Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe – the Gibraltar of the Chesapeake

Jumping across the Elizabeth River and the famous Hampton Roads harbor we anchored off Old Point Comfort to visit Fort Monroe.  This fort named for President Monroe  and built between 1819 and 1834 is the largest stone fortification in the USA earning the name “Gibraltar of the Chesapeake”. The strategic location allows this fort to guard the harbor massive harbor which even today is home to an impressive fleet of gray ships. 

From the earliest colonization of the James River, there have been efforts to defend this area.  Fort Monroe was decommissioned in 2011 and much of the historic fort is in the process of becoming a National Park. We enjoyed our visit to the Casement Museum – originating with the cell occupied by Jefferson Davis after the Civil War – he was imprisoned here for two years before being released. The story of how misinformation helped orchestrate public opinion is itself an interesting twist in the history of journalism. Edgar Allen Poe served here and a tour of the casements makes it easy to imagine how they might have inspired settings his stories and poetry.  The third claim to fame for this fort involves the Civil War and "contraband" slaves. The fort commander, Major General B. Butler, refused to return three runaway slaves since their owner was from Virginia – a state no longer part of the United States. The fort became known as Freedom Fortress as it housed many former slaves – some of whom were organized into Black Union Army units.  Recognizing the need for education, schools for the contraband slave camps were also organized here leading to the foundation of one of the historically African American colleges. After a walk around the ramparts we headed back to our anchorage off the main channel to watch warships returning from the “Sea Duty”.