Gosport Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia

Fort Monroe and Vicinity Showing Entrance to Chesapeake Bay, Norfolk, Portsmoth, Gosport Navy Yard etc

Click here or on the image above to view the image and catalog record at the Library of Congress. The following are excerpts from three websites. Click on the links to access the complete article: 

“On November 1, 1767 Andrew Sprowle, a merchant and ship owner, established the Gosport Shipyard on the western shore of the Elizabeth River under the British flag. The shipyard developed and prospered as both a naval and merchant shipyard. When the American Revolution began in 1775, Sprowle chose to remain loyal to the Crown and fled the area aboard the Royal Governor’s flagship. All his properties were confiscated by the Colony of Virginia. While being operated by Virginia, in 1779, the shipyard was burned by the British.

“This former colonial shipyard became the Navy’s nucleus in the Hampton Roads area where the largest naval base in the world has developed. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard is the  U.S. Navy’s oldest shipyard and actually predates the United States Navy Department by 31 years. The largest shipyard on the East Coast. Known for most of its first century as “Gosport”, it was renamed “Norfolk” in 1862 after the largest city in the area. It has never borne the name of its home city of Portsmouth.
“250 Years of Excellence,” Naval Sea Systems Command

“Gosport Navy Yard reached its peak in the late 1850s, employing more than 1,400 workers. The completion of the steam screw frigates USS Roanoke and USS Colorado in 1859 proved the yard’s capabilities to construct modern warships for the US Navy.”
John V. Quarstein, “Gosport Navy Yard: Before the Storm,” Mariners Museum, April 16, 2020 

“The Norfolk Naval Shipyard is sometimes confused with Norfolk Naval Base (officially ‘Naval Station Norfolk’), which was constructed during World War I for the Atlantic Fleet.
“The Norfolk Naval Base is a more-recent military facility, located on the east side of the Elizabeth River opposite Craney Island in Norfolk. The much-older Norfolk Naval Shipyard is on the west bank of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, eight miles south of the aircraft carrier base. The shipyard triggered the growth of military facilities in Hampton Roads, including Portsmouth Naval Hospital (built in 1827-30).”
“Norfolk Naval Shipyard,” Virginia Places

Read Full Post »

“Camp Hamilton, Fort Monroe and Rip-Raps, Va.”

This lithograph by E.C. Sachse of Baltimore was produced in 1862.

The Hampton History Museum has this lithographic print in its collection. The digital image bears the museum’s watermark. The lithograph’s object record notes that it shows “Camp Hamilton, with Fort Monroe and Fort Calhoun/Wool (Rip Raps) in the background. Segar’s farm (foreground) and residence (far right), and Sewell’s Point (upper right), are also labeled on the image.” The observer can make out fine details of life at this military complex: tents and barracks; horses, wagons, and buggies; a cavalry drill, telegraph wires, and naval vessels.

Click on the tag “Fort Monroe” in the frame on the right of this page for more images.

Read Full Post »

“Plan of Fortress Munroe, Va., 1862”

This pen-and-ink and watercolor was painted by Robert Knox Sneden (1832-1918). It shows the area surrounding Fort Monroe, including the Chesapeake Bay, Old Point Comfort, and Camp Hamilton to the north. The  site was a small fort as early as 1608 but the modern fortress was planned by  General Simon Bernard, Corps of Engineers (and formerly an officer with the French Army under Napoleon).  The original foundations were laid in 1813.  The fortification has 35-foot high granite walls and the capacity to garrison 2,450 men. It cost $2,400.00 to construct.

Read Full Post »