Bay Journeys (Summer 2012) by Chesapeake Current

Bay Journeys

Summer 2012

Discov er the Chesa pe a k e

Chesapeake’s ‘starring’ role in 1812 l Pocomoke paddle takes you back in time l Follow in John Smith’s wake on James l Make yourself at home on a PA farm

Pullout: Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

Explore the Chesapeake

Bay Journeys Spend a day making a journey of a lifetime

Bay Journeys is published by Chesapeake Media Service Inc. to introduce people to the historic, cultural issues and natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay region and to encourage efforts to protect and restore these resources. Material may be reproduced, with permission, as long as credit is given. Views expressed in Bay Journeys do not necessarily represent those of any funding agency or organization.

Bay Journeys

619 Oakwood Drive Seven Valleys, PA 17360-9395 717-428-2819 Fax: 717-428-0273 E-mail:kblankenship@bayjournal.com Staff Editor: Karl Blankenship Associate Editor: Michael Shultz Associate Editor: Lara Lutz Copy/Design Editor: Kathleen A. Gaskell Photographer: Dave Harp Contributing Writers Tom Horton Rona Kobell Leslie Middleton Advertising Contact: advertise@bayjournal.com 717-428-2819 In Southern Maryland, contact: Diane Burr BaysidePartners@gmail.com 410-231-0140

Chesapeake Media Service

Chesapeake Media Service is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to further public education and awareness of issues affecting the Chesapeake Bay and the mid-Atlantic environment by creating and distributing journalistic products. Besides producing Bay Journeys, Chesapeake Media Service produces the Bay Journal and operates the Bay Journal News Service, which distributes Bay Journal articles and original op-eds about the Chesapeake Bay or regional environmental issues to more than 400 newspapers in the region, reaching several million readers each month. Executive Director: Karl Blankenship Chief Financial Officer: Andrew Nolan, CPA Board of Directors President: Frank Felbaum President-Elect: Chris Conner Secretary: Karl Blankenship Tom Horton John Carroll Tom Lewis

2 Bay Journeys

elcome to Bay Journeys, a publication we hope will help launch you on new explorations, and adventures, around the Chesapeake. The Chesapeake Bay is rightfully considered a national treasure: English America started here with the Jamestown Colony. Its leader, Capt. John Smith, explored the “faire bay” documenting the abundant resources of what would prove to be the nation’s largest estuary. But the story of the Bay also includes that of the American Indians who thrived here long before the English arrived, and Chesapeake watermen who for generations made their living from what writer H.L. Mencken described as “an immense protein factory.” It’s also the story of vast marshes with abundant wildlife, wide tidal rivers with bald eagles and osprey soaring overhead, and tiny creeks where herring and American eel fight their way upstream in annual migrations. The demise of some of these resources and cultures has been well-documented. Bay Journeys is intended to help introduce readers to special places where they can still experience first-hand the natural, historic and cultural aspects of the Chesapeake Bay. By doing so, we hope it will help spark a greater sense of stewardship for these places and resources, and the desire to protect what is left, and restore some of what has been lost. “Journey” stems from the old French word “jornee” which means “a day’s travel” or “a day’s work.” Our intent is to show you that Bay experiences are close at hand. Each issue will highlight not only places you can go, but show how to get

Help explorers find you – advertise in Bay Journeys

If you operate an enterprise that serves tourists around the Chesapeake, Bay Journeys can help you reach tens of thousands of potential customers with each issue. Advertisers are welcome in future editions. For information about advertising, e-mail advertise@bayjournal.com, or call 717-428-2819. Potential clients in Southern Maryland, please contact account executive Diane Burr at 410-231-0140 or via e-mail at BaysidePartners@gmail.com.

Learn about some of the Bay’s earliest explorers at Historic Jamestowne. See page 14. Photo / Dave Harp started on your own adventures, whether it is getting into a kayak, onto a trail or touring by car. Publication of Bay Journeys is supported by the National Park Service and by the Chesapeake Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting conservation, stewardship, access and enjoyment of the Chesapeake Bay’s iconic landscapes, waterways and its cultural and historic access. Chesapeake Media Service, a nonprofit organization best known for our sister publication, Bay Journal, is responsible for the editorial content. It is the hope of all of us that Bay Journeys will inspire your own “jornee” to learn more about the places that make the Chesapeake unique — and renew your commitment to ensure their protection for those who follow in years to come. — Karl Blankenship, Editor

Are you a starting point for a Chesapeake adventure? Help launch people on their own Bay adventures by becoming a distribution site for Bay Journeys. We are seeking help from visitor centers, nature centers, attractions, outfitters and other tourist support operations who are willing to display and distribute free copies of Bay Journeys. Typically, we ship bundles in quantities of 25, 50, 75 or 100, but other amounts are available. If you would like to be added to the shipping list, please e-mail editor Karl Blankenship at kblankenship@bayjournal.com with your name, address and quantity requested. Please note that we need a street address for shipping. A P.O. Box will not work. Front Cover: Today, the waters of Tangier Sound provide a tranquil paddle for kayakers. This was not the case around 200 years ago. In 1813 and 1814, their naval base on Tangier Island allowed the British to make raids on the local populace, who lived in fear, until the conflict was resolved. See page 6. Photo / Dave Harp

Paddling the Pocomoke

Tour of swamp to Chesapeake takes you back in time The good news for Chesapeake adventurers is that the Bay has a lifetime of waterfront to explore, about 11,000 miles if we include its tidal rivers and islands. Unfortunately, only about 2 percent of these land-water edges, which contain so much of the Bay’s beauty, fish and wildlife, include public access.

nate much of that landscape now. But the Pocomoke itself retains some of the Chesapeake region’s best forests, including some spectacular bald cypress, majestic specimens centuries old. A few paddle strokes out of Porters and you’ve left the world of humans behind for the next few hours. Big, old maples, gums, river birch and cypress filter the morning light and overhang the stream, which is no more than 50 feet wide. It creates a cathedral-like ambience, encouraging silence and contemplation. Only by boat, preferably small craft adept at navigating Tides from the Chesapeake doesn’t exert an influence the estuary’s extensive shallows and nosing up its countless creeky inlets, can you experience the best of North America’s until around Snow Hill. The gentle current pushes our kayaks under big logs of fallen trees, into loops and side channels, greatest estuary. beautiful mini-excursions, even if they don’t lead anywhere. I prefer canoes and kayaks, totable on the smallest econo It’s pretty easy to recover the main channel — just follow the car, launchable wherever there’s a bridge or a ditch or a gap flow of dark, tea-colored water. We pass a Canada goose, body flattened, wings spread across a nest on a little island of bushes in midstream. Striking, golden warblers flit through the understory and sometimes perch and sing. They are prothonotaries, one of several species of songbird that summer here and winter in the tropics. The name comes from a class of religious cleric who wore saffron colored vestments. Beavers are coming back, judging from the “chews” on the trunks of trees along the banks. They once inhabited the entire Chesapeake watershed by the millions, their dams effectively controlling the Bay’s hydrology, creating countless ponds and wetlands, filtering The shimmering white panicles of fringe trees along the shore and yellow blooms of pollution and stabilizing flows spadderdock in the water add magic to a spring paddle on the Pocomoke River. to the Bay in rainstorms. Train yourself on such paddles to always be looking ahead to in the bushes, burning no fuel but body fat, moving quietly at where the stream disappears around another bend. You’ll see speeds that would take forever to visit the whole Bay — exa lot more wildlife — shy turtles sunning on logs, water snakes actly the point. Today’s journey launches in the deep shade and bright bird (nonvenomous) hanging from a low branch, herons stalking song of a spring morning by the little bridge across the upper the shallows, and wood ducks taking their young for a paddle; maybe even a river otter. Pocomoke River at Porters Crossing, about four, winding Through April and May, the upper Pocomoke is as lovely water miles above the rural village of Snow Hill. botanically as any river of the Bay. Wild azaleas blossom The Pocomoke rises not far north of here, 66 miles from pinkly and the white panicles of fringetrees shimmer in the Chesapeake Bay, in lower Delaware. There, a massive swamp breeze. Native viburnums festoon the banks. Bald cypress of cypress, cedar and pine once occupied nearly 100 square just unfurling its feathery, fresh green needles, has a delicate, miles of the Delmarva Peninsula’s interior. It was the last gauzy look that contrasts pleasingly with its statuesque trunk refuge of black bears in the region. Grain fields, drainage ditches and chicken houses domiContinued on next page

A turtle basks in the sun along the Pocomoke’s shore. Other wildlife that can be spotted during a paddle on the river include beavers, herons, snakes and wood ducks.

