This site is based on information gathered and used in The Bay At War exhibit that was on display at the Steamboat Era Museum in Irvington, Virginia from 2006 through 2007. The material focuses on events that occurred during the Civil War in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, areas that are usually not thought of as having been that involved with the Civil War.Click on a topic shown below and learn more about how this region was effected by the Civil War.

 

	Steamboat Engine Types		A Strategic Advantage
	Hiding Places		Untold Stories of the Civil War
	Area Encounters		The Capture of the Harriet De Ford

 

Other Resources

 

 

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Untold Stories of the Civil War

This series of Civil War-related stories are 2nd and 3rd generation video based oral history accounts, as people retell stories passed down by parents and grandparents. The Chesapeake Bay region - particularly the area from the Potomac to the James Rivers -saw a lot of activity, although these events were often unrecorded or frequently eclipsed by larger encounters and engagements. What is so interesting is that these local stories can be considered "untold stories of the Civil War" - tales about family homes, rural communities, and places we pass by everyday as we go about our busy lives. Below is a list of story titles.

Click on a title to view a short description of the story. Then click on View Story button to view the story.

A Close Call - 3 minutes

Cannon Hill - 2 minutes

A Good Deed - 2 minutes

Smuggling Activities On The Eastern Shore of Virginia - 6 minutes

An Appointment With History - 2 minutes

Aunt Betsy Brown's "Fotchoo" Story A Blend of Fact and Fiction - 4 minutes

Cannon Ball Stories - 5 minutes

Smuggler's Canal - 2 minutes

Saving The Walkerton Ferry - 2 minutes

A Valiant Act - 4 minutes

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A Close Call
Union gunboats regularly patrolled the rivers throughout the Bay, and the Rappahannock was no exception. This oral history, provided by Beverly Pratt, tells of an encounter that occurred at a beautiful Italianate Victorian waterfront home, Camden, just south of Port Royal.

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Cannon Hill
Most of us in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula often travel Route 17. Just south of the intersection of Routes 17 and 301 is a high hill, known as Pratt's Bluff or Cannon Hill that allows a glimpse of the Rappahannock River to the west. During the early days of the war, the Confederates used this vantage point to place a cannon to fire at Union gunboats and keep them away from Fredericksburg. This oral history provides some very interesting information about the cannon, its location, and its effectiveness.

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A Good Deed
There are many tales about the thoughtless and reckless actions of both Union and Confederate troops against the civilian population. However, this story of an incident in the little town of Port Royal, Virginia contradicts some of the notions.

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Smuggling Activities On The Eastern Shore of Virginia

Although occupied early in the war by Union forces, the residents of the Eastern Shore still were able to play a very important role in getting much needed supplies to the Confederacy.

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An Appointment With History

A local Irvington resident tells us about another resident that lived during the Civil War who just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

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Aunt Betsy Brown's "Fotchoo" A Blend of Fact & Fiction

A unique opportunity to hear a story told by a man that was told the story from a person that witnessed an event during the Civil War.

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Cannon Ball Stories

A collection of short stories told by individuals that discovered that a part of the Civil War existed in their backyard.

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Smuggler's Canal

A boat ride through a canal that was dug to enable smuggles to avoid the Union Gunboats guarding the mouth of the Rappahannock River.

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Saving The Walkerton Ferry

Not all the local citizens had their boats confiscated by Union troops.

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A Valiant Act

A valiant act by a slave saves a house on the Rappahannock River from being destroyed.

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