|
Get a fish-eye view of the Civil War and more this Saturday, at a one-of-a-kind event.
Lock and key: The Civil War Canoe Float will bring the river locks and their role in history up close and personal. |
By COLLETTE CAPRARA
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
The annual Civil War Canoe Float is one of the most popular summer activities offered by the Friends of the Rappahannock--and with good reason.
The Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers contain a broad spectrum of sites of significant and intriguing Civil War events.
In addition, the float's knowledgeable guide--supervisory historian Greg Mertz (who has served the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park for 30 years and has conducted this trip for more than a decade)--delivers his information with a folksy charm that has the allure of a fireside chat.
Consider this account depicting the camaraderie between the soldiers of the North and South:
"Now, though on opposite sides, these men have a lot more in common than they do in difference. They're posted there to guard the river, but, especially during the winter, they know that the enemy is not really going to make a maneuver.
"So these soldiers on either side of this very narrow river get to know each other and become friends. That happened at many places along the river."
This camaraderie irritated one Confederate general, John B. Gordon, who thought his men should be acting more responsibly on guard duty. One day while inspecting his troops, the general investigated some movement in the bushes to reveal a hidden naked man--who, it turned out, was a Union soldier who had swum across from the other side.
"When the general threatened to take him to the prison in Richmond, his men pleaded, saying 'That would ruin our honor! We invited him here!'
"And the general turned to the man and said 'If I let you go this time, do you promise ' but before he could finish his sentence the man had shouted 'Yes sir! Yes sir!' and was swimming back to his camp."
Although the exact stretch of the river that Saturday's float will cover is dependent on the water level during the weekend, all floats begin at the Friends of the Rappahannock headquarters, with a discussion in front of the outdoor mural of the river.
"We'll be talking about how some of the river crossings of the Rapidan and Rappahannock were utilized, and we'll make the conclusion that here, because the Rappahannock was not deep enough to float supply boats and gun boats on, it actually became a barrier," said Mertz.
"And we talk about how both armies used the river as a means of slowing down the enemy from getting were they might want to go," he added.
Various sites on the float will spark discussion about the role railroads played as a lifeline to the armies, who would concentrate along the tracks--and the fact that troops trying to cross the river would likely avoid those sections.
Mertz points out the importance of the railroads that ran through Culpeper and Fredericksburg, and explains the Union troops' river crossings in the battles of Chancellorsville and the Wilderness.
The tour will also highlight the sites of river fords, and the various elements that determined whether or not they could be used for crossing troops, horses or cannons, such as the steepness of the bank, the depth of the water and the nature of the river bed.
Stretches of the river that also may be featured on the float include historical landmarks, such as rock formations believed to be fish traps built by the American Indians and locks from the old canal system.
"Most people appreciate the fact that the river is an important natural resource. But the float helps folks to think of it in a little different light--that it's also an important historic resource," said Mertz. "For me, a lot of it is just to appreciate the hardships that our forefathers endured, and just how much we owe to those who came ahead of us."
Collette Caprara is a local artist and freelance writer.
