fort Wool is a decommissioned island fortification located in the mouth of Hampton Roads, adjacent to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). Now officially known as Rip Raps Island, the fort has an elevation of 7 feet and sits near Old Point ...
, Fort Monroe originally guarded the navigation channel between the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
and
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
—the natural
roadstead
A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5- ...
at the confluence of the
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, the
Nansemond and the
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
rivers.
Union General George B. McClellan landed his forces at the fort during
Peninsula campaign of 1862 during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Until disarmament in 1946, the areas protected by the fort were the entire Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River regions, including the water approaches to the cities of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, along with important shipyards and naval bases in the Hampton Roads area. Surrounded by a
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, the six-sided
bastion fort
A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...
is the largest fort by area ever built in the United States.
During the initial exploration by a mission headed by Captain
Christopher Newport
Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the ''Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the settle ...
in the early 1600s, the earliest days of the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
, the site was identified as a strategic defensive location. Beginning by 1609, defensive fortifications were built at Old Point Comfort during Virginia's first two centuries. The first was a wooden stockade named Fort Algernourne, followed by other small forts.
[Hampton Roads forts at American Forts Network]
/ref>[Fort Monroe at FortWiki.com]
/ref> However, the much more substantial facility of stone that became known as Fort Monroe (and adjacent Fort Wool on an artificial island across the channel) were completed in 1834, as part of the third system of U.S. fortifications. The principal fort was named in honor of U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
. Although Virginia became part of the Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
, Fort Monroe remained in Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
hands throughout the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
(1861–1865). It became notable as a historic and symbolic site of early freedom for former slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
under the provisions of contraband
Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...
policies. For two years thereafter, the former Confederate President, Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
, was imprisoned at the fort. His first months of confinement were spent in a cell of the casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
d fort walls that is now part of its Casemate Museum
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" means ...
. Around the turn of the 20th century, numerous gun batteries were added in and near Fort Monroe under the Endicott program; it became the largest fort and headquarters of the Harbor Defenses of Chesapeake Bay.[ In the 19th and 20th centuries it housed artillery schools, including the Coast Artillery School (1907–1946). The ]Continental Army Command
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' (a ...
(CONARC) (1955–1973) headquarters was at Fort Monroe, succeeded by the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. ...
(TRADOC) following a division of CONARC into TRADOC and United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM con ...
(FORSCOM) in 1973. CONARC was responsible for all active Army units in the continental United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
. TRADOC was headquartered at the fort from 1973 until it was moved to Fort Eustis in 2011.[FAQ at TRADOC.army.mil]
/ref>
Fort Monroe was deactivated September 15, 2011, and many of its functions were transferred to nearby Fort Eustis
Fort Eustis is a United States Army installation in Newport News, Virginia. In 2010, it was combined with nearby Langley Air Force Base to form Joint Base Langley–Eustis.
The post is the home to the United States Army Training and Doctrine ...
. Several re-use plans for Fort Monroe are under development in the Hampton community. On November 1, 2011, President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed a proclamation to designate portions of Fort Monroe as a national monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
. This was the first time that President Obama exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...
, a 1906 law to protect sites deemed to have natural, historical or scientific significance.
Description
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
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
, 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.
History
The land area where Fort Monroe is became part of Elizabeth Cittie icin 1619, Elizabeth River Shire in 1634, and was included in Elizabeth City County
Elizabeth City County was a county in southeastern Virginia from 1634 until 1952 when it was merged into the city of Hampton. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by orde ...
when it was formed in 1643. Over 300 years later, in 1952, Elizabeth City County and the nearby Town of Phoebus agreed to consolidate with the smaller independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
of Hampton
Hampton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia
*Hampton, New South Wales
*Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region
* Hampton, Victoria
Canada
* Hampton, New Brunswick
*Ha ...
, which became one of the larger cities of Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
.
Colonial period
Arriving with three ships under Captain Christopher Newport
Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the ''Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the settle ...
, Captain John Smith and the colonists of the Virginia Company
The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Main ...
established the settlement of Jamestown and the British Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
on the James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
in 1607. On their initial exploration, they recognized the strategic importance of the site at Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States. It was renamed ...
for purposes of coastal defense. They initially built Fort Algernourne (1609–1622) at the location of the present Fort Monroe. It was renamed the Point Comfort Fort in 1612.[ It is assumed to have been a triangular stockade, based on the fort at Jamestown. Other small forts known as Fort Henry and Fort Charles were built nearby in 1610 to protect the ]Kecoughtan In the seventeenth century, Kecoughtan was the name of the settlement now known as Hampton, Virginia, In the early twentieth century, it was also the name of a town nearby in Elizabeth City County. It was annexed into the City of Newport News in ...
settlement. Fort Algernourne fell into disuse after 1622.[
In August 1619 a British-owned Dutch-flagged ]privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
, the ''White Lion
The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest ...
'', appeared off Old Point Comfort. Its cargo included between 20-30 Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
ns captured from the slave ship ''São João Bautista''. Traded for work and supplies from the English, they were the first Africans to come ashore on British-occupied land in what would become the United States. The arrival of these Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
people from Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
is considered to mark the beginning of slavery in colonial America
Slavery in the colonial history of the United States, from 1526 to 1776, developed from complex factors, and researchers have proposed several theories to explain the development of the institution of slavery and of the slave trade. Slavery stron ...
