From https://atlanticshoresliving.com/

A Short Maritime History of Virginia Beach

The pristine shores of Virginia Beach haven’t always been a tourist destination with restaurants, shops, and suntanning opportunities.

Before it ever became what it’s known for today, Virginia Beach was the setting for iconic historical moments and, even more so, for the makings of Maritime history. As the site of the first landing in what eventually became the United States, the chapters of history in this place are long and many. We could never do it justice completely, as the history that shaped modern-day Virginia Beach could fill countless books. However, we want to take you on a brief trip through time, Maritime specifically, and highlight some of the most noteworthy moments that occurred in this small piece of paradise.

This journey through time uncovers the tales of local indigenous people, early English settlers, lighthouses, naval battles, and Virginia Beach’s continued celebration of its maritime legacy.

The Early Days of Virginia Beach Maritime

INDIGENOUS INHABITANTS AND THE CHESEPIAN TRIBE

Centuries before the arrival of English settlers, the Chesapeake Bay area, including the land now known as Virginia Beach, was inhabited by the Chesepian tribe. These indigenous people thrived in the region, relying on the sea’s abundant resources for their sustenance and livelihood.

They resided in the areas now known as South Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach, where they were divided into five distinct sections: Weapemiooc, Chawanook, Secotan, Pomouic, and Newsiooc, each ruled and run independently.

Tying deeply to the marine environment, their presence is a poignant reminder of Virginia Beach’s maritime heritage.

ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH SETTLERS

Virginia Beachﾒs recorded history only began in 1607 with the arrival of English settlers.

This journey, led by Captain Christoper Newport, landed them in Cape Henry, located within present-day Virginia Beach. The settlers pressed on, eventually establishing Jamestown as the first permanent New World settlement. This pivotal event marked the beginning of Virginia Beach’s recorded maritime history under English influence. The Chesapeake Bay area, with its vast waterways and natural harbors, was a critical piece of the colonization journey.

Those who settled on these shores heavily relied on the sea for sustenance and commerce, which launched this area into a new era of maritime significance that can still be seen and felt today.

Virginia Beach Maritime History Through the Years

 

AMERICA’S FIRST OFFICIAL PORT

Virginia’s ports have been a monumental part of the state’s history for nearly four centuries. From the very first ﾓAmericaﾒs First Portﾔ at Jamestown in 1607 through modern-day naval ports, the history of Virginia’s ports is deeply intertwined with the nation’s history.

With the first official port of the Americas came the gateway for trade and communication to begin in the fledgling colony. With the Chesapeake Bay at their doorstep, the early settlers had access to abundant resources on top of trade routes. The name “Chesapeake” itself is thought to originate from the Algonquin language, meaning “Great Shellfish Bay,” appropriately named for this region that was teeming with marine life.

Jamestown and its port were the very heart of the early American maritime world, facilitating trade, navigation, and the growth of the colonies. It marked the beginning of a legacy that would continue to extend beyond this time in history, shaping the entirety of maritime history in what is now Virginia Beach, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the entire United States.

 

THE BATTLE OF THE CAPES

By the 1700s, Chesapeake Bay established itself as a hub for trade and maritime battles.

In 1781, the waters off Virginia Beach became the stage for a pivotal maritime battle during the Revolutionary War. French naval forces successfully blocked British ships from resupplying General Cornwallis in Yorktown. This vital action at the Battle of the Capes played a decisive role in the American victory, with it coming the birth of a new nation – and Virginia Beach’s waters witnessed this turning point in history in real time.

GUIDING LIGHTS – THE ICONIC VIRGINIA BEACH LIGHTHOUSES

Virginia Beach’s maritime history is intricately linked to its lighthouses.

Not long after the Battle of the Capes, The Cape Henry Lighthouse was constructed in 1792 using native Virginia sandstone. This remarkable structure still stands today as one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the United States. Signifying its historical importance, it was the first building project authorized under the U.S. Constitution, demonstrating its crucial role in guiding ships safely along the treacherous coastline.

The original lighthouse served as a vigilant sentinel for nearly a century until cracks necessitated the construction of a new light, which stands just 350 feet away. These two towering lighthouses, side by side, serve as enduring symbols of Virginia’s maritime heritage, silently witnessing over two centuries of maritime history and providing vital navigational guidance to ships entering Virginia’s ports.

With their stately presence, these lighthouses evoke a profound sense of history and provide a tangible connection to Virginia’s maritime past.

CIVIL WAR: A CLASH OF IRONCLADS

The Civil War made an indelible mark on Virginia Beach. In 1862, it was the site of a remarkable battle between the ironclad warships, the USS Monitor, and the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack). This battle revolutionized naval warfare, as it was one of the first encounters between ironclad vessels, signifying the end of wooden ship warfare.

The battle occurred near the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, not far from Virginia Beach’s coastline. The Monitor and Merrimack engagement, also known as the Battle of Hampton Roads, was a historic moment in naval history, as these iron giants clashed in an epic struggle that marked a significant turning point in warfare at sea.

WORLD WAR ||: U-BOATS OFF THE COAST

During World War II, the waters off the coast of Virginia Beach assumed an equally significant role in history. German U-boats, or submarines, patrolled these waters in search of American vessels. This marked a critical phase in the Battle of the Atlantic, where German submarines targeted Allied shipping along the eastern seaboard. Virginia Beach’s strategic location made it a pivotal point of interest for U-boats searching for American vessels. These wartime events underscore Virginia Beach’s contributions to both national and global history during World War II.

Modern Maritime in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach offers not only picturesque beaches and modern amenities but also a rich maritime history that reverberates through the centuries. From the indigenous inhabitants to the colonial settlers, from lighthouses to naval battles, this coastal city remains deeply connected to its maritime roots.

Today, Virginia Beach continues to celebrate and preserve its maritime heritage. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse shares its grounds with a nearly 70-foot-long gun barrel from the USS Iowa (BB-61), a retired U.S. Navy Iowa-class battleship. This relic from the past stands as a tribute to the nation’s maritime prowess and the city’s role in that history.

Virginia Beach’s story is one of historical relevance, preserved through monuments and commemorated every day in the coastal winds that sweep over the Chesapeake Bay. It’s a story waiting to be explored and appreciated by all who visit.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The history of Norfolk, Virginia 

The history of Norfolk, Virginia as a modern settlement begins in 1636. The city was named after the English county of Norfolk[1][2] and was formally incorporated in 1736. The city was burned by orders of the outgoing Virginia governor Lord Dunmore in 1776 during the second year of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), although it was soon rebuilt.

The 19th century proved to be a time of numerous travails for both the city of Norfolk, and the region as whole. War, epidemics, fires, and economic depression reduced the development of the city. The city grew into the region's economic hub. By the late 19th century, the Norfolk and Western Railway with its line to the west established the community as a major coal ore exporting port and built a large trans-loading facility at Lambert's Point. It became the terminus for numerous other railroads, linking its ports to inland regions of Virginia and North Carolina, and at the turn of the 20th century, the coal mining regions of Appalachia were well connected to the port on the East Coast. Princess Anne and Norfolk counties would become leaders in truck farming, producing over half of all greens and potatoes consumed on the East Coast. Lynnhaven oysters also became a major export.

The region's African Americans achieved full emancipation following the Civil War (1861–1865), after the initial Emancipation Proclamation by 16th President Abraham Lincoln in 1862–1863, supplemented later by the three post-war constitutional amendments during the Reconstruction era (1865–1877), only to be faced with severe discrimination through white legislators' later imposition by the 1890s of Jim Crow Laws. After Virginia passed a new post-war state constitution, African Americans were essentially disfranchised for more than 60 years until their leadership and activism won passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. In 1907, it was host to the Jamestown Exposition commemorating the tercentenary (300th anniversary) of the first English settlement at Jamestown on the James River, the only world's fair to ever be held in Virginia. As a result of its publicity and visits by high-ranking officials during the exposition (in which the Great White Fleet, of 26th President Theodore Roosevelt with the rebuilt United States Navy after the SpanishﾖAmerican War of 1898 was launched from Hampton Roads harbor), it became the later location of the Norfolk Naval Station.

Today, the city of Norfolk is a major American naval and world shipping hub, as well as the center of the Hampton Roads region, both on the southside and the peninsula to the north of the extensive harbor between the James and York Rivers, with the railroad terminus and ship construction port of Newport News from the 19th century on the west shore and Hampton on the south and east sides, dating back to its founding in the colonial era as Virginia's original port.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The harbor area of Hampton Roads

From official state map of pre-civil war Virginia circa 1858.

The history of Hampton Roads dates to 1607, when Jamestown was founded. Two wars have taken place in addition to many other historical events.

Colonial era[edit]

1607: the English colonists chose Jamestown[edit]

The first colonists arrived in 1607 when English Captain Christopher Newport's three ships, his flagship Susan Constant, the smaller Godspeed, and even smaller Discovery landed in April 1607 at Cape Henry along the Atlantic Coast in today's City of Virginia Beach, an event now known as the "First Landing." However, they moved on, under orders from the Virginia Company of London, the crews and new colonists sought a more sheltered area up one of the rivers. Their major concern was other European competitors such as the Spanish, who had earlier discovered the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia's rivers, and had even in 1570 begun a small settlement on the Virginia Peninsula known as the Ajac￡n Mission, which had failed.

During 18 days of exploring the area, they surely saw the enormous harbor of Hampton Roads, and some of the party must have appreciated its possibilities. However, after exploring the James River west at least as far as present-day Hopewell, they agreed upon Jamestown Island, where they established the first English speaking settlement to survive in the New World on 14 May 1607.

The site was deep enough water for ships to dock but was also easily defendable. But despite the defensive advantages of that location against Spanish attacks, the low and marshy site at Jamestown proved a very poor choice in many other ways. More than five years of fragile existence, disease-carrying insects and high mortality rates followed including the Starving Time of 1609-10 when over 80% of the 500 colonists perished before the future of the Virginia Colony began to appear more promising. The change came about with the just-in-time arrival of a new Governor, Lord Delaware, and a new colonist with a successful business idea named John Rolfe.

Main article: Jamestown, Virginia

Values of the harbor: commerce, military control[edit]

For centuries, the harbor and rivers of Hampton Roads have been ideal locations for both commerce and for many major shipyards. Some were established as early as the late 17th century such as the Gosport Navy Yard in what is now the City of Portsmouth.

The harbor was also a key point for military control of the region. Even the earliest settlers created fortifications at Old Point Comfort by 1610 against potential attacks by ships of Spanish or other unfriendly European forces.

American Revolutionary War[edit]

Important conflicts of the American Revolutionary War involved Norfolk and Craney Island (at the mouth of the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth). It was at Norfolk where the last Royal Governor of the Virginia Colony, Lord Dunmore, departed mainland Virginia for the last time.

Main article: American Revolutionary War

19th Century[edit]

War of 1812[edit]

The first naval action of the War of 1812 took place on 8 July 1812, when the Bermuda sloop, HMS Whiting, its crew oblivious to the US declaration of war, lowered anchor in Hampton Roads. As its captain was being rowed ashore, the Royal Naval vessel was seized by the American privateer Dash, which happened to be leaving port.

Main article: War of 1812

Federal improvements[edit]

Under the new United States government, by the 1830s, the entrance from Chesapeake Bay was defended by Fort Monroe, built by the U.S. Army beginning in 1819 on Old Point Comfort, and by Fort Wool, built as Fort Calhoun in 1829, on a small island called the Rip Raps near the middle of the channel (and now adjacent to one of the manmade islands of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel). Much work in the building of these fortresses in the early 19th century was done by a 24-year-old engineer in the U.S. Army, a Lieutenant named Robert E. Lee

Main article: Fort Monroe

American Civil War, emancipation and education of former slaves[edit]

Main article: Battle of Hampton Roads

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the famous Battle of Hampton Roads between the first American ironclad warships, the USSﾠMonitor and the CSSﾠVirginiaﾠ(ex-USS Merrimack) took place off Sewell's Point, on March 8–9, 1862. That battle was inconclusive, but later in 1862, Union forces took control of Hampton Roads, Norfolk, and the lower James River. However, their efforts to take the Confederate capital of Richmond via the James River with their vastly superior Navy were thwarted by a strong Confederate battery position high above a bend in the river about 8 miles (13 km) below Richmond at Drewry's Bluff.

Main article: Peninsula Campaign

Fort Monroe was the launching place for Union General George McClellan's massive 1862 Peninsula Campaign, a land campaign of many months which began at Fort Monroe and advanced up the Virginia Peninsula, with a Siege at Yorktown and another battle at Williamsburg before the Union Army almost literally reached the gates of Richmond, ending at the Chickahominy River within earshot of the city's church bells, according to the journals of Union soldiers. However, the Confederates mounted a credible defense of their capital city, and McClellan's campaign failed to capture Richmond, ending in the Seven Days Battles, during which the Union Army withdrew, effectively extending the War for almost three more years.

Main article: Hampton Roads Conference

On February 3, 1865, as the Confederacy was near total collapse, President Abraham Lincoln met with three senior Confederates in an effort to negotiate for peace (the "Hampton Roads Conference"). Lincoln wanted the states to return to the Union and indicated the Union would pay for the slaves. The Confederates insisted their demand was complete independence, so the 4-hour conference ended in failure.[1]

Main article: Grand Contraband Camp

Beginning in 1861, some of the former slaves found refuge near Fort Monroe, which remained in Union hands throughout the War. There, the commander, Union Army General Benjamin F. Butler, a lawyer by training, declared them to be "Contraband of war". On that legal basis, Union forces refused to return them to Confederate owners as would have been the practice even in many "free states" before Virginia seceded and declared itself a foreign power. Soon, word spread, and many slaves were understandably anxious to become "contraband."

Although many of the "contraband" men at Hampton and elsewhere during the War volunteered and became part of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), others and the women and children grew in increasing numbers near Fort Monroe in Elizabeth City County. From the wood and materials salvaged from the remains of the Town of Hampton, which had been burned earlier by retreating Confederates, they built the Grand Contraband Camp, near, but outside the protective walls of the Army base. It was the first self-contained African American community in the United States.

Close by, was (and still is) the Emancipation Oak, on the grounds of the school for them which grew to become Hampton University. Beginning as a normal school founded to train teachers, Hampton University was established by church groups and former Union Army officers. Early educators of the era included Mary Smith Peake and former Union Army General Samuel Chapman Armstrong, who was himself the son of missionaries, and had commanded a USCT force during the War. Among the earlier students was a young former slave named Booker T. Washington, who became a famed African-American educator and was the first head of present-day Tuskegee University. The Emancipation Oak is part of the official logo of the modern city of Hampton.

