More Significant Civil War Sites
Hampton is home to the site where the Army of the Potomac landed before beginning the march toward Richmond during the Peninsula Campaign. Cross Fort Monroe's moat and take in the same view of the Hampton Roads harbor that Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis experienced.
| Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac |
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After the March 8-9, 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads, The world's first conflict between two ironclad vessels took place here in Hampton in 1862 when the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia (Merrimac) attacked the Union fleet and its defending ironclad, the USS Monitor. While neither ship substantially damages the other and the battle results in a draw, this duel marks the end of the era of wooden warships. This offical battle site is marked by trail signs at LaSalle and Chesapeake Avenue. |
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| Camp Hamilton and Slabtown |
| After Major General Benjamin F. Butler accepted three runaway slaves seeking their freedom under the declaration that they were "contraband of war", two contraband camps were established in Hampton to accommodate the influx of refugees. One was constructed out the entrance to Fort Monroe in Camp Hamilton and became known as Slabtown and another, the Grand Contraband, was established amid Hampton's ruins. The name Slabtown refers to the odds and ends of construction material used to build shanties adjacent to standing chimneys. |
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| Today in the town of Phoebus, a Civil War trails markers interprets the site of Camp Hamilton, Slabtown, and the Grand Contraband. |
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| Emancipation Oak |
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A living symbol of freedom for African Americans and a National Historic Landmark, the expansive Emancipation Oak grows at the entrance to Hampton University. The issuing of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 formalized the abolishment of slavery. It was beneath its branches that residents gathered to hear that proclamation for the first time.
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| At ninety-eight feet in diameter and designated as one of the "Ten Great Trees of the World" by the National Geographic Society, it continues to be a source of inspiration for all Hamptonians. |
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2011 - 2015
will mark the 150th anniversary
of the American Civil War.
Learn more about the planning!
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