By Tom Horton Photos by Dave Harp Bay Journeys 3

The beginning of the journey: the cool, green, canopied Pocomoke River just below Porters Crossing.

an easy pullout just above the Route 12 bridge where the Pocomoke River Canoe Company occupies a big wooden building on the south bank. You can rent paddle craft there and arrange shuttles up to Porters Crossing, or to and from other points on the river. They also have maps and expert advice. The more self-reliant can stash bicycles at the takeout, pedal back to Porters and pick up cars. I often do this in more remote locations. Because bicycle speed is three or four times faster than paddling speed, it works well for day trips. But by all means press on past Snow Hill, for you are now entering the world of the main Pocomoke, where you can travel for another few days with amazingly few signs of human development. It’s tidal here, weak at first, but picking up quickly as one moves downriver to where it makes sense to consult online tidal calculators to plan as much of your trip with the tide as possible. On a very high tide, you may have to carry your boats around the low Route 12 bridge, or “line” them under the bridge empty, using long pieces of cord attached to bow and stern. At the downriver end of Snow Hill is a nice little town park with drinking water and bathrooms. From Snow Hill south I’d recomContinued from previous page mend a couple options. About a mile below the town, on the rightand branches. Yellow flag is one of hand side is the mouth of NasAbout halfway to Snow Hill, where the stream broadens sawango Creek, where public and the wetland plants that and the canopy falls away, you’ll pass under a power line. For tolerates the acidic private interests have protected the next several hundred yards pay attention to the forest on water of the Pocomoke the right-hand (northwest) bank where it rises steeply. You’re thousands of acres. Nassawango’s River. passing several acres that make up one of Delmarva’s special, 18 miles harbor more than 90 rare plants, Atlantic white cedar, and a hidden places. dozen species of wild orchid. The trees along here — loblolly pine, cypress, oaks, ironEntering the creek’s broad mouth you’ll likely see ospreys wood, gums, tulip poplar and more than a dozen other species fishing, quite possibly bald eagles, big pileated woodpeckers — attain a size and diversity that is as close to the original and chattering kingfishers. In its upper reaches, the forest Delmarva forest as you’re going to see in the 21st century. closes in again, reminiscent of the area around Porters No one knows exactly the why of this lovely little patch. The farm family who owns it chose not to cut for generations. Crossing. About three miles up Nassawango is a small bridge that The soils are rich and it gets abundant sunlight. It’s private, carries Red House road, a good place to pull out, and not no access, but plenty of nooks where paddlers can pause far by bicycle or by shuttle back to Porters or to Snow Hill. for lunch or a break and drink in the beauty of this favored woods. The river broadens as Snow Hill approaches. Later in spring, you’ll l Canoe and kayak rentals are available at Bending Water Park, 28325 see the fresh greens of rooted aquatFarm Market Road, Marion Station, MD, which is operated by Accohannock ic plants begin to sprout from the Indian Tribe, Inc. Rates range from $10/hour to $60/weekend. Or, bring your shallows along here. Arrow arum, own to put in for a $5/day fee. Primitive camping is available at the park, as pickerel weed, spadderdock— all the ‘tuckahoe’ of the Indians. Their well as guided tours of the parks and creeks. Call 410-968-0194 or visit starchy roots were such a food www.indianwatertrails.com for details. staple that Native American densil Canoe and kayak rentals are also available at 312 N. Washington St., ties on Delmarva strongly correSnow Hill, MD. Rates range from $15/hour for a canoe to $75/weekend for a lated with the fresh water reaches of canoe or two-person kayak. Transportation from takeout sites and other trip rivers lined with tuckahoes. services also available. For information, call the Pocomoke River Canoe ComFor day-trippers, Snow Hill, pany 410-632-3971 or visit www.atbeach.com/amuse/md/canoe/. founded in 1686, could be journey’s l To learn about other services and activities in the area, visit end. It features a couple of bed and www.visitsomerset.com or www.visitworcester.com. breakfasts, a few lunch places and

Logistics for paddling on the Pocomoke

4 Bay Journeys

Follow Capt. John Smith’s trail through Accohannock Country At the other end of the Pocomoke system lies a different world, the vast salt marshes of Pocomoke Sound, even more remote and untraveled than the cypress swamps and deep forests upstream. On June 6, 1608, on his way to explore and map the Chesapeake, Capt. John Smith passed by East Creek, where we’re now paddling, his crew laboring to row their chunky shallop against a southwest wind. The English explorer and Jamestown founder, whose maps literally put the Chesapeake on the map, was returning from exploring the lower Pocomoke. Smith had poked upriver in search of something more precious than the treasure and passage to the Orient that his bank rollers in England hoped for — drinkable water. He found it and wrote in his journals that he would have “refused two barricoes (6–8 gallon kegs) of gold for one of that puddle (muddy) water of Wighcocomoco (Pocomoke).” Winding through the prairie-like marshes, blue crabs fin in the shallows, black ducks burst from tidal ponds and a big fish, maybe a striped bass, swirls beneath a muddy marsh bank. As far as the eye can see there’s not a house or a road in sight. A friend and I launched out of a 33-acre property owned and operated by the Accohannock Indian Tribe known as Bending Water Park. On the road to Crisfield, turn left onto Holland Crossing Road near Marion Station and follow the signs. You can rent canoes and kayaks from the Accohannocks, or launch your own for $5. Primitive camping is also available; as well as guided paddle trips. From the protected launch ramp at Bending Water, follow a 5-mile, marked trail down Tull Branch into East Creek. The lower section (There’s an earlier bridge about a mile up the creek, but I think the best section is between there and Red House.) For the more intrepid, there is Shad Landing State Park on the left, about four miles below Snow Hill; and on the righthand bank about six miles down is Milburn Landing State Park. Both offer tent and RV camping and cabins, bathrooms and cookout facilities. Shad Landing is more developed, with a small marina, playing fields and a small store. I find Milburn more relaxing, and it has a nice observation deck extending from the water’s edge. The Pocomoke is not big enough water to generate big waves, but below Snow Hill it does open up enough that wind can be a real factor (as well as tide). If the winds were forecast to blow hard for any length of time from the south or southwest — the prevailing direction during the summer — I’d think about running my Pocomoke paddle in reverse, or upriver. Local knowledge from people like Pocomoke River Canoe Company is always worth seeking out. The modest paddles I’ve outlined are more than they seem. I’ve done some of the stretches therein dozens of times, the same route but never the same. From month to month, season to season, early morning to full moon night, from rain to shine; with kids, with botanists, with expert birdwatchers, with fishermen, poets, historians — there are almost infinite lenses through which to experience the same piece of river; and always one more little inlet or creek you’ve been meaning to nose into, one more bend just up ahead.

The Accohannock Indian Tribe operates Bending Water Park, which has a launch site; rent canoes and kayaks; and offers guided tours and primitive camping. becomes progressively more open to wind and wave as it approaches wide open Pocomoke Sound. The ambitious paddler could go up or down the shores of the Sound, along unpeopled expanses of marsh and beach, poking into myriad creeks. I’ve always wanted to try Marumsco Creek, whose mouth lies not far from the mouth of East Creek. On charts it appears one could paddle all day inland, north and east through wetlands and farms. The trees along the Pocomoke — cypress (left), loblolly pine, oaks, ironwood, gums, tulip poplar and more than a dozen other species — attain a size and diversity that is as close to the original Delmarva forest as one is going to see in the 21st century.

Bay Journeys 5

Chesapeake played ‘starring’ role in 1812

The forgotten war that turned us into Americans John O’Neill had a fire in his eyes that was unlikely to dim any time soon. He’d fought the British in the Revolutionary War and now the redcoats were at his door again.

“Prior to the war you would have said, ‘The United States are…’ After the war, you would have said, ‘The United States is…,’” noted historian Ralph Eshelman, above. “To me, that’s a turning point.”

St. Michaels, MD, today. During the War of 1812, its residents are said to have tricked the British into aiming cannons at lanterns placed high up in trees, sparing the town below them.

