Tag Archive: Fort Monroe

Dec 13

Civil war decision helped turn Fort Monroe into a park

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Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

by Robert Powell for Virginia Business, posted on November 30, 2011

In May 1861, the month Virginia voters ratified secession from the United States, three slaves appeared at the gates of Fort Monroe asking for asylum.

They would force the fort’s commander to make a decision that ultimately led to Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. That bit of history is a big reason that Fort Monroe is now a national park, a development that could help promote tourism in Virginia.

The masters of Frank Baker, James Townsend and Sheppard Mallory contracted with the Confederate Army for the slaves to work on fortifications at Sewell’s Point (now the site of Naval Station Norfolk). They escaped at night, rowing a skiff across Hampton Roads to Union-held-Fort Monroe on a peninsula known as Old Point Comfort.

Their plea for asylum posed a legal dilemma. Although fighting had begun the month before at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, restoration of the union, not the emancipation of slaves, was Washington’s primary aim in the early days of the Civil War.

In fact, the federal fugitive slave law, which required escaped slaves to be returned to their masters, was still in effect.  Lincoln’s administration feared premature talk of abolition would cause the four remaining “loyal” slave states — Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri — to bolt to the Confederacy.

Despite these concerns, Fort Monroe’s commander, Major Gen. Benjamin Butler, took in the slaves and put them to work behind his lines.

Under a flag of truce, Confederate Major John B. Cary, showed up the next day demanding the slaves’ return. Butler refused, saying Read the rest of this entry »

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Dec 09

Mark Warner, Fort Monroe and STEAM

Categories:

About Hampton Roads, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

From the blog of City of Hampton Mayor Molly Ward

Mark Warner came to Fort Monroe on Friday, November 18 to tour the fort, talk about the National Park Service and explore the possibility a Science, Technology, Engineering and Applied Mathematics (STEAM) academy at the fort.  The Senator was accompanied by an entourage of reporters, and he toured the fort on foot.

The proposed STEAM academy would be a public boarding school for grades 9 through 12 with a 24 hour day learning cycle.  Students would be drawn from all over the Commonwealth, and there would be no fee to apply or attend. The concept is to build future generations who will be prepared to lead and succeed in the 21st century marketplace. There is a similar school in North Carolina that has seen tremendous success both for its graduates, and the state — as the majority of students stay and contribute to the North Carolina economy by both creating jobs and attracting employers looking for the best and the brightest.

I met up with the Senator at one of the TRADOC buildings for a tour.  He greeted me and presented me with the green tie he described as “hideous” that he wore to the Senate hearing on the NPS effort on October 19.  He also gave me a picture of him wearing the tie at the hearing.

After the TRADOC building tour, we presented the Senator with a proclamation from the City of Hampton thanking him for his support of the Fort Monroe National Monument.

More on Mayor Ward’s posting…

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Nov 02

White House Video: Hampton Roads gets its national monument

Categories:

About Hampton Roads, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership


Direct Video Link

From the White House YouTube Channel:  President Obama signs a declaration to declare Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, as a national monument on November 1, 2011.

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Nov 02

President confirms Fort Monroe’s park designation

Categories:

About Hampton Roads, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

From left, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va.; Mayor Molly Ward, Hampton, Va.; Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; watch President Barack Obama sign a Proclamation to designate Fort Monroe, in Hampton, Va., a National Monument under the Antiquities Act, in the Oval Office, Nov. 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

From Wil LaVeist  of The Wil LaVeist Show:  Hampton is Black America’s Ellis Island

In a ceremony at the White House yesterday, President Barack Obama confirmed Fort Monroe as a national monument, saying it was all about “preserving our nation’s treasures.” It is the first time he has used the Antiquities Act to create a national monument.

Now the site ought to be the location for the proposed National Slavery Museum, if the museum is going to be built at all. The museum, the vision of former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first elected black governor, is in bankruptcy court. Old Point Comfort, the site of Fort Monroe, is where the first African indentured servants arrived in English speaking America in 1619. It’s also the location where slaves began to gain their freedom in mass during the Civil War in 1861, becoming known as the Contraband Slaves. 

Read more by the Daily Press:  It’s official – President Obama confirms Fort Monroe park designation 

The Wil LaVeist Show can be heard every Wednesday @ noon to 1 p.m. EST live via the Web on www.whov.org or in Hampton Roads on 88.1FM WHOV. 

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Nov 02

Fort Monroe and the antiquities act, deep roots in Hampton Roads

Categories:

About Hampton Roads, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

National Monument move at Fort Monroe is welcomed

Posted October 30, 2011, by David Macaulay for the Daily Press

News that President Barack Obama is poised to declare Fort Monroe a national monument was welcomed by local decision makers.

