Fort Monroe
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Aerial Photo of Fort Monroe |
Fort Monroe, Virginia (also known as
Fortress Monroe) is a military installation located at
Old Point Comfort on the tip of the
Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of
Hampton Roads on the
Chesapeake Bay in eastern
Virginia in the
United States.
In
1634, the area became part of
Elizabeth River Shire, and was included in
Elizabeth City County when it was formed in
1643. The area including Fort Monroe became part of the
independent city of
Hampton when Elizabeth City County and the
Town of Phoebus agreed to consolidate with Hampton in
1952.
Fort Monroe was completed in
1834, and is named in honor of U.S. President
James Monroe. Completely surrounded by a
moat, the six-sided stone fort is the only one of its kind left in the
United States that is still an active Army post. Fort Monroe is amongst several posts selected to be closed by 2011.
Colonial Period
In
1609, Captain
John Smith and the colonists of the
Virginia Company who established the
Jamestown Settlement on the
James River in 1607 recognized the strategic importance of the site for purposes of coastal defense and built Fort Algernourne (1609-1612) at the location of the present Fort Monroe. It is assumed to have been a triangular stockade, based on the fort at Jamestown. Fort Algernoure burned in 1612. A second fort, known only as "the fort at Old Point Comfort" was constructed in 1632 and destroyed by a hurricane in 1667. In 1728 Fort George was built on the site. Its masonry walls were destroyed by a hurricane in 1749, but the wood buildings within the fort continued to be used by a reduced force until at least 1775. In 1781, during the siege of Yorktown, the French West Indian fleet established a battery on the ruins of Fort George. Throughout the Colonial period, fortifications were manned at the location from time to time.
Early 19th century
Following the
War of 1812, the United States again came to realize the importance of protecting Hampton Roads and the inland waters from attack by sea, and construction was begun in
1819 on what would become the largest stone fort ever built in the United States. The fort features a moat completely surrounding the inner structures. As a young 1st Lieutenant and engineer in the U.S. Army,
Robert E. Lee was stationed there from 1831 to 1834, and played a major role in the final construction of both Fort Monroe and its opposite, Fort Calhoun. The latter, later renamed
Fort Wool, was built on a man-made island across the navigational channel from
Old Point Comfort in the middle of the mouth of
Hampton Roads.
When construction was completed in
1834, Fort Monroe was referred to as the "Gibraltar of Chesapeake Bay." The fort accomplished this mission by mounting an impressive complement of the most powerful artillery of the time, 32-pounder guns 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.
American Civil War
1860–61
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Slaves escape to the fort after Gen. Butler's decree that all slaves behind Union lines would be protected. The policy was called the "Fort Monroe Doctrine" alluding to Butler's headquarters at the Fort |
Fort Monroe played an important role in the
American Civil War. On
December 20,
1860,
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the
Union. Four months later, on
April 12,
1861, troops of that state opened fire on
Fort Sumter in
Charleston Harbor. Five days later,
Virginia became the eighth Southern state to withdraw from the Union, and join the newly formed
Confederate States of America.
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 and several sea and land expeditions were launched from there by Union forces.
A few weeks after the
Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861, U.S. Army General-in-Chief
Winfield Scott 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
plan was to blockade the Confederacy's coastline and control the
Mississippi River valley with gunboats. In cooperation with the Navy, troops from Fort Monroe extended Union control along the coasts of
the Carolinas as Lincoln ordered a blockade of the Southern seaboard from the South Carolina line to the
Rio Grande River on
April 19, and on
April 27 extended it to include the
North Carolina and Virginia coasts.
On
April 20 the Union Navy burned and evacuated the
Norfolk Navy Yard, destroying nine ships in the process, leaving only Fort Monroe at
Old Point Comfort as the last bastion of the United States in Tidewater Virginia. Occupation of
Norfolk gave the Confederacy its only major shipyard and thousands of heavy guns, but they held it for only one year. Confederate Brigadier General
Walter Gwynn, who commanded the Confederate defenses around Norfolk, erected batteries at
Sewell's Point, both to protect Norfolk and to control
Hampton Roads.
The Union dispatched a fleet to Hampton Roads to enforce the blockade, and 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 resulted in little damage to either side. Several land operations against Confederate forces also were mounted from the fort, notably the
Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861.
Fort Monroe is also the place at which, on
May 27,
1861, Major General
Benjamin Butler made his famous "
contraband" decision, by which escaping slaves reaching Union lines would not be returned to bondage. The order resulted in waves of enslaved people fleeing to Union lines around Fort Monroe, which was Butler's headquarters in Virginia, and earned Fort Monroe its other nickname of "Freedom's Fortress", as any slave reaching it would be free.
1862
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Receiving wounded at Fort Monroe as illustrated in Frank Leslie's paper, August 16, 1862 |
In March 1862, the naval
Battle of Hampton Roads took place off Sewell's Point between the first ironclad warships,
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's
Peninsula Campaign. Formed at Fort Monroe, McClellan's troops moved up the
Virginia Peninsula during the spring of 1862, reaching within a few miles of the gates of
Richmond 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, 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).
