After landing on April 26, 1607, they explored the area, named the cape, and set up a cross before proceeding up the James River.

A stone cross, set up in 1935 by the Daughters of the American Colonists, stands in the quarter-acre site.

The Memorial also overlooks the scene of the Battle of the Virginia Capes, in which the French navy prevented the British from reinforcing General Cornwallis, and led to the Franco-American victory at Yorktown.

A statue of Admiral Comte de Grasse and a granite memorial honor those who fought in the battle.

The Cape Henry Memorial is within Joint Expeditionary Base East, but is an isolated unit of Colonial National Historical Park.