“Overall, we are hopeful that Tuesday will culminate in a park being established to preserve and tell the American story that unfolded at Fort Monroe. This has been a huge unified effort and we are all holding our breath for Tuesday,” said Terrie Suit, chairman of the board of the Fort Monroe Authority.

Senator Mark Warner, (D-Virginia) the co-sponsor of a Senate bill to bring a national park to Fort Monroe, said: “A National Park Service presence at Fort Monroe will go a long way in preserving and highlighting the remarkable role of ‘Freedom’s Fortress’ in our nation’s history.

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Jul 25

Elevating Fort Monroe’s History to the National Level

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About Hampton Roads, Government & Citizens, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

Citizens of Hampton Roads Come Together to Show Their Unity in Elevating Fort Monroe’s History to the National Level

Originally posted on July 22, 20110, to the Hampton Chronicle by Robin McCormick, Marketing INC, Hampton Communication Strategist

Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, Terrie Suit, today acknowledged the great turnout and showing of support at last night’s Fort Monroe public hearing held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, VA. Over 800 citizens showed up to voice their opinions to the National Park Service on Tuesday.  All levels of government including members of Congress, members of the state House and Senate, local mayors and city council members all came together to represent the Commonwealth. Audience members from all walks of life including the armed services, historians, teachers, parents, environmentalists, tourists and life-long Hampton residents also came to show their approval.

Many organizations also offered their support to include the Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Preservation Virginia, Hampton Roads Partnership, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Hampton Watch and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

“I’m extremely pleased to see the outstanding support we are receiving from the public,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Terrie Suit who is also the Chairman of the Fort Monroe Authority.  “Our ability to show our unity as a Commonwealth will go a long way in seeing us accomplish our goal of preserving the tremendous historical value that Fort Monroe has not only to Virginia, but the nation.”

Familiar refrains heard throughout the night from the public included “Let’s get it done” and “Thanks for listening.”  So many people wanted to voice their opinions that both two hour public hearings went thirty minutes over.

“The National Park Service meetings in Hampton on July 19 were an equivocal success,” said Hampton Mayor Molly Ward.

“Citizens from all over the region and the East Coast came to the Hampton Roads Convention Center to voice their support for a National Park Service presence at Fort Monroe through legislation or an Antiquities Act designation by the President.  Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, business leaders, regional organizations, state and national conservation organizations all made their support known. The Hampton Roads community undoubtedly wants Fort Monroe to be the next great urban park.”

Resonating loudly and becoming a general theme during the evening was the virtually unanimous support for the National Park Service creating a unit at Fort Monroe and for the President using the Antiquities Act to designate it a National Monument.  Continuing to pursue legislation through Congress was another important theme that was touted as making this project a reality.

Fort Monroe is steeped in history from the days of the Kecoughtan Indians to Captain John Smith’s first landing at Point Comfort, the arrival of the first Africans brought to the New World, and the beginning of the end of slavery through the famous “Contraband” decision by Major General Benjamin Butler.  Natural assets at Fort Monroe include two miles of beachfront along the Chesapeake Bay, two miles of marsh front and live oaks that date back several centuries.  The Fort Monroe Authority, the City of Hampton, and Commonwealth of Virginia have supported this endeavor from the beginning.  They have collectively lead the call for the National Park designation and sincerely wish to thank those who attended yesterday.

That was the final scheduled public hearing. Those who wish to voice their views may do so through Tuesday, July 26, at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/fortmonroe.

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Jul 25

Supports for Fort Monroe National Park

Categories:

About Hampton Roads, Government & Citizens, Military Bastion, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

Click on graphic above for larger view

Statement to the Fort Monroe Authority by E. Dana Dickens, III, President and CEO, Hampton Roads Partnership (Download PDF)

There is no question that the preservation of Fort Monroe is important for our region as the Commonwealth of Virginia takes ownership of the waterfront site this September (2011). Not only is this a beautiful piece of land, it is also, as U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said of the stone fort, “it is one of our nation’s special historic and cultural treasures, and we must work together to ensure this place is preserved for future generations.”

Vision Hampton Roads, the first region-wide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) in compliance with the federal Economic Development Administration, is helping us effectively navigate our metro area’s course to the future. Opportunities, like the one we find with Fort Monroe, can help us with the goals of Vision, to transform the region into a dynamic place to live by working through cooperative initiatives.

During the CEDS public comment period, the nearly 500 citizens participating were adamant about preserving Fort Monroe in support of this objective: that Hampton Roads will be the premier year-round destination of distinction and appeal to travelers while significantly increasing quality of life for residents by leveraging the variety of attractions, arts and culture, venues and performances and recreational opportunities that exist in the region.

Hampton Roads is already a popular vacation destination for millions of visitors annually. Each city has its own unique attractions, events and activities. From the surf and sand of Virginia Beach, longest pleasure beach in the world, to the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, to the attractive convention centers spread throughout the region, Hampton Roads is an established multi-faceted tourist destination. According to the Virginia Tourism Corporation, tourists spent in excess of $3.7 billion in Hampton Roads in 2007. The Leisure and Hospitality industry employed 85,400 people in Hampton Roads, adding over 6,000 positions in the last three years to make it the second fastest growing employment sector in the region. In addition to the hoteliers who depend on tourists to fill their rooms, tourism brings extensive new money to restaurants, retail establishments and government coffers.

Fort Monroe is not just a local or regional treasure. It is truly a national treasure.

Tourism does impact practically all area businesses, contributing to quality of life through the influx of tax revenue, creation of jobs and rise of services and attractions that add to the vibrancy of life in Hampton Roads. Tourism supports the development and enhancement of amenities that local business employees and residents can enjoy. For businesses in Hampton Roads, that means improved recruiting and retention of work force talent and greater quality of life for those employees.

This nonpartisan public movement to have Fort Monroe added to the National Park Service to ensure the natural beauty and rich history of the site is preserved is important – and not just from an economic point of view.

Fort Monroe is home to so many stories vital to American history, from some of the first interactions of settlers with Native Americans to African American freedom in the Civil War. With Fort Monroe, it is important to look not only to its multi-faceted past, but also towards the future it can produce for the Hampton Roads region.

There are already parks at Jamestown and Yorktown. As the regional organization representing over one-half of Hampton Roads’ labor force, I encourage the National Park Service to add Fort Monroe to the park system and complete America’s birth story.

E. Dana Dickens, III
President and CEO, Hampton Roads Partnership

Providing strategic leadership and improving Hampton Roads’ competitive position in the global economy. Learn more at http://VisionHamptonRoads.com.

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Jul 13

Fort Monroe as National Park – Public Meetings

Categories:

Government & Citizens, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

National Park Service to Hold Public Meetings on Fort Monroe

The National Park Service (NPS) will conduct two separate meetings on July 19, 2011 to gather public comment on the potential establishment of Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia as a unit of the National Park System. The meetings follow-up on the June 29th gathering held by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis at the Fort Monroe Bay Breeze Community Center. The objective of the meetings is to further assess public support for establishment of a national park at Fort Monroe.

The meetings will be held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, 1610 Coliseum Drive in Hampton, Virginia. Two meetings are planned on July 19th to provide interested citizens with opportunities to attend and express their thoughts regarding a Fort Monroe national park designation either during the afternoon or in the evening. The first session will be conducted between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The evening session will run from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director of the NPS, called Fort Monroe “a resource of exceptional historic interest that bookends the beginning and end of slavery in the United States.” He said, “Both Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and I want any initiative leading to the potential establishment of a national park at Fort Monroe to be subject to an open and transparent process that evaluates the support of local, Commonwealth and national interests.

Individuals wishing to provide oral comments are encouraged to also present them in written form at the meetings. Cards will be available at the meetings for any “on-the-spot” comments.

Comments may also be electronically submitted until 5:00 p.m. on July 26, 2011 by using the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website (PEPC) at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/fortmonroe. While the PEPC website is preferred, comments may alternately be emailed to megan_lang@nps.gov.

Fort Monroe, a 565-acre National Historic Landmark located in Hampton, Virginia, contains a Third System fortification built for coastal defense between 1819 and 1834. It is the largest stone fortification built in the United States, and has been called “The Fortress of Freedom” and “The Gibraltar of the Chesapeake.” It is one of the few Union military installations in the South never occupied by Confederate forces during the Civil War. Fort Monroe served critical roles in protecting Hampton Roads and was the site of General Benjamin Butler’s 1861 “Contraband Decision” which permitted untold thousands of enslaved people to find safe haven upon entering Union lines. It was the staging area for General George B. McClellan’s 1862 Peninsula Campaign.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at the fort for two years after the Civil War. 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. In operation for over 180 years, it ranks third as the most continuously used military installation in the nation.

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Jun 14

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Categories:

Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership

Gen. Benjamin Butler’s decision to seize runaways as contraband is a milestone often overshadowed in Civil War history by tales of generals and battlefield strategy. (Photo: Library of Congress)

One hundred fifty years ago, three brave enslaved men,  Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker and James Townsend, escaped the Confederate Army and fled in a small boat to Virginia’s Fort Monroe. There, the Union Army commander seized these men as “contraband” of war, an unusual legal maneuver that provided refuge for the three men, and in turn, heralded the beginning of the end of slavery in America. Over the course of the Civil War, a total of over 500,000 enslaved people would follow in the footsteps of those first three, leading to one of the Civil War’s most extraordinary—and overlooked—chapters. To celebrate the bravery of these 500,000 self-emancipated men, women and children, and to permanently preserve the nationally important historic site where these momentous events took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is calling on President Obama to designate Fort Monroe as a National Monument.