.
Another fort, known only as "the fort at Old Point Comfort" was constructed in 1632. In 1728, Fort George was built on the site. Its masonry walls were destroyed by a hurricane in 1749, but the wooden buildings in the fort were used by a reduced force from circa 1755 until at least 1775. During the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, as Patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
and French forces approached Yorktown in 1781, the British established batteries on the ruins of Fort George. Shortly afterward, during the Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
, the French West Indian fleet occupied these batteries. Throughout the Colonial period, fortifications were manned at the location from time to time.[
]
Design and construction
Following the War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, the United States realized the need to protect Hampton Roads and the inland waters from attack by sea. A British attack on Norfolk and Portsmouth was repulsed, but they then bypassed the existing fortifications and went on to burn Washington, D.C. and unsuccessfully attack Baltimore. In March 1819, President James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
's War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
came up with a plan of building a network of coastal defenses, later called the third system of U.S. fortifications. In 1822 construction began in earnest on the stone-and-brick fort which would become the safeguard for Chesapeake Bay and the largest fort by area ever built in the United States.[ It was intended as the headquarters for the third system of forts. Among the original buildings is Quarters 1, designed as a residence and headquarters for Fort Monroe's commanding officer.] Work continued for nearly 25 years.
The fort was designed by brevet Brigadier General of engineers Simon Bernard
Baron Simon Bernard (28 April 1779 – 5 November 1839) was a French general of engineers. Born in Dole, Simon Bernard was educated at the École polytechnique, graduating as second in the promotion of 1799 and entered the army in the corps of e ...
, formerly a French brigadier general of engineers and aide to Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, who had been banished from France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
after the latter's defeat at Waterloo in 1815, moved to the United States, and later commissioned as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
. From the beginning of its construction until 1832 the fort's name was "Fortress Monroe", and it was sometimes referred to by that name subsequently.[
Fort Monroe was the first of the third system forts to begin construction, and was intended as a headquarters for the system as well as a fort. It is a ]bastion fort
A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...
with an irregular hexagon shape and seven bastions. The southern and longest front is divided in two fronts by a bastion in the middle; the other bastions are at the corners. The fort is surrounded by a moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
and covers . At the time it was built, the only land access to the fort's location was via a long, narrow isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
to the north. A redoubt
A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...
with a secondary moat was built northeast of the fort to guard against attack from this direction; the redoubt no longer exists, but the water gate for the secondary moat remains. The fort has a continuous barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships.
In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
tier of cannon emplacements on the roof, but only a partial casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
d tier in the fort, mainly on the southwestern and southern fronts. No positions for casemated flank howitzer
A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
s exist on the northern and northwestern fronts (except two alongside the north sally port
A sally port is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter an ...
); this partial tier is unusual in the third system. The main channel the fort protected was to the southeast; a casemated external battery (also called a "casemated coverface" or "water battery") of forty 42-pounder cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
was built just outside the moat in this area. This increased the number of cannon in this direction compared with casemated guns in the curtain wall from 28 to 40; it was accessed from the main fort via a bridge. As of 2018, only a small part of the external battery's north end remains, along with a salient place-of-arms
A place-of-arms ( it, piazza d'armi, french: place d'armes) is any place in a fortification where troops can gather. The term has a number of meanings, but it generally refers to an enlarged area of the covertway designed as an assembly point fo ...
just north of it with three gun positions. The fort's walls were up to ten feet thick and the moat was eight feet deep. The initial design provided for up to 380 guns and was later expanded to 412 guns, intended for a garrison of 600 troops in peacetime and up to 2,625 troops in wartime. However, the fort was never fully armed.
Early 19th century
The site of Fort Monroe was first garrisoned in June 1823 by Battery G of the 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment[ commanded by Captain ]Mann P. Lomax
Mann may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Mann (chess), a variant chess piece which moves as a king
* Mann (film), ''Mann'' (film), a 1999 Bollywood motion picture
* Mann (magazine), ''Mann'' (magazine), a Norwegian magazine
* Mann Th ...
.
As a young first lieutenant and engineer in the U.S. Army, Robert E. Lee was stationed at the fort from 1831 to 1834 and played a major role in its final construction and its opposite, Fort Calhoun (renamed Fort Wool
Fort Wool is a decommissioned island fortification located in the mouth of Hampton Roads, adjacent to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). Now officially known as Rip Raps Island, the fort has an elevation of 7 feet and sits near Old Point ...
in 1862). He resided at Quarters 17. Fort Calhoun was built on a man-made island
An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...
called the Rip Raps
Rip Raps is a small 15 acre (60,000 m²) artificial island at the mouth of the harbor area known as Hampton Roads in the independent city of Hampton in southeastern Virginia in the United States. Its name is derived from the Rip Rap Shoals in Hampt ...
across the navigation channel from Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States. It was renamed ...
in the middle of the mouth of Hampton Roads. The Army briefly detained the Native American chieftain Black Hawk at Fort Monroe, following the 1832 Black Hawk War.
