Defender of the Chesapeake

Fort Monroe, Virginia, has been a major post of the United States Army for over 166 years. The largest permanent seacoast fortification constructed before the Civil War, Fort Monroe witnessed the birth of Army professional service schools with the establishment of the Artillery School of Practice in 1824. During the Civil War, the Fort was a base of operations not only for expeditions against the Confederate coastal areas, but also for McClellan's Peninsular Campaign of 1862 against Richmond.