Admiral Sir George Cockburn commanded a British fleet blockading Chesapeake Bay. In the early 1813 Cockburn and Admiral Sir John B. Warren planned to attack the Gosport Shipyard in Portsmouth and capture the frigate U.S.S. Constellation. However Brigdier General Robert B. Taylor commanded the Virginia Militia in the Norfolk area had no intentions of letting the British succeed.  Building a fortification on Craney Island, near where the Navy Hospital now stands, he planned to hold off overpowering odds. The main British force counting over 700 Marines and the 102nd Regiment attacked a company of light artillery under the command of Captain Arthur Emmerson. Emmerson held off the British's forces giving the American forces a major victory on June 22nd.

The mural project was the brainchild of Aaron Kelley, founder of the Portsmouth Heritage Initiative, a grassroots effort that celebrates Portsmouth history. The mural was painted by Sam Welty. (There is more online if Portsmouth Heritage Initiative is googled)

Murals

Outdoor Art