Commodore Richard Dale, a Portsmouth native, was the first Commodore of the Gosport (now Norfolk) Naval Shipyard. Captured twice by the British during the American Revolution, he returned to serve in the Continental Navy and later became one of the original six Commodores in 1794 when Congress created the U.S. Navy. The statue was erected in 1917 by the Fort Nelson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
