The Cape Henry Memorial commemorates the first landfall at

Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Ch ...

, in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

, of colonists bound for the

Jamestown settlement Jamestown Settlement is a living history museum operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia, created in 1957 as Jamestown Festival Park for the 350th anniversary celebration. Today it includes a recreation of the original James Fort (c. 1607 to 16 ...

. After landing on April 26, 1607, they explored the area, named the cape, and set up a cross before proceeding up the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

. A stone cross, set up in 1935 by the

Daughters of the American Colonists The National Society, Daughters of the American Colonists (NSDAC), commonly known as the Daughters of the American Colonists, is an American Patriotism, patriotic Voluntary association, organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Founded in ...

, stands in the quarter-acre site. The memorial marks the First Landing, the very beginning of what would become British North America and subsequently Anglo Canada and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. The Memorial also overlooks the scene of the Battle of the Virginia Capes, in which the French navy prevented the British from reinforcing General Cornwallis, and led to the Franco-American victory at Yorktown. A statue of Admiral Comte de Grasse and a granite memorial honor those who fought in the battle. Although not memorialized at the park, this was also the location of the earlier smaller naval

Battle of Cape Henry The Battle of Cape Henry was a naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 16 March 1781 between a British squadron under Vice-admiral Mariot Arbuthnot and a French squadron under Admira ...

in which British and French naval squadrons fought in 1781. The Cape Henry Memorial is within

Joint Expeditionary Base East Joint Expeditionary Base-Fort Story, commonly called simply Fort Story is a sub-installation of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, which is operated by the United States Navy. Located in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Vi ...

, but is an isolated unit of

Colonial National Historical Park Colonial National Historical Park is a large national historical park located in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia operated by the National Park Service. It protects and interprets several sites relating to the Colony of Virginia and the his ...

. A national park passport stamp for the Memorial can be obtained at the adjacent Old Cape Henry Light (not formally part of the Memorial).

External links

* Official NPS website
Cape Henry Memorial

{{authority control American Revolutionary War monuments and memorials American Revolutionary War sites History of the Thirteen Colonies History of Virginia Beach, Virginia Protected areas established in 1935 Monuments and memorials in Virginia National Park Service areas in Virginia Buildings and structures in Virginia Beach, Virginia Tourist attractions in Virginia Beach, Virginia 1935 sculptures Stone sculptures in Virginia Colonial National Historical Park Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia