Flag Station Bastion

FORT MONROE WALKING TOUR: STOP #3

The Flag Staff Bastion is the spot where the U. S. flag is flown at Fort Monroe. If you walk up the ramp to the flag you will find yourself on a level, grassy area known as the terreplein and you can get a somewhat good view of Hampton Roads and surrounding area. Believe it or not, there is also a Pet Cemetery on the terreplein.

View of Hampton Roads from the fort’s terreplein

Pet grave at the Pet Cemetery on the terreplein

The terreplein is the area where the guns would have been mounted (you can still see the gun mounts) and where the soldiers who manned the guns could load and discharge them. The casemates are directly below you. The terreplein goes all the way around the fort, so if you feel like a walk or jog, you could use the terreplein as a running track.

Fort Monroe’s terreplein

Mounts for guns once used at the fort

However, you won’t be at the very top of the fort, and unless you are really tall, your view of the surrounding area will be obscured. In front of you is another wall that rises higher than the terreplein (see above photos). While the guns cleared this wall, it gave the soldiers protection from enemy fire. Between this short wall and the outer wall of the fort is another area of earth now covered in grass, sort of like a mini terreplein. If you want to get a totally unobstructed view of the area, including a view of the moat below, you must climb this wall. However…

Moat around Fort Monroe

Before climbing the wall there are two things to be aware of. One, I doubt this is really allowed, but if nobody sees you, give it a shot. Two, don’t do this with sandals or any shoe that exposes your feet. There is some type of plant up there that has little brier-like balls for seeds that will stick to your shoes, socks, or bare feet. If you have ever seen a flail, which is a Middle-Age weapon comprised of a stick with a metal, spiked ball on the end of a chain, that’s what these seeds are like—little spiked balls. If you get one in your skin it hurts like hell. To pull them out you have to use your fingers, and then they stick in your fingers.

Climb down from the wall and back onto the terreplein once you are finished getting your photos. You don’t want to be walking around up there since there is no fence to keep you from falling into the moat, plus you don’t want to be covered in briers. Once back on the terreplein, take a walk to the left (if facing the water) until you get to another ramp with an iron marque that reads, “Jefferson Davis Memorial Park.”

Entrance to the Jefferson Davis Memorial Park

To get to the next stop you need to walk down this ramp, but before doing so, scale the wall in front of you to get a good view of the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse and Light Keeper’s Quarters. You will see the lighthouse again from the street at Stop #10.

Point Comfort Lighthouse and former Light Keeper’s Quarters

Next Stop: Chapel of the Centurion | Previous Stop: Robert E. Lee’s Quarters
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