When construction was completed in 1834, Fort Monroe was referred to as the "Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
of Chesapeake Bay." The fort mounted an impressive complement of powerful artillery: 42-pounder cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
with a range of over one mile. In conjunction with Fort Calhoun (later Fort Wool), this was just enough range to cover the main shipping channel into the area. (Decommissioned after World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the former Fort Wool on Rip Raps
Rip Raps is a small 15 acre (60,000 m²) artificial island at the mouth of the harbor area known as Hampton Roads in the independent city of Hampton in southeastern Virginia in the United States. Its name is derived from the Rip Rap Shoals in Hampt ...
is now adjacent to the southern man-made island of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
Hampton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia
*Hampton, New South Wales
* Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region
*Hampton, Victoria
Canada
*Hampton, New Brunswick
*Ham ...
, first completed in 1957.)
From 1824 to 1946 Fort Monroe was the site of a series of schools of artillery. The first was the Artillery School of Practice. The school was closed in 1834 but was revived during the period 1858–61. It was succeeded by the Artillery School of the U.S. Army, which existed from 1867 until its redesignation in 1907 as the Coast Artillery School. Fort Monroe also hosted the Old Point Comfort Proving Ground for testing artillery and ammunition from the 1830s to 1861; after the Civil War this function relocated to the Sandy Hook Proving Ground
The Sandy Hook Proving Ground was a military facility along the Atlantic coast of New Jersey established by the Secretary of War on August 7, 1874, to serve as the United States Army's first proving ground for the testing of ordnance and materi ...
in New Jersey.[
]
American Civil War
1860–61
Fort Monroe played an important role in the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
became the first state to secede from the Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
. Four months later, on April 12, 1861, troops of that state opened fire on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
in Charleston Harbor. Five days later, Virginia's legislature passed (subject to voters' ratification) the Ordinance of Secession
An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...
of Virginia to withdraw from the Union and join the newly formed Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. On 23 May 1861, voters of Virginia ratified the state's secession from the union.
President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
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.
A few weeks after the Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War.
Follo ...
in 1861, U.S. Army General-in-Chief Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
proposed to President Abraham Lincoln a plan to bring the states back into the Union: Cut the Confederacy off from the rest of the world instead of attacking its army in Virginia. His Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan is the name applied to a strategy outlined by the Union Army for suppressing the Confederacy at the beginning of the American Civil War. Proposed by Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized a Union blockade ...
was to blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
or occupy the Confederacy's coastline to limit the activity of blockade runners, and control the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
valley with gunboats. In cooperation with the Navy, troops from Fort Monroe extended Union control along the coasts of the Carolinas
The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east.
Combining Nort ...
as Lincoln ordered a blockade of the southern seaboard from the South Carolina line to the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
on April 19 and, on April 27, extended it to include the North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and Virginia coasts.
On April 20 the Union Navy burned and evacuated the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, destroying nine ships in the process, keeping Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort as the last bastion of the United States in Tidewater Virginia
Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America.
Definition
Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Maryl ...
. The Confederacy's occupation of Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
gave it a major shipyard and thousands of heavy guns, but they held it for only one year. Confederate Brigadier General Walter Gwynn
Walter Gwynn (February 22, 1802 – February 6, 1882 ) was an American civil engineer and soldier who became a Virginia Provisional Army general and North Carolina militia brigadier general in the early days of the American Civil War in 186 ...
, who commanded the Confederate defenses around Norfolk, erected batteries at Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to th ...
, to protect Norfolk and to control Hampton Roads.
The Union dispatched a fleet to Hampton Roads to enforce the blockade. On May 18–19, 1861, Federal gunboats based at Fort Monroe exchanged fire with the Confederate batteries at Sewell's Point. The little-known Battle of Sewell's Point
The Battle of Sewell's Point was an inconclusive exchange of cannon fire between the Union gunboat USS ''Monticello'', supported by the USS ''Thomas Freeborn'', and Confederate batteries on Sewell's Point that took place on May 18, 19 and 21 ...
resulted in minor damage to both sides. Several land operations against Confederate forces were mounted from the fort, notably the Battle of Big Bethel
The Battle of Big Bethel was one of the earliest land battles of the American Civil War. It took place on the Virginia Peninsula, near Newport News, on June 10, 1861.
Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vot ...
in June 1861.
On May 27, 1861, Major General Benjamin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...
made his famous "contraband
Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...
" decision, or "Fort Monroe Doctrine
Contraband was a term commonly used in the US military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain people who escaped slavery or those who affiliated with Union forces. In August 1861, the Union Army and the US Congress de ...
", determining that the enslaved men who reached Union lines would be considered "contraband of war" (captured enemy property) and not be returned to bondage. Prior to this, the Union had generally enforced the Fugitive Slave Act
A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...
, returning escaped slaves to their owners. The order resulted in thousands of slaves fleeing to Union lines around Fort Monroe, which was Butler's headquarters in Virginia. Fort Monroe became called "Freedom's Fortress", as any self-emancipating person reaching it would be free. In the Summer of 1861 Harry Jarvis made his way to Fort Monroe and insisted General Butler let him enlist. Butler refused because he believed "it wasn't a black man's war." Jarvis replied, "It would be a black man's war," due to the presence of the incoming of thousands of runaway slaves. This marked a sudden shift in the war. In March 1862 Congress passed a law formalizing this policy. By the fall, the Army had built the Great Contraband Camp The Grand Contraband Camp was located in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, on the Virginia Peninsula near Fort Monroe, during and immediately after the American Civil War. The area was a refuge for escaped slaves who the Union forces refused to retu ...
in Hampton to house the families. It was the first of more than 100 that would be established by war's end, and the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony (1863–1867), which started as a contraband camp. Many contrabands were employed by the Union Army in support roles such as cooks, wagon drivers, and laborers. Beginning in January 1863, the United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...
were formed, with many contrabands enlisting; these units were composed primarily of white officers and African-American enlisted men, and eventually numbered nearly 180,000 soldiers.
Mary S. Peake
Mary Smith Peake, born Mary Smith Kelsey (1823 – February 22, 1862), was an Americans, American teacher, humanitarian and a member of the black elite in Hampton, best known for starting a school for the children of former slaves starting in the ...
was teaching the children of freedmen to read and write near Fort Monroe. She was the first black teacher hired by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a northern missionary group led by black and white ministers from the Congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
and Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
denominations, who strongly supported education of freedmen. Soon she was teaching children during the day and adults at night. The AMA sponsored hundreds of northern teachers and hired local teachers in the south; it founded more than 500 local schools and 11 colleges for freedmen and their children.
During the Civil War Fort Monroe was the site of a military balloon
A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...
camp under the flight direction of aeronaut John LaMountain. The Union Army Balloon Corps
The Union Army Balloon Corps was a branch of the Union Army during the American Civil War, established by presidential appointee Thaddeus S. C. Lowe. It was organized as a civilian operation, which employed a group of prominent American aeronaut ...
was being developed at Fort Corcoran near Arlington under the presidentially appointed Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe (August 20, 1832 – January 16, 1913), also known as Professor T. S. C. Lowe, was an American Civil War aeronaut, scientist and inventor, mostly self-educated in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and ...
. At the same time, LaMountain, who was vying for position as Chief Aeronaut, had gained the confidence of Butler in using his balloon ''Atlantic'' for aerial observations. LaMountain is credited with having made the first successful report from an aerial station that was of practical military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
. LaMountain was later reassigned to Lowe's balloon corps, but after a period of in-fighting with Lowe, he was released from military service. Lowe eventually assigned regular military balloons to Fort Monroe.
In 1861 the prototype 15-inch Rodman gun
Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box.
The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed b ...
was delivered to Fort Monroe and was subsequently fired 350 times in testing. This weapon (Fort Pitt Foundry No. 1 of 1861) is displayed at the fort as of 2018; a plaque states that it was test fired for President Lincoln and was nicknamed the "Lincoln gun". This type of weapon was deployed for coastal defense during the war (an 1862 map shows an external battery of them at Fort Monroe) and more widely deployed following the war.
1862
In March 1862, the naval Battle of Hampton Roads took place off Sewell's Point between two early ironclad warship
An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. T ...
s, CSS ''Virginia'' and USS ''Monitor''. While the outcome was inconclusive, the battle marked a change in naval warfare and the end to wooden fighting ships.
Later that spring, the continuing presence of the Union Navy based at Fort Monroe enabled federal water transports from Washington, D.C., to land unmolested to support Major General George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
's Peninsula Campaign. Formed at Fort Monroe, McClellan's troops moved up the Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...
during the spring of 1862, reaching within a few miles of the gates of Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
about 80 miles to the west by June 1. For the next 30 days, they laid siege to Richmond. Then, during the Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, command ...
, McClellan fell back to the James River well below Richmond, ending the campaign. Fortunately for McClellan, during this time, Union troops regained control of Norfolk, Hampton Roads, and the James River below Drewry's Bluff (a strategic point about 8 miles south of Richmond).
Beginning in 1862 Fort Monroe was also used as a transfer point for mail exchange. Mail sent from states in the Confederacy addressed to locations in the Union had to be sent by flag-of-truce and could only pass through at Fort Monroe where the mail was opened, inspected, resealed, marked and sent on. Prisoner of war mail from Union soldiers in Confederate prisons was required to be passed through this point for inspection.
1864–1867
In 1864, the Union Army of the James
The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.
Histor ...
under Major General Benjamin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...
was formed at Fort Monroe. The 2nd Regiment, United States Colored Cavalry, mustered in at Fort Monroe on December 22, 1864, and the 1st Regiment, United States Colored Cavalry
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number 1 (number), one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, D ...
mustered in the same day at nearby Camp Hamilton. The Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...
during 1864 and 1865 was supported on the James River from a base at City Point (now Hopewell, Virginia
Hopewell is an independent city surrounded by Prince George County and the Appomattox River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 23,033. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Hopewell with Prin ...
). Maintaining the control of Hampton Roads at Fort Monroe and Fort Wool was crucial to the naval support Grant required for the successful Union campaign to take Petersburg, which was the key to the fall of the Confederate capital at Richmond. As Petersburg fell, Richmond was evacuated in 1865 on the night of April 2–3. That night, Confederate President
The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army and the Confe ...