By L ara Lutz Photos by Dave Harp 6 Bay Journeys

The British attacked the Chesapeake town of Havre de Grace just before dawn, rockets blazing from their ships, then continued the raid on foot. Buildings burned, and people fled inland until O’Neill alone remained, firing his cannon and waving his hat to beckon the retreating American militiamen. When the British finally captured him, O’Neill had a musket for each hand. Revolutionary spirit may have been driving his fight, but that war had ended almost 30 years before. The War of 1812 was under way, and the British were trampling the Chesapeake. The War of 1812 often takes a back seat to two other wars that defined the republic — the Revolutionary War, which created the nation, and the Civil War, which threatened its unity and freed thousands of people from slavery. But the War of 1812 created “Americans.” Maryland historian Ralph Eshelman said few people in 1812 described themselves that way. The Revolution had

ended just 30 years earlier, and people identified themselves with their states instead of the nation as a whole. Confronting the British a second time resulted in a greater sense of patriotism and unity. Eshelman calls it the Americanization of the United States. “Prior to the war you would have said, ‘The United States are…’ After the war, you would have said, ‘The United States is…,’” Eshelman said. “To me, that’s a turning point.” Some of the war’s defining moments took place in the Chesapeake Bay region. As a center of vibrant trade, fast ships and the national government, the Chesapeake was a natural target. The British burned and raided towns, and destroyed the cannon foundry at Principio Furnace, just across the river from Havre de Grace near Perryville. In Washington, DC, the British burned the White House and other government buildings. They attacked Baltimore a few weeks later, but the Americans repelled them. The conflict gave birth to the Star-Spangled Banner — the enormous American flag that flew over Fort McHenry — and inspired what would become the national anthem, which became the best known legacy of this largely forgotten war. This June, the war’s bicentennial opens with a roar as hundreds of sites across the Chesapeake region revive stories of the local heroes, invading British forces and

dramatic conflicts that tested a nation. Many can be found along the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. The trail traces historic troop movements and war events in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, weaving through some of the region’s best parks, scenic waterways, vibrant city centers and quaint shoreline towns. Take to the roads or the water, linger on a foot path or travel by bike — you’ll discover great tales of Chesapeake heritage and outdoor fun along the way. To explore British raids on the Chesapeake, you’ll be wandering pleasant waterfront towns and byways on both sides of the Bay in Maryland and Virginia. In 1813 and 1814, citizens of these same places lived in fear. While the bulk of the British fleet anchored at Norfolk, a base on Tangier Island allowed them to raid these communities without warning. When the first rockets screamed through the air, unarmed citizens had little recourse against hundreds of trained marines who burned stores, homes and farms. “The British admiral, George Cockburn, was the great villain in this thing,” said Burt Kummerow of the Maryland Historical Society. “He was given the task of pushing home the British presence in the Chesapeake Bay.” Based on comments in Cockburn’s writings, he seemed to enjoy the job. Without organized troops to protect them, local heroes like John O’Neill stepped forward. At Georgetown in the Upper Bay, an independent young woman confronted Admiral Cochrane herself and successfully saved both her home and that of an aging neighbor, both of which stand today as the Kitty Knight House. The town of St. Michaels is said to have tricked the British by hanging lanterns in the tree tops, which caused British guns to aim high and mostly miss the town below. Historic Elk Landing, in contemporary Elkton, also managed to chase off the British. Twice. Charlestown was the only Maryland community to surrender before the damage could begin. “As a consequence what you have left is this beautiful town, which was never burnt like Havre de Grace,” Eshelman said, “with its quaint homes, inns, a beautiful view of the river and a stone wharf that was there in 1812.” The British camp at Tangier Island offered refuge to hundreds of enslaved people, whom the British encouraged to escape. Some were transported to the West Indies. Others trained and fought with the British against their former masters. Commodore Joshua Barney led the only organized defense of the Chesapeake with a flotilla of small gunboats that could move swiftly in shallow Bay waters. “Barney was one of the great characters of American history,” Kummerow said. “To go up against these huge 74-gun British ships with a 60– or 75-foot row galley or gun barge — it was insanity. On one hand, it was a really brave act. On the other, a fool’s errand.” Barney’s “mosquito fleet” bedeviled the British and engaged in two battles near today’s Jefferson Patterson Park in Southern Maryland. Eventually trapped upstream in the Patuxent River, Barney scuttled the boats and led his men inland to defend Washington, DC. The attack on Washington began on a humid August

day in 1814, when thousands of British troops disembarked from their ships at the sleepy town of Benedict on the Patuxent River and made a dogged but miserable march to “Washington City.” “Benedict is a place I can’t help but go back to,” Eshelman said. “Almost 4,500 troops landed there, more than the total white male population of Charles County at the time. What kind of a fear did that put into people, facing an invading force of that size?” Residents of Mount Calvert, a historic home on Jug Bay,

Burt Kummerow of the Maryland Historical Society stands by a collection of silver service once owned by one of the Fort McHenry patriots.

The Second War for Independence After the American Revolution, British forces continued to hassle the new nation. They interfered with American trade and maintained troops along the Great Lakes and Northern Frontier to repel American settlements. At sea and on the Chesapeake, they boarded American ships to look for deserters and forced thousands of American citizens into their service along the way. When Americans decided to fight back, the odds weren’t good. Britain was a world superpower, with more

than 500 warships. The United States had 17. The effort was risky, and many veterans of the Revolution argued that it would ruin a country that was barely on its feet. A younger group of southern politicians called the “War Hawks” pressed for action. The nation was deeply divided, but Congress ultimately declared war on June 18, 1812. Fighting ranged from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, including the Chesapeake region. The Treaty of Ghent officially ended the war, with no clear victor, on Feb. 17, 1815.

would have witnessed their arrival. Today, Mount Calvert is wonderfully free of modern intrusions — a great place to contemplate the drama, have a picnic or paddle the marsh. Just upriver, archeologists are hard at work exploring the sunken remains of a gunboat from Barney’s flotilla, possibly the flagship Scorpion. Continued on next page

Bay Journeys 7

Continued from previous page

The flag that flew over Fort McHenry the morning after the British bombardment inspired the United States’ national anthem.

The British set up a base at Tangier Island, VA, during the War of 1812 and launched a series of raids on Chesapeake towns.

8 Bay Journeys

The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail pinpoints sites that tell of the fear and confusion surrounding the capital. President James Madison rushed to Bladensburg, where Americans made a short-lived final stand against the British, while government aides scrambled to protect the Declaration of Independence and other state papers. First Lady Dolley Madison fled to the Dumbarton House in Georgetown, but refused to leave until the famous full-length portrait of George Washington was removed from the White House walls and rushed to safety in the countryside. By evening, the White House, the Capitol and other government buildings were in flames. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the White House Visitor Center tell the story in detail. At the Smithsonian, a dramatic display features the original Star-Spangled Banner, which rose to fame during the Battle for Baltimore a few weeks later. The British called Baltimore a “nest of pirates” — and they especially meant Fells Point. A scrappy collection of shipyard workers there cranked out fast vessels that captured British supply ships during the war. While the

bardment at Fort McHenry lasted through the night. In the morning, the fort’s commander raised an enormous American flag and the British began to withdraw. American Francis Scott Key watched the entire conflict from a ship in the Patapsco River. The experience inspired him to write new lyrics to an existing tune. Dubbed the “Star-Spangled Banner,” the popular song became the national anthem in 1931. Visitors to Fells Point today can walk the cobblestone streets and lift a drink in the narrow buildings that once served the shipping community. Enjoy a stop at the Flag House, the home of Mary Pickersgill, who made flags for Fells Point ships as well as the Star-Spangled Banner itself. Or, help to raise the American flag at Fort McHenry, a popular and moving experience for guests of all ages. The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail includes inland sites, too, like the Maryland Historical Society. The Society museum features an exhibit that tells the story of the war and its aftermath. Take a first-hand look at hundreds of rare objects and art from the period, including Key’s original manuscript of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and a blackened tin mug etched with the signatures of men who defended Baltimore. With a boost from the bicentennial, the War of 1812 is being rediscovered by tourists and site managers alike. Many places along the trail, from parks and museums to historic homes and boat launches, have reconnected with their 1812 heritage with a surge of events and exhibits that bring the era to life. The stories may be loud or soft, depending on the site and the timing of special events, so make the most of a Star-Spangled Banner adventure by gathering a little background beforehand. Visit a few websites or download the trail’s mobile app. Better yet, pick up a copy of Eshelman and Kummerow’s new book, “In Full Glory Reflected: Discovering the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake” — a beautifully illustrated, readerfriendly account of the war’s great moments and colorful characters, along with a detailed travel guide for the region. “Don’t just see the fort and the flag,” Eshelman said. “Go see the rest of the places in the region that are just as much what this war was all about.”

invasion of Washington was mostly symbolic, Baltimore would be a great strategic prize. The British attacked by land at North Point and by water at Fort McHenry. Baltimore had defenses ready, and thousands of men from across the region swarmed to the city’s aid. Sharpshooters killed a British leader at North l Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail: www.starspangledtrail.net Point, and a bloody battle followed. l Maryland sites & events: www.starspangled200.org The British continued the assault, l Virginia sites & events: http://va1812bicentennial.dls.virginia.gov/ but stopped when they got to the city’s main defensive line and found a large l For the phone: Download a free app for the Star-Spangled Banner Nanumber of Americans positioned behind tional Historic Trail from the iTunes Store, Google Play or the trail website. well-prepared earthworks. The bom-

Explore & Discover

Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

Chesapeake Bay Region Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light . . . Patrick O’Brien/the Patricia Kummerow 1812 Memorial Fund Richard Schlect

Gerry Embleton

Test of a New Nation In 1812, the United States of America was less than 30 years old, and only one generation had been raised to adulthood under the American flag. Many people still personally remembered the daring and exhausting fight to win independence from Britain, pitting 13 allied colonies against the largest military force in the world. The conflict had launched a new nation, but in 1812 much was still taking shape. Americans were wary of a strong central government and grappled with questions about trade, slavery, and expansion. Washington City was a fledging capital. National defense was hotly debated and poorly funded. Then, war came again.

Gerry Embleton

Maryland Historical Society

Riots erupted in Baltimore in response to an anti-war newspaper.

Britain, at war with France, set policies that interfered with American trade. In need of men for their huge navy, the British boarded American vessels and seized men said to be British deserters. In the process, they forced thousands of American sailors into service. Along the Great Lakes and Northern Frontier, they united with American Indians to obstruct American expansion into disputed territory. The tension between Britain and America, still smoldering from the revolution, grew into flames. Some Americans wanted to strike back. Others cautioned against the human and financial costs of war. Britain had over 500 warships; America had 17. The nation was deeply and bitterly divided. On June 18, 1812, Congress finally declared war, but Americans continued to argue over the course of the nation. In Baltimore, a pro-war mob destroyed the offices of an anti-war newspaper, igniting riots that left dead and wounded in their wake.

©Don Troiani

Armed Forces History, NMAH, Smithsonian Institution

The bombardment of Fort McHenry inspired new lyrics to a popular tune. The tune was then re-named The Star-Spangled Banner and became the United States of America’s national anthem in 1931.

Over the next two years, British and American conflicts erupted from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. By the time the fighting ended, the war had propelled America into greater maturity as a nation. Having been tested against a world superpower, the states were now more truly “united.” Americans felt a stronger sense of collective identity and greater commitment to a robust, national military. And, by defending rights at sea and expansionist goals at home, America confirmed its entry on the international stage. The war also inspired two lasting symbols of pride—the Star-Spangled Banner that flew in defiance of British attack and the national anthem that honors it.

Maryland militia at the Battle of North Point.

War on the Chesapeake

who continued to fight until captured. In Georgetown, Kitty Knight confronted the British admiral herself and successfully spared both her home and that of her neighbor.

The British occupied the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812 to disrupt trade, bring war to the center of the country, and draw troops from the north. After declaring a blockade on the bay in 1812, they established a base on Tangier Island and raided waterfront towns at will, burning homes, taverns, ships, and farms. Towns in Southern Maryland and along the upper bay were among the targets. In Virginia, the British sacked towns and raided plantations along the James, Rappahannock, and other rivers.

Enslaved people made bold decisions, too. The British promised freedom to those who fled slavery and joined British forces. At least seven hundred men, women, and children escaped. Most were taken to Tangier Island, where some of the men trained to fight their former masters.

People lived in fear. When attacked, they faced a difficult choice: flee, cooperate, or stage civilian resistance to a far superior force. In Havre de Grace, the defense soon dwindled to one man, John O’Neill,

Gerry Embleton Richard Schlect

236

St re et

495

ero 1

1/2 mile

St re et

Du ke

400

495

Gadsby's Tavern ? Museum ? 66 The Lyceum Ramsay House Historic Alexandria History Center and Museum Store C

Alexandria, VA

1/2 mile

395

Pen nsy lvan .

(13 miles)

Fort Washington

Mount Welby/ Oxon Cove Park

295

tia

495

695

Brentwood

1/2 mile

301

201

E Queen Anne

Market Master’s House Magruder House

450

George Washington House

Fort Lincoln Cemetery

Old Dueling Grounds

Bladensburg, MD

295

195

Bladensburg Waterfront Park

Baltimore E

Croom St. Thomas Church

382

Nottingham Lower Marlboro ? Fairview

151

1000 ft.

EJoppatowne

Concord Point Lighthouse

50 301

oth

Poplar Isand

Bodkin Point

Rock Hall

Tilghman Island

St. Michaels

Carpenter Point

ile

Still Pond

Grove Point

Spesutie Island

Corsica

EOxford

Easton

Battle of Slippery Hill Marker

Queenstown

301

Centreville E

Chestertown

ste he

Bowlingly Marker

Eastern Neck Island

Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center Eastern Bay ERomancoke

Love Point

Swan Point

Dam sConowingo q 95

St. Mill

rry

lbe

1000 ft.

St.

C W.

ace

Railroad Ave.

City Dock

Navy Point

Miles River

St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square

Muskrat Park

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Mus. St.

1000 ft.

Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center

Denton E

404

U.S. Naval Academy Museum

St. Michaels, MD

Annapolis Visitor Center

301

Annapolis, MD

Fredericktown Georgetown

301

Frenchtown E C H E S A P E AKE AN D Chesapeake City

Historic Elk Landing

? Elkton

ECecilton Mount Harmon

Kitty Knight House

Maryland State House

n Point ow Bohemia

St. John’s College

Sassafras

D EL

AW A

AL RE CAN

Dietrich Ruehlmann

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Baltimore MD Cannon firing demonstration at Ft. McHenry, Baltimore, MD

Port Deposit North Principio East Iron Furnace Rodgers Tavern Perryville k Havre de Grace

Pennsylvania Maryland

Battle of Caulks Field Monument

Chesapeake Exploration Center

North Point State Park Fort Howard Park

B Annapolis

Mag

Hancock’s Resolution

O'Neill Monument

Rodgers Tavern

Methodist Meeting House Monument North Point State Battlefield (under development) Pooles Island Battle Acre Aquila Randall Obelisk Todd’s Inheritance

Dundalk

695

Pro m e n

Havre de Grace Maritime Museum

Revolution Street

Havre de Grace Visitor Center

Herring Bay

Patuxent River Park

Mount Calvert

Darnall’s Trinity Chance Church Dr. William Beanes grave 4 Upper Marlboro

Addison Rd.

695

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

Hampton National Historic Site

Susquehanna Lock House Museum

E Perryville

Havre de Grace, MD

Ostego Street

Alexandria

395

Georgetown

Washington, D.C.

Visitor Center

? Fells Point

Bladensburg

Greenbelt Park

Washington Navy Yard

U.S. Marine Corps Barracks

Brookeville

Star-Spangled Banner Centennial Monument/ Rodgers’ Bastion

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

Sewall-Belmont House and Museum

ia A ve

White House

Riversdale House Museum

George Washington Masonic National Memorial Carlyle House Historic Park Ki ng

Constitution Ave.

National Society United States Daughters of 1812 Museum Decatur House

1/2 mile

LeoneRiverside Park

Baltimore ? Inner Visitor Center Harbor Pride of Baltimore II Promenade (when in Port) Federal Hill

National White House Visitor Center Archives National Museum of Independence Ave. U.S. Capitol American History Congressional Cemetery

Island

Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Patterson Park

Battle Monument

Maryland Historical Society

Baltimore, MD

Grab your phone: Download a free app for your iPhone or Android from the iTunes Store, Google Play, or the trail web site.

Be sure to extend your adventures on Virginia’s War of 1812 Heritage Trail. Start with http://va1812bicentennial.dls.virginia. gov/places.html. Drop by: Visitor contact stations, noted on the map, can also identify local events and attractions.

Go on-line: Check for the latest happenings at the web addresses above. Most festivals, re-enactments, and other special programs take place from June through September. For special events in Maryland during the War of 1812 Bicentennial, visit www.starspangled200.org.

Dig in: Read In Full Glory Reflected: Discovering the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake, a book by Ralph E. Eshelman and Burton K. Kummerow, including a travel section for the region (2012).

Get Ready, Go!

Make your journey by car or by boat, on bike or on foot. However you travel, the trail is a great way to discover the War of 1812 and a host of outdoor adventures along the way.

Combine your history quest with outdoor fun for the whole family. Take time to picnic, explore trails, or cast a fishing line. Stop at a farmers market, or browse for antiques. You can also try your hand at geocaching, a treasure hunt using GPS technology, on the Star-Spangled Banner Geotrail.

Washington, DC

Dumbarton House

Francis Scott Key Memorial Park Octagon Theodore House Roosevelt

Georgetown

Tudor Place

The trail offers many ways to experience the drama of the war and the stories of its people. Follow the march on Washington with a driving tour of Southern Maryland, or paddle the wetlands where Barney scuttled his fleet. Imagine British attacks from the waterfront of Havre de Grace or St. Michaels. Hoist the flag at Fort McHenry, and visit the original Star-Spangled Banner at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.

Discover the War of 1812 on the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail—a path tracing troop movements through historic places, inspiring landscapes, charming waterfront towns, and waterways of the Chesapeake Bay region.

Begin Your Adventure

h E as

Nort

l k

www.starspangledtrail.net www.nps.gov/stsp

Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

Potomac

East

Anacostia

Wye

t ng o hi P as ay W kw e r rg P a eo G

der

Juniata Street

Bush

ISLA ND

KENT

Delaware Maryland

Lower Cedar Point

tom

Ra pp no an ah

Middleton Evans

NPS

The White House, Washington, DC

Ralph Eshelman

Fishing at Kent Narrows, MD

Visit Baltimore

Flagmaking at Flag House and StarSpangled Banner Museum, Baltimore, MD

Calvert Marine Museum

Drum Point Lighthouse, Solomons, MD

en t

360

Yecomico Bay

Starke Jett

0 0

St. Mary’s County Tourism

Piney Point, MD

10 Kilometers

NPS

Belle Haven Park and Marina Alexandria, VA

Holland Island

and ryl a Ma rgini i V

10 Statute Miles

Reedville

Trail orientation kiosk Battle or engagement Town raided/burned by British

Tangier Island Ferry, VA

Ralph Eshelman

ico

Smith Point

Point Lookout State Park

(approximate water route)

? Visitor information

Point No Point

its

ait

e Deal Island

MD Office of Tourism Development

Smith Island, MD

Ralph Eshelman

Promenade, Havre de Grace, MD

Crisfield

Kitty Knight House Georgetown, MD

NPS

Sailing on the Chesapeake Bay

Kathi Ash/MD Office of Tourism Development

Pocomoke Sound

Monie Bay

Princess Anne E

E Vienna

E Nanticoke

Tangier Tangier Island History Museum

Ewell

Smith Island

Kedges S tr

South Marsh Island

Bloodsworth Island

Cambridge E? Sailwinds Park East

Chopt a

Battle of the Ice Mound Monument

Star-Spangled Banner Trail site Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail

Map legend

360

Great W ico m

235

St. Mary’s City

St. George Island

The Glebe

Taylors Island

Calvert Marine Museum

Battles of St. Leonard Creek

Solomons

Piney Point Lighthouse

Drayden

Chesapeake City, MD

Kinsale Museum

Nomini Church

Nomini Bay

E Warsaw

St. Clements Island

Brento n

235

Tudor Hall Leonardtown Wharf

264

St. Leonard

Parkers Creek Preserve

264

Battle Creek Cypress Swamp

506

Tappahannock

Montross E

235

Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum Sotterley Plantation Chaptico 245

Prince Frederick

Fells Point, Baltimore, MD

ECobb Island

George Washington Birthplace N.M. Stratford Hall Plantation

Swann Point om Sh oa ls

? Crain Memorial

Charlotte Hall ?

Benedict

Maxwell Hall 231

381

Plum Point

Ralph Eshelman

301

Mathias Pt.

Chapel Point

Bryantown

Kings Landing Park Huntingtown

Magruders Landing

Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum Calvert County, MD

James Madison Birthplace E Port Royal

Maryland Point

To b

acco

Thomas Stone National Historic Site Port Tobacco

EIndian Head

Bo r

Sd.

About the Trail The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail is administered by the National Park Service in coordination with the Maryland Office of Tourism Development and State Highway Administration. The trail is managed through partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies; War of 1812 Bicentennial commissions and committees; and private organizations in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Brent’s Bay

Occoquan Bay

s Bay

ent em

.C l

Ke tle

s d

Na n

comico

er lan

p oo Hol

t tic

Pa Nan

382

Ta n g i e r

Washington in Peril In 1814, when more than 4,000 British troops came ashore at Benedict in Southern Maryland, Americans were still guessing at their plans. A British squadron was also sailing up the Potomac River toward the port of Alexandria, while another was sailing up the Chesapeake. Washington was an obvious target, but so were Annapolis and Baltimore. Americans soon realized that the troops in Southern Maryland were marching straight to Washington. On August 24, thousands of militiamen and soldiers confronted the British at Bladensburg, a few miles east of the capital. But the Americans were inexperienced and poorly led. The effort quickly failed.

Maryland Historical Society

Gerry Embleton

Joshua Barney and the “Mosquito Fleet”

In a daring plan to defend the Chesapeake, Commodore Joshua Barney organized a flotilla of nimble gun boats to bedevil the British on the bay’s shallow waters. Tom Freeman/White House Historical Association

By evening, Washington was in flames. The British burned many government buildings, including the Capitol and the White House. President James Madison and his wife Dolley, along with hundreds

of frightened citizens, fled the city. The Declaration of Independence and other important documents were rushed to safety in the surrounding countryside.

Battle for Baltimore

The British expected quick surrender, but it didn’t come. In the morning, they gave up the fight. Americans raised an especially large flag over the fort. The British fleet withdrew, and their troops abandoned North Point.

A few weeks after withdrawing from Washington, the British set their sights on Baltimore. But Baltimore had long been preparing for a fight, and the Americans would be ready. The British attacked by land and by water. Landing at North Point on September 12, 1814, they met their first resistance when American sharpshooters killed British Major General Robert Ross, and a bloody battle followed. The next day, the British marched toward Baltimore, but met an overwhelming number of men, artillery, and cavalry. They considered a nighttime attack, but awaited the outcome at Fort McHenry.

In August 1814, the British trapped Barney’s “mosquito fleet” in the Patuxent River, where they battled on St. Leonard Creek. Then, trapped further upstream, Barney received orders to destroy the flotilla. As the barges exploded and sank, he and his men rushed on foot to help defend Washington.

Dolley Madison and the Rescue of Washington’s Portrait

Modern visitors who ponder the portrait of George Washington in the White House can thank First Lady Dolley Madison for her determination. As British troops closed on Washington in 1814, Madison insisted the portrait be saved. The frame of the portrait, firmly attached to the wall, was destroyed to remove the canvas and spirit it away for safekeeping.

Coupled with an American victory on Lake Champlain, the end of the war was in sight. The United States and Britain agreed upon the Treaty of Ghent in December. However, they did not ratify the treaty until shortly after the Battle of New Orleans, officially ending the war on February 17, 1815.

Fort McHenry guarded the city and its harbor. Its commander, Major George Armistead, had prepared his men for the trying task of endurance: British ships in the Patapsco River were largely beyond the range of the fort’s guns. Through a day and night of stormy weather, the British pounded the fort with rockets, mortars, and cannons.

White House Historical Association/ White House Collection

Maryland Historical Society

Gerry Embleton

The Major and the Flagmaker

When Major George Armistead sought a large national flag for Fort McHenry, he turned to Mary Pickersgill, an experienced flagmaker for the ships at Fells Point. She and her daughter, mother, nieces, and servants worked on the project for seven weeks. Thirty-feet high by 42-feet wide, the flag was so large that they completed the work in the loft of a nearby brewery.

Richard Schlect

During the War of 1812, painted hat plates were sometimes attached to soldiers’ hats to designate military units. The canteen and mug shown above were both used by American soldiers during the Battle for Baltimore. All objects Maryland Historical Society

Francis Scott Key and the Star-Spangled Banner

Maryland Historical Society

American lawyer Francis Scott Key watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry from a ship in the Patapsco River. Key was helping to negotiate the freedom of an American doctor, held captive on a British ship. The British prevented the Americans from leaving until after the attack, and Key spent an anxious night watching it take place. The experience inspired him to write patriotic lyrics for a popular, existing melody. The resulting words and tune became America’s national anthem in 1931. Maryland Historical Society

Where would John Smith land his boat?

Most Bay shorelines today are look, but don’t touch In the summer of 1608, Capt. John Smith explored the Chesapeake Bay with a crew of a dozen men in an open boat called a shallop. The Bay country was already well inhabited — nothing like today, of course, but there were American Indian towns along the shores nearly everywhere he went. In early August, as Smith and his crew entered the Tockwogh River (our modern day Sassafras), a flotilla of Tockwogh people met him. They escorted the English to their main town where, to quote Smith, “the men women, and children with dances, songs, fruits, furs, and what they had, kindly welcomed us, spreading mats for us to sit on, stretching their best abilities to express their loves.” A modern-day explorer in the Chesapeake would have a hard time finding a better welcome, and perhaps a harder time still finding a place to land. Today, most of the Chesapeake Bay’s shores and the shores of its rivers are private property with no trespassing allowed. Other than marinas and widely separated public boat launches and parks, there are few public beaches where the traveler can stop, fewer still where the adventurer might pitch a tent for the night. And even where the federal government owns some large tracts of land on the water’s edge, most of it is offlimits to the outdoor enthusiast. My friends and I have spent years exploring the Bay, traveling routes along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail that Smith once traveled. We are paddlers and campers and, traveling light, we leave no trace. We try to stop in publicly owned spots where an evening’s camp is allowed as much as possible, but we find we need more options. At the Chesapeake Conservancy, part of our mission is to create more public access to the Chesapeake so more people have an opportunity to experience the beauty of the Bay and her rivers. People who know the Bay tend to love the Bay. They have a better grasp of the problems and understand more clearly what has to be done to restore resources and protect water quality. While there’s no guarantee, we think people like this will be better stewards and advocates for the Bay. We also work to conserve the landscapes that give the Bay and the rivers their distinctive character. These places often have historic, cultural and ecological value. They are places like a stretch of marsh along the Nanticoke River that we helped to add to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge last year. Smith described this section of river and the people he met here in June of 1608. In addition, the land protects the views as one

approaches the historic town of Vienna by river on the Captain John Smith trail. And, it provides much needed habitat for waterfowl. The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is the nation’s first all-water national historic trail. It stretches from the Virginia Capes all the way to the Susquehanna Flats and up and down most of the Bay’s major rivers. Newly designated historic componentconnecting trails, including the Susquehanna, the Chester, the upper Nanticoke and the upper James rivers add about 850 miles to the trail’s system, bringing its

total length to more than 3,000 miles. The trail can provide a framework for experiencing the Bay and conserving our history and the ecologically and culturally significant places around the Chesapeake. It can also provide the framework for more places for people to touch the Bay and its rivers, from land and from the water. The National Park Service is developing plans and partnerships that will create more access to make the trail easier to explore. As you’ll find in the pages of this issue of Bay Journeys, which we at the Chesapeake Conservancy are pleased to help support, there are untold many things to discover and experience in the Chesapeake region. The important thing is to get out there and enjoy them.

Joel Dunn

Conservation

Matters

The shores of the Pocomoke River may still look almost as they did during Capt. John Smith’s time, but they are not as inviting. Photo / Dave Harp

Joel Dunn is the executive director of the Chesapeake Conservancy, whose mission is to conserve the Chesapeake’s historically, culturally and ecologically significant landscapes and create public access to them. Bay Journeys 13

James River runs deep in Colonial history

Follow John Smith on first U.S. national water trail Jamestown Settlement provides outdoor living history and If you want to experience the James River the indoor exhibits for interpreting how the three main cultures — way the American Indians and English settlers Native American, English and African — collided in The New did, you’ll want to follow in their footsteps, or World of Virginia. more accurately, in their wakes. Interpretive signs at parks and boat launches such as

A statue at Historic Jamestowne honors Pocahantas and tells the true story of her role in the settlement.

Hit the Trail

For details about the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, visit: l nps.gov/cajo l www.nps.gov/cajo/ planyourvisit/index.htm l http://buoybay.noaa.gov/ (Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System) To download or order the official guide to the trail, “A Boaters Guide to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail” by John Page Williams, visit www.smithtrail. net/things-to-do/ water-trail-adventures. aspx#boaters.

By L eslie Middleton Photos by Dave Harp 14 Bay Journeys

Lawrence Lewis, Jr. Park and Dutch Gap Conservation Area Through the efforts of the National Park Service and its remind visitors that they are traveling in the wake of history. “A many public and private partners, the trails of our earliest EngBoater’s Guide to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National lish explorers are being made visible to those who wish to see Historic Trail” provides information about other launch sites, the Chesapeake and its rivers through their eyes. recommended trips, tidbits of natural and cultural history. You might wonder how, or even if, this is possible. After all, in But sometimes you just need a human guide to help you get the last 400 years, our landscapes hardly look the way they did when the Susan Constant first navigated the James River in 1607. on the water and feed your imagination. Capt. Mike Ostrander started the James River Fishing Along Virginia’s lower James River, much effort has gone Service in the late 1990s, taking people out on the James on the into identifying the places that remain unspoiled or have been left alone long enough to become what we think they may have tidewater below Richmond to fish for sunfish, smallmouth bass looked like when the Jamestown settlers encountered the native and flathead catfish. Ostrander started to notice that many folks were hungry to peoples of Chief Powhatan’s confederacy. It is these special places — like the cedar swamp, the freshwa- experience what he calls “the best parts of the fishing trip — the scenery, the wildlife, the moving water.” ter marsh and the brackish bend in the river’s oxbow — that are now linked by the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Although it is the first water trail so designated, the John Smith trail joins the ranks of other well-known national historic trails, such as the Lewis and Clark, Nez Perce, Trail of Tears, Pony Express and the Star Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. The John Smith Trail was created by Congress in 2006. Its most visible mileposts are a series of 10, bright yellow “smart buoys” deployed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Bay’s mainstem and major tributaries. These buoys can be accessed online or by cell phone (1-877-BUOYBAY). They provide local climate and oceanographic data along with information about Smith and what the Bay was like in the 1600s. One of these buoys is located right Living history interpreters at Jamestown Settlement demonstrate how the Amerioff Jamestown Island in Virginia where can Indians burned, then scraped out, tree trunks to fashion dugout canoes. the stockade of the original Fort James Ostrander now offers tours focused on bald eagles, river has been unearthed by Historic Jamestowne Foundation wildlife and Smith and the Virginia Indians. On his Atlanarcheologists. tic sturgeon tour, Ostrander says it’s not uncommon to see Trail planners decided that because John Smith’s voyages Virginia’s biggest and oldest fish breach during August and started and ended at Jamestown, it made sense to develop this September from his 24-ft covered pontoon boat. part of the historic trail system first. To park planners, though, Gabe Silver, environmental educator for the James River it’s not so much about starting anew. The Jamestown-YorktownWilliamsburg historic triangle is one of the most popular tourist Association, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the nation’s “Founding River,” has been involved in developing the James destinations in the world. River segment of the trail since planning started in 2007. As Jonathan Davy of the National Park Service said, “it’s all “JRA does a lot to get people on the river, but we also want to about trail visibility, connecting with existing venues and events,” help local entrepreneurs thrive in getting people on the water and especially about getting people outside and on the water.

in ways that will help them get to know the river and why it’s worth protecting,” Silver said. He added that Ostrander’s discoverthejames.com is great for those who want to enjoy the ride. For those who want to get up close and personal with the river, a kayak is best. The number of public access launches and outfitters along the lower James has been steadily increasing. Eco Discovery Park at the Jamestown Yacht Basin rents kayaks for exploring the nearby Powhatan Creek Water Trail, which takes paddlers into a near-pristine landscape teeming with the sights, sounds and rich smells of the tidal marsh. It’s just this kind of experience that trail planners want to encourage, said Davy, An American bald “one that evokes a sense of what it was eagle surveys its like at the time of first contact (between domain on the Europeans and American Indians). What James. did John Smith see back then? What did it look like from the water?” Another way to get a sense of the scale of the river is to take the Jamestown-Scotland ferry that connects “Southside” Virginia to the terminal just above Jamestown. The James here is a mile and half wide, and it is just as important for commerce now, as it was then, to keep goods and services, commuters and travelers moving between the two shores. Just as Jamestown, the Chickahominy River and the James River oxbows anchor the historic trail on the river’s north side, Chippokes Plantation State Park, Hog Island Wildlife Management Area, the Pagan River and Smithfield form the backbone

of the historic trail on the south side of the river. Ultimately, the Park Service and its partners hope that linking these special landscapes — and linking people with the landscapes, will instill a greater appreciation for the Bay and its rivers — and the need to take care of them. “It’s really true,” Davy said, “What people love, they protect.” One of Ostrander’s favorite sayings is, “A man can fish his entire life and never realize that it’s not the fish he is after.” One could say that you could explore the James River historic trail for a lifetime not knowing exactly what you’re after. No matter the point of entry — an interest in history, or fishing, or the quiet of a freshwater marsh at sunrise —opportunities for experiencing the James as Smith once did are growing thanks to the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

Capt. Mike Ostrander leads expeditions for those hungry for fish as well as natural history. / Photo courtesy of Mike Ostrander

working farms in the United States, located in a rural area in Southside along the James. l Trailhead of the Virginia Capital Trail: www.virginiacapitaltrail.org l Chickahominy Riverfront Park:

757-258-5020. River access, camping, boat rentals. l Eco Discovery Park Steve Rose or Kim Berry at 757-565-3699 or info@ecodiscoverypark.org http://ecodiscoverypark.org/home.html Bike, kayak, canoe, stand-up paddle boards for rent; boat launch; marina services.

The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry is free and runs 24 hours a day, year-round.

Adventures on & off the Trail l Historic Jamestowne: 757-229-4997

www.historicjamestowne.org/ Exhibits, archaeology on the site of the original James Fort settlement.

l Jamestown Settlement: 757-253-4838 or

tollfree: 888-593-4682

www.historyisfun.org/jamestown-settlement.htm. Indoor, outdoor living history exhibits highlight the 1600s cultures present in the area. Replica shallop, sailing ships. l Chippokes Plantation State Park: 757-294-3625 chippokes@dcr.virginia.gov or www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/chi.shtml Living historical exhibit, one of the oldest

l Discover the James Capt. Mike Ostrander at 804-938-2350 or Mike@DiscoverTheJames.com. http://discoverthejames.com/ Guided fishing, wildlife, history on the James tours on a 24-foot covered pontoon boat. l Jamestown-Scotland Ferry: 757-294-3354 www.virginiadot.org/travel/ferry-jamestowndirections.asp Free, 24-hour, year-round auto ferry across the James River. l Coastal Canoeists: www.coastals.org/

Virginia’s largest canoeing and kayaking club. Bay Journeys 15

Sail to learn or for leisure

Skipjacks dredge up nautical heritage for guests Raise a sail. Raise a glass. Raise a heap of fresh oysters from the floor of the Chesapeake Bay.

