Near Gloucester Point in Gloucester County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Battle of the Hook

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 26, 2021

1. Battle of the Hook Marker

Inscription. Here at the Hook on October 3rd, 1781, in the largest cavalry action of the American War of Independence, the Duc du Lauzun's Legion and Lieutenant Colonel John Mercer's Select Battalion of Militia defeated Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's British Legion and a detachment of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. This action, involving as many as 1,300 troops, half of them mounted, ended foraging operations Crown forces had been conducting around Gloucester since early August and destroyed Lord Cornwallis' hopes of escaping through Gloucester. British forces retreated inside their works at Gloucester Town, today's Gloucester Point. Their surrender on October 19th, the last surrender of Crown forces in North America, took place one hour after Cornwallis' forces had laid down their arms across the river in Yorktown.

Erected by Gloucester County Historical Society and Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical date for this entry is October 3, 1781.

Location. 37° 16.567′ N, 76° 30.169′ W. Marker is near Gloucester Point, Virginia, in Gloucester

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County. It is at the intersection of Hayes Road (County Road 1216) and Hook Road (County Road 1219), on the right when traveling north on Hayes Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2408 Hayes Rd, Hayes VA 23072, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Middle Peninsula

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

in the Chesapeake Bay Region,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: "The Hook" (a few steps from this marker); The Irene Morgan Story Begins (within shouting distance of this marker); Tarleton's Last Fight (within shouting distance of this marker);

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 26, 2021

2. Battle of the Hook Marker

1953 Benthall Peanut Picker (approx. 0.9 miles away); 1920's Farm Equipment (approx. 0.9 miles away); Gloucester Point Chapel (approx. one mile away); Duc de Lauzun and the Battle of the Hook (approx. 1.3 miles away); French Soldiers Killed at the Battle of the Hook (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gloucester Point.

Another marker is no longer nearby. "The Hook" (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . .
1. Gloucester250 Battle of the Hook Driving Tour. Opens an online PDF from the Gloucester History Museum. (Submitted on April 20, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.)

2. American Battlefield Protection Program 2021 Study. Link opens an online PDF to an extensive, thorough, and very informative report on this engagement as well as its context, location, landmarks, and historiography. This is the study responsible for correcting the battle's core area. (Submitted on April 20, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.)

Additional commentary.
1. Misidentified Location
"The Hook" refers to

Battle of the Hook Core Battlefield Area image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, April 11, 2026

3. Battle of the Hook Core Battlefield Area

Corrected in 2021, the site of the primary cavalry fighting that comprised the Battle of the Hook is bordered by U.S. 17 to the east, Crewe Road to the north, Williams Landing Road to the west, and Powhatan Drive to the south. Abingdon Park is the only largely open section of the battle area, and as a consequence is where a more detailed set of markers and the small memorial to those buried on the battlefield was placed in 2024.

Gloucester Point and a 2021 Battlefield Survey done under the American Battlefield Protection Plan identified the area of the battle as approximately 1.2 to 1.4 miles northwest from the site marked by this monument. The source of the confusion appears to be an early 20th century map that included a Cavalry icon and the words "The Hook" on it at the intersection of "The Great Road" — the route of which Hayes Road follows in conjunction with portions of US 17 (US 17 bypassed this section, leaving it generally on the same roadbed & route as in 1781) — and "Hook Road", the terminus of Guinea Road.

There is also a local anecdote about battlefield burials being found during the construction of the nearby Hardees in the 1980s that is thought to have reinforced the identification of this intersection as the battle site. The intersection was, however, the site of "Redoubt K" — a British earthen fortification guarding the British position at Gloucester Point from approach on The Great Road from the north. Note To Editor only visible by Contributor and editor

— Submitted April 20, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 1, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 3,087 times since then and 276 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 1, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on April 20, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.