Craney Island

Craney Island played a significant role in the War of 1812, flying the Flag of 1795 with fifteen stars and stripes, and on June 22, 1813, American defenders there held off overwhelming British forces. Two hundred British soldiers were killed, thirteen were taken prisoner, and forty deserted, while there were no American casualties. This successful battle saved Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the Gosport Shipyard from British occupation and destruction. The USS Merrimack was at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1861 when Virginia seceded from the Union, and Federal forces burned and sank the Merrimack as they withdrew from the Navy Yard. Confederates salvaged the ship, converted her to an ironclad, and commissioned her as the CSS Virginia in February 1862. In May 1862, as Confederates abandoned the Norfolk area, efforts were made to lighten the Virginia enough to allow her to move up the James River, but when that proved impossible, her crew destroyed her off Craney Island on May 11.

Portsmouth, Virginia · United States