BY MARK ST. JOHN ERICKSON
247-4783
February 11 2007
Few places can boast such a rich and continuously eventful history as this old Virginia town near the 
mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Capt. John Smith celebrated Christmas here in 1608, less than a year before ordering the construction of Fort Algernon at Old Point Comfort. British Gen. Edward Braddock landed here before marching to an inglorious death in the French & Indian War, while the "rape" of Hampton became one of the most notorious chapters of the War of 1812.
Still more milestones can be found, however, in Hampton's virtually unparalleled role in the history of black America. The first recorded Africans arrived here in 1619 and - despite the likelihood of being treated as indentured servants - almost certainly wore shackles. Some 242 years would pass before a trio of contraband slaves - in one of history's most curious twists of fate - took the first steps toward emancipation in almost exactly the same place.