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
and his cabinet escaped Richmond, taking the Richmond and Danville Railroad
The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states.
Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...
to move first to Danville and then North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. However, the cause was lost, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered what was left of the Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
to Grant at Appomattox Court House the following week.
After the last Confederate cabinet meeting was held on April 26, 1865, at Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, Jefferson Davis was captured at Irwinville, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and placed under arrest. Davis was confined for two years at Fort Monroe, beginning on May 22, 1865. For a few days he was confined in irons; newspaper accounts of this beginning on May 27 aroused sympathy for him, even in the North, and Union secretary of war
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Edwin M. Stanton
Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...
soon ordered the irons removed. At the fort, Union surgeon John J. Craven had already recommended this, and continued to recommend better quarters, access to tobacco, and freedom of movement for Davis. In poor health, Davis was released in May, 1867, on bail, which was posted by prominent citizens of both Northern and Southern states, including Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...
and Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
, who had become convinced he was being treated unfairly. The federal government proceeded no further in its prosecution due to the constitutional concerns of U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...
. Davis died in 1889.
Post-Civil War and early Endicott Period (1868–1906)
The ''Journal of the United States Artillery The ''Journal of the United States Artillery'' was founded at Fort Monroe in 1892 by First Lieutenant (later Major General) John Wilson Ruckman and four other officers of the Artillery School. Ruckman served as the editor of the ''Journal'' for four ...
'' was founded at Fort Monroe in 1892 by First Lieutenant (later General) John Wilson Ruckman
John Wilson Ruckman (October 10, 1858 – June 6, 1921) was a major general in the United States Army.
Early life
Ruckman was born at Deers, Illinois, a flag-station just southeast of the University of Illinois. Biographies, however, usually lis ...
and four other officers of the Artillery School. Ruckman served as the editor of the ''Journal'' for four years (July 1892 to January 1896) and published several articles therein afterward. One publication by West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
notes Ruckman's "guidance" and "first-rate quality" work were obvious as the ''Journal'' "rose to high rank among the service papers of the world". The ''Journal'' was renamed the ''Coast Artillery Journal'' in 1922 and the ''Antiaircraft Journal'' in 1948.
The Board of Fortifications
Several boards have been appointed by US presidents or Congress to evaluate the US defensive fortifications, primarily coastal defenses near strategically important harbors on the US shores, its territories, and its protectorates.
Endicott Board ...
, chaired by Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
William C. Endicott
William Crowninshield Endicott (November 19, 1826 – May 6, 1900) was an American politician and Secretary of War in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland (1885–1889).
Early life
Endicott was born in Salem, Massachusetts o ...
and often called the Endicott board, met in 1885 to consider the future of U.S. coast defenses. In 1886 the board's report recommended an across-the-board improvement program, often called the Endicott program. This included replacing all existing weapons with modern breech-loading guns and mortars in reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
batteries with earth cover and providing controlled minefields in ship channels. Fort Monroe was to be one of the largest installations of this program, and in 1896 construction began on new gun batteries there. The fort was the headquarters and main fort of the Coast Defenses of Chesapeake Bay, which was organized circa 1896 as an artillery district and redesignated in 1913.
By 1906 the following batteries were completed:[
Battery Gatewood and the northeast bastion battery were built on the roof of the old fort's southeastern front and bastion; the parapet battery was on the roof of the eastern half of the old fort's southern side. The parapet battery had four emplacements, but only two of these had guns. Batteries Bomford and Barber were north of the old fort. Battery Humphreys was immediately northeast of the old fort and oriented southeast. Batteries Irwin and Parrott were in front of the old fort's southern side. The remaining batteries were on the isthmus extending north from the old fort in this order: Eustis, De Russy, Montgomery, Church, Anderson/Ruggles. Batteries Anderson and Ruggles were a line of four open-back mortar pits, originally with four mortars in each pit. Battery Anderson was the southern pair of pits and Battery Ruggles was the northern pair. Originally all four pits were named Anderson, but they were divided into two batteries in 1906.][Battery Anderson at FortWiki.com](_blank)
/ref>
Battery Gatewood and the parapet battery were among a number of batteries begun after the outbreak of the Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
in 1898. Most of the Endicott batteries were years from completion, and most existing defenses still had muzzle-loading weapons. It was feared that the Spanish fleet might bombard U.S. east coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
ports. Modern quick-firing guns were acquired from the United Kingdom and installed in new batteries. Battery Gatewood had four 4.72-inch/50 caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
guns while the parapet battery had four platforms for 8-inch M1888 guns with only two guns mounted.[Gun and Carriage cards, ]National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
, Record Group 156, Records of the Chief of Ordnance
The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a Combat service support (United States), sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee (Virginia), Fort Lee, Virginia. The ...