See also: Hampton University and Booker T. Washington

Twentieth century[edit]

Sewell's Point: Jamestown Exposition and a Navy Base[edit]

Main article: Jamestown Exposition

The Jamestown Exposition for the 300th anniversary of the 1607 founding of Jamestown was held at Sewell's Point in a rural section of Norfolk County in 1907.

President Theodore Roosevelt arrived by water in the harbor of Hampton Roads, as did other notable persons such as Mark Twain and Henry Huttleston Rogers, who both arrived aboard the latter's steam yacht Kanawha. A major naval display was featured, and the U.S. Great White Fleet made an appearance. The leaders of the U.S. Navy apparently did not fail to note the ideal harbor conditions, as was later proved.

Main article: Naval Station Norfolk

Beginning in 1917, as the United States became involved in World War I under President Woodrow Wilson, formerly rural Sewell's Point became the site of what grew to become the largest Naval Base in the world which was established by the United States Navy and is now known as the Naval Station Norfolk.

Military use of northern side of the Peninsula[edit]

Twice in the 20th century, families of mostly African American heritage were displaced in entire communities when land along the northern side of the Peninsula primarily in York County west of Yorktown was taken in large tracts for military use during World War I and World War II, creating the present-day U.S. Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, which includes Cheatham Annex, and a former Seabee base which became Camp Peary.

Communities including "the Reservation", Halstead's Point, Penniman, Bigler's Mill, and Magruder were all absorbed into the large military bases.

Although some left the area entirely, many of the displaced families chose to relocate nearby to Grove, an unincorporated town in southeastern James City County where many generations of some of those families now reside. From a population estimated at only 37 in 1895, Grove had grown to an estimated 1,100 families by the end of the 20th century. (To its north, Grove actually borders the Naval Weapons Station property and on its extreme east, a portion of the U.S. Army's land at Fort Eustis extends across Skiffe's Creek, although there is no direct access to either base).

See also: Grove, Virginia

Colonial Williamsburg[edit]

 

Main article: Colonial Williamsburg

A dream of one Episcopalian priest to save his 18th century church building was to expand to create the world's largest living museum. Replacing Jamestown and the end of the 17th century, Williamsburg had been capital of the Colony and the new State of Virginia from 1699-1780. After the capital moved to Richmond in 1780, Williamsburg became a quieter and sometimes described as "sleepy" small town. It saw some action during the Battle of Williamsburg of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign during the Civil War. However, it was not located along any major waterway and did not have railroad access until 1881. Perhaps due to the secure inland location originally known as Middle Plantation, for Williamsburg, growth and great expansion of commerce in the 19th century did not occur as rapidly as in many other Virginia cities. The main activities were the College of William and Mary and Eastern State Hospital, each historic institutions in their own right. In addition to the city's historic past, quite a few buildings of antiquity from the 18th century were still extant, although time was taking a toll by the early 20th century.

The Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin of Bruton Parish Church initially had wanted merely to save his historic church building. This he accomplished by 1907. He later served in Rochester, New York for many years. Upon returning to Williamsburg in 1923, he began to realize that many of the other colonial-era buildings also remained, but were in deteriorating condition, and their continued longevity was at risk.

Goodwin dreamed of a much larger restoration along the lines of what he had accomplished with his historic church. A cleric of modest means, he sought support and financing from a number of sources before successfully drawing the interests and major financial support of Standard Oil heir and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. The result of their combined efforts was the creation of Colonial Williamsburg, which included a restoration of the Wren Building at the College of William and Mary and a change of much of the downtown Williamsburg area into a 301-acre (1.2 km2) Historic Area of restored and replica buildings and surrounds to celebrate the patriots and the early history of America.

By the 1930s, Colonial Williamsburg had become the centerpiece of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia. These were, of course, Jamestown, where the colony started, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, where independence from Great Britain was won. The three points were joined by the U.S. National Park Service's Colonial Parkway, a remarkable accomplishment built over a period of 27 years. The Historic Triangle area of the Hampton Roads region became one of the largest tourist attractions in the entire world.

In Dr. Goodwin's words: "Williamsburg is Jamestown continued, and Yorktown is Williamsburg vindicated."

 

From https://www.tidewater-virginia.net/

Tidewater Virginia

Cities – Communities

Norfolk Virginia

Tidewater Virginia is home to numerous cities, towns, and communities. The region includes communities along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, the seven cities of Hampton Roads, and other areas.

Northern Neck

The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three western shore peninsulas. Bounded by the Potomac River on the north and the Rappahannock River on the south, the Northern Neck is one of Tidewater Virginia’s quietest areas.

Middle Peninsula

The Middle Peninsula includes the communities of Gloucester, Tappahannock, Deltaville, and Urbanna.

 

Lower (Virginia) Peninsula

Several communities are located on the Lower Peninsula, including Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Poquoson, Newport News, and Hampton.

Hampton Roads

The Hampton Roads region of Virginia includes Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, Chesapeake, Hampton, Virginia Beach, and Suffolk.

Eastern Shore

The Eastern Shore of Virginia is home to numerous small, historic towns and villages. Among the best known are Chincoteague Island, Onancock, Wachapreague, Nassawadox, and Cape Charles.

From https://www.tidewater-virginia.net/

Colleges and Universities

The Tidewater Virginia region is home to a wide range of higher education options. This page lists colleges, universities, technical schools, and other institutions in Hampton Roads, the Virginia Peninsula, and surrounding areas.

 

Colleges and Universities

The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg was founded in 1693 and has served as the second oldest institution of higher education in the United States.

Old Dominion University became an independent institution in 1962 and now offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk is noted for its research into reproductive medicine.

Norfolk State University is the largest majority black university in Virginia and offers a variety of liberal arts degrees.

Virginia Wesleyan College is a small private liberal arts college on the border of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

Hampton University, a private HBCU university, has a long history serving Hampton.

Christopher Newport University is a public university located in Newport News.

Regent University is a private university founded by Christian Evangelist and Leader Pat Robertson.

Atlantic University, associated with the Edgar Cayce organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE), offers M.A. degrees in Transpersonal Studies and several New Age subjects.

 Technical Institutes

ECPI College of Technology has campuses in Virginia Beach and Newport News.

ITT Technical Institute has a campus in Norfolk.

Bryant and Stratton College have a campus in Virginia Beach’s Town Center.

The Newport News Shipbuilding’s Apprentice School offers a two-year program in mechanical fields. Graduates from the Apprentice School go on to work at the Newport News Shipbuilding.

Advanced Technology Institute

Medical Careers Institute

 

Community Colleges

Eastern Shore Community College serves the residents of Accomack County and Northampton County as a two-year institution of higher learning.

Rappahannock Community College has six centers of learning in the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck regions of Virginia.

Tidewater Community College has locations in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth.

Paul D. Camp Community College has campuses in Suffolk, Franklin, and Smithfield.

Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton and Williamsburg offers two-year degrees and specialized training programs.

From https://www.tidewater-virginia.net/

Festivals – Shows – Expos

 

 

Norfolk Harborfest

 

Tidewater Virginia has an exciting schedule of annual festivals, shows, exhibitions, and other events. The following is a list of popular activities.

Ocean View Art Show

The Ocean View Art Show is sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Art Association. The event is the largest and oldest artist run show in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Held in October, the show has entertainment for the whole family, food vendors, and more.

