| Cape Henry Memorial | |
|---|---|
 Memorial cross | |
   | |
| Location | Virginia Beach, Virginia,USA |
| Nearest city | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 36°55′41″N76°0′30″W / 36.92806°N 76.00833°W /36.92806; -76.00833 |
| Area | 0.25 acres (0.10 ha) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Cape Henry Memorial |
TheCape Henry Memorial commemorates the first landfall atCape Henry, inVirginia Beach, Virginia, of colonists bound for theJamestown settlement. After landing on April 26, 1607, they explored the area, named the cape, and set up a cross before proceeding up theJames River. A stone cross, set up in 1935 by theDaughters of the American Colonists, stands in the quarter-acre site. The memorial marks the First Landing, the very beginning of what would become British North America and subsequently Anglo Canada and theUnited States of America.
The Memorial also overlooks the scene of theBattle of the Virginia Capes, in which the French navy prevented the British from reinforcing General Cornwallis, and led to the Franco-American victory atYorktown. A statue ofAdmiral Comte de Grasse and a granite memorial honor those who fought in the battle.
Although not memorialized at the park, this was also the location of the earlier smaller navalBattle of Cape Henry in which British and French naval squadrons fought in 1781.
The Cape Henry Memorial is withinJoint Expeditionary Base East, but is an isolated unit ofColonial National Historical Park. Anational park passport stamp for the Memorial can be obtained at the adjacentOld Cape Henry Light (not formally part of the Memorial).
