Evidence of Contraband

FAIN: GE-50364-11

Hampton University (Hampton, VA 23668-0108)
Mamie E. Locke (Project Director: August 2010 to November 2012)

Planning of a digital interpretive portal and a physical exhibition examining life at the African American Civil War refugee camp in Hampton, Virginia.

The U.S. Army is in the process of closing Fort Monroe, a designated National Historic Landmark (NHL) since 1960 and listed on the NRHP since 1966,as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 decision. Hampton University (HU)and Fort Monroe Development Authority propose to plan a digital humanities research center which will serve as a model for future educational programs at the Fort. The Center will host a portal for virtual field trips and immersive environments based on photos and oral histories of life at the African American Civil War refugee camps known as the Grand Contraband Camp in what became downtown Hampton, and Camp Hamilton or Slabtown located in Phoebus, a parcel between Fort Monroe and what has become Hampton University. $75,029 is requested for a planning grant to plan the Center and its first activity, an exhibition, Evidence of Contraband, defraying the cost of scholarly research, access to a scholarly advisory group and a web designer.