historiography and his role in the preservation. and as i said at the outset if you love gettysburg is much as we do i think it is important to understand all of the phases of dan sickles career. love him or not, hate him or not, love to hate him or hate to love him. at that i think we're almost out of time. and seeing the queue in the back of the room thanks. >> you are watching american history tv every saturday on cspan2. >> the largest stone fort in the united states is at the mouth of chesapeake bay near hampton, virginia. cap next for monroe robert reed gives a tour showcasing the history from a colonial area through its completion in 1834 and its role in the civil war for. >> welcome to fort monroe located here on the very pleasant place we call points comfort.

the cult old point comfort it has been that way for a long, long time. it was here that over 400 years of history have occurred. in fact some is that even longer. some would say thousands of years. aptly named because nothing more than a vault inside the fort wall. you are actually inside the fort wall which is kind of unique for museums. were going to walk you through the museum will talk about the very interesting history that occurs here. some of our stories that first arrived here in their plight during the american civil war. thousands and thousands of years ago neighbors of this land started to migrate. they migrate as far west as mexico and the mississippi river valley. they migrated as far south as south america and central

america. they migrated or apartment row is located today. they were hunters, they were gatherers, they lived a very successful and prosperous life there. 1607 the virginians had learned and mastered the art of cultivation. they struggled the first two years but they too would prosper. we note from the secretary that in 1619, negroes arrived here at port. they were traded for goods. after that, we see the evolution of walls, rules, regulations will start to manage the population here in hampton. next will look at the war of 1812 and find out why this port 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 as a backdrop to that story. in 1812, the british once again invaded the united states. they arrived right here at the chesapeake bay. there is no one here to stop them. they moved all of it at the chesapeake bay, they learn the capitol city of washington d.c. and they finally stopped at a place called baltimore. the reason? work mchenry. after the war of 1812 the president of the united states, james mattis said we established port positions up and down the eastern seaboard. they recruited, interestingly enough, general simone barnard the french engineer who came and helped us establish what we call the third system for us today. it is an example of the largest and best of all of

those forts. in 1819 it was decided this location, point comfort, would be the location. they began construction almost immediately and did not finish until 1834. the model we see today is exactly what it would look like when the first soldiers came to populate and be the defense of the chesapeake. the frenchmen, general simone barnard was a very intelligent engineer and created many facets of this port that made it one of the strongholds here in the united states. one of the things he did, as the enemy approached the individual there could be cross fires from different angles on the fort. you also note it has a moat.

this moat was originally designed to allow around the port to help with construction. after the port was completed it obviously becomes another level of the road. fort monroe is the largest stone fort in the united states even today. it started construction in 1819. picked up all the way to 1834 to finish the construction of the fort. the original intention of the fort was to house the ships in the chesapeake bay. it has a water exposure, they did not worry about the land behind it. it would remain the strong force of our artillery although he up to the american civil war.

while looking at a 32-pound artillery tube, we note thi tube was built in 1846. every case we are standing able to have one of these beast inside them. are out that the fort window the approaching enemy upon naval vessels. they take anywhere from nine to 11 men to load and fire a 32 pounder. it inspired a 32-pound 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 nine -- 11 individuals. let me point out some of the positions they would hold. you have a number one enter number two man. their responsibility to make

sure the firing mechanism of this gun was in place. they would punch the powder bag. they would set the fuse and they would run the lanyard to fire this gun. at the front of the tomb ahtro elnashar he would have them load the projectiles. a one man to be responsible cleaning the tube out, ramming the project tell down to the back of the gun. was also there to help load ammunition from the men carrying the projectiles up from their supply. two men in the back, two men in the front you have a gunner who would be responsible and these days cult pointing the gun not living the gun to everything the military objective might be. sometimes he would have another commanding officer to be responsible for a series of guns being fired at the same time. it would take anywhere from about a minute to 35 seconds

to load a 32 pounder. these 32 pounders we are looking at today, over the course of the united states military all the way through the american civil war. the row was one of the largest strongholds of the united states military. but the department of defense made sure 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 these guns were never fired in anger. this fort was never attacked. that speaks to the strength of how opposing it is to the enemy. what does slavery look like to form the american civil war? slaves were used primarily for

agriculture. this map gives us a very good indication of where that was taking place. if you look at the eastern seaboard you notice the darker areas indicates the more slavery there was. in virginia they were growing things like tobacco, cultivating cotton and you can see how intense or how populous the slaves and slave people were here in virginia. let's go down to georgia. you notice they're growing rice in different things down here. we have a concentration of enslaved individuals. the mississippi river valley, same thing. they are growing cotton and other cultivating cash crops that are allowed to capitalize on that. again look at the concentration of enslaved people in the mississippi river valley.

