Va. fort’s future in focus as Army plans pullout

By STEVE SZKOTAK

Associated Press Writer

HAMPTON, Va. — Fort Monroe — a Union oasis where fugitive slaves flocked during the Civil War — returns to Virginia’s control when the Army pulls out in 2011, and historians are trying to protect the future of the “Freedom Fortress.”

Many slave descendants trace the arrival of slavery in the U.S. in 1619 to Old Point Comfort, the hatchet-shaped peninsula where Fort Monroe sits, and where slavery would be ushered into its final stages nearly 2 1/2 centuries later.

“When you look at how immigrants went to Ellis Island, our people couldn’t do this,” said Gerri L. Hollins, who counts a fugitive slave among her ancestors. “This  is our Ellis Island.”

Supporters want to see the fort become a national park. A state-appointed authority presented a reuse plan to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Monday that proposes preservation and strict limits on new development.

It was at Fort Monroe that the stage would be set for slavery’s demise in May 1861, two years before Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. A Union commander declared that three fugitive slaves there were contraband — war spoils —effectively freeing them.The gesture sent a flood of slaves to Fort Monroe in what some historians say is one of the most powerful events of the Civil War.

The fate of the “Gibraltar of the Chesapeake,” the fort’s nickname during 35 years as the home of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, is being pieced together by the state-appointed Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority.   While the Defense Department will review proposals for Fort Monroe’s future, Kaine or his successor will have the final say. Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey said the governor expects anplans to honor the history of Fort Monroe, keep it free andopen to the public and make it economically sound.

Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park envision an economically sustainable national park similar to the Presidio, the former Army base in San Francisco that is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. They are fearful the state, which has struggled to address growing transportation demands, will be financially unable to sustain the National Historic Landmark.

The six-sided, 63-acre fortress sealed by 1.3 miles of granite is the last active moated fort in the U.S. The property includes 264 government buildings and housing, and a majority of the buildings are deemed historic.

William A. Armbruster, executive director of the authority studying the base’s future, said historical purists should not fear limited development, provided it is consistent with the history of the fort. He said large-scale development is not likely.

“It is a treasure that we want to protect,” Armbruster said of the fort. “We want future generations to say, ’Thank God, we got it right.”’

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[ Article omits the fact that Confederate President Jefferson Davis was incarcerated there following the Civil War for some two years. His casemate will remain as one of the historical places of interest. MMB]

Excerpted from AP Release courtesy of Philadelphia Civil War News Association

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