U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner from Virginia introduced legislation to add 44 acres of coastal land to Fort Monroe National Monument.

The addition of this acreage will unify the two divided sections of Fort Monroe and achieve an unbroken coastline along the Chesapeake Bay. The following is a statement by Katherine Malone-France, chief preservation officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

“The National Trust for Historic Preservation enthusiastically supports the Fort Monroe National Monument Boundary Revision Act and we are grateful to Senators Kaine and Warner for introducing this important piece of legislation. Fort Monroe is a national treasure of the highest order and beloved sacred ground which reflects this nation’s unfinished struggle for freedom. For many, Freedom’s Fortress is a pilgrimage site that commemorates our shared African American heritage, from the 1619 first landing of enslaved Africans at Point Comfort to the Civil War-era history of self-emancipation when thousands of enslaved people secured their freedom here. We commend the Fort Monroe Authority for its exceptional stewardship of a very complex historic place.

“Since 2004, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and its allies have advocated to protect all 565 acres of Fort Monroe for this and future generations. The Commonwealth of Virginia’s donation of 44 waterfront acres to the Department of the Interior, as proposed by this legislation, achieves that goal and will strengthen the working partnership of the Fort Monroe Authority and National Park Service to tell the full history of this nationally significant site.”