Great Bridge Battle Site, Chesapeake, VA (6)
**Great Bridge Battle Site** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 73002205, date listed 1973-03-28
Both sides of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal between Oak Grove and Great Bridge
Chesapeake, VA (Independent City)
During the autumn of 1775, Governor Dunmore's troops made several forays into the countryside of Norfolk and Princess Anne County for the purpose of' capturing rebel cannon, and generally to "show the flag." There was considerable loyalist sympathy in the extreme south-east portion of Virginia during the last months before the Declaration of Independence. The accuracy of the Governor's intelligence information attests to the fact that many persons -- and not only the numerous Scott merchants -- had, as yet, been unable to overcome the allegiances of a life-time.
The brief but, for the British, sanguinary Battle of Great Bridge was fought on December 9, 1775. Witnesses to this, the first pitched battle of the Revolution in Virglnia, observed: "the vast effusion of blood on the bridge, and in the fort," as well as the "many bodies carried out of the fort to be interred. The casualties were British or Loyalist, Patriot losses being limited to the wounding of one man. Crown forces abandoned the fort at Great Bridge and other entrenchments. Their position at Norfolk was no longer tenable. The land route to the borough was open, Dunmore's regulars had suffered serious losses, and, perhaps most important, the Loyalists were thoroughly demoralized. Many of the latter fled the region as the Governor's forces withdrew to ships in Norfolk Harbor.
The Great Bridge battlefield site is significant as a landmark to Virginia's role in the American Revolution, for in this marshy location took place the first armed conflict between British soldiers and the colony's patriot forces. Archaelogical excavation in the area of Dunmore's fort might provide important information regarding the fort's exact location and the activity that took place there. British soldiers are believed to be buried in the marsh, and the wet conditions here are condusive to the preservation of remains. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/131-0023_Nom...
Great Bridge Battle Site, Chesapeake, VA (6)
**Great Bridge Battle Site** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 73002205, date listed 1973-03-28
Both sides of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal between Oak Grove and Great Bridge
Chesapeake, VA (Independent City)
During the autumn of 1775, Governor Dunmore's troops made several forays into the countryside of Norfolk and Princess Anne County for the purpose of' capturing rebel cannon, and generally to "show the flag." There was considerable loyalist sympathy in the extreme south-east portion of Virginia during the last months before the Declaration of Independence. The accuracy of the Governor's intelligence information attests to the fact that many persons -- and not only the numerous Scott merchants -- had, as yet, been unable to overcome the allegiances of a life-time.
The brief but, for the British, sanguinary Battle of Great Bridge was fought on December 9, 1775. Witnesses to this, the first pitched battle of the Revolution in Virglnia, observed: "the vast effusion of blood on the bridge, and in the fort," as well as the "many bodies carried out of the fort to be interred. The casualties were British or Loyalist, Patriot losses being limited to the wounding of one man. Crown forces abandoned the fort at Great Bridge and other entrenchments. Their position at Norfolk was no longer tenable. The land route to the borough was open, Dunmore's regulars had suffered serious losses, and, perhaps most important, the Loyalists were thoroughly demoralized. Many of the latter fled the region as the Governor's forces withdrew to ships in Norfolk Harbor.
The Great Bridge battlefield site is significant as a landmark to Virginia's role in the American Revolution, for in this marshy location took place the first armed conflict between British soldiers and the colony's patriot forces. Archaelogical excavation in the area of Dunmore's fort might provide important information regarding the fort's exact location and the activity that took place there. British soldiers are believed to be buried in the marsh, and the wet conditions here are condusive to the preservation of remains. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/131-0023_Nom...