Fort Algernourne was established at Old Point Comfort - modern day Fort Monroe - in 1609 by Captain John Smith and was destroyed by a fire in 1612.
Fort George was built on Old Point Comfort in 1727 and guarded the Hampton Roads Harbor until 1749, when it was destroyed by a hurricane.
Fort Monroe is the third oldest active military installation ~ first garrisoned by the United States in 1823.
Fort Monroe has the largest stone fort ever built in America.
During the Civil War, Fort Monroe was one of only four permanent Union forts never taken by the Confederacy.
Fort Monroe was secure enough to house President Abraham Lincoln, who visited the Fort during the height of the war.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis was also imprisoned at Fort Monroe.
Fort Monroe earned the name "Freedom's Fortress" when Major General Benjamin F. Butler, refused to return slaves who escaped to Fort Monroe during the Civil War.
The Monitor and Merrimack fought their epic battle off the shores of Fort Monroe.