Both rigging, above, and hull design make the Chesapeake skipjack unique.

The Rebecca T. Ruark, built in 1886, sails from Tilghman Island with nautical tales and ecology lessons from fifthgeneration waterman Capt. Wade Murphy.

By L ara Lutz Photos by Dave Harp 16 Bay Journeys

feet in length, with most of the surviving skipjacks coming in at about 45 feet. Skipjacks needed enough strength and power to pull an Venture on board an authentic Chesapeake skipjack and oyster dredge across the bottom of the Bay, even when the you can learn to work like a waterman — or not. The choice is dredge is filled with oysters. As a result, they are rigged with yours. Either way, you’ll have an unforgettable encounter with an unusually large mainsail attached to a very long boom and the Chesapeake’s nautical heritage. paired with a smaller triangular foresail called a jib. The skipjack is unique to the Chesapeake Bay and first be“That’s crucial on a light air day,” said Pete Lesher, chief came a notable presence in the late 1800s. Designed specifical- curator of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. “Only ly for dredging oysters, Chesapeake boat builders produced as the biggest boats would have the power to move the dredges many as 600 skipjacks in the years before World War I alone. across the oyster grounds, and that’s why the main is a very Then, as water pollution, disease and harvesting took their large sail.” toll on Bay resources, watermen began leaving the Bay and The weight of the rig might look odd to someone sailing for many skipjacks went with them. As skipjacks declined, their speed, but Lesher said it was designed with oystering in mind. status as a romanticized Bay icon grew. “If you are a sailboat racer, you’d say it would be better to About 27 skipjacks are in the water today, and many are no have a taller rig with a shorter boom. That’s true if your object longer workboats. A few, like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s is to be windward,” Lesher said. “But watermen typically Stanley Norman, are dedicated to student education programs. work an oyster bar with the wind at their side, going back and But a handful of skipjacks have become Bay ambassadors forth across an oyster bar, never beating to windward.” for the general public, with fun and relaxing cruises that While the rigging is distinct, a skipjack is also defined provide a glimpse of the Bay’s past and motivation to protect its by what’s underwater: the shape of its hull. A skipjack has fragile future. a “V-bottom,” which creates a hard angle between the side Skipjacks are broad wooden boats ranging from 40 to 60 of the boat and its bottom, as opposed to a more rounded, egg-shaped hull. “That made the boat easier to build and cheaper to build,” Lesher said. The V-bottom also gives a skipjack stability. Combined with a broad deck, the design provided a good working surface for hauling in dredges and managing the piles of oysters that accumulated on deck. Skipjacks were a major investment during their heyday, and many were owned in shares. A captain might only own a third of the boat under his command, or none at all. Profits from the harvest were shared, too. In good years, a skipjack team typically included a captain and six crew — three men to work a dredge on each side of the boat. Once the harvest was sold, one-third of the profits went to the boat owners, one-third to the captain, and the remainder divided among the crew. The name “skipjack” is a bit of mystery, and Lesher said the press might be partly to blame. “Skipjack” is a nickname for a fish in the Long Island Sound, and the term was used for other boats at Long Island and elsewhere on the Eastern seaboard. “In 1889, a Baltimore Sun article talks about these new boats in the oyster fishery and calls them skipjacks. It seems like the term may have been misused in the press and it caught on,” Lesher said. Some would say the proper name for a skipjack is a two-sailed bateau, especially on the lower

Skipjack excursions offer a variety of experiences

The skipjack Helen Virginia in Cambridge Harbor, MD. Along with public sails for individuals and families, skipjacks also offer private charters for birthday parties, corporate events, fishing trips and special occasions. Most have programs for school groups. Advance tickets may be recommended or required; call for details. l Rebecca T. Ruark (1886): Sails daily from Tilghman Island with nautical tales and ecology lessons from fifth-generation waterman Capt. Wade Murphy. Fee: $15–$30. www.skipjack.org, 410-886-2176. l Herman M. Krentz (1955): Sails from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD, April through October, captained by waterman

and environmental educator Ed Farley. Fee: $18–$35. 410-745-6080, www.oystercatcher.com or hmkrentz@bluecrab.org. l Dee of St. Marys (1979): Sails from St. George Island in Southern Maryland under waterman and environmental educator Capt. Jack Russell. Note: The Dee is on shore for restoration and may not be available until later in the season. www.skipjacktours.com, 301-994-2245, info@thebaylab.org. l Martha Lewis (1955): Sails from Havre de Grace, June to mid-October, with weekend public cruises. Themed cruises with wine, treasure hunts, lighthouses and moonlight require reservations. “Waterman for a Day,” is offered in the fall. Fee: $10–$20. www.skipjackmarthalewis.org, 410-9394078 or director@chesapeake-heritage.org. l Nathan of Dorchester (1994): The youngest and possibly last skipjack built for oyster dredging sails on the Choptank River from Cambridge, MD, from late April

Eastern Shore. “Before 1960, they would more than likely have corrected you,” Lesher said. Skipjacks held on in Maryland longer than Virginia because Maryland did not allow dredging with motor-driven vessels. “Today’s skipjack owners, those that still work as watermen, will tell you that the use of these boats in modern American fisheries is completely anachronistic,” Lesher said. “They are working a fishery of the past and they are conscious of that. Why do they do it? They love it. There are easier ways to make a living. But these boats do have a certain allure to them.” Some skipjacks offering public cruises are also used to dredge oysters for commercial sale if time allows and the harvest is relatively good. If you sail on skipjacks like the Rebecca T. Ruark, Herman M. Krentz, or the Dee of St. Mary’s, you’ll not only take in the Bay’s dramatic scenery but keep company with captains who have years of experience both working the Bay and teaching their passengers about its ecosystem. Most public cruises last about two hours, and children are welcome. Dredging demonstrations are common, and you can observe the process or jump in to help. For a special adventure, join the Martha Lewis this November for an immersive experience as “waterman for a day.” This trip books fast, so call soon to reserve your spot. But you don’t have to work like a waterman to experience a Chesapeake skipjack. Lots of skipjack cruises are quite leisurely, and you can often bring your own picnic aboard. The Martha Lewis also offers a wide range of themed tours with wine, history, “treasure” hunts for kids, and “Martinis and Moonlight.” This August, the night skies will be treated with

through early November. Public sails and dredging experiences on weekends. Fee: $7–$30. 410-228-7141 www.skipjack-nathan.org, or info@skipjack-nathan.org. l Claud M. Somers (1911): Sails from the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum on Virginia’s Northern Neck, with public sails two Saturdays per month starting on June 16. Fee: $25; reservations required. www.rfmuseum.org, 804-453-6529 or office@rfmuseum.org.

At the Races

l 53rd Annual Skipjack Races & Festival: Sept. 1–3, Deal Island, MD. Parade, car show, music, arts and crafts 4–10 p.m. Sept. 1; 1–11:30 p.m. Sept. 2 & 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sept. 3. Blessing of the fleet & skipjack race: 8 a.m. Sept. 3. l 16th Annual Choptank Heritage Skipjack Race & Arts Festival: Sept. 22– 23, Cambridge, MD. Skipjack race begins at 10 a.m. Sept. 22. Arts festival features free sails on the Nathan of Dorchester.

the unusual occurrence of not one but two full moons. “The second one is called a ‘blue moon,’ so we are going out on that day and offering Blue Moon beer,” said Cindi Beane, director of the Chesapeake Heritage Conservancy, which owns the boat. If your curiosity is roused but you are a die-hard landlubber, stop by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD. On the grounds, you’ll find the skipjack Rosie Parks. Built in 1955, the Rosie is being rescued and restored by a team of volunteers and descendants of the boat’s builder, Bronza Parks, with aims to send her afloat in October 2013. “When it’s finished, it should look like Bronza’s hands built it,” said communications director Tracey Munson. “It’s a piece of Chesapeake history, unfolding right here.”

Capt. Wade Murphy works the sails of the Rebecca T. Ruark.

Bay Journeys 17

Kids connect with animals, not electronics

Make yourself at home at a Lancaster PA farm When I told my 6-year-old daughter that we would be staying on a farm again for her spring break, she was elated. But when I told her I wanted to try a different farm than the one we visited last year, her smile disappeared. “Can we please go back to the Olde Fogie Farm?” she asked. Victoria Lupan, 6 holds a young goat at Olde Fogie Farm.