In a letter to President Obama, National Trust for Historic Preservation president Stephanie Meeks asked the President to exercise the powers granted to the chief executive under the 1906 Antiquities Act to designate Fort Monroe a National Monument, which would make it an official part of the National Park Service.

“For more than 100 years, presidents have used the Antiquities Act to enshrine and protect some of America’s most important and beloved historic places, from the Grand Canyon to the Statue of Liberty to Chaco Canyon,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “On the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the momentous events that took place at Fort Monroe, we feel that this is an especially appropriate time to recognize the critical role this place has played in our nation’s history. Designating Fort Monroe as a National Monument will ensure that future generations of Americans can learn from, and be inspired by, this vital piece of American history.”

BACKGROUND ON FORT MONROE AND THE “CONTRABAND” MOVEMENT

The construction of Fort Monroe was completed in 1834, and it served as the assembly, training, and embarkation point for U.S. forces involved in the Seminole Wars, the suppression of Nat Turner’s Rebellion, the Black Hawk War, and the Mexican War.  Arguably most compelling is its role as the birthplace of the Civil War-era “Contraband” movement for self-emancipation.  Contraband heritage is one of the least well-known and most important chapters of American history.  Contraband heritage commemorates the struggles and triumphs of 500,000 African American women, children, and men who freed themselves from slavery at great risk and, thereby, secured their own liberty, influenced national politics, and hastened the formal Emancipation Proclamation.

For further information on this historic event, please visit:  http://blog.preservationnation.org/2011/05/11/the-contraband-of-america-and-the-road-to-freedom/

The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.PreservationNation.org) is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, eight regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories.

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Mar 19

Mayor calls park service meeting ‘positive’

Categories:

Government & Citizens, Tourism, Arts & Culture

by HR Partnership


From Hampton Commons:  Hours spent on the road and in meetings about Fort Monroe produce encouraging results

On March 16, 2011, in The Mayor’s Posts, by The Honorable Molly Joseph Ward, Mayor of the City of Hampton; reprinted herein by permission.

As was recently reported in the local paper, several city representatives spent the better part of last week either on the road or meeting with individuals and organizations critical to advancing the city’s vision for Fort Monroe. This is an account of how our travels and efforts unfolded over the course of the week:

Tuesday was spent at the Pentagon with Terrie Suit, Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness (and soon to be a Secretary to the Governor) and the Chair of the Fort Monroe Authority (FMA), Mike Coleman, from Terrie Suit’s office and BRAC Coordinator for the Commonwealth, Bruce Sturk, Director of Federal Facilities for the City of Hampton, Bill Armbruster, Executive Director of the FMA and members of his staff and legal advisors. We were there to talk to the Army about the pending closure of the Fort. We started at 9 and finished around 4:30.

The Pentagon is a maze, and it is both legally and logistically required that visitors to the building be escorted. We met with various departments within the Army over the duration of the day, each with a different purpose and different goals. One particularly uplifting meeting was with the museum curators for the Army who ensured everyone that the Casemate Museum and its collection would stay at the Fort. We headed back to Hampton Tuesday evening to prepare for the Council Meetings on Wednesday.

After the Wednesday evening meeting, Mary Bunting, Bruce Sturk and I got back in the car and headed for DC again, this time to work on the effort to gain a National Park Service unit at the Fort. We ran into a difficult rainstorm, but Bruce was driving and he navigated our way north with great skill.

Thursday morning we started the day at the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill and met with Congressman Forbes, Congressman Rigell, Congressman Wittman and Congressman Scott. We then caught a cab to make it to the Senate side in time to meet with Senator Webb and Senator Warner. Each member was extraordinarily generous with his time, and enormously supportive of the National Park Service initiative.

Friday we had breakfast with representatives from the National Park Conservation Association and then headed to the Department of the Interior to meet with Jonathan Jarvis, the Director of the National Park Service, and his team. The Director spent over an hour with us and was enormously positive about wanting to see a National Park Service unit at Fort Monroe.

At the end of the day, we still have many challenges ahead as the Army prepares to leave in September. We do have consensus on the desirability of a National Park Service unit but there are hurdles in front of us, not the least of which is funding to support the perpetual care of the historic resources at the Fort.

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