Rip Raps is a small 15 acre (60,000 m²) artificial

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

at the mouth of the harbor area known as

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 ...

in the independent city of

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

in southeastern

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Its name is derived from the Rip Rap Shoals in Hampton Roads, which also gave their name to a 19th-century criminal gang. In 2020 the island was converted into a bird sanctuary, and routine public access was terminated.

History

Hampton Roads harbor defenses

Rip Raps was originally built in 1817 as part of the harbor defenses to provide a setting on the south side of the navigation channel for

Fort Wool Fort Wool is a decommissioned island fortification located in the mouth of Hampton Roads, adjacent to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). Now officially known as Rip Raps Island, the fort has an elevation of 7 feet and sits near Old Point ...

(built originally in 1830 and named Fort Calhoun but renamed during the Civil War and rebuilt in 1902), the companion to

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 ...

(on the northern side of the channel) in protecting access to

with an anti-submarine net. Fort Wool was decommissioned after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was ceded to Virginia in 1967, and transferred to

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 ...

. President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

used it as a retreat, visiting between August 19, 1829 through August 16, 1835. Rip Raps is located adjacent to one of the unnamed man-made islands of the

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

, which was initially completed and opened to traffic in 1957. However, Rip Raps and Fort Wool were accessible to the public by water via harbor tours until 2020.

19th-century criminal gang

The Rip Rap shoals in Hampton Roads were likely also the source of the name of the Rip Raps, a notorious Baltimore gang during the Know-Nothing movement. The

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Rips Raps included several sailors familiar with the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. They were affiliated with the American Party and specifically the Plug Uglies, another American gang. The Rip Raps fought several street battles with their sharpest rivals—the Democratic rowdies associated with the New Market Fire Company. At the October 1856 municipal election, the Rip Raps attacked the New Market engine house, leading to two deaths and the wounding of several prominent fighting men. The battle was one of a series of confrontations in the Know-Nothing Riot of 1856 that day and at the ensuing presidential election. The confrontations left seventeen dead. Prominent Rip Raps included Gregory Barrett Jr., William "Kitty" Chambers, Elijah "Boney" Lee, and Marion "Mal" Cropp.

Notes

References

* Artificial islands of Virginia History of Virginia Landforms of Hampton, Virginia Parks in Hampton, Virginia Former gangs in Baltimore 1817 establishments in Virginia Virginia islands of the Chesapeake Bay {{HamptonVA-geo-stub

History

Hampton Roads harbor defenses

19th-century criminal gang

See also

Notes

References