By Rona Kobell Photos by Dave Harp 18 Bay Journeys

the farm-stay business eight years before that. At Rocky Acre farm, Galen and Eileen Benner have welcomed guests since 1965. Their daughter, Holly Noll, remembers attending one of their regular guest’s bar mitzvah. Now, that man brings his own family three times a year and she was just invited to his son’s bar mitzvah. Farm stays seem to be gaining popularity; places that once opened one room now have guest houses. Lancaster County is within driving distance of more than 10 million people. Many of So when the first week of April rolled around, we packed the car them are searching for a meaningful way to see where their food and drove the 70 miles to the Marietta, PA, farmhouse where we’d comes from because they are so far removed from it, said Joel Cliff, spent three happy days the year before. And just as they had the year media relations manager for the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention before, Biz and Tom Fogie greeted us like family. and Visitors Bureau in Lancaster. Within minutes of our arrival, Maya was playing in a treehouse “The educational aspect of a farm stay, it really remains with next to a stream with two boys close to her age. A couple of hours them. When they get to see how their food starts, I think it provides later, she became fast friends with two newly arrived girls. In the an understanding of how responsible stewardship of the land affects mornings, after the rooster crowed, the under-10 set assembled for them in so many direct ways,” said Cliff, who has spent some happy chores: feeding horses and pigs, bottle-feeding a kid and gathering hours of his own at Verdant View Farm. “Hopefully, people take eggs from chickens. In the evenings, they played under the moonlight those lessons back to their own lives and decisions.” in a playhouse nestled among anise plants and tulips. Meanwhile, The economy’s downslide has affected travel, but not much. Biz Maya’s baby sister took her time happily looking at the llamas. Fogie said some of her regulars will ask for one night instead of two. The adults savored the fresh air and the happy kids. Although our One woman called to book a stay because they couldn’t afford their phones and computers had signals, we didn’t take them out. Some kids covet a trip to Disney; for Maya, there’s nothing more exciting than a trip to “her” farm. And she’s not alone. Many of the farms listed on www.afarmstay.com book up months in advance, often with return visitors. Like Maya, they see no need to explore options when they’ve found a place that makes them smile. “When you’re here, it feels like home,” said Kim Colon, a Queens, New York office manager who was finishing breakfast at the Rocky Acre Farm Bed and Breakfast. It was Colon’s fifth stay; she always comes with her daughter, Samantha, 13. On this visit, she came with friend Diana McAuley, who was also making a return trip to Rocky Acre with her teenage daughters, Ariel and Ashley. On her first visit the farm had just survived a twister, and Colon soon saw how everyone pitched in to rebuild. Then, she saw something even more amazing — baby ducklings being born. Samantha still remembers releasing them into a creek. At home, the Colon and McAuley children said they’re attached to their phones; at Rocky Acre, Ariel said, she only uses hers to take pictures. There is a lot to capture: calves being born, ponies for riding, a tractor to take children on rides and bikes and canoes for exploring in the green hills and streams around Mt. Joy, PA. At Verdant View Farm, owner Don Ranck said visitors often book their rooms for the next year’s spring and summer breaks before they pack their bags for home. Kids love exploring the 115acre dairy farm in the heart of Amish Country. The old-fashioned locomotive from the nearby Strasburg Railroad circles the farm, firmly rooting the area in the past. “We’re filling that need for people to come and truly experience a farm, since there is often no one with a farm they know personally,” Ranck said. It’s not clear how long Lancaster County families have opened their homes and their kitchens to tourists. The Rancks have offered Sadie Langford, 3, holds an egg that she collected from a chicken at Olde Fogie Farm. overnight stays for 37 years — and Don Ranck’s parents were in

regularly scheduled cruise. Two nights and three days at a farm, including gas, tax and meals, costs around $500 for a family of four — less than one plane ticket to an exotic destination. Biz Fogie entered the farm stay business in 1987, after seeing an ad in the paper that a newly formed organization was looking for farms to participate in tourism. With a few thousand dollars of inheritance from her mother, she and her husband renovated one of the home’s front rooms into a small apartment, which they call the Chicken Coop. It had been a natural-foods store where Biz sold her whole-grain bread. Demand grew, and Biz persuaded her husband to let strangers share their common quarters. The first time they allowed guests in their kitchen, Tom Fogie was worried the visitors might rob the place. Instead, the guests — an Australian couple — left a large tip and a nice note. It was then that Tom Fogie decided they could spare another room, and added two rooms and two suites with kitchens. They see close to a thousand visitors a year. Like the Rancks and the Benners, the Fogies have some family help. Their daughter, Vickie, leads the children in the morning chores. Their son, Tom Jr., helps mow the lawn and work the fields. Visitors can see Biz and Tom, both in their 70s, hard at work in their lush gardens and fields. Asked how long she’d stay in the hospitality business, Biz laughed and said, “We’re going to lean on each other, Tom and I, until we each have a cane.” That is no doubt good news to the dozens of guests who have filled up several notebooks with testimonials. One young girl, Rose Hayman, summed it up in her neatest gradeschool penmanship: “I don’t know any place better than Fogie Farm.”

Is there a farm stay in your future?

About two dozen Lancaster County farms offer overnight stays. During peak times, some farms require two— or three-night minimums. They book up months in advance for summer vacations and spring break. Many are closed in winter. Most welcome children, but check to make sure what activities are provided; some are more like vacation homes in the country and others are more of a farm experience. Some offer classes, or connect visitors with an authentic Amish experience. Many don’t allow pets. If you are visiting with children, ask when you check in about any off-limit areas and safety hazards. Bring boots and warm clothes for cold nights, as well as bug spray. Start your research at pa.dutchcountry.com, “Places to Stay.” The site www.afarmstay.com lists more than two-dozen possibilities and lets you search by animal. If a farm is booked, ask them for recommendations. Many farmers know each other.

horses, turkeys, chickens and pigs, bottle-feed a baby goat and gather eggs for breakfast. The lush grounds are small compared with other farms, but they include a fish pond, treehouse, playhouse and stream.

Tom Fogie helps his wife, Biz, cook breakfast for guests at their farm. Often, Biz breaks out in song at the table.

Rocky Acre Farm

Lambs peek out from behind a barn at Olde Fogey Farm. Here are particulars on the three we visited:

Olde Fogie Farm

www.oldefogiefarm.com The farm is about one mile from historic Maytown, and three miles from downtown Marietta and its Susquehanna walking trail. The Turkey Hill Experience, where you learn how ice cream is made (and sample as much as you want) is about six miles away in Columbia. The Fogies offer morning chores, where children feed

www.rockyacre.com Midway between Lancaster and Hershey, Rocky Acre offers hayrides, pony rides, a playhouse and lots of room to run around. Adults can relax and watch the action from porch swings attached to the stone Victorian housing the bed and breakfast.

Verdant View Farm

www.verdantview.com In the heart of Amish Country, Verdant View is a half-mile from the Strasburg Railroad — the tracks run through the farm — and a short walk to the Toy Train Museum and the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum. Verdant View offers morning and evening chores. Guests can milk cows, feed calves, collect eggs, or cuddle with a rabbit. About once a week, a new calf is born. Bay Journeys 19

Pass it on

Shedding light on what makes a great photo

Dave Harp

Picture Perfect

“Rule of Thirds” Visualize a tic-tac-toe grid superimposed over the photo, then place a focal point at one of the intersections. In this image, the reflection is given two-thirds of the space and the boat one-third. The point where the boat and its reflection intersect is roughly located at a cross-point on the grid. Photo / Dave Harp

20 Bay Journeys

Light. Pass it on. That’s pretty much what photographers have done over the ages. We collect light — these days on our digital camera’s charged couple device or CCD — and pass it on via print, computer screen or smart phone.

While the method of capturing an image has changed dramatically since the invention of photography in 1826 and the days of Daguerre, wet plate negatives, and more recently film, the qualities that separate a good photograph from one for the trash can haven’t really changed. If a photograph has a strong center of interest or focus (literally and figuratively), good composition and a nice sense of light, it will rise to the top of the pile or get the most positive reaction on your Facebook page. We live in an age of visual chaos. Millions — or even billions — of photos are made every day around the world. Someone figured out recently that the number of photos made between the invention of photography in 1826 and the beginning of the 20th century is exceeded by the number of photographs uploaded to Facebook in two minutes. Tips in this column will help you sort out the good photograph from the also ran, edit a selection of photographs, retain only the very best, and generally learn to communicate effectively with whatever device you use to collect light and pass it on. Let’s begin with the “rule of thirds.” Most cameras sold today — and all cell phone cameras — are autofocus, and the vast majority have the autofocus sensor in the middle of the viewfinder. More sophisticated cameras, like digital single lens reflex cameras and high-end, point-and-shoot models, give the photographer options as to where to put the center of focus just before pushing the shutter button. However you determine the center of focus, it’s not always good to put the center of focus, or even the center of interest, in the center of the frame. Employing the “rule of thirds” can vastly improve your photo’s composition, though like all rules, exceptions can be pleasing, too. See the image at left for an effective example of this rule, then give it a try yourself. Dave Harp is a veteran photographer of the people and places of the Chesapeake region. His work is regularly featured in the Bay Journal and Bay Journeys.