Great Bridge in Chesapeake, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Battle of Great Bridge Monument
(front)
marks the Battlefield of
Great Bridge
Dec 9 1775
was moved to this location
December 9, 1964
on the 189th anniversary of
the Battle of Great Bridge.
The site of
the battle was approximately
a mile northeast of here.
Erected 1900 by Daughters of the American Revolution, Norfolk Virginia.
Topics and series. This monument and memorial is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of the American Revolution series list. A significant historical date for this entry is December 9, 1775.
Location. 36° 42.967′ N, 76° 14.909′ W. Marker is in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is in Great Bridge. Memorial is on Conquest Drive north of Shea Drive, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chesapeake VA 23322, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. SSG Jonathan Kilian Dozier, USA (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Chesapeake Veterans Memorial (about 400 feet away); Norfolk County Almshouse (about 400 feet away); Never Forget (about 500 feet away); History of Norfolk County (about 600 feet away); Battle of Great Bridge (about 600 feet away); Marine Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Village of Great Bridge (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chesapeake.
More about this monument. Discolored perhaps by age, the inscribed plaques on this 117-year old monument refuse to be photogenic when a camera lens is feet, rather than inches, away from them. Recently taken photos as well as the one copied from Chesapeake: A Pictorial History attest to this.
The first of two monuments erected in Great Bridge by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), this one originally stood on Route 168. The second one was erected in Battlefield Park in 2007. See the Related marker section for more details.
In 1964 this Battle of Great Bridge Monument was moved to Chesapeake municipal complex near what was then known as the Civic Center. The new location, per a newly added plaque, placed the battle site at approximately a mile northeast of the monument. It is likely that the monument was moved again – just slightly – within the complex since then. A comparison of the copied photo with the recently taken ones shows a change in the monument’s base and buildings in the background of it.
An interesting point about the area of land upon which the monument stands is that from 1637 until 1963, it was Norfolk County, not Chesapeake. A roadside marker (Nansemond County/Norfolk County, Z-235) erected in 1931 by the Conservation and Development Commission of Virginia, acknowledges that the Battle of Great Bridge occurred in Norfolk County. And Great Bridge, in 1775, was a village there.
Someday this monument will have a place to call home, a final resting place. There are plans being made to move it one more time to another location, Battlefield Park.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . . Daughters of the American Revolution. (Submitted on February 3, 2018, by Cynthia L. Clark of Suffolk, Virginia.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2018, by Cynthia L. Clark of Suffolk, Virginia. This page has been viewed 582 times since then and 39 times this year. Last updated on February 3, 2018, by Cynthia L. Clark of Suffolk, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on January 31, 2018, by Cynthia L. Clark of Suffolk, Virginia. 7, 8. submitted on February 3, 2018, by Cynthia L. Clark of Suffolk, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.