It was two years late because Confederate raiders completely destroyed it when it was 83 feet high. It had a first-order Fresnel lens. This tower was painted white with a middle band of red. The lighthouse became a victim to beach erosion in 1892. Actually, the condemned tower managed to stand until 1927.
Rubble is still visible in the surf.
Six lightships served near here beginning in 1888. Located around the lighthouse are three towers that were used as fire control and observation posts for the gun batteries at nearby Fort John Custis . Two more towers are located on Mockhorn Island just to the north of here. The fort was later converted into the Cape Charles Air Force Base . The Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge now occupies the site of the World War II fort.