Belle Plains, Virginia

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Belle Plains landing during the American Civil War Crowsnestcivilwar.JPG
Belle Plains landing during the American Civil War

Belle Plains, Virginia (sometimes spelled as Belle Plain) [1] was a steamboat landing and unincorporated settlement on the south bank of Potomac Creek off the Potomac River, in Stafford County, Virginia.

A landing is a water terminal for river transport lines, such as for ferries, steamboats or cargo ships.

Potomac Creek stream in Virginia, United States of America

Potomac Creek is a 16.7-mile-long (26.9 km) tidal tributary of the Potomac River in King George and Stafford counties, Virginia. Potomac Creek's source lies between the communities of Glendie and Paynes Corner in Stafford County. It empties into the Potomac River at Marlboro Point. Potomac Creek forms as a dam to form Abel Lake.

Potomac River river in the mid-Atlantic United States

The Potomac River is located within the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands into the Chesapeake Bay. The river is approximately 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2). In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the United States and the 21st largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed.

In the early 19th-century, Belle Plains served as landing for steamboats to Washington, D.C.. [2] The landing and its hotel were in turn was serviced by stagecoaches running to and from nearby Fredericksburg, Virginia where passengers would connect with the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. [2] Bell Plains and Potomac Creek fell by the wayside when the railroad bypassed them, reaching Aquia Landing on Aquia Creek as its terminus wharf in 1842. [2]

Washington, D.C. Capital of the United States

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States. Founded after the American Revolution as the seat of government of the newly independent country, Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father. As the seat of the United States federal government and several international organizations, Washington is an important world political capital. The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.

Stagecoach type of covered wagon

A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses.

Fredericksburg, Virginia Independent city in Commonwealth of Virginia, United States

Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,286, up from 19,279 at the 2000 census. The city population was estimated at 28,360 in 2017. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg with neighboring Spotsylvania County for statistical purposes.

Belle Plains again rose to prominence during the American Civil War, where it was used as an alternate supply point to Aquia Landing by the Union Army of the Potomac. It became a lead supply point during the Overland Campaign of 1864.

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. Primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people, war broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Union Army Land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States of America as a working, viable republic.

Army of the Potomac unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War

The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in May 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April.

See also

White House, Virginia human settlement in the United States of America

White House is an unincorporated community in New Kent County, Virginia, United States, on the south shore of the Pamunkey River. White House Plantation, for which it is named, was the home in the 18th century of Martha Dandridge Custis, who as a widow, there courted her future husband, Colonel George Washington. They were married in 1759.

City Point, Virginia Former town in Virginia, United States

City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.

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Stafford County, Virginia County in the United States

Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately 40 miles south of D.C. As of the 2010 census, the population was 128,961. Its county seat is Stafford.

Marine Corps Base Quantico CDP in Virginia, United States

Marine Corps Base Quantico is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly 55,148 acres (86.169 sq mi) of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County. Used primarily for training purposes, MCB Quantico is known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps".

Rappahannock River river in Virginia, United States

The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately 195 miles (314 km) in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west where it rises, across the Piedmont to the Fall Line, and onward through the coastal plain to flow into the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad transport company

The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad company.

Battle of Aquia Creek battle

The Battle of Aquia Creek was an exchange of cannon fire between Union Navy gunboats and Confederate shore batteries on the Potomac River at its confluence with Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia. The battle took place from May 29, 1861 to June 1, 1861 during the early days of the American Civil War. The Confederates set up several shore batteries to block Union military and commercial vessels from moving in the Chesapeake Bay and along the lower Potomac River as well as for defensive purposes. The battery at Aquia also was intended to protect the railroad terminal at that location. The Union forces sought to destroy or remove these batteries as part of the effort to blockade Confederate States coastal and Chesapeake Bay ports. The battle was tactically inconclusive. Each side inflicted little damage and no serious casualties on the other. The Union vessels were unable to dislodge the Confederates from their positions or to inflict serious casualties on their garrisons or serious damage to their batteries. The Confederates manning the batteries were unable to inflict serious casualties on the Union sailors or cause serious damage to the Union vessels. Soon after the battle, on Sunday, July 7, 1861, the Confederates first used naval mines, unsuccessfully, off the Aquia Landing batteries. The Confederates ultimately abandoned the batteries on March 9, 1862 as they moved forces to meet the threat created by the Union Army's Peninsula Campaign. The U. S. National Park Service includes this engagement in its list of 384 principal battles of the American Civil War.

