Arthur Emmerson

Arthur Emmerson. . , Captain Emmerson was scion of one of Portsmouth's oldest and most important families. His father, the Rev. Arthur Emmerson, was the third Rector of Trinity Church. He considered the ministry, but for almost twenty years the sea was his calling, ending as a ship's master (Captain) in 1809., It was about that time that he organized the Portsmouth Light Artillery, was elected its captain and saw action here during the War of 18 12. On June 22, 1813, British land and sea forces controlling the Chesapeake Bay turned to Hampton Roads. Untold damage threatened Portsmouth, Norfolk and the Gosport Navy Yard where the USS Constitution was anchored. Blocking the way at the Elizabeth River's mouth were the Craney Island Earth Works manned by Emmerson's artillerist and riflemen., Part of the British force became lost the previous night in a swamp while others in small boats were easy targets for the Americans. For directing artillery, Emmerson was called, "the hero of the Battle of Craney Island". Although a minor engagement of the war, the area's capture would have altered local history. Three days later the British entered Hampton leaving it a smoldering ruins., After the war, he was one of the founders of the Portsmouth office of the Bank of Virginia, the city's first modern bank. In 1832, Emmerson and other local investors founded the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railway Company, one of the first railroads in America. Eventually the line became known as the Seaboard Air Line Railroad., He served as president of the board of city trustees and at his death he was Clerk of the Norfolk County Courts.