Fort Monroe

In late August of 1619, an English ship carrying about twenty or more captive Africans, seized from a Portuguese slave ship, arrived at Point Comfort, where the captives were traded to the Virginia colonists for supplies. These are the first documented Africans brought to England's mainland American colonies, and their arrival marks a foundational and tragic moment in the history of slavery in what became the United States.

Those men and women, and the many who followed, were forced into a system of bondage that would grow over the next two and a half centuries into the vast institution of American slavery. Fort Monroe now bears the weight of remembering that beginning honestly, marking the very shore where it happened, so that the human beginning of a long injustice is neither hidden nor forgotten.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Fort Monroe stayed in Union hands even as Virginia seceded, an island of federal control deep in the Confederacy. That spring, three enslaved men, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory, and James Townsend, escaped to the fort seeking freedom. The Union commander, General Benjamin Butler, refused to return them, arguing that as property being used against the Union they could be seized as contraband of war.

Word spread fast, and thousands of enslaved people made their way to the fort, which became known as Freedom's Fortress. Butler's contraband decision helped push the federal government toward emancipation and set a precedent that reverberated across the South. On the same ground where slavery in the colonies began in 1619, enslaved people in 1861 seized their own freedom and helped begin its end, one of the most extraordinary turns in American history.

The fort itself is an engineering marvel. Built in the decades after the War of 1812 to guard the vital harbor of Hampton Roads, it is the largest stone fort ever constructed in the United States, an immense stronghold of granite and brick surrounded by a water-filled moat. A young army engineer named Robert E. Lee helped oversee its construction in the early 1830s, long before the war that would divide the nation.

Because it never fell and was never abandoned, the fort grew into a full community over its long life, with officers' quarters, chapels, a lighthouse, and gracious homes lining its shaded streets inside the walls. After the Confederacy collapsed, its former president Jefferson Davis was imprisoned here for a time. The army finally left in 2011, and much of the site became a national monument, preserving both the fortress and the living town within it.

Old Point Comfort has drawn people to its breezes and views for centuries, once even as a seaside resort, and the waterfront remains one of the fort's pleasures. Visitors can walk the ramparts and moat, stroll the beach, and look out over the busy harbor of Hampton Roads, where warships, cargo vessels, and the daily life of one of the world's great ports pass by.

As a national monument, Fort Monroe now welcomes visitors to explore its layered story, from the 1619 landing to Freedom's Fortress to its long military career. The Casemate Museum inside the walls interprets that history, and the whole site invites a slow, thoughtful visit, a place where a beautiful shoreline and some of the heaviest history in the country meet in one spot.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Fort Monroe, on the Virginia coast at Hampton where the waters meet the Chesapeake Bay, is a historic former army fort with a remarkable and layered history spanning centuries. The largest stone fort ever built in the country, it guarded the entrance to Hampton Roads, and it holds deep significance as a place where, early in the Civil War, enslaved people who reached the Union-held fort were declared contraband and not returned to slavery, earning it the name Freedom's Fortress. Now a national monument, it offers history, a moat, beaches, and coastal views. With its powerful history and coastal setting, Fort Monroe offers a significant destination in Virginia.

Fort Monroe is called Freedom's Fortress because of a pivotal moment early in the Civil War, when enslaved people who escaped to the Union-held fort were declared contraband of war by the commanding general and not returned to slavery, a policy that drew thousands of enslaved people seeking freedom and helped move the nation toward emancipation. This made the fort a beacon of freedom. Remarkably, the site is also near where enslaved Africans first arrived in the English colonies centuries earlier, giving it a profound place in this history. This powerful legacy is central to the meaning of Fort Monroe in Virginia.

You can explore the historic stone fort and its moat, visit the museum and learn about the fort's centuries of history including its role as Freedom's Fortress, walk or bike the grounds, enjoy the beaches and coastal views along the Chesapeake Bay, see historic buildings and monuments, and reflect on the site's profound significance. The fort, the history, and the waterfront are highlights. It blends history with coastal recreation. With its historic fort, powerful history, museum, and beaches, Fort Monroe offers an engaging and meaningful experience in Hampton, Virginia.

Spring through fall offers the most pleasant weather for exploring the fort grounds and enjoying the beaches and coastal setting, with summer popular for the waterfront though hot and humid, and spring and fall especially comfortable for walking the historic grounds. The site is open year-round, with indoor museum exhibits available in any weather. Checking current hours for the museum and specific sites before you go is wise. For the best combination of comfortable weather and the coastal setting, aim for spring through fall at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia.

Fort Monroe is on the coast at Hampton in eastern Virginia, near the Virginia Air and Space Science Center in Hampton, within reach of the Mariners' Museum, Yorktown Battlefield and Colonial Williamsburg, and the Virginia Beach and Norfolk areas across Hampton Roads. That makes Fort Monroe a significant stop to combine with the Virginia Air and Space Science Center, the Mariners' Museum, and the other attractions of eastern Virginia on a visit to the state.