Hampton Roads in turn empties into the southern end of Chesapeake Bay, in southeast Virginia, United States.
[2] The Hampton River was named for Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, an important leader of the Virginia Company of London.
[3] During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Hampton River was well-traveled by sloops, bringing goods to and from the Colony of Virginia.
In 1719, a victorious Lt. Robert Maynard of the British Navy returned to Hampton with the head of the pirate Blackbeard hanging from his ship.
The head was then placed at the mouth of the river, also known as Teach's Point, on a stake, as a warning to other pirates.