1864–96
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Sketch by Alfred R. Wauld of Jefferson Davis imprisoned in the casement (1865) |
In
1864, the Union
Army of the James under Major General
Benjamin Butler was formed at Fort Monroe, and the
Siege of Petersburg during
1864 and
1865 was supported on the James River from a base at City Point (now
Hopewell, Virginia). 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 capitol at Richmond. As Petersburg fell, Richmond was evacuated in
1865 on the night of
April 2–
3. That night,
Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet escaped Richmond, taking the
Richmond and Danville Railroad to move first to
Danville and then
North Carolina. However, the cause was lost, and Confederate General
Robert E. Lee surrendered what was left of the
Army of Northern Virginia 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, Jefferson Davis was captured at
Irwinville,
Georgia, and placed under arrest. He was confined in an unheated, open casemate at Fort Monroe for two years. Some historians have speculated that his treatment in captivity was intended to be lethal. 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 and
Cornelius Vanderbilt, 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 Chief Justice
Salmon P. Chase.
The
Journal of the United States Artillery was founded at Fort Monroe in 1892, by First Lieutenant (later General)
John Wilson Ruckman 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 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.
Twentieth century
Over time the armament at Fort Monroe was improved, taking advantage of new technologies. In addition, the fort controlled several sub installations around Hampton Roads, making the area one of the most heavily defended in the United States.
The
Jamestown Exposition held in
1907 at
Hampton Roads, featured an extensive
naval review, including the
Great White Fleet. Beginning in 1917, the former exposition site at
Sewell's Point became a major base of the
United States Navy. Currently,
Norfolk Navy Base is the base supporting naval forces operating in the
Atlantic Ocean,
Mediterranean Sea, and
Indian Ocean. It is the world's largest Naval Station; in fact, based on supported military population, it is the largest naval installation in the world.
Fort Monroe and Fort Wool stood guard during
World War I and
World War II, and successfully protected Hampton Roads and the important military and civilian resources located inland.
By World War II, Fort Monroe served as headquarters for an impressive array of coast artillery guns ranging from 3-inch rapid fire guns to 16-inch guns capable of firing a 2,000 pound projectile 25 miles. In addition, the Army controlled submarine barriers and underwater mine fields. But this vast array of armaments was all made obsolete by the development of the long-range bomber and the aircraft carrier after the second World War.
After the operational armament was removed, Fort Monroe received a mission that it still maintains to this day. Since World War II, it has served as the major headquarters for training soldiers for war. In 1973, Fort Monroe became home to the
United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), which combines the recruitment, training and education of soldiers with the development of operational doctrine.
Fort Monroe supports a daytime population of about 2,096, including 1,105 people in uniform, 1,991 civilian and contract employees, and about 814 family members residing on post.
In addition to continuing to serve as an active military installation, 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
Civil War period. It offers a view of Confederate President
Jefferson Davis' prison cell. Also shown are the quarters occupied by 1st Lt.
Robert E. Lee in 1831-34, and the quarters where President
Abraham Lincoln was a guest in May 1862.
Nearby, Fort Monroe's companion guardian of Hampton Roads,
Fort Wool, located at
Rip Raps is also available for tours.
Note: Fort Wool is located adjacent to one of the man-made islands of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and is accessible only by water. The availability of public tours of both Fort Wool and Fort Monroe are subject to Homeland Security Alert conditions.The
Department of Defense released a list on
13 May 2005 of military installations recommended for closure and/or realignment--among them is Fort Monroe. The list was approved by President
George W. Bush on
15 September 2005 and submitted to
Congress. Congress failed to act within forty-five legislative days to disapprove the list in its entirety, and the BRAC recommendations subsequently became law. Installations on the BRAC list must close within six years.
It is unclear as to what will become of the post after closing. Generally, surplus military installations are turned over to the respective states. Redevelopment will be facilitated by the fact that most of the land on which the fort stands was loaned by the state of Virginia to the federal government, and will revert to the state once Fort Monroe closes.
Virginia historically has given local government strong consideration in determining disposition at that point, such as occurred at
Fort Pickett in
Nottoway County (near
Blackstone) in the
Southside region. Given the historic significance of the post, the decomissioned Fort will be a good candidate for portions to become one of the preserved historical sites located throughout the greater
Hampton Roads area. Redevelopment to help offset the economic loss of a base closure is usually a priority as well.
The City of Hampton has recently received numerous unsolicited proposals for high-end residential and commercial development on the site once Fort Monroe is decommissioned. Because of the scarcity and desirability of waterfront property, the fort area is prime development property. The historic
Chamberlin Hotel, for example, has already been sold to a developer and will be renovated to its original appearance as retirement apartments. [
1] [
2]
*A man-made island across the navigational channel of the mouth of
Hampton Roads from
Old Point Comfort was created for Fort Calhoun (a portion of the Fort Monroe complex later renamed
Fort Wool). This man-made island found a new purpose in 1957, when it was used to anchor the south portal of the 7,000 foot tunnel of the
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
*
Fort Wool*
Sewell's Point*
Battle of Hampton Roads*
United States Army Training and Doctrine Command*
Fort Monroe official website*
GlobalSecurity.org Ft. Monroe webpage*
Ft. Monroe Casemate Museum*
TRADOC website*
Fort Monroe unofficial website*
U.S. Department of Defense website
