Through the centuries, Fort Monroe played many roles, but arguably none as important as its role in the Civil War. While strategically defending the great Chesapeake Bay, the stronghold became a sanctuary for enslaved freedom seekers.
Less than a month from when the first shots of the Civil War rang out at Fort Sumter, three enslaved men escaped and sought refuge with the Union Army at Fort Monroe.
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act required the men to be returned. However, trained as a lawyer, Fort Monroe’s commander, Major General Benjamin Butler, felt the law no longer applied in Virginia, since they seceded from the USA.
In addition, as the Confederacy saw enslaved people as property and utilized them in the war efforts, Butler deduced the Union Army could take them in as “contraband of war.”
This decision influenced thousands of enslaved to seek refuge with the Union Army and earned Fort Monroe the nickname Freedom’s Fortress.