The First Folks at Norfolk

Before the English sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and named the Elizabeth River, there was a Native American settlement there. The Chesapeakes apparently were not subjugated or allied with Powhatan, though the reports by the leaders in the early days of Jamestown are contradictory.

In 1585, the Roanoke Colony settlers may have visited the Elizabeth River or Nansemond River watersheds. Those colonists then abandoned their attempt to settle permanently on the barrier islands, but leaders of the next effort planned to start anew on the south shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

Of course, that last batch of English colonists had their plans changed. In 1587 their ship captain dumped them back at Roanoke Island again, in order to have more time to attack Spanish ships. (Captains got a share of the profits in any Spanish shipping they could capture.)

Powhatan may have "planted" his own town at the original homeland of the Chesapeakes, after destroying them in 1607-08. There was plenty of protein in the brackish waters to support a large town there, and Powhatan knew he had to secure the fringes of his empire while he coped with the intrusion of an alien people in the center of it.

John Farrer's map (1667 version by his daughter), totally omitting the Elizabeth River
Norfolk's fine harbor was not the focal point of early colonial Virginia -
John Farrer totally omitted the Elizabeth River (as shown in this 1667 version by his daughter)
Source: Library of Congress

Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Norfolk is the premier port city in Virginia. It's shipments surpass those from Newport News, Richmond's Deepwater Terminal, and small ports throughout the Tidewater region. The deep channel and harbor protected from storms attracted commecial shipping and then a British naval repair yard prior to the American Revolution.

However, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard is actually in Portsmouth - unlike the Norfolk Naval Station. According to its official history, it's the oldest naval shipyard in the United States. It was started by the British in 1767, leased by the United States government in 1794, and purchased in 1801.

The Washington Navy Yard dates to 1799, if you're a historian or finicky about dates. The Washington Navy Yard was started when the District of Columbia was about to become the new national capital. The British started ship repair and support on the Elizabeth River because it offered protection from pirates and enemies, plus easy access to support warships protecting the shipping in Hampton Roads and at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

In 1794-99 the USS Chesapeake was built in the yard. It was severely damaged off Cape Henry in 1807, while sailing to the Mediterranean and unprepared for a fight. The British warship, the HMS Leopard, impressed a few "deserters" in an incident that helped start the War of 1812.

In 1861, the Federal forces burned ships and destroyed the shipyard before abandoning it at the start of the Civil War. The Confederates then raised the USS Merrimack and converted it into the ironclad CSS Virginia. The new warship had one day of uncontested control of Hampton Roads, before the Federal ironclad USS Monitor fought the CSS Virginia to a standstill. The Confederates blocked the Union navy from supporting General McClellan's march up the Peninsula. Closing the James River via the CSS Virginia (plus the fortifications at Drewry's Bluff) may have prevented a quick end to the war. The Confederates abandoned Norfolk and destroyed the Gosport Navy Yard in March, 1862.

Why is the shipyard where it is? The Elizabeth River offers one of the world's deepest natural harbors. It is sheltered from storms, yet close to the Atlantic Ocean - with a clear channel for military and civilian traffic. There are lots of names and dates associated with the shipyard, but a consistent thread throughout all the history: Norfolk was not a great place for a military base or civilian city until the end of the French and Indian War. At that time, the British Navy had clear naval superiority on the high seas, comparable to the global supremacy exerted by the United States today.

Even then, the site had its downsides. The British at the start of 1776, the rebellious American colonists soon thereafter, the Yankees in 1861, and the Confederates in 1862 all recognized the port was not defensible. They destroyed Norfolk rather than defended it. The British knew they could not defend it against land attack, while the colonial rebels knew they could not defend it against British Navy attack from the sea. The Yankees had the same concern as the British - and the Confederates had a tiny navy, so they used the same logic as the colonists 85 years earlier.

It's not a stretch to claim that the 1862 Confederates applied the same logic that was used in 1607. The Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed all sailed 60 or so miles upstream to Jamestown. The London Company or Christopher Newport may have considered the Elizabeth River to be a great shelter from storms, and defensible against a single pirate ship - but they knew it was not a fortress that could be protected from a fleet of warships in an international conflict with Spain, France, or Holland.
The massive naval facilities were not initiated until World War I. That war on the European continent required a base on the Atlantic Ocean. With the advent of high-powered artillery, shore bases such as Fort Story could effectively block enemy ships from sailing into the Chesapeake Bay. [Fort Wool helped to seal the James River from assault, but the channel to Washington and Baltimore was not protected until 80 years ago.]

The naval yard was known as Gosport until 1862, when it was renamed after Norfolk. Note that no one - British, Americans, or Confederates - ever named the naval yard after Portsmouth...

Today, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard claims to be "one of the largest shipyards in the world specializing in repairing, overhauling and modernizing ships and submarines. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy, and it's also the most multifaceted..."

The Spanish in the Chesapeake Bay

Will Norfolk Drown?

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