Military
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After damaging British coastal attacks during the War of 1812, President James Madison recognized the need to improve the nation’s coastal defense and naval power. In 1816, Congress created the Board of Engineers for fortifications, and in 1818 former Napoleon aide General Simon Bernard became its chief. Bernard planned a series of masonry fortifications, later known as the Third System, to defend every major U.S. harbor. Fort Monroe was the first of these forts to be constructed, beginning in 1819. Named for President James Monroe, it protected the entrance to Hampton Roads and the forerunner of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the Gosport Navy Yard.
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Hampton, Virginia · United States
