War of 1812 Elizabeth River Defenses/War of 1812

President George Washington authorized the construction of 19 coastal defense fortifications in 1794. By 1810, nearby Fort Norfolk, which mounted 37 guns, and Fort Nelson, armed with 10 cannon, had been constructed to guard the Elizabeth River approaches to Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Gosport Navy Yard. Additional defensive works, Forts Barbour and Tar, were later added and a blockhouse was built on Craney Island. Because Craney Island was successfully defended against the British on 22 June 1813, Forts Norfolk and Nelson never fired their guns during the war, and of these fortifications only Fort Norfolk survives. Impressment of Americans into British service and the violation of American ships were among the causes of America's War of 1812 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 2,000 enslaved African Americans in Virginta had gained their Freedom aboard British ships.

Norfolk, Virginia · United States