Military Museum

Associated Press - January 4, 2008 1:25 PM ET

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) - Scholars want to turn the heart of Fort Monroe into a museum about the U.S. military, the Confederacy and the end of slavery.

A group of professors, curators, archivists and a university president has been in Hampton, discussing what to do with the fort in Hampton when the Army leaves in 2011.

The group is presenting recommendations today to the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority, which is overseeing the post's transfer from Army control.

The base is being closed to save money, leaving local, state and federal officials to figure out how to use the property. The scholars favor putting a museum inside the stone fort.

Robert Francis Engs, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says most Americans don't realize that slaves helped free themselves, and that events at Fort Monroe set the stage for President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

With the fort under Union control, Hampton became a fertile ground for missionaries who helped freed slaves begin new lives. The area also has a rich history of involvement in the Underground Railroad.

Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, www.pilotonline.com