Hampden, virginia. Up next, robin reed gives us a tour showcasing the forts history from a colonial era through its completion in 1834 and its role in the civil war. Welcome to fort monroe located on the Pleasant Place we call Point Comfort. Actually, oh, Point Comfort and that way for a long, long time. Here over 400 years of history occurred. In fact, some say even longer. Some say even thousands of years. Inside the museum aptly named, Casemate Museum. A vault made is inside a for the wall. Youre inside the fourt wall. Unique for museums this date in time. Well talk about the history that occurs here. Some of our stories deal with the virginia indians, the africans that first arrived here, and their plight during the American Civil War. Thousands and thousands of years ago, the natives of this land started to migrate. They migrated as far as, far west as mexico and the Mississippi River valley. They migrated as far south as south america, and central america. They migrated all the way here to Point Comfort where fort monroe is located today. They were hunters, gatherers and lived a very successful and prosperous life here. In 1607, the english would come here. By that time the virginians had learned and mastered the part of cultivation. The english would struggle the first two years but they, too, would prosper. We know from a mr. John roth, secretary of the colony, in 1619, 20odd negroes arrived here at Point Comfort and were traded for goods. After that we see the evolution of laws and rules and regulations that would start to manage the african population here in hampton. Next were going to look at the war of 1812, and find out why this fort is now in existence and how it came about. Why is the largest stone fort in the United States here today . The war of 1812 is a backdrop to that story. In 1812, the british once again invaded the United States. They arrived right here at the Chesapeake Bay, and there was no one here to stop them. They moved all the way up the Chesapeake Bay, burned our capital city of washington, d. C. And were finally stopped at a place called baltimore. The reason . Fort mchenry. After of war of 1812, the president of the United States, james madison, said, we need to establish fort locations up and down our eastern seaboard. They recruited, interestingly enough, general simone bernard, a french engineer who came and helped us establish what we called 3rd system force today. Fort monroe is an example of the large effort and best of all of those forts. In 1819, it was decided that this location, Point Comfort, would be the location for fort monroe. They began constructing almost immediately and didnt finish until 1834. The moldal we see today is exactly what it would have looked like in 1834 when the first soldiers would come to populate this fortification of the bridge. And the frenchman bernard was a very intelligent engineer and created many facets to this fort that made it one of the strongest strongholds here in the United States. One of the things they is that he had several angles on this forward. So as the enemy approached the individual fort walls, there could be cross fire from different angles on the fort on the enemy. Also you notice it has a moat. This moat was originally designed to allow to move materiels around the fort to help with its construction. After the fort was completed, the moat obviously becomes another level of the fence for fort monroe. Fort monroe, the largest stone fort in the United States even today started its construction in 1819. It would take them all the way to 1834 to finish the construction of the fort. The original intention of the fort was to house 32 pounds of artillery pieces to fire upon ships entering the Chesapeake Bay. It has a water exposure and really didnt worry much about the events of the land behind it. Fort monroe would remain the strong force of artillery and might all the way up into the American Civil War. Were looking at a 32pound artillery tube. We know that this tube was built in 1846. Every casemate were standing at would have one of these beasts inside of it to fire out through the forts window at the approaching enemy usually upon naval vessels. It would take anywhere from 9 to 11 men to load and fire a 32 pounder, and it gets its name because it fired a 32pound cannonball. This would be the workhorse of the military during the war of 1812, all the way up to the American Civil War. In order to fire a 32 pounder, you would need a crew of about 9 to 11 individuals, and then let me point out some of the positions they would hold. You would have a number one and a number two man. Their responsibility was to make sure that the firing mechanism of this gun was in place. So they would punch the powder bag. They would set the fuse, and they would run the lan yayard t fire this gun pt front of the tube you would have the men who would actually load the projectiles. One man responsible with cleaning the tube out, ramming the projectile back to the back of this gun and also there to help load the ammunition from the men carrying the projectiles and powder up from their supply. So two men in the back. Two men in the front. Youd have a gunner who would be responsible for, and these days we call it points the gun, not aiming the gun, towards whatever the military objective might be. Sometimes you would have another Commanding Officer who would be responsible for a series of guns being fired at the same time. It would take anywhere from about a minute to 75 seconds to load and fire a 32 pounder. These 32 pounders that were looking at today were the workhorse of the United States military all the way through the American Civil War. Fort monroe was a, was one of the largest strongholds of the United States military. But it never fell into the confederate hands. The department of defense made sure that this fort was secure on the very eve of the American Civil War. What you should know about these 32 pounders and what you should know about fort monroe is that these guns were never fired in anger. This fort was never attacked, and that speaks to its strength and how imposing it is to the enemy. What did slavery look like before the American Civil War . Slaves were used primarily for agriculture. And this map gives us a very good indication of where that agriculture was taking place. If we look at the eastern seaboard, you notice that the darker areas indicates the more slave there was. The commonwealth of virginia certainly was growing things like tobacco, cultivating cotton and you can see how intense are ow populace the slave and slave people were here in virginia at the time. Lets go down to georgia. You can notice where theyre growing rice and Different Things down here. Once again, we have a concentration of enslaved individuals. The Mississippi River valley. Same thing. Theyre growing cotton and other cultivating cash crops that allow whites to be able to capitalize on that. Once again, look at the concentration of enslaved people in the Mississippi River valley. In may of 1861 there was a perfect storm. Several things came together to create what we call today the contraband decision. The first thing that occurred is that Abraham Lincoln promoted and i signed Major GeneralBenjamin Butler to come and take command of fort monroe. Almost on the heels of that the commonwealth of virginia who had been sitting on the fence whether or not to stay under the protection of the United States or join the confederacy finally made a decision. And that decision was indeed they would join the new confederate government and invite the National Capital to be removed to the city of richmond, virginia. Butler takes command. Virginia leaves the union. During all of this, three individuals, three brave