Rappahannock River

Examples of Rappahannock River in the following topics:

• The Battle of Fredericksburg

  • Burnside's plan was to cross the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg in mid-November and race to the Confederate capital of Richmond before Lee's army could stop him.
  • Battle of Fredericksburg: The Army of the Potomac crossing the Rappahannock in the morning of December 13, 1862, under the command of Generals Burnside, Sumner, Hooker, and Franklin
  • Burnside's troops came under heavy fire while trying to cross the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg.

• McClellan's Peninsular Campaign

  • During this time, General Johnston moved his forces from the Washington area and assumed positions south of the Rappahannock River, thwarting the strategy underlying McClellan’s Urbanna plan.
  • Another setback for the campaign was the emergence of the first Confederate ironclad ship, the CSS Virginia, which complicated further Union operations along the James River.
  • Navy to reach Richmond by way of the James River was repulsed.
  • Though none of the battles from these seven days resulted in significant Confederate tactical victories, the fierce fighting and sudden appearance of Stonewall Jackson’s “foot cavalry” on McClellan’s western flank became unnerving for Union forces, which were eventually forced back to their base at the James River.

• The Battle of Chancellorsville

  • The Chancellorsville Campaign began with the crossing of the Rappahannock River by the Union army on the morning of April 27, 1863.
  • As intelligence information about the Union's river crossings began to arrive, Lee did not react as Hooker had anticipated.

• The Plantation Economy and the Planter Class

  • The production of tobacco spread down the James, York, Rappahannock, and the Potomac rivers .
  • The largest and wealthiest planter families, for instance, those with estates fronting on the James River in Virginia, constructed mansions in brick and Georgian style, e.g.
  • The wealthiest planters, such as the Virginia elite with plantations on the James River, had more land and slaves.

• Settling the Colonial South and the Chesapeake

  • Shown here is the first mapping of Germantown Teutsche Statt on the Rappahanock River and Fort Christanna (Christ Anna Fort) on the Makharing River.
  • This is no doubt a early misinterpretation of the natural widening of the Delaware River at the Delaware Water Gap.
  • Heading south along the Delaware River Philadelphia is identified and beautifully rendered as a grid embraced in four quadrants.
  • In Virginia and Carolina the river systems are surprisingly well mapped and a primitive county structure is beginning to emerge.
  • The early Virginia counties of Rappahannock, Henrico, City, Isle of Wright, Nansemond, Northumberland, Middlesex, Gloster and Corotvk are noted.

• Virginia

  • American Indian tribes who had long occupied the lands in the Virginia area included the Algonquian Chesepian, Chickahominy, Doeg, Mattaponi, Nansemond, Pamunkey, Pohick, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Siouan Monacan, Saponi, Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee, Meherrin, Nottoway, and Tuscarora.
  • On the morning of March 22, 1622, they attacked outlying plantations and communities up and down the James River.

• Mill Towns and Company Towns

  • The regions around mill towns became manufacturing powerhouses along rivers like the Housatonic River, Quinebaug River, Shetucket River, Blackstone River, Merrimack River, Nashua River, Cochecho River, Saco River, Androscoggin River, Kennebec River, and Winooski River.

• The Economy of the Middle Colonies

  • The Middle Colonies flourished economically due to fertile soil, broad navigable rivers, and abundant forests.
  • Broad navigable rivers of relaxed current like the Susquehanna River, the Delaware River, and the Hudson River attracted diverse business.
  • Fur trappers moved along these rivers, and there was enough flow to enable milling with water wheel power.
  • These industries, along with the presence of deep river estuaries, led to the appearance of important ports like New York and Philadelphia.

• Treaty of Paris

  • The Mississippi River corridor, in what is modern-day Louisiana, was to be reunited following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819
  • French territories on the continent of America; it is agreed, that, for the future, the confines between the dominions of his Britannick Majesty and those of his Most Christian Majesty, in that part of the world, shall be fixed irrevocably by a line drawn along the middle of the River Mississippi, from its source to the river Iberville, and from thence, by a line drawn along the middle of this river, and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the sea; and for this purpose, the Most Christian King cedes in full right, and guaranties to his Britannick Majesty the river and port of the Mobile, and everything which he possesses, or ought to possess, on the left side of the river Mississippi, except the town of New Orleans and the island in which it is situated, which shall remain to France, provided that the navigation of the river Mississippi shall be equally free, as well to the subjects of Great Britain as to those of France, in its whole breadth and length, from its source to the sea, and expressly that part which is between the said island of New Orleans and the right bank of that river, as well as the passage both in and out of its mouth: It is farther stipulated, that the vessels belonging to the subjects of either nation shall not be stopped, visited, or subjected to the payment of any duty whatsoever.

• Moving West

  • Transportation was a key issue and the Army (especially the Army Corps of Engineers) was given full responsibility for facilitating navigation on the rivers.
  • The steamboat, first used on the Ohio River in 1811, made possible inexpensive travel using the river systems.
  • The Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries were especially used for this purpose.
  • Army expeditions up the Missouri River from 1818-25 allowed engineers to improve the technology.