New Book Details Piracy on the Chesapeake Bay

An article I wrote for Patch on Dr. Jamie Goodall's new book, Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars, was published on their website last night.

You can check out the article by clicking on the below link:

New Book Details Piracy on the Chesapeake Bay by Matthew Ward

The Death of A.P. Hill

Where Hill Fell Marker
Southwest of Petersburg on the northwest side of Boydton Plank Road (US 1) less than a mile northeast of Airport Road and the intersection with Interstate 85
Petersburg, VA 23803

Ambrose Powell Hill was born on November 9, 1825 in Culpeper, Virginia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1842, and was commissioned as an officer in the 1st U.S. Artillery. Hill served in Mexico during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) during the closing stages of the war. Following the war, Hill went on to serve against the Seminoles in Florida, and with the U.S. Coastal Survey in Washington, D.C. In March 1861, Hill resigned from the United States Army to join the Confederate cause.

Hill served with distinction in a number of the major campaigns and battles of the Civil War including the Peninsula Campaign (March – July 1862), the Second Battle of Bull Run/Second Manassas (August 28 – August 30, 1862), and the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862). During his service with the Confederate Army, Hill had two feuds with Confederate generals James Longstreet and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The latter feud resulted in Hill being arrested for neglect of duty during the 1862 Maryland Campaign. He was reinstated prior to the Battle of Antietam.

Hill was plagued with bad health throughout the second half of 1864 and early in 1865. He returned to the army in time to participate in the Siege of Petersburg. During this time, Hill continued to battle health problems. On April 2, 1865, Hill was riding close to the front lines with a staff officer and was shot dead by a Union soldier. The soldier was part of the Union force that had broken through the Confederate defensive lines at Petersburg. Hill died at age 39, just seven days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.

Below are two links with more information on A.P. Hill along with two photos that I took of the marker in 2009:

http://www.stonesentinels.com/Petersburg-West/Where_Hill_Fell-S49.php

http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/a-p-hill

MW

North Carolina at Appomattox Court House

North Carolina Monument at Appomattox Court House
111 National Park Dr.
Appomattox VA, 24522
(Follow the signs for the North Carolina Monument trail)

In 2009, I had the opportunity to visit numerous historic sites in Virginia while stationed at Fort Lee. If you are a regular reader of my blog then you know that I have been adding photos from past trips over the last couple of years. While looking through some old photos this past spring, I came across my photos from Appomattox Court House National Historical Park in Virginia. Appomattox Court House is known for being the site of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

In the tradition of my blog, I decided to cover individual locations and monuments from the park that are often overlooked by visitors. Being a good descendant of a family that has lived in North Carolina for hundreds of years, I decided to cover the history of the North Carolina Monument. The monument was erected in 1905 by North Carolina veterans. The monument sits on the site where the last volley of the Army of Northern Virginia was fired during the Battle of Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The monument also memorializes the contributions of North Carolina Confederate troops over the span of the war. The monument recognizes the Confederate troops of North Carolina as the ""First at Bethel, farthest to the front at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and last at Appomattox."

The North Carolina Monument is one of the sites associated with the park that is classified as one of the "places beyond the village." This monument along with a few other places is outside of the Appomattox Court House village area of the park. The monument can be accessed via a marked and improved trail.

Below are two links with more information on the North Carolina troops at Appomattox and the monument, as well as a few photos that I took during my 2009 visit to Appomattox Court House:

https://www.nps.gov/apco/learn/historyculture/places-beyond-the-village.htm 

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/appomattox-station/appomattox-station-history/the-battles-of-appomattox.html

MW

Violet Bank

Violet Bank 
326 Royal Oak Ave.
Colonial Heights, VA 23834

The land upon which Violet Bank sits was obtained by Thomas Shore in 1777. The first home on the property was built in 1778. During the American Revolution, the house and land served as the headquarters of the Marquis de Lafayette at the beginning of the 1781 summer campaign in the American South. The home was also witness to some of the military actions associated with the April 25, 1781 Battle of Blandford or Battle of Petersburg. The 1781 summer campaign eventually resulted in the defeat of the British army under Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown.

The original home on the property was destroyed by fire in 1810. The current home was built in 1815 by Thomas Shore's widow, Jane Grey, and her second husband. Violet Bank served as General Robert E. Lee's headquarters from June 8, 1864 to November 1, 1864. On July 30, 1864, Lee received word at Violet Bank that Union troops had detonated 8,000 pounds of explosives under Confederate positions in Petersburg. This action initiated the Battle of the Crater.

Below are the links to three websites with more information on Violet Bank, as well as some photos that I took during my 2009 visit:

http://www.colonialheightsva.gov/facilities/facility/details/Violet-Bank-Museum-44 

http://www.richmond.com/real_estate/richmond-neighborhoods/article_be4c9928-be36-11e2-b01e-0019bb30f31a.html

http://www.colonialheightsva.gov/index.aspx?NID=499

MW

Fort Clifton

Fort Clifton Park
100 Brockwell Ln.
Colonial Heights, VA 23834

During the Civil War, Fort Clifton was a Confederate Army stronghold on the Appomattox River in present-day Colonial Heights, Virginia. Between 1864 and 1865, the fort served as an important link in the Confederate defensive line that defended Petersburg and Richmond from Union naval attacks. The fort was located on a high bluff at the junction of the Appomattox River and Swift Creek, and controlled navigation on the river north of Petersburg. On June 11, 1864, Confederate forces drove away five Union ships that attacked the fort. The fort was not taken by Union forces until the fall of Petersburg on April 2, 1865.

Fort Clifton Park consists of 24 acres overlooking the Appomattox River, and contains a number of preserved earthworks, hiking trails and historical markers.

Below are two links with more information on Fort Clifton, along with several photos that I took during my 2009 visit:

http://www.colonialheightsva.gov/facilities/facility/details/Fort-Clifton-Park-34

http://www.progress-index.com/article/20140323/News/303239939

MW