Battle of Craney Island

The Battle of Craney Island, fought on 22 June 1813, was one of the few American defensive successes during the prolonged British campaign in the Chesapeake Bay. A combined British naval and land assault on the island at the mouth of the Elizabeth River was repulsed with significant British casualties, saving Norfolk, Virginia, and the frigate USS Constellation from capture.

Rear Admiral George Cockburn had been raiding the Chesapeake since early 1813, and the captured or destroyed American commerce throughout the bay. Norfolk, with its navy yard and the frigate Constellation in ordinary, was a tempting target. Craney Island, a low sandy island at the confluence of the Elizabeth and James Rivers, commanded the approach to the city.

The American garrison comprised approximately 700 men — Virginia militia and US Marines — supported by guns from the Constellation manned by her skeleton crew under Lieutenant Neale. The defenders had fortified the island with earthworks and positioned their artillery to cover the approaches.

The British attack came from two directions: a land column wading across the shallows from the west, and a flotilla of barges approaching from the sea. The land column, comprising Royal Marines and the Independent Companies of Foreigners, found the water deeper than anticipated and were forced to wade chest-deep under fire. The barges, carrying approximately 500 sailors and marines, ran into a concentrated fire from the island’s batteries and the Constellation’s guns.

The largest barge, the Centipede, carrying over fifty men, was hit repeatedly and sank. Its occupants were killed, wounded, drowned, or captured — the single greatest British loss of the day. The remaining barges were driven off, and the land column withdrew when it became clear that the naval assault had failed.

British casualties included 3 killed, 16 wounded, and approximately 62 captured or drowned. American casualties were negligible. The repulse at Craney Island was a genuine success that saved Norfolk from the fate that would befall Hampton, Virginia, three days later — where a British force committed some of the war’s worst atrocities against civilians.