for John C. Calhoun, the fortress felt Andrew Jackson walk the ramparts as he retreated from the bustle and politics of Washington, saw Abraham Lincoln direct the shelling and invasion of nearby Norfolk during the Civil War and guarded one of the country's most important harbors in two world wars. In this volume, J. Michael Cobb, curator of the Hampton History Museum, presents the fascinating tale of presidents and slaves, soldiers and civilians, all linked by the stone fortress rising from the waters of the Chesapeake. Cobb paints a vivid picture of a landmark that has endured for centuries in the shifting sands, heavy weather and swift currents of history.

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