In May 1779 during the Revolutionary War, a British fleet under Commodore Sir George Collier sailed up the Elizabeth River and shelled Fort Nelson. A landing force of 1,800 infantrymen led by Brig. Gen. Edward Mathew captured the fort on 10 May after a brief resistance. The British occupied Portsmouth, Gosport, and Norfolk, burned Suffolk and the Gosport shipyard, captured or burned 137 vessels in Hampton Roads, dismantled Fort Nelson, and then embarked and sailed to New York.
