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The Lights are not Safe

Karen Stone, Division Manager of the St. Mary's County Museums, will give a special seminar highlighting the role of the Potomac River and lighthouses during the American Civil War.

The Potomac River has always been busy, but in the 19th century, it got considerably busier and more hazardous with the introduction of steamships. The River was also full of dangerous shoals and narrow turns, making it necessary to install aids to navigation, including lighthouses and light vessels.

By the start of the American Civil War, six aids of various types were in use on the Potomac between Alexandria, Virginia and Piney Point, Maryland. All of these aids were targeted by the Confederates at one time or another. Foxhall A. Parker, Commander of the Potomac Flotilla, wrote “while there are so many rebel sympathizers in Maryland and on the eastern shore of Virginia none of the lighthouses there located are safe.”

Join us as we explore the conditions on the Potomac River during the Civil War, especially in reference to the lighthouses and light vessels, and the dangers they faced.

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