Four things below: First, something about hotel logistics for the Fort Algernoune conference; second, a clarification about conference sponsorship; third, and most interesting for students of Virginia history, my report of Dorothy Rouse-Bottom's view of her conference's purpose; fourth, an announcement of something notable happening Wednesday evening concerning Fort Monroe. - - - First, here's some information that I got from Ms. Conover Hunt of the Fort Monroe Authority: "The hotel phone number was national, not local, but it is moot, since the rate expired on September 20, the deadline clearly marked on the brochure. [As indeed Eric Grundset had already quite rightly stated. -Steve C.] Since they say they are booked, I suggest interested parties go on line and look for area hotels, many of which are reasonable. Information about who to call is on the brochure, on our web site [fmfada.com], listed on the brochure posted on www. Hampton400.com. Call Joan Baker, 757-637-7778 x 100. The conference is not being held in the hotel's facilities, so the call should have come here anyway. We have openings for the conference and will be accepting registrations until October 9th." Second, it's well worth clarifying that the conference sponsor is Dorothy Rouse-Bottom's Port Hampton History Foundation -- with due thanks and regard for the valuable contributions of the Fort Monroe Authority -- and that, at least in my own view, the prestige of the speakers implies no backing or support for the policies of the authority, which is the state commission empowered to decide the fate of post-Army Fort Monroe. (More about that if anybody wants to hear it. Because it's about Fort Monroe's fate, it's intrinsically _on_ the subject of Virginia history, but it's off the subject of this follow-up report about the conference.) Third, I should report that Dorothy calls herself "fiercely devoted to igniting a new field of scholarship devoted to Virginia's colonial maritime rim" because, she continued in a note last night -- and I hope it's OK to quote her note semi-publicly like this -- "I believe the nation's true origin lies in the ethos of that early maritime world, which unlike Jamestown, was egalitarian, eclectic, and multinational. It was also anti-authoritarian and very tolerant of rule-breakers -- think Marlon Brando's brother in On The Waterfront. Hampton and Norfolk were where the law of the sea met the law of the land in Anglo-America, with liberating effect. The shape of the Elizabeth River gave supremacy to Norfolk in the 18th century as a maritime hub far better protected from the ravages of hurricanes because of the way the wind blows. Hampton, however, even as its importance as a port slipped away (war, fire, and water taking terrible toll--also smallpox) nurtured the mixed bag of tall, short, brown, red, white people that lived to become the oldest continuous English-speaking community in North America." Fourth, at 7 P.M. on Wednesday, Sept. 23 -- today, for most readers of this message -- Hampton City Council will hold a special hearing concerning a citizens' petition to improve the city's ordinance outlining the city's approach and outlook concerning post-Army Fort Monroe. The citizen petitioners want the city to adopt a higher vision. Because Hampton has such enormous influence on the Fort Monroe Authority, in my view anybody who cares about Fort Monroe's future needs to be present to show support -- and Hamptonians who are there need to speak. For details, please see the "What's New" page at CFMNP.org. (This paragraph may seem like mere "politics," but it's not. The Civil War Preservation Trust regularly lists Fort Monroe "at risk" of counterproductive overdevelopment. We could lose the special character of the place in short order, depriving the future of its best chance to understand the past at this Gibraltar-comparable strategic Atlantic coast location. Wednesday's hearing is vital for Virginia history.) Thanks for the chance to report and to comment. Fort Algernoune 1609 and Fort Monroe 2409 are in one sense separate by 800 years -- and in another sense not separate at all. Steven T. Corneliussen Citizens for a [[[self-sustaining]]] Fort Monroe National Park (CFMNP.org) ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html