Fort Monroe: The Key to the South

I have met Mr John Quarstein several times and I find him to be the most intriguing historian of our area in Virginia. He can now be seen on PBS and the History Channel and his knowledge of the Hampton Roads area and the Civil War are impressive. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Civil War history and the history of the Virginia Peninsula going back to the earliest times of Capt John Smith, Pocahontas, and the founding of Jamestown in 1607. "Fort Monroe, The Key to the South" is absolutely packed full of timeless information, maps and photos of a particularly important strategic spit of land that Capt John Smith called an "Isle fit for a Castle". Located off the coast of Hampton and Newport News Virginia, Old Point Comfort was immediately recognized for its strategic importance. Several forts were built on Old Point Comfort in the earliest times of American history (when America was still a colony of England) but were destroyed by the Dutch or fell into disrepair. As late as the War of 1812 there were still no useful defensive fortifications on Old Point Comfort. Congress finally acted and the construction of Fort Monroe (and a strategic man made Island initially called Fort Calhoun, later Fort Wool but commonly known as the "Rip-Raps" across the James River) was commenced in March of 1819. Fort Monroe (named after President James Monroe) was the dominant staging ground for Union Forces in the Battle of the Virginia Peninsula and witness (and participant) to the Battle of the Ironclads. Its importance was indisputable to Union forces. After the Civil War, Fort Monroe was Jefferson Davis' prison and has served the US Army until just recently. The BRAC commission called for it to be closed and developement plans for the Fort are in the works. Mr Quarstein, more than just writing about Fort Monroe (of which he loves) is working with a group of local leaders considering how to use the land. In this writer's opinion, Old Point Comfort and Fort Monroe are in good hands.