Battle of Kemp's Landing

Lord Dunmore, Virginia's Royal Governor operating from his fleet since fleeing Williamsburg in June 1775, landed forces at Kemp's Landing near Norfolk in November. A small Patriot militia force under Colonel Hutchings was surprised and scattered by the British landing party. Hutchings himself was captured along with several officers.

The easy victory at Kemp's Landing inflated Dunmore's confidence significantly and led him to overestimate Loyalist strength in the Virginia Tidewater. Emboldened by his success, Dunmore issued his famous proclamation on November 7 offering freedom to enslaved people and indentured servants who escaped Patriot masters and joined British forces. Hundreds of enslaved people fled to his fleet and were organized into the Ethiopian Regiment.

The victory at Kemp's Landing directly led to Dunmore's much larger — and disastrous — operation at Great Bridge less than a month later, where his overconfidence resulted in a crushing defeat that ended British control of the Virginia mainland. The contrast between his easy success at Kemp's Landing and the disaster at Great Bridge illustrated how tactical success can breed the overconfidence that produces strategic catastrophe.