individuals, baker, townsend, malory, would steal a ship, row across the Chesapeake Bay, present themselves at the gate of the american soldiers and say, were runaway slaves. Seek to be refugees and protection. They were invited into the fort. The very next day Major GeneralBenjamin Butler interviewed the three individuals and found out they were being used for the use of the Confederate Army to build trenches and to do chores around the confederate camp. That same day the owners of these individual slaves came to recruit them citing that due to the slave act, the law of the land in the United States, saying that you had a runaway slave, you, by law had to return them to their owners. Benjamin butler being the lawyer he was in his former life said this ah so youre quoting the United States law. My understanding is that the state of virginia has left the union. The United States law no longer applies to you. Now, if you want to swear allegiance to the United States, you can have your slaves back, but if not, im going to seize them as contra band of war because youre using them against my soldiers in the United States army. I will seize them and keep them and you no longer can have your slaves. This would create a mass of folks coming to fort monroe to seek their freedom. What started out with three men became 10,000 by end of the American Civil War in four short years. Jefferson davis the man is a contradiction. Jefferson davis in his early life was a graduate of the United States military academy. He served in the frontier with the United States army. He was secretary of war under president peairs, served in the United States congress and also serves the in the United States senate. He and his wife were the host during James Buchanans administration in washington, d. C. When the south left and formed their own government, they invited Jefferson Davis to become its first and only president. Jefferson davis would accept that invitation and become the president of the Confederate States of america. Were standing in the cell where Jefferson Davis was held at the conclusion of the American Civil War. In 1865, Jefferson Davis received word from general robert e. Lee, commander of the army of northern virginia, that they no longer could hold the federal army back from attacking the city of richmond. With that news, Jefferson Davis adjourned his cabinet, sent his family on the road for their protection. Jefferson davis soon after that would follow. He would finally catch up with his family right below, right above the Florida State line. It is here where a federal mounted unit was able to capture him and his family. Jefferson davis was placed on a boat and moved back up here to fort monroe and incarcerated in this very cell. Some people ask, why . The main reason is that Jefferson Davis was indicted on three federal charges. One, for treason. Two, kples complicit in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and mistreatment of prisoners. In order to kansas the charges in federal court he had to about a place where his last residency occurred and that was in richmond, the white house of the confederacy. Here he will say four months, remain incarcerated here at fort monroe for almost two years. He would never see his day in court. He would never be acquitted, and he would retire and write his memoirs and live to the age of 80. With the understanding that Jefferson Davis was charged with three federal indictments, many folks in the United States, men of wealth, men of influence, decided that that was not going to be the best way to heal the nation. To try Jefferson Davis with the fear that he might be acquitted would cast a shadow over 3. 2 Million People going to war and there were 750,000 losing their lives. At the conclusion of the American Civil War, the priority of not only our congress and the cities of the United States was to reunite the country and make us once again a strong union. For this reason many confederate officers would not be charged with the role of treason. In fact, we see many of those officers actually have roles and in occupied positions within ulysses s. Grants administration. Were looking at the American Flag of the United States. This flag is from the American Civil War. And tradition has that this flag actually hung in Jefferson Davis cell to remind him on a daily basis of the crimes that he had committed against this former federal government. The history of Jefferson Davis was a very complex one. And one that we here at the Casemate Museum tries to look at all aspects of. This cell door is probably one of the most important artifacts from Jefferson Davis incarceration here at fort monroe. Its behind this very door that he would look out and realize that the American Civil War was over and that the confederacy was no longer part of the historic narrative of the United States. Weve taken you on a tour of the Casemate Museum through the American Civil War, but theres so much more here to see. In the late 19th and 20th century it becomes a trady ground for the United States military. Here almost every ar tillerist in the United States army was trained. This fort would later become a very important defensive position for the Chesapeake Bay showing some of the most modern weapons of our time. Later fort monroe would become the center of training and doctrine command for the United States army. Rest of our museum talks about not only the military history that occurred here but the social aspects of Point Comfort here at fort monroe. It is here through the rest of our exhibits you learn how the social aspects of virginia merged with the military aspects of fort monroe. This is a living, breathing, viable community, and would say that way all the way until its closure in 2011. You can watch this and other american artifacts programs visiting our website. Cspan. Org history. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan3 explore our nations past. Cspan3. Created by americas Cable Television companies as a public service, and brought to you today by your television provider. Weeknights this month we feature American History tv programs as preview of whats available every weekend on cspan3. Tonight we explore the american story with a look at the National Park service. Visit eight parks across the country. Including Mount Rushmore national memorial, selma to montgomery, national his toring trail and gateway arch National Park featuring a mixture of Natural Beauty and history. Watch beginning at 8 00 eastern. And enjoy American History tv every weekend on cspan3. Every saturday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3 go inside a Different College classroom and hear about topics ranging from the american revolution, civil rights and u. S. President s to 9 11. Thanks for your patience and for logging in to class. With most College Campuses closed due to impact of the coronavirus, watch professors transfer teaching to a virtual setting to engage with their students. Gorbachev did most of the work to change the soviet union. But reagan met him half way. Reagan encouraged him. Reagan supported him. Freedom of the press which well get to later i should just mention madison originally called it freedom of the use of the press and it is indeed freedom to print and publish thingss. Not a freedom what we refer to institutionally as the press. Legends in history on American History tv on cspan3. Lectures in history is also available at at podcast. Find it where you listen to podcasts. The mayo clinic is consistently ranked at one of the top hospitals in america. Brothers william and charlie mayo founded the clin beic in 1889. Next, on american ak facrtifact visitchester for its role in the community today. Mayo clinic is an american