Forgot Edgar

I am still looking for and trying to organize my pictures on this p c.  Will eventually get there and I found some other pictures I meant to put in the previous post of the fort. 

A well known,  who enlisted in the Army on May 26, 1827 under the alias of Edgar A. Perry.  Stationed at Fort Monroe with the 1st Regimental Artillery from December 15 1828 to April 14, 1829.

  

I chuckled when I read that he received the rank of Sergeant Major in such a short amount of time.  Quite obviously no formal review process was conducted at that time.

  Edgar Allan Poe's required service was not finished and he was officially discharged on April 15 1829.  Under an arrangement with Sergeant Samuel Graves who was to finish Poe's enlistment.  

Sergeant Graves never received the promised payment from Poe.  

Not long after leaving Fort Monroe 

a collection of his works entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and some poems were published in December 1829.

 A find after 150 years.

this is a little blurred  but if enlarged can be read

A view of  what it looks like from the top and  thinking I would not want to have the grand girls running around up here.

Happy Sunday all

Inside the Fort

Back to February and a visit to a Fortress.
Mid February we took a drive back to Fort Monroe and this time instead of seeing just the outside parameter, we decided to go inside.

Interesting place.  Driving around to the gate to see inside the Fortress.

Located in Hampton Virginia, a decommissioned military installation.
Virginia's Peninsulas Southern tip.
Completed in 1834 and named in honor of James Monroe.
History explained → https://fortmonroe.org/about/fort-monroe/history/
 
  Definitely worth taking the time to read.  Hi lite address, copy and paste in browser.

To the inside of the fort

We stopped at the Chapel of the Centurion first before we took in other sites inside.

The army's oldest wooden structure in continuous use.  Named after the Roman Centurion, Cornelius.
Beautiful wooden cross

Stained glass window that is now in the museum we toured at the Fortress

explanation of the window

Next some historical quarters like this one

Some restoration going on and I had to zoom in to see the ceiling and the doorway

A short clip of this place showing more of the house

Now the big gun

I couldn't get over how big this thing was.  Huge.

A walk around it in this short clip

Onto the casement museum which is a series of interconnected casements. Vaulted chambers that are within the forts walls.

Passing by the casement Jefferson Davis was held

video of entrance to casement and of the cistern

We are cautioned as we enter that the archways are low.  The average size of soldiers manning guns like the ones we see here were average 5'8" tall and 143 1/2 pounds in weight.

Early days

 Early days

Strength of the fort

Steve walked to Flagstaff Bastion

From top of Fort.

Nine stories and sits on Fort Monroe.  The Chamberlin was once a hotel.  Today a retirement community.  It overlooks Hampton Roads at Old Point Comfort.

I zoomed in a little closer

From the top is Old Point Comfort Lighthouse

Checking out this barge going by from the top

This is a steep climb from the inside for sure.  But such a neat look over the water from the top.