Library of Congress photo
With its large Loyalist population, he was hoping to use it as a base to regain control of the colony. But defeat in the Battle of Great Bridge and subsequent occupation of Norfolk by Woodford’s troops forced Dunmore to abandon the colony. In a parting gesture on Jan. 1, 1776, he ordered his ships to bombard the town. The resultant fire destroyed Norfolk. Dunmore and his fleet then left, ending British rule in Virginia. Sprowle remained loyal to the crown, and the Virginia government confiscated all his land and property. He died while in exile on Gwynn’s Island, Virginia, in May 1776. Now in possession of the shipyards at Hampton Roads, Virginia served the revolution by building the largest navy among the rebelling colonies, with Gosport Shipyard being the largest and most important of the facilities. For three years, the region was untouched by British attack. That dramatically came to an end in 1779. In May 1779, the Royal Navy staged its first raid, attacking the ports of Portsmouth, Norfolk, Gosport, and Suffolk. This
The ruins of Gosport Navy Yard after the Confederates burned the facilities ahead of the arrival of advancing Union forces.
resulted in the capture of vast stores, the destruction of more than 130 vessels, and damage estimated in value at £2 million. Adm. Sir George Collier, who wanted to hold the facilities and make use of them, tried but failed to stop the destruction. Just a few months later, the Battle of the Chesapeake sealed the fate of the British in America. In September 1781, the French navy and Royal Navy clashed in the waters near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. While the battle itself was tactically indecisive, the French fleet managed to keep the British from either reinforcing or evacuating the forces of Lord Cornwallis, who was besieged at Yorktown. It also allowed the French to bring in reinforcements and artillery to continue the siege. Cornwallis’ surrender heralded
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