Poquoson River

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Coordinates: 37°10′1″N 76°23′1″W / 37.16694°N 76.38361°W / 37.16694; -76.38361
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37°10′1″N 76°23′1″W / 37.16694°N 76.38361°W / 37.16694; -76.38361

Poquoson River
Location
CountryUnited States
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationVirginia

The Poquoson River is an 11.7-mile-long (18.8 km),[1] mostly tidal river in the state of Virginia. The river is an estuarine inlet of the Chesapeake Bay, entering just south of the mouth of the York River.

The river flows primarily through

Newport News water supply system that was created by damming its upper reaches, where it turns east, flows under Route 17, and becomes tidal. The river flows northeast and becomes the boundary between York County and the city of Poquoson, reaching Chesapeake Bay just north of the Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge
. It has several tributaries including Bennett Creek, Roberts Creek, Chisman Creek, Lamb's Creek, Patrick's Creek, Hunter's Creek, and Moore's Creek. The creeks are named for families who settled along their banks during the colonial period.

The river's name is probably related to pocosin.[2] The first reference to Poquoson is believed to be in Colonial records of a land grant of 500 acres (200 ha) in New Poquoson to Christopher Calthorpe in 1631 by a court in what became the former Elizabeth City County.[3] This area still known in the 21st century as Calthrop Neck is bounded by the Poquoson River, Lambs Creek, Moore's Creek and Yorktown Road.

Civil War

The Poquoson River became a strategic location for both sides during the

John Bankhead Magruder and the Army of the Peninsula were charged with attempting to stop McClellan. Magruder's plan was to establish three lines of defense stretched across the Peninsula. The first line extended from Ship Point on the Poquoson River to Young's Mill in Warwick County and was anchored in the center by earthworks in the Howard's Mill area. This line was not intended to completely stop the Union soldiers, but to stall them long enough for other fortifications to be built and additional reinforcements to arrive. The second line of defense extended from Yorktown to Mulberry Island
. The third consisted of a series of redoubts in the Williamsburg area. Ship Point was of strategic importance due to its location. Ship Point also had a landing where supplies could be brought in by water from the Chesapeake Bay. The Confederates were also worried about the Union Army going around the first defense line and attacking from the rear or flank so three cannons were positioned where they could fire on any the Union vessels attempting to sail into the mouth of the Poquoson River. The camp was evacuated as the Union forces began their siege of Yorktown and the Confederate forces fell back to the second line of defense.

On April 4, 1863 Colonel

Alexandria
to Fort Monroe then on to Ship Point from which they marched to join the Union lines in Yorktown.

The Ship Point hospital has been described as a large log building. The Ship Point hospital was mainly used as a Civil War version of an evacuation hospital. Patients were taken from the battlefield to the hospital and then embarked on ships to Alexandria. War records reveal that many soldiers died while at the Ship Point hospital. Steamers that had been converted to hospital ships were anchored in Chisman's Creek and the Poquoson River. After Yorktown fell Ship Point was no longer needed as a supply depot or embarkation site. The hospital continued operation until late May. The area remained behind Union lines for the remainder of the Civil War.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011
  2. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4
    . Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  3. ^ "History". City of Poquoson. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
  4. ^ "York-Poquoson History".
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