Fort Monroe Fort Monroe ( also known as the Fort Monroe National Monument ) was a military installation in Hampton , Virginia — at Old Point Comfort , the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula . 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 , 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 . When it was operational as a United States Army post , Fort Monroe supported a work population of some 3000 , including 1000 people in uniform . The major tenant unit was the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command ( TRADOC ) . Along with Fort Wool , Fort Monroe guarded the navigational channel between the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads — the natural roadstead at the confluence of the Elizabeth , the Nansemond and the James rivers . Surrounded by a moat , the seven - sided stone fort is the largest stone fort ever built in the United States . During the initial exploration by the mission headed by Captain Christopher Newport in the earliest days of the Colony of Virginia , the site was identified as a strategic defensive location . In May 1607 , they established the first permanent English settlement in the present - day United States about 25 miles further inland from the Bay along the James River at Jamestown . The land area where Fort Monroe is located became part of Elizabeth Cittie [ sic ] in 1619 , Elizabeth River Shire in 1634 , and was included in Elizabeth City County 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 of Hampton , which became one of the larger cities of Hampton Roads . 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 . However , the much more substantial facility of stone to become known as Fort Monroe ( and adjacent Fort Wool on a man - made island across the channel ) were completed in 1834 . The principal facility was named in honor of U . S . President James Monroe . Throughout the American Civil War ( 1861 – 1865 ) , although most of Virginia became part of the Confederate States of America , Fort Monroe remained in Union hands . It became notable as a historic and symbolic site of early freedom for former slaves under the provisions of contraband policies . For two years thereafter , the former Confederate President , Jefferson Davis , was imprisoned at the fort . His first months of confinement were spent in a cell of the casemate fort walls that is now part of its Casemate Museum . Fort Monroe decommissioned on September 15 , 2011 . Many of its functions were transferred to nearby Fort Eustis ( which was named for Fort Monroe ' s first commander , General Abraham Eustis , a noted artillery expert ) . Several re - use plans for Fort Monroe after it was decommissioned are currently under development in the Hampton community . On November 1 , 2011 , President Barack Obama signed a proclamation to designate portions of Fort Monroe as a National Monument . This was the first time that President Obama exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act , a 1906 law to protect sites deemed to have natural , historical or scientific significance . History . Colonial period . Arriving with three ships under Captain Christopher Newport , Captain John Smith and the colonists of the Virginia Company established the settlement of Jamestown of the British Colony of Virginia on the James River in 1607 . On their initial exploration , they recognized the strategic importance of the site at Old Point Comfort for purposes of coastal defense . They initially 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 . Other small forts known as Fort Henry and Fort Charles were built nearby in 1610 . Fort Algernourne burned in 1612 . In the latter part of August 1619 , a Dutch ship , the " White Lion " , appeared off the coast of Old Point Comfort . Its cargo included more than 30 Africans captured from the slave ship " Sao Joao 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 America . Although the Bantu Africans from Angola were considered indentured servants , their arrival is considered to mark the beginning of slavery in America . 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 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 realized the need to protect Hampton Roads and the inland waters from attack by sea . In March 1819 , President James Madison came up with a plan of building a network of coastal defenses . Construction of the fort began in earnest on the stone - and - brick fort which would serve as the safeguard for the Chesapeake Bay . It began construction in 1819 on what would become the largest stone fort ever built in the United States . Among the original buildings is Quarters 1 , designed as a residence and headquarters for Fort Monroe ’ s commanding officer . Work continued for nearly twenty - five years . The fort , designed by Simon Bernard , features a moat completely surrounding the inner structures . As a young first 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 . He resided at Quarters 17 . Fort Calhoun , later renamed Fort Wool , was built on a man - made island called the Rip Raps across the navigational channel from Old Point Comfort in the middle of the mouth of Hampton Roads . The Army briefly detained the 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 of Chesapeake Bay " . The fort mounted 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 . ( Decommissioned after World War II , the former Fort Wool on Rip Raps is now adjacent to the southern man - made island of the Hampton Roads Bridge - Tunnel , first completed in 1957 . ) American Civil War . 1860 – 61 . 