Monroe beginning in the 1820s, to close the bay to enemy vessels. The fort was abandoned at some time after 1820. First U.S. Lightship, lighthouses In 1820, the first U.S. lightship was established at Hampton Roads. It was first placed at Willoughby Spit, on the south side of the harbor. 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. It was replaced by a lighthouse, which was replaced in 1884 by a hexagonal screwpile lighthouse. The 1884 Craney Island Light served until 1936, when it was replaced by an automated light on the old foundation. In the 1970s this was replaced by a buoy. Civil War Early in the American Civil War (1861–1865), the important Gosport Shipyard upstream from Craney Island on the Elizabeth River at Portsmouth fell into Confederate hands and the first Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia was converted from USS Merrimack there. The Confederates built a 20-gun battery on the island and berthed the Virginia there. This ship fought the first Union ironclad USS Monitor during the famous Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, which was inconclusive as neither armored ship could defeat the other. 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. Modern times In modern times, Craney Island is an industrial area and has been used as a location for placement of dredged materials since 1957. It is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A major fueling depot for the United States Navy is located adjacent. 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. Audubon Society members have turned the island into a favorite spot for bird watching. Craney Island is visible to Interstate 664 traffic crossing Hampton Roads on the Monitor–Merrimac Memorial Bridge–Tunnel, which is west of the island. It may also be viewed from Old Dominion University, which is east of the island across the Elizabeth River. The proposed "Third Crossing" of Hampton