Fort Monroe (Point Comfort)
Where the English ship White Lion brought “some 20 and odd” captive Africans ashore in August 1619 — the first documented arrival of enslaved Africans in English North America. Two and a half centuries later, in May 1861, Union General Benjamin Butler refused to return three formerly enslaved men to their Confederate enslavers, declaring them “contraband of war” — a legal innovation that helped open the door to the Emancipation Proclamation. The site is now Fort Monroe National Monument.
A full editorial profile of Fort Monroe (Point Comfort) — including primary sources, archival photographs, and a visitor guide — is in development. Subscribe to be notified when it publishes. To suggest sources or corrections, write us at editors@black-history.com.