Fort Norfolk History

In 1794 Congress authorized President George Washington to build a series of fortifications along the "Maritime Frontier" to protect 19 American harbors. Fort Norfolk, originally built of earthen walls with wooden and some brick supports, is the last remaining of those 18th century defenses.
After the Chesapeake-Leopard affair in June 1807, Fort Norfolk was upgraded in anticipation of a British attack. The brick and masonry walls and buildings completed about 1810 remain at the fort. During the War of 1812 the fort was one of the key defenses to Norfolk's inner harbor and was home to the frigate Constellation. A British attack was repulsed at the nearby Battle of Craney Island.
After the war, Fort Norfolk's strategic value was eclipsed with the construction of Fortress Monroe, and the fort fell into disuse. In 1848 a squatter named Lemuel Fentress was found living in the officers quarters. Fentress billed the War department $1,500 for taking care of the government's works, signing with a shaky "X." It is not known if he was ever paid.
The Navy took over the fort in September 1849, establishing a mid-19th Century equivalent of today's naval weapons stations. Two barracks were modified and several structures built. They included a massive 55 x 136-foot powder magazine with walls more than four feet thick, which still stands in the fort today.
Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861, and rebels seized Fort Norfolk with its powder, shells, and ordnance supplies. Cannon again were mounted, and the fort served as a river battery defending the chief naval station of the Confederacy. The fort's magazine supplied the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) for its historic battle with the USS Monitor. The Confederates evacuated Norfolk on May 10, 1862, and the Union Army occupied the fort and used it as a prison for several years.
Fort Norfolk was eventually returned to the Navy, and it became a "much needed" ordnance depot in 1875. Around the turn of the century the fort was used for storage. It was occupied by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1923, and the Corps of Engineers occupies the reservation to this day.

Fort Norfolk remains as a priceless historical treasure, still fitting this description written by a historian a generation ago:
"One may travel many a long and weary mile
for many a long and weary day, yet find
no place more beautiful than Fort Norfolk.
Though well within the city's boundaries
thousands pass but few enter. Once crowded,
busy and essential to our protection,
the glory of the fort was long departed,
but beauty and peace remain."

Fort Norfolk was one of five forts, a Naval Shipyard, and a Naval Base that have defended Norfolk and Portsmouth since the founding of Norfolk. The links below will describe how these forts and Naval Bases have shaped the history of Fort Norfolk.