About

This event will take place at the historic Chapel of the Centurion, 157 Bernard Road at Fort Monroe, and will pay tribute to the first three enslaved men, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory, and James Townsend to self-emancipate there in May of 1861. Their actions inspired Union General Benjamin Franklin Butler to make an unprecedented decision to grant them sanctuary. As a result, Fort Monroe and Hampton became the first “safe” destination for thousands of enslaved people in their fight for freedom during the Civil War.