Fort Monroe NM, Hampton, VA and Hurricane Arthur

When we came to Hampton, VA on June 29, we had 3 goals in mind:  visit Lin's cousins Hal and Mary, visit Lin's paternal grandmother at Elmwood Cemetery in Norfolk and to get acquainted with Fort Monroe, one of the newest National Monuments having been created in November 2011.

It is so nice to have friends or family with a level driveway!

Hal and Mary was easy; they're fellow RVers with a small travel trailer and they make a yearly pilgrimage to Mary's brother's ranch in Montana.  They also have a level driveway at their house and a second 30 amp electric plug--perfect for RV company like us!   We had a nice dinner at their house and lots of conversation catching up.  Mary is also into genealogy but she isn't working much on the Hines family at this time since our “cousin Beth seems to have it all done.” Well that's not exactly true; still some substantial “brick walls!”

The second day we went to Norfolk to see Grandmother Hines, who died in childbirth in 1909, and pay our respects. It's also a garden style cemetery with many older monuments, including a curious nearby Elks Lodge section with military style gravestones (but no military service indicated) from 1880s through 1930 without wives.  There is one huge tomb for John H. Core with Greek or Roman goddesses  monuments in front! 

From Norfolk, we went through the tunnel back to Hampton to go to Fort Monroe National Monument. 

The old Fort was deactivated in September 2011 and 325 acres were made a National Monument in November 2011 by Presidential proclamation.   The Fort is being converted to civilian uses but many of the old buildings and especially the officer housing have been restored to their former glory and are in use again. 

 

A huge old hotel resort right on the water, The Chamberlin, has been restored and is now a beautiful senior housing facility.

It is so close to the seawall that we took close-up photographs of a Navy guided missile cruiser leaving port and later, a Navy guided missile destroyer coming into the nearby Norfolk Naval Base.

Hal and Mary had suggested that Ft. Monroe's Casemate Museum run by the U.S. Army since 1951 is very interesting and it's free!   The Fort is very well protected by large coastal defense batteries with disappearing rifles dating to 1834, in the aftermath of the War of 1812 when the English sailed up to Washington and burned the White House and the Capitol.  The Fort proper is surrounded by a moat and high walls protected by cannon designed “to protect the Hampton Roads waterway from enemy attack”. Known as the “Gibralter of the Chesapeake”, it is the largest stone fortification built in the United States with walls stretching 1.3 miles and enclosing 63 acres of land.”*  There is a large parade ground surrounded by historic houses and live oak trees, some close to 500 years old!  The fort has 3 miles of Chesapeake Bay beachfront and the 1801 built Point Comfort Lighthouse.

2^nd Lt. Robert E. Lee, a West Point graduate and an Army Corps of Engineers engineer, lived at the Fort and helped supervise its construction from 1831-1834.  Later, General Robert E. Lee, one and the same, commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War!

Lee's quarters at Fort Monroe

Another interesting fact is that when Virginia seceded from the Union at the start of the Civil War in May 1861, 3 slaves sought refuge at the Fort.  Their owner, a Confederate major, demanded the return of “his property.”  Major General Benjamin Butler, the Fort's commander and a lawyer, declared that the slaves were “Contraband of War” and would not be returned and were allowed to stay at the Fort;  900 more slaves arrived at the Fort in the next month and were also given refuge. 

Fort Monroe was never captured by the Confederates during the Civil War.  President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation  Proclamation and the 1865 13^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution finally outlawed slavery in the United States and General Butler's “Contraband” decision at Fort Monroe was part of the legal foundation for freeing the slaves.  Many “Contraband” became Federal troops during the Civil War and performed well.

To get to the Casemate Museum, you must cross a bridge over the moat and enter a very low and narrow tunnel through the sally port; just wide and high enough for our small RV to clear!  We made it and parked near the Museum. 

Just to the left of the entrance is the cell in a casemate where Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned for two years after the fall of the Confederacy in 1865.  Part of that time, Davis was held in shackles and his wife was not allowed to visit, although this changed for the better later on as Davis was moved to a more dignified and comfortable officer's room in a barracks!  We spent an hour and a half looking through the exhibits and an interesting video but had to leave for dinner.  We asked Hal about a sister of Lin's father, Aunt Ruth, and he took us to see her grave and also Hal's father's grave.  Then we had a great dinner out with Hal and Mary at the Surfrider Restaurant, a terrific seafood place.

In early 20th Century until 1946 Fort Monroe was the Army Coast Artillery School,the forerunner of the present Air Defense Artillery. The Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)was established at Fort Monroe until the fort was deactivated.

Edgar Allan Poe bivouacked here as well (see the raven!)

Jefferson Davis' first cell

Cannon in the casemate readied to fire

The next morning, knowing that Hal and Mary were planning to leave on their Montana trip the next day, we decided, since we wanted to return to Fort Monroe and the Museum, we should check out The Colonies RV Park also at Fort Monroe, across from the old Officers Club, now a Beach Club.  
It seemed unlikely but the RV Park had a few spaces open until 4^th of July when they were solidly booked so that fit our schedule perfectly.  We paid for 2 nights and went back to finish the Museum. Then we enjoyed relaxing and catching up for a few days but by July 2, the winds picked up strongly and the clouds darkened enough to confirm the TV news reports that Hurricane Arthur was on the way!  

So on the morning of July 3^rd, we decided to run for the hills!  The hills in this case were going to be real hills-- the Blue Ridge Mountains, Skyline Drive with altitudes from 2000-4000' and driving through Shenandoah National Park!   We'll tell you all about it in a future post! 

* quotation from Ft. Monroe park brochure