in 1861 there was a perfect storm. several things came together to create what we call the contraband decision. the first thing that occurred abraham lincoln promoted an aside major beutler to come and take command of fort monroe. almost on the heels of that the commonwealth of virginia will be sitting on the fence to the protection of the united states that decision was indeed they were joint anew with the federal government and can be removed to the city of richmond, virginia. virginia leaves the union. during all this three individuals with three brave individuals, baker, would steal a show, blow across the

chesapeake bay, present themselves with the gate of the american soldiers and say the runaway slaves and protection. they were invited to the fort. the very next day interviewed the three individuals and found out the use of the confederate army to build trenches and chores around the confederate camp. that same day the owners of the individual's life reciting beutler being the lawyer he was, said this. you're quoting united states law. my understanding is the state of virginia in the lot, if you

want to swear allegiance to the united states you can have your slaves back. but if not i'm going to seize them is conscious and subfloor. used is clearly against sold in the united states army. i will use them and keep them you will no longer have your slaves. this will create a math of folks their freedom. start out with three men and become 10,000 by the end of the american civil war in four short years. jefferson davis the man is a contradiction. jefferson davidson in his early life was a graduate of the united states military academy. he was secretary of war, he served the united states congress also served united states senate.

he was a host during the james buchanan administration in washington. when the southwest formed their own government they invited jefferson davis to become his first and only president. jefferson davis would accept that invitation and become the president of the confederate states of america. we are standing in the cell or jefferson davis was held at the conclusion of the american civil war. 1965 jefferson davis received word from general robert e lee the commander they will hold the federal army back from attacking the city of virginia. with that news, jefferson davis directed his cabinet, and sent his family on the road for protection. jefferson davis soon after that would follow. he would finally catch up with his family right above the

florida state line. it was here where the federal mounted unit was able to capture him and his family. jefferson davis was placed on a boat and moved back appear to fort monroe and incarcerated in this very cell. some people ask why, the main reason jefferson davis freedom why? for treason, to complicit assassination of abraham lincoln. and three the mistreatment of federal soldiers in order to answer those charges in federal court he had to be in a place that would be in richmond for the confederacy. interior four months for almost two years. you would never see his day in court. he would never be acquitted.

he would write his memoirs and lived to the age of 80 with the understanding jefferson davis was charged with three federal indictments. many folks in the united states or of influence decided it would be the best way to heal the nation. to try jefferson davis and appear he might be acquitted with cast a shadow over two-point to million people going to war in 750,000 of them losing their lives. at the conclusion of the american civil war, the priority's in the present with the citizens of the united states was to reunite the country, and make us once again a strong union. many confederate officers would not be charged in fact many of those officers have

roles and occupy positions within ... as grants administration. we are looking at the american flag of the united states. this flag is from the american civil war. and tradition has it, this flag and jefferson davis' cell to remind him on a daily basis of the crimes he had committed against his former federal government. the history of jefferson davis was a very complex line. one we try to look at all aspects of. this is one of the important artifacts that jefferson davis incarceration here at fort royal. it's behind this theory door he would look out and realize the american civil war was over louisiana always to the

american civil war. there's so much more here to see. in the late 19th and earliest century the trading around its here almost every our tellers is trained. this support would later become a very important defensive position later port monroe would become a command for the united states army. the rest of our museum talks about the military that occurs here. the social aspects here at port monroe. it is here, for the rest of our exhibits you will learn how the social aspects of virginia merged with the military aspects of port monroe. this is a living, breathing,

viable community and would stay this way all the way until disclosure 2011. >> you can watch this and other american artifacts programs by visiting our website c-span.org/history. >> weekend on cspan2 are an intellectual every saturday american history documents america's stories and on sunday, book tv brings you the latest in nonfiction books and authors, funding for cspan2 comes from these television companies and more including of buckeye broadband. >> 's mocha buckeye broadband along with these television companies support cspan2 as a public service