The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America.
The importance of Chesapeake Bay in American history has long made the Capes strategically significant, most notably in the naval Battle of the Chesapeake that was a crucial step in winning the American Revolutionary War.
More recently, because of the proximity of the naval yards at Norfolk and Newport News, the Capes area has often been used for the initial trials of new Navy ships.
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—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)