Fort Monroe Monument conserves history, creates Bay access

"Fort Monroe and Old Point Comfort have witnessed great national dramas--Capt. John Smith and the Jamestown settlers, the arrival of African slaves and the beginning of the end of slavery, the Civil War and the Civil Rights struggle - all played acts on this stage," said Charlie Stek, Chairman of the Chesapeake Conservancy. "As Fort Monroe National Monument, this ground will tell its stories, offer miles of beaches and much needed public access, and be an economic engine for generations to come," he added.

Stek, and the Chesapeake Conservancy, worked with a broad coalition to make Fort Monroe America's newest National Monument. The historic Fort is located on Old Point Comfort, a 565-acre peninsula near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton, Va. The President's action today made half of the peninsula - the historic fort and it beaches -- a National Monument.

The Conservancy was instrumental in shaping the strategy to achieve monument status. The President, acting with the support of the Governor and Congressional members, used the Antiquities Act to confer the status on the historic landmark. The act has been used to conserve many of the nation's historic treasures.

Fort Monroe was closed as a result of base realignments and the Army left the Fort on September 15.

Because of its strategic location, the first outpost of the Jamestown colony, Fort Algernon, was constructed here in 1609. Algernon was the first of several forts to be built at the site and one of the first coastal fortifications in English America. The first ship carrying African slaves disembarked its cargo at Point Comfort in 1619. In response to the British invasion during the War of 1812, the current Fort Monroe was constructed here. Named in honor of President Monroe, it is the largest stone fort ever built in the United States. The first federal policy providing sanctuary to slaves fleeing the Confederacy as "contraband of war" was instituted at Fortress Monroe by the post's commander, General Butler, initiating what is arguably the beginning of the end of slavery
Old Point Comfort/Fort Monroe served as home, place of employment or imprisonment for many icons of American history. Harriet Tubman and Booker T. Washington both worked here. Edgar Alan Poe and Robert E. Lee were stationed at the Fort as young soldiers. President Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant visited the Fort and Jefferson Davis and Chief Black Hawk were imprisoned here.

Old Point Comfort is also a rare piece of real estate. Stands of live oaks, the northern most stand of this magnificent tree, grace the grounds. The oldest trees were there when the English colonists stepped ashore in 1607. The beaches offer a rare natural refuge for the Hampton Roads region's residents.

"The fort and its beaches are a national treasure, a "pearl" on the string of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and a vital part of the Chesapeake's natural and cultural landscape," Stek said. "As they become a part of the National Park Service they will tell our nation's history to millions of visitors and provide much needed access to the Chesapeake Bay."

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