Virginia fort commemorates critical chapter in Civil War, slavery

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: May 21, 2011 - 1:37 p.m.
Last Updated: May 21, 2011 - 1:37 p.m.

HAMPTON, Va. — The beginning of the end of slavery in the South is being commemorated at Fort Monroe.

Saturday's events at the historic Hampton military outpost mark the 150th anniversary of a decision by three runaway slaves to seek out the Union stronghold rather than remain enslaved.

The three rowed from Sewell's Point in Norfolk to Fort Monroe, where a Union general refused to return the slaves to their masters. He declared them contraband of war.

Historian William B. Wiggins told the Times-Dispatch of Richmond the actions by the three men forced the North to take a stand on slavery.

By the end of the war, the area around Fort Monroe was home to a community of 10,000 former slaves.

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