Hampton Roads is a natural channel and harbor formed at the place where the Nansemond, James, and Elizabeth rivers meet in Virginia. These rivers flow through Hampton Roads into Chesapeake Bay. The channel lies between Old Point Comfort and Sewall’s Point. Newport News and Hampton lie on the north shore of the channel, and Norfolk and Portsmouth on the south shore. The famous Civil War battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack occurred at Hampton Roads. The Hampton Roads Conference, an attempt to end the war, was held in 1865.
