Fort Monroe and the peninsula it sits on
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:31 am
Much of Americas history is tied to this peninsula, it is bordered by the James River and the York River.
We are told that in 1607 English settlers founded Jamestown just 10-15 miles up river from Fort Monroe and that this was the foothold of what would become America, which took place on the other side of the peninsula in Yorktown when the English surrendered.
Today this area is called the "Historic Triangle" with Colonial Williamsburg in the middle. There is a 23 mile (37km) parkway that runs from Jamestown along the James river across the peninsula thru Williamsburg and then along the York river to Yorktown.
The parkway really is a beautiful drive, I found this statement while searching for the mileage: " Free of any modern commercial development, the parkway was designed to provide continuity to the visitor experience of motoring through nearly 400 years of American colonial history."
This has always seemed a little too convenient for me to believe, personal observations and common sense has had me looking for other answers for years.
I have a lot to add to this case study, many observations and information that now needs further investigation, it will take me awhile to get it all posted in a credible manner.
But let me end this post with this:
I figured if Fort Monroe was the head, where is the body? I looked at Yorktown and it looked, to me, a lot like it too could been a starfort. I knew there where earthworks on the other side of the river and if Yorktown was a starfort then there was a good chance these earthworks would be too.
So I went to check it out and much to my surprise, within minutes, was reading a sign describing the star-shaped fort named "Fort James". I picked up a pamphlet that says the same thing, it had this web address for the site.
http://www.gloucesterva.info/facilities ... intpark-10
But the website does not mention the shape, so I started searching the web for conformation. First I found this website
https://www.northamericanforts.com/East ... ml#tyndall
It had this to say:
" Tyndall's Point Fort
(Gloucester Point Archaeological District)
(1667 - 1699, 1710 - 1749, 1756 - 1760's, 1781, 1807 - 1815, 1861 - 1864), Gloucester Point
Colonists first built palisaded Fort James (3) at Gloucester Point (then known as Tyndall's Point) in 1667 to defend against the Dutch. It was rebuilt with brick in 1671. Ten mounted and eleven unmounted guns were reported here in 1690. Gloucester Fort (1710) (15 guns) was reported in ruins after 1749 and was rebuilt with 12 guns in 1756. British fortifications also existed here during the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, consisting of a main fort (Tyndall's Fort) and four outer redoubts. The point was refortified again in 1807. The Confederate star-shaped Fort Brown (1861 - 1862) (three guns) is located at what is now Tyndall's Point Park. A small portion is still extant, but well preserved. The Union occupied it in May 1862. A 12-gun CSA water battery was located adjacent to the old colonial wharf (no remains). Other unnamed CSA seacoast batteries were also in the area. "
Then I found this 2 year old newspaper story:
https://www.dailypress.com/features/his ... story.html
The story stated that old maps and hand drawn pictures had recently been discovered (I will post them next) it went on to make this statement:
" It also accounts for the elaborate defenses captured by the Powers map some eight months later, by which time the Confederacy had not only completed a formidable water battery defended by 11 guns but also erected two additional lines of intermediary earthworks between the river and the large, star-shaped fort that occupied the top of the adjacent heights. "
So, this starfort is across the river from Yorktown, but take a look at these maps and drawings !
We are told that in 1607 English settlers founded Jamestown just 10-15 miles up river from Fort Monroe and that this was the foothold of what would become America, which took place on the other side of the peninsula in Yorktown when the English surrendered.
Today this area is called the "Historic Triangle" with Colonial Williamsburg in the middle. There is a 23 mile (37km) parkway that runs from Jamestown along the James river across the peninsula thru Williamsburg and then along the York river to Yorktown.
The parkway really is a beautiful drive, I found this statement while searching for the mileage: " Free of any modern commercial development, the parkway was designed to provide continuity to the visitor experience of motoring through nearly 400 years of American colonial history."
This has always seemed a little too convenient for me to believe, personal observations and common sense has had me looking for other answers for years.
I have a lot to add to this case study, many observations and information that now needs further investigation, it will take me awhile to get it all posted in a credible manner.
But let me end this post with this:
I figured if Fort Monroe was the head, where is the body? I looked at Yorktown and it looked, to me, a lot like it too could been a starfort. I knew there where earthworks on the other side of the river and if Yorktown was a starfort then there was a good chance these earthworks would be too.
So I went to check it out and much to my surprise, within minutes, was reading a sign describing the star-shaped fort named "Fort James". I picked up a pamphlet that says the same thing, it had this web address for the site.
http://www.gloucesterva.info/facilities ... intpark-10
But the website does not mention the shape, so I started searching the web for conformation. First I found this website
https://www.northamericanforts.com/East ... ml#tyndall
It had this to say:
" Tyndall's Point Fort
(Gloucester Point Archaeological District)
(1667 - 1699, 1710 - 1749, 1756 - 1760's, 1781, 1807 - 1815, 1861 - 1864), Gloucester Point
Colonists first built palisaded Fort James (3) at Gloucester Point (then known as Tyndall's Point) in 1667 to defend against the Dutch. It was rebuilt with brick in 1671. Ten mounted and eleven unmounted guns were reported here in 1690. Gloucester Fort (1710) (15 guns) was reported in ruins after 1749 and was rebuilt with 12 guns in 1756. British fortifications also existed here during the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, consisting of a main fort (Tyndall's Fort) and four outer redoubts. The point was refortified again in 1807. The Confederate star-shaped Fort Brown (1861 - 1862) (three guns) is located at what is now Tyndall's Point Park. A small portion is still extant, but well preserved. The Union occupied it in May 1862. A 12-gun CSA water battery was located adjacent to the old colonial wharf (no remains). Other unnamed CSA seacoast batteries were also in the area. "
Then I found this 2 year old newspaper story:
https://www.dailypress.com/features/his ... story.html
The story stated that old maps and hand drawn pictures had recently been discovered (I will post them next) it went on to make this statement:
" It also accounts for the elaborate defenses captured by the Powers map some eight months later, by which time the Confederacy had not only completed a formidable water battery defended by 11 guns but also erected two additional lines of intermediary earthworks between the river and the large, star-shaped fort that occupied the top of the adjacent heights. "
So, this starfort is across the river from Yorktown, but take a look at these maps and drawings !