By Lauren Tamayo, B.A. in History, Christopher Newport University and Sheri Shuck-Hall, Ph.D., Professor of History, Christopher Newport University
In the early settlement of present-day Chesapeake, Virginia, Indigenous people and later European colonists used the surrounding waterways to survive and prosper. Its strategic location factored into the area’s major role at the start of the American Revolution. On November 7, 1775, near Norfolk, John Murray, Earl of Dunmore and Royal Governor of Virginia, emancipated enslaved Africans and indentured servants if they joined the British cause against the rebellious Virginians. Many escaped slaves ultimately aided Dunmore and the British Army in the attempted siege of Great Bridge on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The ensuing battle on December 9, 1775, led to a consequential victory for the Patriots, providing a momentum to the cause for independence. Why was Great Bridge such an important place for the British and colonists in Virginia? This exhibit will explore the significance of the waterways of Hampton Roads, transportation in the Revolutionary Era, and everyday life along the Elizabeth River.[1]
Traveling by boat was a daily occurrence for the locals living in and around the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, named after the daughter of King James I (1566-1625) by English colonists. During the early and mid-1700s, the South relied heavily on agriculture and the sale of raw materials. The area between present-day upper North Carolina and southern Virginia was covered in marshlands and waterways that prevented direct travel to port cities. In order to transport many of the goods and materials produced in these regions to high commerce areas, it was almost a necessity to travel by boat. These passageways would be the foundation to the development of Hampton Roads, Virginia and the continuous use of the surrounding waterways.[2]
The essential use of water transportation is what led to the region being known as Hampton Roads shortly after the founding of Virginia. Likely named after the 3rd Earl of Southampton, Henry Wriothesley–a founding member of the Virginia Company of London–Hampton Roads referred not to roads, but to the many rivers, streams, and other bodies of water found throughout the area. Colonists often referred to water routes as roads. Hampton Roads constituted the area or channel connecting the Elizabeth, James, and Nansemond Rivers with the Chesapeake Bay; today Hampton Roads includes the major cities and counties that surround these waters. People across greater Virginia and North Carolina used this area as a method of transportation for raw materials and agriculture to reach the largest port in Hampton Roads, located in present-day Port Norfolk.[3]
18th Century Ships in Hampton Roads
In Great Bridge and the surrounding areas of Hampton Roads, there were four main types of ships used to transport people and goods. The most common of these boats was the bateau; however, schooners, row galleys, and brigs could be found in deeper waters. A bateau was a flat bottomed, double-ended boat that was frequently used in the Southern colonies during the 1700s. The name bateau originates from the French word for boat and was habitually used in the region due to the ease of crafting and its ability to carry substantial amounts of cargo. Bateaux often had cloth coverings, and although the styles varied, the most common was a round, wagon style cover that enclosed a portion of the boat. Bateaux also easily handled shallow waters, which was especially useful on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River.[4]
Colonists used schooners in the nearby waters of the Elizabeth River for their narrow build and the shallowness of the hull. Due to their slimmer frame, schooners were less common for large amounts of cargo. Yet the boats offered speedier travel for small transports. Many schooners had multiple posts and large sails that also aided in the speed of the ship during periods of breeze; when not in use, shipmen rolled up the sails. Fishermen and coasters sailing to inland waters and at sea heavily used schooners as they were reliable in a variety of weather conditions.[5]
In comparison, row galleys were large ships that were long and narrow much like schooners; however, they were much larger and had a deep hull. Often used during the American Revolution, these boats supported more weight and often carried swivel guns and other artillery for the war effort. Row galleys frequented the surrounding waters of Hampton Roads but were less common within Great Bridge due to the shallow waters of the Elizabeth River.[6]
One of the most efficient and popular sailing ships in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was the brig. It was a larger ship and usually had two main sails. The appeal of this boat came from its ability to transport copious amounts of cargo. These ships also differed from the others in that they were square-rigged on both ends of the mast. While the hulls of these ships were not shallow enough to enter the waters of Great Bridge, brigs could be seen in the Chesapeake Bay and other deeper waters of Hampton Roads. Although not usually built in the colonies, these ships were commonly found in colonial waters during the 1700s and often used by the British.[7]
Life Along the Intracoastal Waterway
In colonial Virginia, Bridge Town, later known as Great Bridge, was a prime location because of its easy access to the waterways that acted as highways for people and goods. Due to the constant need for transportations routes, many locals used Great Bridge as a passage from North Carolina to the port city of Norfolk.[8] The Tidewater economy relied heavily on the planting and harvesting of tobacco as a means of income; many Virginians enslaved Africans and benefited financially from this unfree labor. The colonists who lived near Great Bridge were mostly small farmers because of the sandy soil that was less conducive for large plantations. The grain industry within the colonies was also gaining momentum. The Chesapeake area was a prime exporter of wheat, as well as the front runner for Indian corn. The massive reliance on agricultural development meant that many people around Great Bridge were either farmers or were connected to the agriculture industry.[9]
Everyday life within Great Bridge revolved around the family. During this time most of the houses were smaller, one-levels built in the colonial style. These houses were often positioned along the riverbanks to provide access to the Elizabeth River and therefore easy transport of goods and services. Many of the rooms within the house were multipurpose and a majority contained the means to be turned into a bedroom to adjust to large families as well as travelers. The Three Tun Tavern located in Great Bridge provided boarding for the night as many people passing through needed food and lodging on their way to the Port of Norfolk.[10]
Throughout the eighteenth century, the influence of the waterways continued to shape the lifestyles and environment of the Chesapeake region. Between 1728 and 1729, Colonel William Byrd II, a notorious plantation owner, surveyed the border between Virginia and North Carolina, identifying the large marshlands known as the Great Dismal Swamp. After his survey was completed, Byrd wrote a petition to the king requesting the approval to drain the swamp and to create fertile land for the ever-growing agricultural production, mostly using slave labor. [11]
After Byrd’s survey, many Virginians argued for the creation of a canal that linked the Tidewater region and Chesapeake Bay to northeastern North Carolina, known as the Albemarle region. However, it would not be until 1793, when both Virginia and North Carolina state governments authorized the project, that the Dismal Swamp Company began construction of a canal. Despite Byrd’s initial thought that the project would be easy to complete, it took enslaved Africans twelve grueling years of digging the canal by hand to finish it. When it was completed in 1805, the six-foot deep and 15-foot-wide canal spanned the length of twenty-one miles and contained seven locks.[12]
Colonists also wanted a canal that would ease the journey to and from the Atlantic Ocean by means of connecting Albemarle Sound and the Chesapeake Bay. By linking these two waterways it would allow for faster and safer traveling. The idea for the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was conceived in the early 1700s, but it would not become a reality until well after the American Revolution. The construction began in 1855 by using steam dredges. Completed four years later in 1859, the canal measured the width of forty feet with a depth of six feet that allowed for large scale vessels including row galleys and brigs. Within the canal there were two cuts and one lock—what is known today as the Great Bridge Locks.[13]
In 1913, the United States government purchased the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal in order to create a continuous inland waterway route. Once under the control of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, improvements to the canal began and the usage toll ceased. This transition created new competition for the Dismal Swamp Canal and led to larger commercial ships using the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal; smaller recreational boats continued to use the Dismal Swamp Canal as their main passage. Ultimately the United States purchased the Dismal Swamp Canal in 1929. Both canals continue to be used today. The Great Bridge Locks provide passage for around nine thousand vessels a year, while the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal is responsible for the transportation of over one million tons of cargo each year.[14]
Waterways continue to play a significant role in Hampton Roads, and all over the world. To learn more about the history of Hampton Roads and its waterways, as well as the Battle of Great Bridge in the American Revolution, please stop by the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Museum located in Chesapeake, Virginia. The museum opened to the public on June 19th, 2020, and has many new exhibits, special events, and educational programs for the public to explore and enjoy.
Acknowledgements
We would like to give special thanks to Elizabeth Goodwin, the Executive Director of the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Foundation, who sponsored Lauren’s internship in the summer of 2022. We are very grateful that she provided her time and expertise on this research project, and we thank her for her exceptional mentorship of Lauren.
About the Author
Lauren Tamayo is a history major and museum studies minor at Christopher Newport University (Class of 2023). She completed a 140-hour service-learning internship at Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Museum during summer semester 2022, where she gained invaluable skills in many facets of museum work–from marketing and advertising to cataloging artifacts and creating educational packets. After she graduates, she plans to pursue a career in public history.
Notes
[1] Harry M. Ward, The American Revolution: Nationhood Achieved, 1763-1788 (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995), 70-71.
[2] Edwin L. Combs, “Trading in Lubberland: Maritime Commerce in Colonial North Carolina.” The North Carolina Historical Review 80, no. 1 (2003): 1–3. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23522582.
[3] Hampton Roads includes the following cities and counties: Virginia Beach; Norfolk; Chesapeake; Newport News; Hampton; Portsmouth; Suffolk; Williamsburg; Poquoson; Franklin; James City County; York County; Gloucester County; Isle of Wight County; Currituck County, NC; Gates County, NC; Mathews County; Southampton County; Camden County; and Surry County. Tim McGlown, “What’s in a Name?” The Virginian Pilot, 6 June 2008; Peter Crawford Stewart, “The Commercial History of Hampton Roads, Virginia, 1815-1860.” Order No. 6803127, (University of Virginia, 1967), 2-4.
[4] John Fitzhugh Millar, American Ships of the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods. (New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1978), 293.
[5] John Fitzhugh Millar, American Ships of the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods. (New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1978), 155-157.
[6] Howard I. Chapelle, The History of American Sailing Ships. (New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1935), 54-55.
[7] Howard I. Chapelle, The History of American Sailing Ships. (New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1935), 15-17.
[8] Oscar Theodore Barck and Hugh Talmage Lefler, Colonial America. (New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1958), 7-9.
[9] William H. Siener, “Charles Yates, the Grain Trade, and Economic Development in Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1750-1810,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 93, no. 4 (1985): 409–26. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4248842.
[10]Julia Cherry Spruill, Women’s Life & Work in the Southern Colonies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1972, 8-12.
[11] Charles Royster, The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company: A Story of George Washington’s Times. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999, 1-20.
[12] To this day the Dismal Swamp Canal is used by people for a variety of purposes, but only contains two of the original seven locks. Marcus P. Nevius, City of Refuge: Slavery and Petit Marronage in the Great Dismal Swamp, 1763-1856. (Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press, 2020), 5-6.
[13] Alexander Crosby Brown, Juniper Waterway – A History of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. (Norfolk: Norfolk County Historical Society, 1981). Pamphlet from the Wallace Room Collection, Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Museum. Chesapeake, Virginia.
[14] Wall text, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Protecting a Vital Resource, M2, Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Museum, Chesapeake, VA.