Craney Island is a point of land in the independent city of Portsmouth in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia in the United States.

The location, formerly in Norfolk County, is near the mouth of the Elizabeth River opposite Lambert's Point on Hampton Roads.

The name "Craney Island" was derived from the fact that the early English settlers on the Elizabeth River in the 17th century were impressed with the great number of what they mistakenly believed to be cranes that inhabited it.

During the battle, the fort was manned by 580 regulars and militia in addition to 150 sailors and marines from the USS Constellation, all under Brigadier General Robert B.

The weather conditions proved to be too harsh on the seventy-ton vessel there and it was moved to Craney Island where it served until 1859.

Only two months later, as recapture of Norfolk and Portsmouth by Union forces was imminent, on the morning of May 11, 1862, the Virginia was deliberately run aground near Craney Island and burned by the crew to avoid capture.

[6] In modern times, Craney Island is an industrial area and has been used as a location for placement of dredged materials since 1957.

The Norfolk District of the Corps staff has received recognition for the creation, protection, and preservation of a critical habitat for birds such as the piping plover, least terns, brown pelicans, osprey, and other threatened or endangered species that use the island as a large nesting ground.