British Naval Blockade and Cape Henry Lighthouse / The War of 1812

During the War of 1812, a British naval blockade along much of the U.S. East Coast disrupted foreign trade and interfered with commerce, and on 4 Feb. 1813 the blockade was extended to the Chesapeake Bay. At that time, the light at the Cape Henry Lighthouse was extinguished to prevent British ships from using it as a navigational aid. The British attacked the lighthouse early in Feb. 1813, and thereafter British scouting parties often visited the area to obtain fresh water from local wells. On 14 July 1813, Capt. Richard Lawson of the Princess Anne militia captured 20 British marines nearby. Impressment of Americans into British service and the violation of American ships were among the causes of America’s war with the British, which lasted until 1815. Beginning in 1813, Virginians suffered from a British naval blockade of the Chesapeake Bay and from British troops’ plundering the countryside by the bay and along the James, Rappahannock, and Potomac rivers. The Virginia militia deflected a British attempt to take Norfolk in 1813 and engaged British forces throughout the war. By the end of the war, more than 2000 enslaved African Americans in Virginia had gained their freedom aboard British ships.

Virginia Beach, Virginia · United States