Fort Monroe National Monument

Fort Monroe, the largest stone fort ever built in the United States, guarded Hampton Roads from 1834 to 2011. In 1861 its commander declared escaping enslaved people 'contraband of war,' making it Freedom's Fortress, a refuge that began the road to emancipation; Jefferson Davis was later imprisoned in its casemates.

Walk the moat-ringed ramparts and visit the Casemate Museum. For a challenge, circle the entire fort on foot, then walk the seawall where the first captive Africans arrived in English North America in 1619.