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 ' s legislature passed ( subject to voters ' ratification ) the Ordinance of Secession of Virginia to withdraw from the Union , and join the newly formed Confederate States of America . On 23 May 1861 , voters of Virginia ratified the state ' s secession from the union . President Abraham Lincoln had Fort Monroe quickly reinforced so that it would not fall to Confederate forces . It was held by Union forces throughout the Civil War , which launched several sea and land expeditions from there . 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 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 , keeping Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort as the last bastion of the United States in Tidewater Virginia . The Confederacy ' s occupation of Norfolk gave it a 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 were mounted from the fort , notably the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861 . On May 27 , 1861 , Major General Benjamin Butler made his famous " contraband " decision , or " Fort Monroe Doctrine " , determining that escaping male slaves who reached Union lines would be considered contraband and not be returned to bondage . 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 slave reaching it would be free . By the fall , the Army had built the Great Contraband Camp to try 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 . Mary S . Peake 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 , Presbyterian and Methodist 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 other local teachers in the South ; it founded more than 500 local schools and 11 colleges for freedmen and their children . Under Gen . Butler ' s command , Fort Monroe was the site of a military balloon camp under the flight direction of aeronaut John LaMountain . The Union Army Balloon Corps was being developed at Fort Corcoran near Arlington under the presidentially appointed Prof . Thaddeus S . C . Lowe . 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 . 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 . 1862 . In March 1862 , the naval Battle of Hampton Roads took place off Sewell ' s Point between the first ironclad warship 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 ' 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 ) . 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 also required to be passed through this point for inspection . 1864 – 96 . In 1864 , the Union Army of the James under Major General Benjamin Butler was formed at Fort Monroe . The 2nd Regiment , United States Colored Cavalry , mustered at Fort Monroe on December 22 , 1864 , and the 1st Regiment , United States Colored Cavalry mustered the same day at nearby Camp Hamilton . 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 briefly confined in an unheated , open casemate until the Union Surgeon John J . Craven recommended more humane care for Mr . Davis . General Nelson A . Miles approved changes and even moved Mr . Davis to more hospitable quarters . He was held 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 by number of military members supported . Coast Artillery School . Also 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 ( the library and school buildings compleated in 1909 ) . As part of the schools responsibility the " Coast Artillery Journal " 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 . Commandants list . During World War I and World War II Fort Monroe and Fort Wool were used to protected Hampton Roads and the important military and civilian resources located inland . The Fort installed the first Anti - submarine net in America in February 1917 stretching to Fort Wool . By World War II , Fort Monroe served as headquarters for an 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 made largely obsolete by the end of the Second World War due to the development of the long - range bomber and the refinement of naval aviation . 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 . Base Realignment and Closure . The Department of Defense released a list on 13 May 2005 of military installations recommended for closure and / or realignment , among which was 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 by law must close within six years . Fort Monroe today . " As several re - use plans for Fort Monroe are , as of December 2011 , under development in the Hampton community , plans for its long - term use cannot be yet documented . " 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 . Redevelopment possibilities . The Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority ( FMFADA ) was established 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 will remain when the Army closed the fort in September 2011 . The Fort Monroe Reuse Plan was officially adopted August , 2008 and planning updates are available on the FMFADA website . 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 FMFADA was created by legislative action of the Virginia General Assembly in 2007 . Virginia ’ s 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 . 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 decommissioned fort will be a good candidate for heritage tourism along with many other 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 . 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 , the historic Chamberlin Hotel has already been leased to a developer by the Army and beautifully renovated as retirement apartments . The National Park Service and the Fort Monroe FADA are communicating to identify the best way to achieve a partnership and several options have been presented to the FMFADA board by the park service .