Battle of Cockpit Point battle

The Battle of Cockpit Point, the Battle of Freestone Point, or the Battle of Shipping Point, took place on January 3, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the blockade of the Potomac River during the American Civil War.

Potomac Yard former rail yard in the U.S. state of Virginia

Potomac Yard is a neighborhood in the Northern Virginia that straddles southeastern Arlington County and northeastern Alexandria, Virginia, located principally in the area between U.S. Route 1 and the Washington Metro Blue Line /Yellow Line tracks. The area was home to what was once one of the busiest rail yards on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The "Potomac Yard" name is also used to refer to several developments in the area, especially the Potomac Yard Retail Center strip mall and a planned Washington Metro rail station.

Aquia Creek tributary of the Potomac River in Virginia, United States

Aquia Creek is a 27.6-mile-long (44.4 km) tributary of the tidal segment of the Potomac River and is located in northern Virginia. The creek's headwaters lie in southeastern Fauquier County, and it empties into the Potomac at Brent Point in Stafford County, 45 miles (72 km) south of Washington, D.C.

Four Mile Run stream in Virginia

Four Mile Run is a 9.4-mile-long (15.1 km) stream in Northern Virginia that starts near Interstate 66, at Gordon Avenue in Fairfax County and proceeds southeast through Falls Church to Arlington County in the U.S. state of Virginia. Most of the stretch is parkland and is paralleled by two paved non-motorized transport and recreational trails, the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail and the Four Mile Run Trail.

Crows Nest Natural Area Preserve wilderness area in Stafford County, Virginia, USA

Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve is a large wilderness area located on the southern border of Stafford County, Virginia, United States, between Potomac Creek and Accokeek Creek. The greater portion of the Crow's Nest Peninsula is approximately 3,800 acres (15 km2) and lies within the coastal plain of Virginia. About 2,872 acres (11.62 km2) of the peninsula is protected as part of the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System.

Brooke is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. It is the site of the Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church and Cemetery, and a Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station. Near the VRE station is the Stafford Civil War Park, that was established in April 2013. Along the shores of the Potomac Rivers' Aquia Creek is the Crow's Nest Natural Area Reserve and the Aquia Landing Park.

Aquia Creek sandstone Type of sandstone used in Washington D.C. construction

Aquia Creek sandstone is a type of brown to light-gray freestone used extensively in building construction in Washington, D.C. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Quarried at Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia, the stone was valuable for its ease of shaping and the quarry's proximity to the tidewater portion of the Potomac River, 45 miles south of Washington.

Potomac Creek Bridge

The Potomac Creek Bridge was first built in 1842 by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad across the Potomac Creek in Stafford County, Virginia.

Aquia is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is named for Aquia Creek, which leads to the Potomac River. Nearby historic locations include Aquia Church and the remains of Aquia quarry. Cliffs of the local Aquia Creek sandstone had been visible from the Potomac River near its confluence with Aquia Creek during colonial times. It was quarried to construct many buildings nearby, as well as in Washington, D.C., including the White House, National Capitol Columns and Washington Monument. It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad which was replaced by, CSXT.

Tacketts Mill is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.

Widewater is an unincorporated community in Stafford County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. Located on the banks of the Potomac River, it was the site of the flight experiments by Samuel Langley during the late 19th and early 20th Century. It was a stop on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad which was replaced by, CSXT.

The Potomac Steamboat Company served as the direct water link between the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1845 and 1872. Its predecessor was the Washington and Fredericksburg Steamboat Company, renamed after the RF&P acquired majority control. After May 1, 1872, the connection was made at Quantico Creek.

35th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 35th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the "Jefferson County Regiment", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Widewater State Park is a state park in Virginia, located in Stafford County. Land for the park was purchased in 2006 from Dominion Resources, but the Great Recession prevented development of the property. Ground was finally broken for the new park in 2018 after money was appropriated by the Virginia General Assembly with a bond issue in that year. Current facilities include a visitor center and staff building along Aquia Creek and a soft boat launch and picnic shelter along the Potomac River. A formal opening date in fall 2018 has been set.

References

  1. ↑ The current name of the road leading to the area and the USGS-based National Map here use the "Belle Plains" spelling.
  2. 1 2 3 Correspondent (22 February 1863). "THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.; THE FLYING COLUMN. Potomac Creek and its Landings". New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

Coordinates: 38°20′33.38″N77°19′50.71″W / 38.3426056°N 77.3307528°W / 38.3426056; -77.3307528

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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