Camp Pendleton (Virginia)

Camp Pendleton-State Military Reservation Historic District
Rifle range tower at Camp Pendleton
Camp Pendleton (Virginia) is located in Virginia
Camp Pendleton (Virginia)
Camp Pendleton (Virginia) is located in the United States
Camp Pendleton (Virginia)
LocationRoughly bounded by General Booth Blvd., S. Birdneck Rd., and the Atlantic Ocean, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Coordinates36°48′54″N 75°58′58″W / 36.81500°N 75.98278°W / 36.81500; -75.98278
Area328 acres (133 ha)
Built1911
ArchitectW.W. LaPrade, Col. Charles D. Hartman
Architectural styleBungalow/craftsman
NRHP reference No.04000852[1]
VLR No.134-0413
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 26, 2005[1]
Designated VLRJune 16, 2004[2]

Camp Pendleton is a 325-acre (1.32 km2) state military reservation in Virginia Beach, Virginia, named after Confederate Brigadier General William N. Pendleton, who served as Robert E. Lee's chief of artillery during the American Civil War. It lies on the Atlantic coast slightly east of Naval Air Station Oceana.

Since Camp Pendleton is owned by the State of Virginia and not the federal government, the facility was not covered by The Naming Commission's mandate to rename US military installations. However, in January 2021 Governor Ralph Northam "directed his administration to review and recommend a replacement name for Camp Pendleton".[3][4] Northam was unable to rename this base before he was replaced as governor in January 2022 by Glenn Youngkin who decided not to continue his predecessor's uncompleted work. By March 2023, the Virginia National Guard added this statement to the installation's official website: "The Virginia National Guard no longer uses the Camp Pendleton designation and now refers to it only by the original name of the State Military Reservation".[5]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference nris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  3. ^ South, Jeff (January 20, 2021). "In purge of Confederates, Virginia plans to rename Camp Pendleton". Virginia Mercury.
  4. ^ Ress, Dave (January 20, 2021). "Northam to rename Virginia Beach's Camp Pendleton, which honors Confederate general". The Virginian-Pilot.
  5. ^ State Military Reservation, 2023, retrieved 30 April 2024