Stockley Gardens Arts Festival

The Stockley Gardens Arts Festival is held in Norfolk’s historic Ghent neighborhood twice a year, on the third full weekend in May and October. The festival includes food, music, art exhibits, kids activities, an artists reception, and more. Professional artists compete for prizes and display jewelry, pottery, paintings, and other works of art for sale.

Colonial Place – Riverview Front Porch Art Walk

The annual Colonial Place – Riverview (CPRV) Front Porch Art Walk showcases resident artists on their front porches as well as specially featured artists. In addition to fine art, CPRV Front Porch Art Walk has expanded to include pottery, jewelry, hand-made note cards, masks, knitted creations, decorative items, upcycled art, and other crafts. Free and open to the public, the CPRV Art Walk encourages participants to visit both neighborhoods on foot, bike, or by car.

Newport News Fall Festival of Folklife

The Newport News Fall Festival of Folklife is held in annually Newport News Park. This is Hampton Roads Virginia’s biggest traditional craft show. The event features over 200 vendors, crafts, trades, entertainment, foods, and children’s activities.

Harvest Faire

Harvest Faire is held each October at Endview Plantation in Newport News. Harvest Faire is the Virginia Peninsula’s oldest Renaissance Festival. Activities include medieval combat and encampments, knights on horseback, live music and dance, merchants, drum circle, food, and period games.

Hampton Blackbeard Pirate Festival

The annual Blackbeard Pirate Festival celebrates Hampton’s maritime heritage and relationship with Blackbeard (Edward Teach), one of the fiercest pirates ever known.

Hampton Jazz Festival

The Hampton Jazz Festival is held each year during the last full weekend in June. Festival organizers evaluate available jazz, R&B and blues artists that are on tour during the time of the festival, bringing in the best musicians possible. Held in the Hampton Coliseum, the venue is highly respected by Hampton residents and visitors.

Norfolk Jazz Festival

Held in Town Point Park over 2 days, this is the region’s longest running outdoor jazz festival. The festival recruits nationally known artists as well as a selection of local and regional jazz favorites.

Norfolk Harborfest

Norfolk Harborfest offers activities on land and sea, including tall ships, the Parade of Sail, foods and beverages, boat races, concerts, one of the largest fireworks shows on the East Coast, family activities, and more.

NEON Festival

Norfolk’s annual NEON festival encourages visitors to explore and discover the NEON District, which is anchored by the Chrysler Museum of Art and Harrison Opera House and extends to The Plot on Granby Street. The festival celebrates the energy in the NEON District and draws from the passion and creativity in Downtown and the region.

 

Norfolk Latino Music Festival

This summer festival features the largest outdoor dance floor in Hampton Roads filled with salsa, merengue, and guaguanco dancing and live music by local, regional, and national Latin recording artists.

Virginia Beach Cherry Blossom Festival

The Annual Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the culture and beauty of Japan. The festival includes music, martial arts, origami, pottery, Gyotaku, and more. Modeled after the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., the Virginia Beach festival celebrates the goodwill friendship between Japan and the United States, marked by the 100 Yoshino Cherry Blossom trees which were donated as part of the Miyazaki Garden expansion plan, and planted by the Japan Educational Cultural Center and the Miyazaki Sister City Committee in 2005.

Virginia Beach Boardwalk Art Show & Festival

The Virginia Beach Boardwalk Art Show and Festival is one of the Commonwealth’s most highly anticipated events. Attendance often exceeds 350,000 visitors and art sales can surpass $2 million annually. The event has been ranked in the top 50 best fine art and design shows in the nation by Sunshine artist magazine. Prize money for artist awards reached over $30,000 in 2008, a milestone which has attracted high-caliber artists and art collectors since.

Pungo Strawberry Festival

Every year the Pungo Strawberry Festival is held in Virginia Beach on Memorial Day weekend. The Festival features strawberries prepared in over 50 different ways, a variety of events, including a pie eating contest, strawberry bake-off, continuous entertainment on three stages, a parade, one of the largest carnivals on the east coast, livestock show and sale, a multi-million dollar military display, pig races, youth art show, and unique arts and crafts. For more information, visit www.pungostrawberryfestival.info

Bayou Boogaloo and Cajun Food Festival

The Bayou Boogaloo and Cajun Food Festival is Norfolk’s annual New Orleans and Bayou culture festival. This 3-day summer festival delivers the heart and soul of Louisiana to visitors to Town Point Park in true Cajun and Creole style.

Suffolk Peanut Fest

Suffolk Peanut Fest offers concerts, amusement rides, contests and competitions, a demolition derby, a truck and tractor pull, motorcycle rally, fireworks, as well as local and national entertainment. The event has been featured in numerous magazines, including Virginia Business, Southern Living, The Southern Farmers Almanac, Best Festivals-Mid Atlantic, and others.

Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival

Set in a venue worthy of a story itself, the festival is held at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts in historic downtown Suffolk, Virginia. This one-day festival showcases multiple best-selling mystery, suspense, horror, paranormal, romance, and women’s fiction authors. Highlights include book signings, fan meet & greets and moderated panel discussions.

Poquoson Seafood Festival

Sponsored by the City of Poquoson, this annual event celebrates the working watermen of the Chesapeake Bay, local seafood, and life along the bay in a coastal City.

Virginia Arts Festival

Begun in 1997 as a way to promote tourism, this spring festival showcases artists from around the world as well as the Virginia’s best professional artists. The array of performances include of music, theatre, and dance. Festival events are held in eight cities across Hampton Roads in concert halls, performing arts centers, opera houses, theatres, museums, outdoor stages, and historic churches.

Virginia Wine Festival

Each year, thousands of wine lovers flock to the banks of the Elizabeth River in downtown Norfolk to enjoy the Virginia Wine Festival. The event features music, gourmet foods, specialty wares, and samplings from Virginia’s premier wine-makers.

 

 

Virginia Beer Festival

This festival celebrates the fine art of beer making. The event features live music, food, and beers from Europe and America. The Virginia Beer Festival is often held in Town Point Park at Norfolk’s Waterside.

 

From https://www.tidewater-virginia.net/

Tourism Information

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce
500 East Main Street Suit 700
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-622-2312
www.hamptonroadschamber.com

Chesapeake

Chesapeake Convention & Visitors Bureau
1224 Progressive Drive
Chesapeake, VA 23320
757 382-6411, Toll Free (888) 889-5551
www.visitchesapeake.com

Hampton

Hampton Visitor Center
120 Old Hampton Lane
Hampton, Va 23666
(757)-727-1102, Toll Free (800)-800-2202
www.visithampton.com

Newport News

Newport News Visitor Center
13560 Jefferson Ave.
Newport News, VA
(757)-886-7777, Toll Free (888)-493-7386
www.newport-news.org

Norfolk

Norfolk Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
www.norfolkcvb.com

 

 

Portsmouth

Portsmouth Visitor Center
www.visitportsva.com

Portsmouth Convention and Visitors Bureau
Toll Free (800)-767-8782
www.ci.portsmouth.va.us

Suffolk

City of Suffolk, Division of Tourism
www.suffolk.va.us
Toll Free (866)-SEE-SUFK

Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach Visitor Center
(757) 437-4919
www.vbfun.com

Virginia Beach Vacation Guide
www.visitvirginiabeach.com
Toll Free (800)-VABEACH

Eastern Shore

Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism
25-A Market Street
Onancock, Virginia 23417
757-331-1660
www.esvatourism.org

Northern Neck

Northern Neck Tourism Commission
P.O. Box 1707
Warsaw VA 22572
804-333-1919
www.northernneck.org

Virginia Peninsula

Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance
421 North Boundary Street
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
757-229-6511
www.williamsburgcc.com
www.visitwilliamsburg.com

 

Visit Yorktown Virginia
100 County Drive
Yorktown, Virginia 23692
www.visityorktown.org

 

From https://www.tidewater-virginia.net/

FAQ

Where is Tidewater Virginia?

