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The Battle of Craney Island was a victory for the United States during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
. The battle saved the city of
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
, and the adjacent city of
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
, from British invasion. Especially important to Virginia and northeastern
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, the region was a major hub for American commerce.


Background

Admiral Sir George Cockburn commanded a British fleet blockading
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
. In early 1813, Cockburn and Admiral Sir John B. Warren planned to attack the Gosport Shipyard in Portsmouth and capture the frigate U.S.S. ''Constellation''.
Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
Robert B. Taylor Robert B. Taylor (March 24, 1774 – April 13, 1834) was a nineteenth-century American lawyer and militia Brigadier General from Virginia. Early life Taylor was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated from the College of William and Mary ...
commanded the
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
in the Norfolk area. Taylor hastily built defenses around Norfolk and
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
, but he had no intentions of letting the British penetrate as far as those two cities. Instead Taylor commandeered several ships and created a chain barrier across the Elizabeth River between Fort Norfolk and
Fort Nelson Fort Nelson may refer to: Canada *Fort Nelson, British Columbia, a town *Fort Nelson River, British Columbia * Fort Nelson (Manitoba) (1670–1713), an early fur trading post at the mouth of the Nelson River and the first headquarters of the Hudson ...
. He next built the Craney Island Fort on the island of the same name at the mouth of the Elizabeth River near
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...
. Since the ''Constellation'' was already penned up in the Chesapeake because of the British blockade, the ship's crew was used to man some of the redoubts on the island. In all, 596 Americans were defending the fortifications on Craney Island.


Battle

On the morning of June 22, 1813, a British landing party of 700 Royal Marines and soldiers of the
102nd Regiment of Foot The 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) was a regiment of the British Army raised by the Honourable East India Company in 1742. It transferred to the command of the British Army in 1862. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with t ...
along with a company of Independent Foreigners came ashore at Hoffler's Creek near the mouth of the Nansemond River to the west of Craney Island. When the British landed, the defenders realized they were not flying a flag and quickly raised an American flag over the breastworks. The defenders fired, and the attackers began to fall back, realizing that they could not ford the water between the mainland and the island (the Thoroughfare) under such fire. British barges manned by sailors, Royal Marines, and the other company of Independent Foreigners then attempted to attack the eastern side of the island. Defending this portion was a company of light artillery under the command of Captain Arthur Emmerson. Emmerson ordered his gunners to hold their fire until the British were in range. Once they opened fire, the British attackers were driven off, with some barges destroyed, and they retreated back to the ships. The Americans captured the 24-oar barge ''Centipede'', flagship of the British landing force, and mortally wounded the commmander of the amphibious assault force, Sir John Hanchett, illegitimate son of King George III.


Aftermath

The Americans had scored a defensive victory in the face of a much larger force. Norfolk and the Gosport Navy Yard were spared from attack. Having failed in their attempt to attack Norfolk, Warren and Cockburn moved north for actions in the Chesapeake Bay, including an attempt to attack
St. Michaels, Maryland Saint Michaels, also known as St. Michaels, is a town in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,029 at the 2010 census. Saint Michaels derives its name from the Episcopal Parish established there in 1677. The church attrac ...
, in August. Two days after the engagement at Craney Island, British forces crossed the
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...
via Craney Island and raided the town of
Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...
. The raid was mostly carried out by the
Independent Companies of Foreigners Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...
, a British military regiment consisting solely of former French
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
who had enlisted into the unit in exchange for being released from captivity in
prison hulk A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nation ...
s; as a result of the raid, Hampton was burned to the ground. A British officer described the actions of the Independent Companies of Foreigners in his diary: "Every horror was perpetrated with impunity – rape, murder, pillage – and not a single man was punished." After the raid, several Americans sent letters to the British criticizing the actions of the Independent Companies of Foreigners during the raid. In response, Quartermaster-General
Thomas Sydney Beckwith Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith (17 February 177015 January 1831) was an English officer of the British Army who served as quartermaster general of the British forces in Canada during the War of 1812, and a commander-in-chief of ...
replied that though outrages had been committed during the raid, they were in response to an incident during the battle where three boats containing troops from the Independent Companies of Foreigners were stranded by American cannon-fire; U.S. forces waded towards the boats to capture them, and Lieutenant-Colonel
Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier, (; 10 August 178229 August 1853) was an officer and veteran of the British Army's Peninsular and 1812 campaigns, and later a Major General of the Bombay Army, during which period he led the military conquest o ...
later recalled that "One boat with thirty of the foreigners asstranded with a shot through her, and the Americans, wading to it, deliberately massacred the poor men!" In response to claims that American forces had committed a massacre during the battle, Taylor, "while not denying the firing upon the boats out of general necessity during the action, conveniently noted that the stranded Frenchmen were not deliberately targeted, and found that only one was shot... while attempting to escape." 22 soldiers from the Independent Companies of Foreigners were captured by the Americans, "lending some credence to the Americans’ claims." Irregardless, "rumours of cold-blooded American brutality enraged the British forces, ithNapier noting that his own men and the Foreigners took the news particularly badly." The repulse at Craney Island did not deter the British from further operations in Hampton Roads the next year. That year in 1814, they proceeded up the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
to burn Washington, D.C., as there were no forts guarding the mouth of the bay at the time (this led to the building of
Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
beginning in the 1820s, to close the bay to enemy vessels). American troops defeated a British landing attempt at Caulk's Field one week later and an assault on Baltimore roughly two weeks after that, ending British incursions in the mid-Atlantic.


Legacy

Three active battalions of the US Regular Army's 4th Infantry Regiment (1–4 Inf, 2–4 Inf and 3–4 Inf) perpetuate the lineages of the old 20th Infantry Regiment, which had elements that participated in the Battle of Craney Island. Virginia Historical Marker K-258 (The Battle of Craney Island) (at the entrance to
Hoffler Creek Hoffler Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 creek (tidal), tidal inlet of the James River on its southern side in Hampton Roads. It forms the boundar ...
Wildlife Preserve on Twin Pines Road) commemorates the battle.Historic markers at vcris.dhr.virginia.gov
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References and further reading

* Forester, C. S., ''The Age of Fighting Sail'', New English Library * Chartrand, R., ''British Forces in North America, 1793–1815'', London: Osprey Publishing, 1998, * George, Christopher T., ''Terror on the Chesapeake: The War of 1812 on the Bay'', Shippensburg, Pa., White Mane, 2001, * Latimer, Jon, ''1812: War with America'', Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2007, * Pitch, Anthony S.''The Burning of Washington'', Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2000. * Roosevelt, Theodore, ''The Naval War of 1812'', Random House, New York, * Whitehorne, Joseph A., ''The Battle for Baltimore 1814'', Baltimore: Nautical & Aviation Publishing, 1997, * *Larry, Aaron G., ''Pittsylvania County and the War of 1812'', Charleston, South Carolina, The History Press, *Hallahan, John M., ''The Battle of Craney Island: A Matter of Credit'', Saint Michael's Press, 1986, {{DEFAULTSORT:Craney Island, Battle of 1813 Conflicts in 1813 Battles involving the United Kingdom 1813 in Virginia Battles of the War of 1812 in Virginia Battles of the Chesapeake campaign June 1813 events