{"nrhp_refnum":"73002205","name":"Great Bridge Battle Site","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Both sides of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal between Oak Grove and Great Bridge","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chesapeake (Independent City)","county":"Chesapeake","state":"VA","lat":36.72424199900004,"lon":-76.23932024362111,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-03-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 130-acre battlefield site on both sides of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal between Oak Grove and Great Bridge in Chesapeake, Virginia, where the Battle of Great Bridge was fought on December 9, 1775.","why_significant":"It is the location of the first pitched battle of the Revolution in Virginia, and the first armed conflict between British soldiers and the colony's patriot forces. The British defeat opened the land route to Norfolk and demoralized Loyalists. The marsh may also hold archaeological evidence of Dunmore's 1775 fort and buried British soldiers.","narrative":"This 130-acre site straddles the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal in Chesapeake, Virginia, where a colonial bridge and causeway once carried traffic over about 360 yards of marsh and open water on the land route to Norfolk. On December 9, 1775, British and Loyalist troops from Lord Dunmore's fort marched south across the bridge to attack American patriots entrenched on dry ground beyond. The brief fight was the first pitched battle of the Revolution in Virginia. Patriot losses were limited to one wounded man, while the British suffered heavy casualties. Crown forces abandoned the fort, the road to Norfolk was open, and many Loyalists fled the region. The British fortified the position again in 1781 under General Benedict Arnold, with the Queen's Rangers stationed there. Modern roads and the canal have disturbed parts of the area, yet the marshland setting survives. A knoll north of the bridge may hold intact remains of Dunmore's fort, and wet conditions favor preservation of buried remains.","period_of_significance":"18th Century (specific date 1775)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked fair and altered; many modern intrusions disturb the area next to the bridge, but the battlefield keeps its original marshland character. The 1781 British fort site is probably destroyed by the canal.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.984758-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/6801/41680135/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73002205.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002205/34cb04cd15-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002205/34cb04cd15-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tere Rottink","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Bridge_monument.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tere Rottink</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Bridge_monument.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680135","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23838087"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/chesapeake/great-bridge-battle-site-73002205/"}