Craney Island Fort (Portsmouth, Virginia)

Portsmouth · Virginia · War of 1812

Quick BriefBuilt by the federal government as part of the second system of U.S. fortifications during the War of 1812 and completed in early 1813, Craney Island Fort guarded the Elizabeth River entrance to Portsmouth and Norfolk. On June 22, 1813, British forces attempted an unsuccessful amphibious landing against a garrison of 580 regulars and militia plus 150 sailors and marines from the USS Constellation, suffering 81 casualties. The American victory prevented Norfolk and Portsmouth from being attacked by the British.

Coastal defense

History & Significance

The federal government constructed Craney Island Fort as part of the second system of U.S. fortifications, with construction completed in early 1813. The fort consisted of a mile-long earthwork connecting a main seven-gun battery on the southeast with an outer battery and blockhouse to the northwest, a small redoubt at its center, and by June 1813 was armed with two 24-pounder cannon, one 18-pounder, and four 6-pounders.

Colonel Walker K. Armistead, third graduate of West Point and architect of the island's defenses, had developed fortification plans as early as 1809. The Battle of Craney Island on June 22, 1813, saw 730 American defenders repel a British amphibious assault by nearly 2,500 troops, inflicting 81 British casualties with no American losses.

The defensive victory spared Norfolk and the Gosport Navy Yard from attack. The fort was abandoned sometime after 1820. During the Civil War, Confederates built a 20-gun battery on the island and berthed the CSS Virginia there.