Fort Wool

Fort Wool (originally named Fort Calhoun) was the companion to Fort Monroe (Monroe is on the northern side of the channel) in protecting Hampton Roads from seafaring threats. This site was once the dumping place for ships’ ballast. Originally conceived in 1817, Fort Calhoun was built on a 15 acre (61,000 m²) artificial island southeast of Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia. Construction and repairs continued for decades, because the foundation was unstable. The first level of casemates was finished in 1830. Construction continued through the 1830s, when Andrew Jackson came to escape from the heat of Washington, D.C. As a young second lieutenant and engineer in the U.S. Army, Robert E. Lee was stationed there from 1831 to 1834. Lee...