, Entry 712 The northeast bastion battery was built to test an experimental 10-inch M1896 "depressing gun"; the battery was disarmed in 1908. Battery Humphreys was disarmed in 1910; batteries Barber, Gatewood, and the parapet battery were disarmed in 1913–1915.[
Fire control towers to Coast Artillery fire control system, direct the use of guns and mines were also built at the fort.][
During the Spanish–American War Fort Monroe also hosted the Camp Josiah Simpson Army General Hospital, including the post hospital and a tent camp on the old fort's parade ground.][
]
Twentieth century
The Jamestown Exposition, held in 1907 at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
, featured an extensive naval review, including the Great White Fleet. Beginning in 1917, the former exposition site at Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to th ...
became a major base of the United States Navy. Currently, Naval Station Norfolk is the base supporting naval forces operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean. As of 2018, it is the world's largest naval station by number of military members supported.
World War I
During World War I, Fort Monroe and Fort Wool
Fort Wool is a decommissioned island fortification located in the mouth of Hampton Roads, adjacent to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). Now officially known as Rip Raps Island, the fort has an elevation of 7 feet and sits near Old Point ...
were used to protect Hampton Roads and the important inland military and civilian resources of the Chesapeake Bay area as part of the Coast Defenses of Chesapeake Bay. The fort installed the first anti-submarine net in America in February 1917 stretching to Fort Wool. Although many guns were removed from coast defenses in World War I for potential service as field guns and railway artillery, this did not happen with most weapons at Fort Monroe due to its strategic importance. However, eight mortars were removed from Battery Anderson-Ruggles for potential overseas service and to improve the rate of fire of the remaining weapons; five of the removed mortars became railway artillery in France; it is unclear if they were used in action. Battery Montgomery's pair of pedestal-mounted 6-inch gun M1900, guns were relocated to a temporary battery at Cape Henry in 1917; they were replaced with weapons of the same type in February 1919. Fort Monroe was also important as a mobilization and training center; the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps, Coast Artillery Corps operated the weapons removed from forts along with most other US-manned heavy and railway artillery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front. In 1918 Camp Eustis (now Fort Eustis) was established near Newport News as a coast artillery replacement center to relieve overcrowding at Fort Monroe. During World War I the authorized strength of the Coast Defenses of Chesapeake Bay was 17 companies, including five from the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia National Guard.
Interwar period
In 1922 Fort Monroe's importance in defending Chesapeake Bay was somewhat reduced with the establishment of a battery of four 16-inch howitzer M1920, howitzers at Fort Story on Cape Henry, at the entrance to the bay. With the improved weapon location and a range advantage over Fort Monroe's 12-inch guns of versus , the 16-inch weapons could engage attacking warships long before they could come within range of Fort Monroe. In 1920 Battery Irwin's four guns were removed as part of a general removal from service of M1898 3-inch guns; they were not replaced until 1946, when the battery became a saluting battery. In 1924 the Coast Artillery Corps' harbor defense garrisons transitioned from a company-based organization to a regimental organization. The Harbor Defenses of Chesapeake Bay (as renamed in 1925) were garrisoned by the 12th Coast Artillery (United States), 12th Coast Artillery Regiment of the Regular Army (United States), regular army, with the 246th Coast Artillery (United States), 246th Coast Artillery Regiment as the Virginia Army National Guard, Virginia National Guard component.[National Guard Coast Artillery regiment histories at the Coast Defense Study Group]
/ref> In 1932 the 12th Coast Artillery was effectively redesignated as the 2nd Coast Artillery (United States), 2nd Coast Artillery, continuing as the garrison of Chesapeake Bay.
World War II
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Fort Monroe continued as headquarters for the Harbor Defenses of Chesapeake Bay. However, during the war new 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun, gun batteries were built at Fort Story and at Fort John Custis on Cape Charles, Virginia, Cape Charles. These rendered Fort Monroe's heavy guns obsolete, and between 1942 and 1944 all of the fort's and guns and mortars were scrapped. However, the two rapid-fire guns of Battery Montgomery remained until 1948. A gun battery of two guns (Battery 124) was proposed for Fort Monroe but not built. A new Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) battery (AMTB 23) was built in 1943, with two fixed, dual-purpose (anti-surface and anti-aircraft) 90 mm Gun M1/M2/M3, 90 mm guns at the old Battery Parrott, which was partly rebuilt to accommodate them.[ This type of battery was usually authorized two fixed and two mobile 90 mm guns and two 37 mm or 40 mm guns, but it is unclear where the additional weapons were located. In addition, submarine barriers and underwater mine fields continued to be controlled from Fort Monroe. But by the end of the Second World War, the vast array of armaments guarding the Chesapeake was made largely obsolete due to the development of the long-range bomber and the refinement of naval aviation. Essentially all of the United States' coast defense guns were scrapped by the end of 1948.
]
Post World War II
Since World War II, Fort Monroe has been a major Army training headquarters. However, in 1946 the Coast Artillery School relocated to Fort Winfield Scott in San Francisco, where it was disestablished in 1949; the remnant of the Coast Artillery Corps was also disestablished a year later.[ Also in 1946 Battery Irwin became a saluting battery with two 3-inch M1902 seacoast gun, 3-inch M1902 guns relocated from Fort Wool, which are still in place.][ The fort also hosted some Cold War antiaircraft defenses in the 1950s; a battery of four 90 mm guns 1953–55 (site N-03) and a Nike missile battery headquarters 1955–60 (site N-08).][ The ]Continental Army Command
Continental may refer to:
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* ''Continental'' (a ...
