Warwick River (Virginia)
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The Warwick River is a short tidal estuary which empties into the James River a few miles from Hampton Roads at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States. It flows southeasterly across about 2/3 of the Virginia Peninsula and is almost entirely located in the City of Newport News.
The Warwick River took its name from Robert Rich, second Earl of Warwick and a prominent member of the Virginia Company who was proprietor of Richneck Plantation in Warwick River Shire, which became Warwick County in 1643, which later became part of the independent city of Newport News.
In 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War, the Warwick Line, a defensive works across the peninsula, was maintained along the river by Confederate General John B. Magruder against much larger Union forces under General George B. McClellan through an elaborate ruse tactics, providing valuable time for the ultimately successful defense of Richmond led by General Robert E. Lee.
The Warwick River adjoins Fort Eustis, a U.S. Army base, on its western shore, which also occupies historic Mulberry Island. During the 20th century, upper reaches of the river were dammed to create fresh water reservoirs for Newport News and other communities nearby.