Tidewater Virginia also has more than one definition:

1. The term Tidewater Virginia often refers to the area known as Hampton Roads.

2. By strict definition, Tidewater Virginia includes all areas of the Commonwealth that receive tidal water. This includes the Virginia Peninsula (including Hampton Roads), the Middle Peninsula, the Northern Neck, and the Eastern Shore.

Where is Hampton Roads Virginia?

Hampton Roads has multiple definitions, including:

1. A large natural harbor in Virginia. Hampton Roads harbor is formed by the convergence of the Elizabeth River, Nansemond River, and James River with several smaller rivers. The harbor empties into the Chesapeake Bay not far from the Atlantic Ocean. The harbor of Hampton Roads is bordered by the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.

2. A metropolitan region in Southeastern Virginia, USA.

What are the seven cities of Hampton Roads?

The seven major cities of Hampton Roads are Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.

What is The Southside?

The Southside refers to the southern Hampton Roads cities; Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.

What is “The 757”?

“The 757“ is an urban slang term for the seven cities of Hampton Roads; Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach. The cities of Hampton Roads are also known as the “seven of the 757.”

 

 

Where is the Historic Triangle?

The Historic Triangle includes three historic colonial communities on the Virginia Peninsula; Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Yorktown.

Where are the Virginia Necks?

Three peninsulas along Virginia’s western shore are known locally as the three necks. They include the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, and Virginia (Lower) Peninsula.

What is the weather like?

Tidewater Virginia, and especially Hampton Roads is known for its mild climate. Residents of the region often enjoy over 200 sunny days a year.

What are things to do in Tidewater Virginia?

The Hampton Roads – Tidewater region is a year round destination with museums, art galleries, exhibitions, festivals, and other attractions. Outdoor activities include freshwater and saltwater fishing, boating, sailing, surfing, sunbathing, kayaking, birdwatching, and more.

What airport should I use to visit?

The Hampton Roads – Tidewater area is served by the Norfolk International Airport and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.

What are the Elizabeth River Crossings?

The Elizabeth River Crossings (ERC), also known as Elizabeth River Tunnels, consist of the Downtown and Midtown Tunnels, MLK Expressway, and connecting highways which are operated and maintained by Elizabeth River Crossings OpCo, LLC.

The Downtown and Midtown Tunnels connect the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. The MLK Expressway allows travelers to travel between the Midtown and Downtown tunnels without having to exit the highway or drive through downtown Portsmouth

 

 

From https://nauticus.org/about-us/

ABOUT NAUTICUS

 

Nauticus is a maritime discovery center located along the waterfront in downtown, Norfolk, VA, offering a unique form of experiential learning for all ages. Through interactive exhibits and STEM to STERN programming, Nauticus uses the museum, Battleship Wisconsin, sailing center, and Schooner Virginia to tell the story of the maritime environment, industry, and the military.

MISSION STATEMENT

We exist to benefit our community through education, impactful experiences and by sharing access to maritime resources.

VISION STATEMENT

To become the leading maritime and science discovery center in the region.

 

 

THE BATTLESHIP WISCONSIN

 

Berthed at Nauticus, the Battleship Wisconsin is one of the largest and last battleships ever built by the U.S. Navy. Explore its deck through a self-guided tour or, with an additional charge, our guided tours that will take you back in time to experience this majestic ship that earned five battle stars during WWII.

 

The History of the Wisconsin

Battleship Wisconsin (BB-64), an Iowa-class battleship, was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 30th state. Her keel was laid down on January 25, 1941 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was launched on December 7, 1943 sponsored by Mrs. Walter S. Goodland, and commissioned on April 16, 1944, with Captain Earl E. Stone in command.

After her trials and initial training in the Chesapeake Bay, Wisconsin departed Norfolk, Virginia, on July 7, 1944, bound for the British West Indies. Following her shakedown, conducted out of Trinidad, the third Iowa-class battleship to join the Fleet returned to her builder’s yard for post-shakedown repairs and alterations.

 

WWII

On 24 September 1944, Wisconsin sailed for the west coast, transited the Panama Canal, and reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet on 2 October. The battleship later moved to Hawaiian waters for training exercises and then headed for the Western Caroline Islands. Upon reaching Ulithi on 9 December, she joined Admiral William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet.

The powerful new warship had arrived at a time when the reconquest of the Philippines was well underway. As a part of that movement, the planners had envisioned landings on the southwest coast of Mindoro, south of Luzon. From that point, American forces could threaten Japanese shipping lanes through the South China Sea.

The day before the amphibians assaulted Mindoro, the Third Fleet’s Fast Carrier Task Force (TF) 38, supported in art by Wisconsin, rendered Japanese facilities at Manila largely useless. Between 14 December and 16 December, TF 38’s naval aviators secured complete tactical surprise and quickly won complete mastery of the air and sank or destroyed 27 Japanese vessels; damaged 60 more; destroyed 269 planes; and bombed miscellaneous ground installations.

The next day the weather, however, soon turned sour for Halsey’s sailors. A furious typhoon struck his fleet, catching many ships refueling and with little ballast in their nearly dry bunkers. Three destroyers, Hull (DD-350), Monaghan (DD-354), and Spence (DD-512), capsized and sank. Wisconsin proved her seaworthiness as she escaped the storm unscathed.

As heavily contested as they were, the Mindoro operations proved only the introduction to another series of calculated blows aimed at the occupying Japanese in the Philippines. For Wisconsin, her next operation was the occupation of Luzon. Bypassing the southern beaches, American amphibians went ashore at Lingayen Gulf, the scene of the Japanese landings nearly three years before.

Wisconsin, armed with heavy antiaircraft batteries, performed escort duty for TF 38’s fast carriers during air strikes against Formosa, Luzon, and the Nansei Shoto, to neutralize Japanese forces there and to cover the unfolding Lingayen Gulf operations. Those strikes, lasting from 3 January to 22 January 1945, included a thrust into the South China Sea, in the hope that major units of the Japanese Navy could be drawn into battle.

Air strikes between Saigon and Camranh Bay, Indochina, on 12 January resulted in severe losses for the enemy. TF 38’s warplanes sank 41 ships and damaged heavily damaged docks, storage areas, and aircraft facilities. At least 112 enemy planes would never again see operational service. Formosa, already struck on 3 January and 4 January, again fell victim to the marauding American airmen, being smashed again on 9 January, 15 January, and 21 January. Soon, Hong Kong, Canton, and Hainan Island felt the brunt of TF 38’s power. Besides damaging and sinking Japanese shipping, American planes from the task force set the Canton oil refineries afire and blasted the Hong Kong Naval Station. They also raided Okinawa on 22 January, considerably lessening enemy air activities that could threaten the Luzon landings.

Assigned to the Fifth Fleet when Admiral Raymond A. Spruance relieved Admiral Halsey as Commander of the Fleet Wisconsin moved northward with the redesignated TF 58 as the carriers headed for the Tokyo area. On 16 February 1945, the task force approached the Japanese coast under cover of adverse weather conditions and achieved complete tactical surprise. As a result, they shot down 322 enemy planes and destroyed 177 more on the ground, Japanese shipping, both naval and merchant, suffered drastically, too, as did hangars and aircraft installations. Moreover, all this damage to the enemy had cost the American Navy only 49 planes.

