Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Historical Marker
Gosport Navy Yard Wall
| | Built 1803 | |
circa 2024
1. Historical Marker Marker
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1803.
Location. 36° 49.538′ N, 76° 17.839′ W. Marker is in Portsmouth, Virginia. It is in Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It is on Barron Street west of Kearney Avenue, on the left when traveling west. Marker is within Norfolk Naval Shipyard and access is restricted to authorized personnel and their escorted guests. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 215 Barron Street, Portsmouth VA 23709, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads, specifically in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. 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
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Assisting Mariners with Navigation (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Norfolk Naval Shipyard (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named Norfolk Naval Shipyard (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Norfolk Naval Shipyard (about 600 feet away); The U.S. Shipyard (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Norfolk Naval Shipyard (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named Norfolk Naval Shipyard (about 600 feet away); The Labor Force (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Portsmouth.
circa 2024
2. 1803 Navy Yard Wall & Rifle Embrasures
The dark, bricked-in squares, regularly spaced along the interior wall aligned with the top of the marker (and below the old steam piping), are the referenced rifle embrasures. Within the wall, they were widened out to allow a rifleman to swing left and right while tracking his target. From outside of the wall, the embrasures appear as narrow vertical slits (also bricked in) rather than these wider squares - since less space was needed to pivot the rifle where it pierced the wall to the outside. Limiting the size of the embrasure at the pierce point reduced the vulnerability of the defender within the walls.
Photographed by Evan Dwyer, circa 2019
3. Bricked-In Embrasures
Circled (in red) are several of the more noticeable filled-in rifle embrasures seen from outside the shipyard on Lincoln Street by Quarters C. They are much more narrow on the exterior face of the wall than the interior photograph above shows.
Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 1, 2023
4. Rifle Embrasures Example at Fort Point, San Francisco
The Guard Room at San Francisco's Fort Point illustrates non-sealed defensive rifle slits (though not identical in style or shape to the ones at Gosport Navy Yard in 1861, apparently). This photo shows how wide they are on the side of the defending rifleman...
Photographed by Evan Dwyer, September 1, 2023
5. Rifle Embrasures Example at Fort Point, San Francisco
...and how narrow the same rifle slits are on the side of the attacker (exterior).
Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 10, 2026. This page has been viewed 51 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 10, 2026. 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 10, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
