FORT MONROE, Va. –
It only took a minute to end Fort Monroe's 188-year legacy as an active Army installation.
In quick military efficiency, the historic fort's red-and-gold flag was rolled tight and permanently placed in a drab-green case at a deactivation ceremony Sept. 15. The flag casing symbolized the Army's completion of mission, in accordance with orders to close under the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005.
"The garrison colors, which serve as a binding symbol of continuity and a point of inspiration, have been cased for the final time," said Chuck Valiant, ceremony narrator, pausing to collect himself emotionally. "The garrison colors will be relocated to the Army Center for Heraldry in Washington, D.C., never to be flown again."
The gathered crowd reacted with sighs and gasps, and many eyes glistened with tears. Later in the ceremony, Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and Col. Anthony D. Reyes, garrison commander, advised those gathered to celebrate the day as a new beginning.
"Closing Fort Monroe, while a day of reflection for our Army, is actually a day of celebration and rebirth," Cone said. "The Army's departure opens these doors to a much broader audience, the American people."
Similarly, Reyes said: "Today is not about endings; it's not about sorrow; it's not even about sadness. It's about honor. Whenever Fort Monroe was called upon to serve it stood ready, proud and able. So, today is really a celebration of a new beginning for our beloved 'Freedom's Fortress.'"
In another symbolic gesture to represent the fort's turnover to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Reyes presented a large gold key to Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The governor then handed the key to Glenn Oder, director of the Fort Monroe Authority.
FMA is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, responsible for preserving, protecting and managing Fort Monroe.
Named in honor of President James Monroe, Monroe is the largest stone fort built in America, whose history spans nearly 200 years of service to our nation. Its first two missions were to defend Hampton Roads and to operate the Artillery School, the Army's first service school. During the Civil War, Fort Monroe was one of only four federal installations in the South that was never occupied by Confederate forces.
Fort Monroe earned its place in history for what is known today as the Contraband Decision. On May 23, 1861, three slaves belonging to Col. Charles Mallory of the Confederate army escaped to the fort. The following day, Mallory's emissary, Maj. John B. Cary, arrived at the fort and demanded that Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, the fort's commander, return the runaways in accordance with the Fugitive Slave Act.
On May 27, Butler replied that because Virginia now claimed to be a foreign country, this law no longer applied; the three slaves were "contraband of war" and would not be returned to bondage. Word of this decision echoed through the local black communities, and within a short time dozens and then hundreds of slaves sought refuge at Fort Monroe, which they called the "freedom fort."
A contraband settlement was established within the fort, and able-bodied men were assigned to various work details. Eventually, larger camps to house thousands of contrabands were set up outside the fort and at the southern tip of Newport News. This decision was the first step in the enlistment of thousands of black men in the Union forces and the issuance of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
During World War I, it became the most significant Coast Artillery Training Center in the country. In World War II, the fort served as headquarters of the Harbor Defense of the Chesapeake, considered the most elaborate defense network on the East Coast.
In July 1973, it became the headquarters for the Training and Doctrine Command. And on May 13, 2005, the BRAC commission announced that Fort Monroe would close Sept. 15, 2011.