The task force moved to Iwo Jima on 17 February to provide direct support for the landings slated to take place on that island on 19 February. It revisited Tokyo on 25 February and, the next day, hit the island of Hachino off the coast of Honshu. During these raids, besides causing heavy damage or ground facilities, the American planes sank five small vessels and destroyed 158 planes.

On 1 March, reconnaissance planes flew over the island of Okinawa, taking last minute intelligence photographs to be used in planning the assault on that island. The next day, cruisers from TF 58 shelled Okino Daito Shima in training for the forthcoming operation. The force then retired to Ulithi for replenishment.

Wisconsin’s task force stood out of Ulithi on 14 March, bound for Japan. The mission of that group was to eliminate airborne resistance from the Japanese homeland to American forces off Okinawa. Enemy fleet units at Kure and Kobe, on southern Honshu, reeled under the impact of the explosive blows delivered by TF 58’s airmen. On 18 March and 19 March, from a point 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Kyushu, TF 58 hit enemy airfields on that island. However, the Japanese drew blood during that action when Kamikaze attacks against TF58 on 19 March seriously damaged the carrier Franklin (CV-13).

That afternoon, the task force retired from Kyushu, screening the blazing and battered flattop. In doing so, the screen shot down 48 attackers. At the conclusion of the operation, the force felt that it had achieved its mission of prohibiting any large-scale resistance from the air to the slated landings on Okinawa.

On 24 March, Wisconsin trained her 16 inch (406 mm) guns on targets ashore on Okinawa. Together with the other battlewagons of the task force, she pounded Japanese positions and installations in preparation for the landings. Although fierce, Japanese resistance was doomed to fail by dwindling numbers of aircraft and trained pilots. In addition, the Japanese fleet, steadily hammered by air attacks from Fifth Fleet aircraft, found itself confronted by a growing, powerful, and determined enemy. On 17 April, the undaunted enemy battleship Yamato, with her 460 mm guns, sortied to attack the American invasion fleet off Okinawa. Met head-on by a swarm of carrier planes, Yamato, the light cruiser Yahagi, and four destroyers were sunk, the victims of massed air power. Never again would the Japanese fleet present a major challenge to the American fleet in the war in the Pacific.

While TF 58’s planes were off dispatching Yamato and her consorts to the bottom of the South China Sea, enemy aircraft struck back at American surface units. Combat air patrols (CAP) shot down 15 enemy planes, and ships’ gunfire shot down another three, but not before one Kamikaze attack penetrated the CAP and screen to crash on the flight deck of the fleet carrier Hancock(CV-19). On 11 April, the Japanese renewed their Kamikaze attacks; and only drastic maneuvers and heavy barrages of gunfire saved the task force. None of the strikes achieved any direct hits, although near-misses, close aboard, managed to cause some minor damage. Combat air patrols shot down 17 planes, and ships’ gunfire shot down 12. The next day, 151 enemy aircraft attacked TF 58, but Wisconsin, bristling with five inch (127 mm), 40 mm and 20 mm guns, together with other units of the screens for the vital carriers, kept the Kamikaze pilots at bay and destroyed them before they could reach their targets.

Over the days that ensued, American task force planes hit Japanese facilities and installations in the enemy’s homeland. Redoubling their efforts, suicide attacks managed to crash into three carriers on successive days Intrepid(CV-11), Bunker Hill (CV-17) and Enterprise (CV-6).

By 4 June, a typhoon was swirling through the Fleet. Wisconsin rode out the storm unscathed, but three cruisers, two carriers, and a destroyer suffered serious damage. Offensive operations were resumed on 8 June with a final aerial assault on Kyushu. Japanese aerial response was pitifully small; 29 planes were located and destroyed. On that day, one of Wisconsin’s floatplanes landed and rescued a downed pilot from the carrier Shangri-La (CV-38).

Wisconsin ultimately put into Leyte Gulf and dropped anchor there on 18 June for repairs and replenishment. Three weeks later, on 1 July, the battleship and her consorts sailed once more for Japanese home waters for carrier air strikes on the enemy’s heartland. Nine days later, carrier planes from TF 38 destroyed 72 enemy aircraft on the ground and smashed industrial sites in the Tokyo area. So little was the threat from the dwindling Japanese air arm that the Americans made no attempt whatever to conceal the location of their armada which was operating off her shores with impunity.

On 16 July, Wisconsin fired the 16 inch (406 mm) guns at the steel mills and oil refineries at Muroran, Hokkaido. Two days later, she wrecked industrial facilities in the Hitachi Miro area, on the coast of Honshu, northeast of Tokyo itself. During that bombardment, British battleships of the Eastern Fleet contributed their heavy shellfire. By that point in the war, Allied warships were able to shell the Japanese homeland almost at will.

Task Force 38’s planes subsequently blasted the Japanese naval base at Yokosuka, and put the former fleet flagship Nagato out of action, one of the two remaining Japanese battleships. On 24 July and 25 July, American carrier planes visited the Inland Sea region, blasting enemy sites on Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Kure then again came under attack. Six major fleet units were located there and badly damaged, marking the virtual end of Japanese sea power.

Over the weeks that ensued, TF 38 continue its raids on Japanese industrial facilities, airfields, and merchant and naval shipping. Admiral Halsey’s airmen visited destruction upon the Japanese capital for the last time on 13 August 1945. Two days later, the Japanese surrendered. World War II was over at last.

Wisconsin, as part of the occupying force, arrived at Tokyo Bay on 6 September, three days after the formal surrender occurred on board the battleship Missouri (BB-63). During Wisconsin’s brief career in World War II, she had steamed 105,831 miles (170,318 km) since commissioning; had shot down three enemy planes; had claimed assists on four occasions; and had fueled her screening destroyers on some 250 occasions.

Text provided by Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Vol. VIII, pp. 433-37.

 

1945-1950

Shifting subsequently to Okinawa, the battleship embarked homeward-bound GIs on 22 September, as part of Operation Magic Carpet staged to bring soldiers, sailors, and marines home from the far-flung battlefronts of the Pacific. Departing Okinawa on 23 September, Wisconsin reached Pearl Harbor on 4 October, remaining there for five days before she pushed on for the west coast on the last leg of her state-side bound voyage. She reached San Francisco, California, on 15 October.

Heading for the east coast of the United States soon after the start of the new year, 1946, Wisconsin transited the Panama Canal between 11 January and 13 January and reached Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 18 January. Following a cruise south to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the battleship entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul. After repairs and alterations that consumed the summer months, Wisconsin sailed for South American waters.

Over the weeks that ensued, the battleship visited Valparaiso, Chile, from 1 November to 6 November; Callao, Peru, from 9 November to 13 November; Balboa, Canal Zone, from 16 November to 20 November; and La Guajira, Venezuela, from 22 November to 26 November, before returning to Norfolk on 2 December 1946.

Wisconsin spent nearly all of 1947 as a training ship, taking naval reservists on two-week cruises throughout the year. Those voyages commenced at Bayonne, New Jersey, and saw visits conducted at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Panama Canal Zone. While underway at sea, the ship would perform various drills and exercises before the cruise would end where it had started, at Bayonne. During June and July of 1947, Wisconsin took United States Naval Academy midshipmen on cruises to northern European waters.

