For Virginia History forum participants who may be interested in the fate of post-Army Fort Monroe, below are shortened versions of two messages that I've circulated in the last few days to decision-makers, journalists and many others. I'm glad to add that by e-mail, Adam Goodheart, whose New York Times Sunday magazine article appeared two weeks ago, promised to send a public statement about Fort Monroe's future. More about that if he follows through. (I imagine he's pretty busy, with his book just out -- _1861: The Civil War Awakening_ (http://knopfdoubleday.com/goodheart/). Thanks. Steve Corneliussen MESSAGE CIRCULATED LAST FRIDAY EVENING: Here's some more good news for Fort Monroe from the New York Times. You'll recall that two weekends ago in the Times's Sunday magazine, an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/magazine/mag-03CivilWar-t.html) appeared that told the Fort Monroe Freedom Story in a way that affirms Fort Monroe's national and even international historic importance. It didn't mention Fort Monroe's future, unfortunately, but now a letter to the editor from Fort Monroe advocate Scott Butler has appeared to take care of that. A copy appears below, after the dashed line. Too bad that in Scott's letter, the magazine editors chose to cite the headline that appeared in the magazine, "The Shrug That Made History," which puts the emphasis on General Butler. Too bad they couldn't instead use the far better headline that appeared online, "How Slavery Really Ended in America," which puts the emphasis on the self-emancipating Americans who made the first decisions actively -- before the general ever had a chance to make the crucial, clever, indispensable but nevertheless second decision reactively. But obviously, it's great to see this letter appear, no matter which headline the editors cite. Thanks. Steve Corneliussen - - - - - - - - - - - - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17replyall-t-THEACCIDENTA_LETTERS.html The Accidental Abolitionist Adam Goodheart's article ("The Shrug That Made History") did a wonderful job of explaining the significance of little-known Fort Monroe to the outcome of the Civil War. I hope that despite current economic problems, Congress will see a Fort Monroe National Park as an opportunity to memorialize and celebrate the most resonant theme of our history, the desire for a more perfect union. H. SCOTT BUTLER Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park Newport News, Va. MESSAGE CIRCULATED LAST SUNDAY EVENING: Here’s yet more good news -- possibly huge news -- about the prospects for post-Army Fort Monroe. A Chesapeake Conservancy press release (http://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/whats_new/30/Make+Fort+Monroe+nation%27s+next+National+Monument+or+Park.html) shows the first big payoff from efforts to create a coalition that, it can be hoped, could exert great influence thanks to its great diversity. Please consider the breadth of that diversity as reflected in one of the release’s key sentences, a quotation from the conservancy’s chairman, Charles Stek: "The Conservancy is proud to join with the Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, Preservation Virginia, Fort Monroe National Park Foundation, the Fort Monroe Authority, the National Parks Conservation Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Mayor of the City of Hampton, the Governor of Virginia and others to support the establishment of a new unit of the National Park System or a National Monument at Fort Monroe." I hope this means that we’ll soon see a still broader coalition, adding the full bipartisan Virginia congressional delegation and the full Hampton City Council, and that the future consensus will be not just for establishing an undefined “unit,” as mentioned above, but for establishing a national park encompassing nearly all of Old Point Comfort, as hinted at in the release. Thanks. Steve Corneliussen Co-founder, Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park (the self-created grassroots citizens’ committee that gave the world Mark Perreault, who is probably the single most important catalyst for what we may now be seeing) ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html