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Thursday, March 17, 2011

View of Rocketts Landing from Libby Hill - 1860s

With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War approaching, I thought it was a good time to post the first Civil War era photo on the blog. This view of Rocketts Landing and the James River was taken between 1861 and 1865 from Libby Hill.


Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress

1 comment:

  1. The Library of Congress has clearer print on their site. The wreckage in the river on the left is the steam engine of the CSS Patrick Henry, Confederate Navy schoolship which was scuttled by the old gasworks. The aft end of the ship on the ways is the wooden hull intended for the ironclad, CSS Texas which was towed to Norfolk soon after this picture was taken. The double ended steamers to the right are salvaging the remains of the Confederate Navy wooden gunboats which carried Rafael Semmes and his naval command upriver after they blew up the ironclad James River Squadron at Drewry's Bluff. You can see a canal boat on its frame to the left of the old brick warehouse that used to be called "Byrds Warehouse."

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