(CONARC) headquarters was at Fort Monroe throughout its existence from 1955 to 1973. CONARC was responsible for all active Army units in the continental United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
, and in 1973 was split into the United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM con ...
(FORSCOM) and the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. ...
(TRADOC). The latter command was headquartered at the fort from 1973 until the fort's decommissioning in 2011.[ At the turn of the 21st century, Fort Monroe supported a work population of some 3,000, including 1,000 people in uniform.
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Hotels at Fort Monroe
In 1822 the Hygeia Hotel was built to accommodate some of the fort's builders. It eventually expanded to 200 rooms. In 1862 it was torn down by orders of the Secretary of War to limit civilian access to the post in wartime. It was replaced with a hotel of the same name after the war, and in 1874 became managed by Harrison Phoebus, for whom the city of Phoebus, Virginia, Phoebus was named following his death in 1886. The second Hygeia Hotel was torn down in 1902 to make room for the fort's expansion under Board of Fortifications, a new fortifications program. By this time the The Chamberlin, Chamberlin Hotel (built 1896) was in business; this building burned down and was replaced with the current building in 1928. It now serves as a retirement community for those 55 years and older.
Coast Artillery School
In 1907 the Coast Artillery School was established along with the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps. New buildings were constructed for classrooms and barracks, with the library and school buildings completed in 1909. As part of the school's responsibility the ''Journal of the United States Artillery'' (renamed ''Coast Artillery Journal'' in 1922) was published under the supervision of the commandant.[ The school operated until 1946 when most of the coast artillery was disbanded, and the school was moved to Fort Winfield Scott in San Francisco.
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Commandants list
Base Realignment and Closure
The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission of the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense released a list on 13 May 2005 of military installations recommended for closure or realignment, among which was Fort Monroe. The list was approved by President George W. Bush on 15 September 2005 and submitted to United States Congress, Congress. Congress failed to act within 45 legislative days to disapprove the list in its entirety, and the BRAC recommendations subsequently became law. Installations on the BRAC list were required by law to close within six years, and Fort Monroe ceased to be an Army post in 2011. Many of its functions were transferred to nearby Fort Eustis
Fort Eustis is a United States Army installation in Newport News, Virginia. In 2010, it was combined with nearby Langley Air Force Base to form Joint Base Langley–Eustis.
The post is the home to the United States Army Training and Doctrine ...
, which was named for Fort Monroe's first commander, General Abraham Eustis, a noted artillery expert.
Preservation
Fort Monroe has become a popular historical site. The Casemate Museum, opened in 1951, depicts the history of Fort Monroe and Old Point Comfort, with special emphasis on the American Civil War, Civil War period. It offers a view of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
' prison cell. Also shown are the quarters occupied by 1st Lt. Robert E. Lee in 1831–34, and the quarters where President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
was a guest in May 1862. Most of the other historic officers' quarters and other buildings are also preserved. A uniform of the renowned American writer Edgar Allan Poe, who was stationed there in 1828 serving as an artillery regimental command sergeant major, is also on display.
Several historic weapons were preserved at the fort as of 2005. The 15-inch Rodman gun, Rodman prototype "Lincoln gun" was on the parade. A 90 mm Gun M1/M2/M3, 90 mm gun on a dual-purpose coast defense mount remained at Battery Parrott, and two 3-inch M1902 seacoast guns remained at Battery Irwin as of 2015. A 75 mm Gun M1897, 75 mm gun (nicknamed a "French 75" and used by the field artillery in World War I through early World War II) was at the new officers' club in the northern part of the reservation in 2005. The fort's last fire control tower was demolished in late 2001.[ Batteries Irwin, Parrott, De Russy, the northeast bastion battery, and Battery Anderson/Ruggles are intact as of 2018, though the seaward earth cover has been removed from some of them.][
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Redevelopment
The Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority (FMFADA) (renamed the Fort Monroe Authority as of 2019) was established in 2007 by legislative action of the Virginia General Assembly as a public body corporate and as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, to serve as the official Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA) recognized by the Department of Defense. The task of the FMFADA commission was to study, plan, and recommend the best use of the resources that remain when the Army closed the fort in September 2011. The Fort Monroe Reuse Plan was officially adopted August 2008. The FMFADA relies on the expertise of national consultants in the areas of BRAC law, environmental engineering, historic architecture and preservation planning, structural engineering, housing market analysis, commercial/retail analysis, public relations/marketing, and tourism planning.
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality have major regulatory authority that influences the work. The state took a lead role in planning because most of the land that Fort Monroe occupies will revert to the Commonwealth when the Army closes the fort. The effort was guided by three priorities — keep Fort Monroe open to the public, respect the rich history, and advance economic sustainability.
The Authority is an 18-member body consisting of appointees from the city of Hampton, the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate and the Virginia governor's cabinet, with two specialists in historic preservation and heritage tourism.
