HAMPTON, Va. — U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner introduced legislation to add about 40 coastal acres of land to Fort Monroe National Monument.
The addition of land will unify the two divided sections of Fort Monroe and achieve an unbroken coastline along the Chesapeake Bay.
The Senators introduced the bill after the Trump Administration didn't accept approximately 40 acres of land from the Commonwealth of Virginia, which has offered to donate the land to the Department of Interior.
“With its rich history, Fort Monroe is unlike any other national monument. It’s uniquely positioned to tell some of our nation’s most significant stories on a compact and highly accessible site in the middle of an urban area,” said the Senators. “This legislation will finally unify Fort Monroe, from Old Point Comfort north to the end of the property, thus protecting the land’s iconic history and its recreational value on the Chesapeake Bay.”
In addition to adding approximately 40 acres of land in the eastern part of the Wherry Quarter, the Fort Monroe National Monument Land Acquisition Act would require the Secretary of the Interior to work with the Commonwealth to solve the issue of managing several non-historic buildings on the land.
Fort Monroe was built between 1819 and 1834 to protect the entrance to Hampton Roads. During the Civil War, Major General Benjamin Butler issued his famous "contraband decision” at Fort Monroe, ordering that escaped slaves who reached Union lines could not be returned to bondage. It was this courageous decision that earned Fort Monroe the nickname “Freedom's Fortress.”