Captain Christopher Newport explored the land of the Kecoughton tribe in 1607, and English colonists named it Cape Comfort before moving up the James River to settle at Jamestown. Captain John Smith, who surveyed the area between 1607 and 1609, considered it an ideal place for a fort. After the War of 1812, President James Madison recognized the importance of establishing fortifications on the eastern seaboard, and initial planning for Fort Monroe, the largest of these fortifications, began in 1817. Built near the point where the Chesapeake Bay meets Hampton Roads, a natural deep water channel, Fort Monroe occupied a critical defense site. Forts at what is now known as Old Point Comfort controlled Hampton Roads harbor, including access to Jamestown and later Norfolk, Richmond, and cities farther north. With the Chesapeake Bay on one side and Hampton Roads on the other, Fort Monroe was uniquely positioned as the first line of defense for the bay.
