Video

Freedom's Fortress: Escape to Freedom

Fort Monroe National Monument

Description

Empowered by a legal loophole, thousands of enslaved Africans escaped and found refuge at a Union-held fort during the Civil War. Fortress Monroe in Virginia became the site of the first “contraband camp”; a spontaneous community of self-emancipated blacks where inhabitants often became recruits for military service.

Duration

4 minutes, 31 seconds

Credit

National Park Service / RBH

Copyright and Usage Info