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Near Smithfield in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Fort Huger

Captain John Smith’s Adventures on the James

— www.johnsmithtrail.org —

 
 
Fort Huger Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, May 2, 2009
1. Fort Huger Marker
Inscription. Shells have been found in amazing quantities along this area of the river. The Indians who lived beside the saltwater stretches of river did not have tuckahoe and other freshwater plants to sustain them in poor crop years, when shellfish likely became a substantial part of their diet. Shellfish contain protein, iron and calories, and kept early settlers alive during droughts.

Today, the earthwork remains of the Confederate Fort Huger stand guard over Burwell Bay, described by Smith as “…a Bay wherein falleth 3 or 4 prettie brookes and creekes that halfe intrench the Inhabitants of Warraskoyac.”

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Captain John Smith’s Trail
John Smith knew the James River by its Algonquian name: Powhatan, the same as the region’s paramount chief. Smith traveled the river many times between 1607 and 1609, trading with Virginia Indians to ensure survival at Jamestown. What he saw of Virginia’s verdant woodlands and pristine waters inspired him to explore the greater Chesapeake Bay, chronicling its natural wonders.
Captain John Smith’s Trail on the James is a 40-site water trail and auto tour for modern explorers.

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Isle of Wight’s First English Resident
The first English settlement in Isle of Wight County was made by Capt. Christopher Lawne
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near here. On April 27, 1619, he arrived at Jamestown with 100 other settlers and immediately settled near the mouth of a creek northwest of here, now known as Lawne’s Creek. Lawne represented the settlement known as Lawne’s Plantation in the first House of Burgesses, which met at Jamestown on July 30, 1619.

During the civil War, this property became home to the Confederate Fort Huger, which was used for about a year. Designed to battle wooden ships, it outlived its usefulness whrn the Union navy added the ironclads USS Monitor and USS Galena to its fleet.
 
Erected by Captain John Smith’s Trail, James River Association, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. (Marker Number 34.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial EraForts and CastlesSettlements & SettlersWar, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1780.
 
Location. 37° 6.659′ N, 76° 39.691′ W. Marker is near Smithfield, Virginia, in Isle of Wight County. Marker is at the intersection of Talcott Terrace and Lawnes Neck Drive, on the right when traveling east on Talcott Terrace. The marker is in the Fort Huger parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Smithfield VA 23430, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles
Fort Huger Historic Site. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, May 2, 2009
2. Fort Huger Historic Site.
of this marker, measured as the crow flies. A different marker also named Fort Huger (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Fort Huger (approx. 2.7 miles away); Surry County / Isle of Wight County (approx. 3.1 miles away); Mulberry Point & Sir Thomas West (approx. 3.1 miles away); Poole’s Funeral Home (approx. 3.3 miles away); Lawne’s Creek Church (approx. 3.6 miles away); Felker Army Airfield (approx. 3.8 miles away); Bacon’s Castle (approx. 3.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Smithfield.
 
Also see . . .
1. Captain John Smith’s Trail. (Submitted on May 5, 2009.)
2. Smithfield & Isle of Wight Convention & Visitors Bureau. Historic Fort Huger - Isle of Wight County's Newest Civil War Attraction. (Submitted on May 5, 2009.) 
 
Fort Huger Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, May 2, 2009
3. Fort Huger Marker
History Trail to Fort Huger image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, May 2, 2009
4. History Trail to Fort Huger
Fort Huger Bridge image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, May 2, 2009
5. Fort Huger Bridge
Fort Huger Sally Port. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, May 2, 2009
6. Fort Huger Sally Port.
Plan of Fort Huger at Hardy's Bluff. image. Click for full size.
1863
7. Plan of Fort Huger at Hardy's Bluff.
Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division [Map F232 Is8 1863:1]
Fort Huger North Bastion. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher
8. Fort Huger North Bastion.
Fort Huger South Bastion. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher
9. Fort Huger South Bastion.
View of the James River "Ghost Fleet" from Fort Huger. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, May 2, 2009
10. View of the James River "Ghost Fleet" from Fort Huger.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 9, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 5, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,986 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on May 5, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.

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Mar. 19, 2024