In January 1948, Wisconsin joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk, for inactivation. Placed out of commission, in reserve on 1 July 1948 Wisconsin was assigned to the Norfolk group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Text provided by Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Vol. VIII, pp. 433-37.

 

KOREAN WAR

Her sojourn in “mothballs,” however, was comparatively brief because of the North Korean invasion of South Korea in late June 1950. Wisconsin was recommissioned, on 3 March 1951 with Captain Thomas Burrowes in command. After shakedown training, the revitalized battleship conducted two midshipmen training cruises, taking the officers-to-be to Edinburgh, Scotland; Lisbon, Portugal; Halifax, Nova Scotia; New York City; and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before she returned to Norfolk.

Wisconsin departed Norfolk on 25 October 1951, bound for the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal on 29 October and reached Yokosuka, Japan, on 21 November. There, she relieved New Jersey (BB-62) as flagship for Vice Admiral H. M. Martin, Commander, Seventh Fleet.

On 26 November, with Vice Admiral Martin and Rear Admiral F.P. Denebrink, Commander, Service Force, Pacific, embarked, Wisconsin departed Yokosuka for Korean waters to support the fast carrier operations of TF 77. She left the company of the carrier force on 2 December and, screened by the destroyer Wiltsie (DD-716), provided gunfire support for the Republic of Korea (ROK) Corps in the Kasong-Kosong area. After disembarking Admiral Denebrink on 3 December at Kangnung, the battleship resumed station on the Korean “bombline,” providing gunfire support for the American 1st Marine Division. Wisconsin’s shellings accounted for a tank, two gun emplacements, and a building. She continued her gunfire support task for the 1st Marine Division and 1st ROK Corps through 6 December, accounting for enemy bunkers, artillery positions, and troop concentrations. On one occasion during that time, the battleship received a request for call-fire support and provided three star-shells for the 1st ROK Corps, illuminating a communist attack that was consequently repulsed with considerable enemy casualties.

After being relieved on the gunline by the heavy cruiser St. Paul (CA-78) on 6 December, Wisconsin retired only briefly from gunfire support duties. She resumed them, however, in the Kasong-Kosong area on 11 December screened by the destroyer Twining (DD-540). The following day, 12 December, saw the embarkation in Wisconsin of Rear Admiral H. R. Thurber, Commander, Battleship Division 2. The admiral came on board via helicopter, incident to his inspection trip in the Far East.

The battleship continued naval gunfire support duties on the “bombline,” shelling enemy bunkers, command posts, artillery positions, and trench systems through 14 December. She departed the “bombline” on that day to render special gunfire support duties in the Kojo area blasting coastal targets in support of United Nations (UN) troops ashore. That same day, she returned to the Kasong-Kosong area. On 15 December, she disembarked Admiral Thurber by helicopter. The next day, Wisconsin departed Korean waters, heading for Sasebo to rearm.

Returning to the combat zone on 17 December, Wisconsin embarked United States Senator Homer Ferguson of Michigan on 18 December. That day, the battleship supported the 11th ROK invasion with night illumination fire that enabled the ROK troops to repulse a communist assault with heavy enemy casualties. Departing the “bombline” on 19 December, the battleship later that day transferred her distinguished passenger, Senator Ferguson, by helicopter to the carrier Valley Forge (CV-45).

Wisconsin next participated in a coordinated air-surface bombardment of Wonsan to neutralize pre-selected targets. She shifted her bombardment station to the western end of Wonsan harbor, hitting boats and small craft in the inner swept channel during the afternoon. Such activities helped to forestall any communist attempts to assault the friendly-held islands in the Wonsan area. Wisconsin then made an anti-boat sweep to the north, firing the five inch (127 mm) batteries on suspected boat concentrations. She then provided gunfire support to UN troops operating at the “bombline” until three days before Christmas 1951. She then rejoined the carrier task force.

On 28 December, Francis Cardinal Spellman, on a Korean tour over the Christmas holidays, visited the ship, coming on board by helicopter to celebrate Mass for the Catholic members of the crew. He left the ship by helicopter off Pohang. Three days later, on the last day of the year, Wisconsin put into Yokosuka.

Wisconsin departed that Japanese port on 8 January 1952 and headed for Korean waters once more. She reached Pusan the following day and entertained the President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, and his wife, on 10 January. President and Mrs. Rhee received full military honors as they came on board, and he reciprocated by awarding Vice Admiral Martin the ROK Order of the Military Merit.

Wisconsin returned to the “bombline” on 11 January and, over the ensuing days, delivered heavy gunfire support for the 1st Marine Division and the 1st ROK Corps. As before, her primary targets were command posts, shelters, bunkers, troop concentrations and mortar positions. As before, she stood ready to deliver call-fire support as needed. One such occasion occurred; on 14 January when she shelled enemy troops in the open at the request of the ROK 1st Corps.

Rearming at Sasebo and once more joining TF 77 off the coast of Korea soon thereafter, Wisconsin resumed support at the “bombline” on 23 January. Three days later, she shifted once more to the Kojo region, to participate in a coordinated air and gun strike. That same day, the battleship returned to the “bombline” and shelled the command post and communications center for the 15th North Korean Division during call-fire missions for the 1st Marine Division.

Returning to Wonsan at the end of January, Wisconsin bombarded enemy guns at Hodo Pando before she was rearmed at Sasebo. The battleship rejoined TF 77 on 2 February and the next day, blasted railway buildings and marshaling yards at Hodo Pando and Kojo before rejoining TF 77. After replenishment at Yokosuka a few days later, she returned to the Kosong area and resumed gunfire support. During that time, she destroyed railway bridges and a small shipyard besides conducting call-fire missions on enemy command posts, bunkers, and personnel shelters, making numerous cuts on enemy trench lines in the process.

On 26 February, Wisconsin arrived at Pusan where Vice Admiral Shon, the ROK Chief of Naval Operations; United States Ambassador J.J. Muccio; and Rear Admiral Scott-Montcrief, Royal Navy, Commander, Task Group 95.12, visited the battleship. Departing that South Korean port the following day, Wisconsin reached Yokosuka on 2 March. A week later, she shifted to Sasebo to prepare to return to Korean waters.

Wisconsin arrived off Songjin, Korea, on 15 March 1952 and concentrated her gunfire on enemy railway transport. Early that morning, she destroyed a communist troop train trapped outside of a destroyed tunnel. That afternoon, she received the first direct hit in her history, when one of four shells from a communist 155 mm gun battery struck the shield of a starboard 40 mm mount. Although little material damage resulted, three men were injured. Wisconsin subsequently destroyed that battery with a 16 inch (406 mm) salvo before continuing her mission. After lending a hand to support once more the 1st Marine Division with her heavy rifles, the battleship returned to Japan on 19 March.

Relieved as flagship of the Seventh Fleet on 1 April by sistership Iowa (BB-61), Wisconsin departed Yokosuka, bound for the United States. En route home, she touched briefly at Guam, where she took part in the successful test of the Navy’s largest floating dry-dock on 4 April and 5 April, marking the first time that an Iowa-class battleship had ever utilized that type of facility. She continued her homeward-bound voyage, via Pearl Harbor, and arrived at Long Beach, California, on 19 April, she then sailed for Norfolk.

Text provided by Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Vol. VIII, pp. 433-37.

