“Originally known as the Norfolk Naval Hospital, this famous facility was an outgrowth of the 1798 Congressional act creating the Marine Hospital Service. Fort Nelson, a Revolutionary defense work guarding the Norfolk harbor, was chosen as the hospital site in 1826. The architect, John Haviland of Philadelphia, produced a preeminent work of Greek Revival institutional architecture. The decastyle Doric portico, finished in what Haviland described as ‘chisel dressed Virginia freestone,’ is a masterpiece of monumentality. Distinctive are the narrow frieze windows forming the triglyphs. The shallow dome capping the operating room was added during a 1907 expansion. The hospital has had a distinguished record of service, treating naval casualties of every American conflict since its opening. Now flanked by modern hospital facilities, Haviland’s original structure is undergoing a careful rehabilitation.”
Summary: Virginia Department of Historic Registers, Portsmouth Naval Hospital
“Tne Naval Hospital has had distinquished service serving those in need …. In April, 1862, the Confederate government surrounded the building with earthworks and renamed it Fort Nelson. The next year it was occupied by Northern troops and re-established as a federal army hospital.”
National Register of Historic Places – Final Nomination Form – Portsmouth Naval Hospital – #124-0036
1st U.S. Colored Cavalry 