Rip Raps
Encyclopedia
Rip Raps is a small 15 acre (60,000 m²) artificial island
at the mouth of the harbor area known as Hampton Roads
in the independent city of Hampton
in southeastern Virginia
in the United States
.
(originally named Fort Calhoun), the companion to Fort Monroe
(on the northern side of the channel) in protecting access to Hampton Roads
and the inland rivers which are tributaries. Fort Wool was decommissioned after World War II
.
President Andrew Jackson
used it as a retreat, visiting between August 19, 1829 through August 16, 1835.
Rip Raps is located adjacent to one of the unnamed man-made islands of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
, which was initially completed and opened to traffic in 1957. However, Rip Raps and Fort Wool are accessible to the public only by water via harbor tours.
Note: The availability of public tours of both Fort Wool and Fort Monroe are subject to Homeland Security
Alert conditions.
Rips Raps included several sailors familiar with the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. They were affiliated with the American Party
and specifically the Plug Uglies
, another American gang. The Rip Raps fought several street battles with their sharpest rivals--the Democratic rowdies associated with the New Market Fire Company. At the October 1856 municipal election, the Rip Raps attacked the New Market engine house, leading to two deaths and the wounding of several prominent fighting men. The battle was one of a series of confrontations in the Know-Nothing Riot of 1856
that day and at the ensuing presidential election. The confrontations left seventeen dead. Prominent Rip Raps included Gregory Barrett Jr., William "Kitty" Chambers, Elijah "Boney" Lee, and Marion "Mal" Cropp.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
at the mouth of the harbor area known as Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
in the independent city of Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
in southeastern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
Rip Raps was originally built in 1817 as part of the harbor defenses to provide a setting on the south side of the navigation channel for Fort WoolFort Wool
Fort Wool was the companion to Fort Monroe in protecting Hampton Roads from seafaring threats. This site was once the dumping place for ships’ ballast....
(originally named Fort Calhoun), the companion to Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
(on the northern side of the channel) in protecting access to Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
and the inland rivers which are tributaries. Fort Wool was decommissioned after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
used it as a retreat, visiting between August 19, 1829 through August 16, 1835.
Rip Raps is located adjacent to one of the unnamed man-made islands of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is the -long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60. It is a four-lane facility comprising bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the...
, which was initially completed and opened to traffic in 1957. However, Rip Raps and Fort Wool are accessible to the public only by water via harbor tours.
Note: The availability of public tours of both Fort Wool and Fort Monroe are subject to Homeland Security
Homeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
Alert conditions.
Source of Name
The Rip Rap shoals in Hampton Roads were likely the source of the name of the Rip Raps, a notorious Baltimore gang during the Know-Nothing movement. The BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Rips Raps included several sailors familiar with the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. They were affiliated with the American Party
Know Nothing
The Know Nothing was a movement by the nativist American political faction of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon Protestant values and controlled by...
and specifically the Plug Uglies
Plug Uglies
The Plug Uglies were a street gang that operated in the westside of Baltimore, Maryland from 1854 to 1860. The Plug Uglies coalesced shortly after the creation of the Mount Vernon Hook-and-Ladder Company, a volunteer fire company whose truck house was on Biddle Street, between Pennsylvania Avenue...
, another American gang. The Rip Raps fought several street battles with their sharpest rivals--the Democratic rowdies associated with the New Market Fire Company. At the October 1856 municipal election, the Rip Raps attacked the New Market engine house, leading to two deaths and the wounding of several prominent fighting men. The battle was one of a series of confrontations in the Know-Nothing Riot of 1856
Know-Nothing Riot of 1856
The Know-Nothing Riot of 1856, some of the worst rioting of the Know-Nothing era in the United States, occurred in Baltimore in the fall of 1856. Street tensions had escalated sharply over the preceding half-dozen years as neighborhood gangs, most of them operating out of local firehouses, became...
that day and at the ensuing presidential election. The confrontations left seventeen dead. Prominent Rip Raps included Gregory Barrett Jr., William "Kitty" Chambers, Elijah "Boney" Lee, and Marion "Mal" Cropp.