 

1952-1981

Early in June 1952, Wisconsin resumed her role as a training ship, taking midshipmen to Greenock, Scotland; Brest, France; and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before returning to Norfolk. She departed Hampton Roads on 25 August and participated in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise, Operation “Mainbrace” which commenced at Greenock and extended as far north as Oslo, Norway. After her return to Norfolk, Wisconsin underwent an overhaul in the naval shipyard there. She then engaged in local training evolutions until 11 February 1953, when she sailed for Cuban waters for refresher training. She visited Newport, Rhode Island, and New York City before returning to Norfolk late in April.

Following another midshipman’s training cruise to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Port-of-Spain, Trinidad; and Guantanamo Bay, Wisconsin put into the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 4 August for a brief overhaul. A little over a month later, upon conclusion of that period of repairs and alterations, the battleship departed Norfolk on 9 September, bound for the Far East.

Sailing via the Panama Canal to Japan, Wisconsin relieved New Jersey (BB-62) as Seventh Fleet flagship on 12 October. During the months that followed, Wisconsin visited the Japanese ports of Kobe, Sasebo, Yokosuka, Otaru, and Nagasaki. She spent Christmas at Hong Kong and was ultimately relieved of flagship duties on 1 April 1954 and returned to the United States soon thereafter, reaching Norfolk, via Long Beach and the Panama Canal, on 4 May 1954.

Entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 11 June, Wisconsin underwent a brief overhaul and commenced a midshipman training cruise on 12 July. After revisiting Greenock, Brest, and Guantanamo Bay, the ship returned to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs. Shortly thereafter, Wisconsin participated in Atlantic Fleet exercises as flagship for Commander, Second Fleet. Departing Norfolk in January 1955, Wisconsin took part in operation “Springboard,” during which time she visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Then, upon returning to Norfolk, the battleship conducted another midshipman’s cruise that summer, visiting Edinburgh; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Guantanamo Bay before returning to the United States.

Upon completion of a major overhaul at the New York Naval Shipyard, Wisconsin headed south for refresher training in the Caribbean Sea, later taking part in another “Springboard” exercise. During that cruise, she again visited Port-au-Prince and added Tampico, Mexico, and Cartagena, Colombia, to her list of ports of call. She returned to Norfolk on the last day of March 1955 for local operations.

Throughout April and into May, Wisconsin operated locally off the Virginia capes. On 6 May, the battleship collided with the destroyer Eaton (DDE-510) in a heavy fog; Wisconsin put into Norfolk with extensive damage to her bow and, one week later, entered drydock at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. A novel expedient speeded her repairs and enabled the ship to carry out her scheduled midshipman training cruise that summer. A 120 ton, 68 foot (21 m) section of the bow of the uncompleted battleship Kentucky was transported by barge, in one section, from Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation of Newport News, Virginia, across Hampton Roads to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Working round-the clock, Wisconsin’s ship’s force and shipyard personnel completed the operation which grafted the new bow on the old battleship in a mere 16 days. On 28 June 1956, the ship was ready for sea.

Embarking 700 NROTC midshipmen, representing 52 colleges and universities throughout the United States, Wisconsin departed Norfolk on 9 July, bound for Spain. Reaching Barcelona on 20 July, the battleship next called at Greenock and Guantanamo Bay before returning to Norfolk on the last day of August. That autumn, Wisconsin participated in Atlantic Fleet exercises off the coast of the Carolinas, returning to port on 8 November 1956. Entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard a week later, the battleship underwent major repairs that were not finished until 2 January 1957.

After local operations off the Virginia capes from 3 January to 4 January and from 9 January to 11 January, Wisconsin departed Norfolk on 16 January, reporting to Commander, Fleet Training Group, at Guantanamo Bay. Breaking the two-starred flag of Rear Admiral Henry Crommelin, Commander, Battleship Division 2, Wisconsin served as Admiral Crommelin’s flagship during the ensuing shore bombardment practices and other exercises held off the isle of Culebra, Puerto Rico, from 2 February to 4 February 1957. Sailing for Norfolk upon completion of the training period, the battleship arrived on 7 February.

The warship conducted a brief period of local operations off Norfolk before she sailed, on 27 March, for the Mediterranean Sea. Reaching Gibraltar on 6 April, she pushed on that day to rendezvous with TF 60 in the Aegean Sea. She then proceeded with that force to Xeros Bay, Turkey, arriving there on 11 April for NATO Exercise “Red Pivot.”

Departing Xeros Bay on 14 April, she arrived at Naples four days later, After a week’s visit during which she was visited by Italian dignitaries Wisconsin conducted exercises in the eastern Mediterranean. In the course of those operational training evolutions, she rescued a pilot and crewman who survived the crash of a plane from the carrier Forrestal (CVA-59). Two days later, Vice Admiral Charles R. Brown, Commander, Sixth Fleet, came on board for an official visit by high-line and departed via the same method that day. Wisconsin reached Valencia, Spain, on 10 May and, three days later, entertained prominent civilian and military officials of the city.

Departing Valencia on 17 April, Wisconsin reached Norfolk on 27 May. On that day, Rear Admiral L.S. Parks relieved Rear Admiral Crommelin as Commander, Battleship Division 2. Departing Norfolk on 19 June, the battleship, over the ensuing weeks, conducted a midshipman training cruise through the Panama Canal to South American waters. She transited the canal on 26 June; crossed the equator on the following day; and reached Valparaiso on 3 July. Eight days later, the battleship headed back to the Panama Canal and the Atlantic.

After exercises at Guantanamo Bay and off Culebra, Wisconsin reached Norfolk on 5 August and conducted local operations that lasted into September. She then participated in NATO exercises which took her across the North Atlantic to the British Isles. She arrived in the River Clyde on 14 September and subsequently visited Brest, France, before returning to Norfolk on 22 October.

Wisconsin’s days as an active fleet unit were numbered, and she prepared to make her last cruise. On 4 November 1957, she departed Norfolk with a large group of prominent guests on board. Reaching New York City on 6 November, the battleship disembarked her guests and, on 8 November, headed for Bayonne, New Jersey, to commence pre-inactivation overhaul.

Placed out of commission at Bayonne on 8 March 1958, Wisconsin joined the “Mothball Fleet” there, leaving the United States Navy without an active battleship for the first time since 1896. Subsequently taken to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Wisconsin remained there with her sistership Iowa into 1981.

Text provided by Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Vol. VIII, pp. 433-37.

 

1988-PRESENT

Wisconsin was recommissioned on 22 October 1988, as part of President Ronald Reagan’s “600-ship Navy” Over the next several months the ship was upgraded with the most advanced weaponry available, including Harpoon and Tomahawk Missile capabilities.

Wisconsin served in Operation Desert Storm from 15 January to 27 February 1991. This marked the last time that a United States battleship ever actively participated in a foreign war.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the absence of a perceived threat to the United States came drastic cuts in the defense budget, and the high cost of maintaining and operating battleships as part of the United States Navy became uneconomical. As a result, the Wisconsin was decommissioned on 30 September 1991 and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 January 1995. On 15 October 1996 she was moved to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. On 12 February 1998 she was restored to the Naval Vessel Register. She remains berthed adjacent to Nauticus in Norfolk, Virginia.

Wisconsin earned five battle stars for her World War II service and one for the Korean War. The ship also received the Navy Unit Commendation for service during the first Gulf War.

PLEASE NOTE: The City of Norfolk has assumed stewardship of the Battleship Wisconsin, which is now included in regular Nauticus admission. Admission fees help preserve and maintain the battleship for future generations.

Text provided by Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), Vol. VIII, pp. 433-37.

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