Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe (1819-Active) - Designed as the first Third System Fort by Brig. Gen. Simon Bernard and officially named for President James Monroe in 1832. Construction on Fort Monroe began in 1819 and was completed in 1834. First known as Fortress Monroe. Active Army installation.

Fort Monroe in Harpers Weekly during the U.S. Civil War

Early History

The first fortification built on this site was Fort Algernourne built in 1609 by Captain John Smiths settlers. Other fortifications were built here during the colonial period but did not last. After the war of 1812 it was decided that a system of coastal defenses were needed and Fort Monroe was the first of those to be built.

Construction

Fort Monroe was built as a seven front, brick and masonry, fort with 10' thick walls and a surrounding 8' deep wet moat. It was first designed for 380 guns, later expanded to a 412 gun capacity, but was never fully armed. The fort was planned for a peacetime garrison of 600 men and a wartime garrison of 2,625 men.

Fort Monroe was first garrisoned 25 Jul 1823 by Company G, 3rd U.S. Artillery and by 1825 the garrison was the largest in the United States. In 1824 it became the first U.S. Army "Artillery School of Practice".

U.S. Civil War

During the U.S. Civil War Fort Monroe was one of the few forts in the south that remained in Union hands for the duration. It proved to be a major factor in the war by limiting the significance of the naval yard at Norfolk and by serving as a staging point for attacks on Richmond.

Endicott Period

Fort Monroe Endicott Period Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Anderson	8	12"	Mortar	1896-1898-1898-1943	$ 48,670	4 mortars removed 1917-1918
Battery Ruggles	8	12"	Mortar	1896-1898-1898-1943	$ 48,670	4 mortars removed 1917-1918
Battery De Russy	3	12"	Disappearing	1898-1903-1904-1944	$ 142,348
Battery Parrott (1)	2	12"	Disappearing	1902-1906-1906-1943	$ 211,500	Used for Battery AMTB 23 - Parrott 1943-1946
Battery Humphreys (3)	1	10"	Disappearing	1897-1910	$ 59,965	Destroyed
Battery Eustis	2	10"	Disappearing	1898-1900-1901-1942	$ 80.767	Destroyed
Battery Church	2	10"	Disappearing	1897-1900-1901-1942	$ 90,473
Battery Bomford	2	10"	Disappearing	1891-1897-1897-1942	$ 175,348	Destroyed
Northeast Bastion Battery	1	10"	Disappearing	1900-1908	$ ?
Battery Barber	1	8"	Barbette	1898-1915	$ 1,663	Destroyed
Battery Parapet	4	8"	Barbette	1898-1915	$ 1,611	Mostly buried
Battery Montgomery (2)	2	6"	Pedestal	1901-1903-1904-1948	$ 24,000	Guns removed 1917 Guns replaced 1919 Guns removed 1941 Destroyed
Battery Gatewood	4	4.7"	Armstrong	1898-1914	$ 2,956	Mostly buried
Battery Irwin	4	3"	Masking Parapet	1900-1903-1903-1920	$ 12,500	2, 3" Guns from Fort Wool (1) Battery Hindman in 1946
Source: CDSG

Fort Monroe Plan

World War II

Fort Monroe World War II Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery AMTB 23 - Parrott	2	90 mm	Fixed Pedestal	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 17,289	Built on Battery Parrott
Battery 124	2	16"	Long Range Barbette Carriage Navy Gun (1940 Program)	Not Built	$ ?
Source: CDSG

Current

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Location: Old Point Comfort, Hampton, Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 37.004129 Long: -76.307237 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation:

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 815-818
• Lewis, Emanuel Raymond, Seacoast Fortifications of the United States: An Introductory History, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 7th printing, 1993, ISBN 1-55750-502-0, page 41-43
• Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W., Fortress America: The Forts That Defended America, 1600 to the Present, DaCapo Press, 2004, ISBN 0-306-81294-0, page 216-217, 293
• Robinson, Willard B., American Forts: Architectural Form and Function, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1977, ISBN 0-252-00589-9, page 99
• NorthAmericanForts.com
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

Links:

• Wikipedia

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