The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and

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 Cha ...

to the south, that define the entrance to

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

on the eastern coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. In 1610, a supply ship learned of the famine at Jamestown when it landed at Cape Henry. "America and West Indies: June 1610." ''Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies'': Volume 1, 1574-1660. Ed. W Noel Sainsbury. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1860. 9-10
British History Online.
Retrieved 13 June 2019. The importance of Chesapeake Bay in American history has long made the Virginia Capes strategically significant, most notably in the naval

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...

that was crucial to the American victory at the

siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

, effectively ending the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. As a result, the area was heavily garrisoned, beginning with the construction 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 ...

and

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 ...

in 1819. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, a pivotal battle between the ironclad warships and was fought in

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 River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

. The ''Virginia'' was attempting to break the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...

that was strangling the Confederacy. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, additional gun batteries were installed on Cape Henry at

Fort Story 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 ...

and on Fisherman's Island near Cape Charles. During

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

coast artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

batteries at Fort Story were expanded and additional batteries were installed at

Fort John Custis Colonel John Custis IV (August 1678 – November 22, 1749) was an American planter, politician, government official and military officer who sat in the House of Burgesses from 1705 to 1706 and 1718 to 1719, representing the electoral constitue ...

on Cape Charles to guard the entrance to Hampton Roads Harbor. More recently, because of the close proximity of many military installations, including

Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...

Joint Base Langley-Eustis A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story (JEBLC-FS), established October 1, 2009, is a Joint Base of the United States military that is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The installation is made up of former U.S Army post Fort Story a ...

NAS Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mill ...

, the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

, and

Newport News Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy ...

, the Capes area has often been used for the initial trials of new Navy ships and for military training exercises.

References

Headlands of Virginia {{VirginiaBeachVA-geo-stub