Fort Monroe, Virginia

E34064

Fort Monroe, Virginia is a historic coastal military installation at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay that long served as a key U.S. Army post and defensive stronghold.


Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf National Historic Landmark
National Monument of the United States
former United States Army post
historic coastal fortification
historic district
addedToNationalRegisterOfHistoricPlaces 1966
alsoKnownAs Fortress Monroe
Freedom’s Fortress
area approximately 565 acres
baseRealignmentAndClosureAction 2005 BRAC decision
builtBy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
surface form: United States Army Corps of Engineers
closedAsArmyPost 2011
completedIn 1834
constructionBegan 1819
country United States of America
surface form: United States
countyOrEquivalent Hampton
surface form: Independent city of Hampton
designatedNationalHistoricLandmark 1960
designatedNationalMonumentBy Barack Obama
designatedNationalMonumentDate 2011-11-01
designedBy Simon Bernard
features Casemate Museum
bastions and ramparts
moated stone fort
garrison United States Army
governingBody Fort Monroe, Virginia self-linksurface differs
surface form: Fort Monroe Authority (Commonwealth of Virginia)

National Park Service
hasViewOf Hampton Roads
heldPrisoner Jefferson Davis
JeffersonDavisImprisonmentEnd 1867
JeffersonDavisImprisonmentStart 1865
locatedAt mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
locatedIn Hampton
surface form: Hampton, Virginia

United States of America
surface form: United States

Virginia
locatedOn Old Point Comfort
namedAfter James Monroe
fifth president of the United States
nearbyWaterBody Chesapeake Bay
Hampton Roads
surface form: Hampton Roads harbor
notableEvent “Contraband decision” offering refuge to escaped enslaved people in 1861
notableFor remaining under Union control throughout the American Civil War
partOf Third System of US seacoast defense
surface form: Third System of U.S. seacoast fortifications
primaryFunction coastal defense of Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay
servedAs headquarters of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
state Virginia
strategicRole guarding entrance to Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River approaches to Washington, D.C.
TRADOCHeadquartersFrom 1973
TRADOCHeadquartersTo 2011
usedDuringConflict American Civil War
War of 1812 era coastal defense system
World War I
World War II

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Matthew Ridgway birthPlace Fort Monroe, Virginia
this entity surface form: Fort Monroe, Virginia, United States
Virginia Peninsula contains Fort Monroe, Virginia
this entity surface form: Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe, Virginia governingBody Fort Monroe, Virginia self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Fort Monroe Authority (Commonwealth of Virginia)
Third System of US seacoast defense hasPart Fort Monroe, Virginia
this entity surface form: Fort Monroe
Fort Eustis, Virginia locatedNear Fort Monroe, Virginia