Virginia historically has given local government strong consideration in determining disposition at that point, such as occurred at Fort Pickett in Nottoway County, Virginia, Nottoway County (near Blackstone, Virginia, Blackstone) in the Southside Virginia, Southside region. Given the historic significance of the post, the decommissioned fort will be a good candidate for heritage tourism along with many other historical sites throughout the greater Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
area. Redevelopment to help offset the economic loss of a base closure is a priority.
Fort Monroe is a National Historic Landmark and the moated fort and the 190 historic buildings on Old Point Comfort will be protected with historic preservation design guidelines for reuse. Old Point Comfort is prime development property and some mixed used new construction will be allowed within strict guidelines. For example, before the Army left, the historic Chamberlin Hotel had already been beautifully renovated as a community of The Chamberlin, retirement apartments.
The National Park Service and the Fort Monroe FADA have been communicating to identify the best way to achieve a partnership and the park service presented several options. In 2013, Governor Bob McDonnell approved a new master plan to revitalize the site and the National Trust for Historic Preservation cited the site as one of ten historic sites saved that year. By August 2014 only two businesses had moved in.
Fort Monroe Authority operates leases for commercial properties and residences at the former post. Currently, homes are only available to lease.
There are several businesses now operating at Fort Monroe, including Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), a YMCA, three restaurants and a brewery. The Fort Monroe Authority also oversees event rentals to the public at the Commander General's house and the bandstand.
The beaches are open to the public. The main general parking is located at Outlook Beach.
National monument and historical interpretation
On November 1, 2011, President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed a proclamation to designate portions of Fort Monroe as a national monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
. This was the first time that President Obama exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...
, a 1906 law to protect sites deemed to have natural, historical or scientific significance.
Fort Monroe National Monument released its finalized foundation document in 2015. The National Park Service works with the Fort Monroe Authority on programming and maintenance.
Eola Lewis Dance is the Acting Superintendent, supported by Ranger Aaron Firth. Terry E. Brown (2016-2020) and Kirsten Talken-Spaulding (2011-2016) also have served as Fort Monroe Superintendents.
A Visitors and Education Center has been developed in the former Coast Artillery School Library, and is located at 30 Ingalls Road, next to the former Post Office that houses the offices for the Fort Monroe Authority. The building was designed by architect Francis B. Wheaton.
The building had a soft opening in 2019 and opened, briefly, to the public in 2020. Its grand opening has been put on hold during the pandemic. The center houses exhibits that focus on the history of the fort. It also features public restrooms, a bookstore and, on the second level, archives.
New walking tour markers and a brochure have been developed to help visitors better navigate the inner and outer fort.
1619 African Landing and commemoration
Fort Monroe is noted as the location of the arrival of the first Africans to English-speaking North America. It was recorded "20 and odd" enslaved Africans were brought to Point Comfort, Virginia, in August 1619 on the White Lion. The enslaved were traded for provisions and marked the beginning of slavery in the colony.
In 2019, Fort Monroe hosted multiple programs associated with commemorating African arrival in 1619. The 400th anniversary was marked by a Day of Healing and Nationwide Bell Ringing. One of the lives focused on during the commemoration was that of Angela (enslaved woman), Angela, an enslaved woman owned by William Peirce.
A memorial to the African Landing is currently being designed by the Fort Monroe Authority.
Fort Monroe was designated as a Site of Memory with UNESCO's Slave Route Project in February 2021.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Fort Monroe has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Fort Monroe
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See also
* Chapel of the Centurion
* Quarters 1
* Quarters 17
* Seacoast defense in the United States
* List of coastal fortifications of the United States
* List of Underground Railroad sites
* List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampton, Virginia
* List of national monuments of the United States
References
External links
Fort Monroe National Monument
Fort Monroe Casemate Museum
Fort Monroe Authority website
Map of HD Chesapeake Bay at FortWiki.com
American Forts Network, lists forts in the US, former US territories, Canada, and Central America
List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
Google Earth KML File
*[http://sill-www.army.mil/ada-online/coast-artillery-journal/_docs/1942/3-4/Mar-Apr%201942.pdf Reese, Franklin W., "U.S. Hotel Chamberlin", ''Coast Artillery Journal'', March-April 1942, Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 52–54]
;Archival Records
"Fort Monroe Records at the Library of Virginia"
a
Virginia Memory
Fort Monroe film clips at CriticalPast.com
*
Fort Monroe, Hampton, Hampton, VA
71 photos, 7 measured drawings, 37 data pages, and 4 photo caption pages at Historic American Buildings Survey
Fort Monroe, Fortress, Hampton, Hampton, VA
57 photos, 5 color transparencies, and 6 photo caption pages at Historic American Buildings Survey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe, Fort
Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia
American Civil War forts in Virginia
Closed installations of the United States Army
Government buildings completed in 1834
Buildings and structures in Hampton, Virginia
Forts in Virginia, Monroe
Colonial forts in Virginia, Monroe
National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
National Park Service National Monuments in Virginia
Virginia in the American Civil War
Tourist attractions in Hampton, Virginia
Protected areas established in 2011
2011 establishments in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Hampton, Virginia
Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
National Monuments designated by Barack Obama
1834 establishments in Virginia
American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places
Star forts
Beaches of Virginia, F
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia