The Properties Associated with Campaigns for the Control of Navigation on the Lower Potomac River, 1861-1862; Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia Multiple Property Submission (MPD) Form facilitates the nomination to the registers of properties associated with campaigns for control of navigation on the lower Potomac River, 1861-1862 in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Confederate forces constructed batteries along the Virginia shore of the Potomac from Mathias Point to Freestone Point in the summer and fall of 1861. When these batteries became active in October 1861, they achieved a blockade of maritime transport to the nation’s capital. This strategic action would have a pronounced influence on Union strategy and command, changing the course of the American Civil War.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia