Cape Henry Memorial
| Cape Henry Memorial | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
  | |
| Location: | Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA |
| Nearest city: | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 0.25 acre (1000 m²) |
| Governing body: | National Park Service |
Cape Henry Memorial commemorates the first landfall at Cape Henry, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, of colonists bound for the Jamestown settlement. After landing on April 26, 1607, they explored the area, named the cape, and set up a cross before proceeding up the James River. A stone cross, set up in 1935 by the Daughters of the American Colonists, stands in the quarter-acre site.
The Memorial also over looks 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 American victory at Yorktown. A statue of Admiral Comte deGrasse and a granite memorial honor those who fought in the battle.
Cape Henry Memorial is within Fort Story Military Reservation, but is an isolated unit of Colonial National Historical Park. A national park passport stamp for the Memorial can be obtained at the adjacent Old Cape Henry Lighthouse (not formally part of the Memorial).
External links
- Official NPS website: Cape Henry Memorial
Categories
IUCN Category V | 1935 establishments | American Revolutionary War sites | Pre-revolutionary history of the United States | National Memorials of the United States | Virginia Beach, Virginia