Fort Monroe Authority

Fort Monroe,
overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, has witnessed some of the nation’s most diverse
and intricate historic events spanning the American story – from the Kecoughtan
Indigenous peoples, arrival of English colonists in 1607 and 1609, the landing
of the first Africans to the Virginia Colony in English North America in 1619,
the of building the largest stone fort in the United States begun in 1819,
where it became a safe haven for freedom seekers during the Civil War after the
Contraband Decision of 1861, and a bastion of defense for the Chesapeake
Bay through the 21st Century. The history of Fort Monroe holds stunning achievements
and tremendous costs in the continuing struggle of Americans to achieve, define,
and maintain the ideals of freedom.