Being a good relic hunter also means being good at conducting investigative historical research. The two go hand in hand, especially when you’re tracing the steps of battle lines that moved around the countryside frequently.
During the Civil War, both armies utilized natural waterways as a means of transporting troops, supplies, and equipment. Most bridges and railroad systems were destroyed early in the war, but natural waterways continued to be a major source of transportation. In Virginia, the James River served as one of these major transportation routes. The James River served as a critical logistics super highway and offered water routes deep into Confederate occupied lands. There were many ports and logistic hubs around the river, and Confederate towns such as Scottsville thrived due to the shipping and transportation needs of the Southern Army.
In the early months of 1865, thousands of Union Calvary soldiers began to make their way down the James River towards the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia. It was near the end of the Civil War, and Confederate forces were trying to escape the pressing Union advance while ensuring that no valuable military equipment was left for them to recover.
Historic accounts speak of this river chase and retreat, but they don’t provide exact locations. The team from “The Civil War Uncovered” stumbled upon a little piece of this history which helped identify potential locations and then started to research the events that unfolded in early March, 1865. Union forces were closing in on remnants of the Confederate Army, and 10,000 Union Calvary soldiers were advancing down the James River, destroying everything in sight and closing off the major transportation route that the James River had offered to the Confederate Army for four years.
Realizing that the Union Army was quickly approaching, the Confederate Army had no choice but to empty the military stores and warehouses before Union forces arrived, with hopes of saving the critical supplies for the likely final defense of Richmond. The warehouses were emptied, and their contents were loaded on to barges which were positioned on the James River. These barges were ordered to make a final push to Richmond using the river as their highway.
Union forces arrived in Scottsville, but the coveted Confederate supplies were already gone. Determined to capture these supplies, thousands of Union Calvary troops mounted up and began the 20 mile chase down the James River towards the town of Columbia. Using the roads that followed the river, the soldiers hoped that the speed of their horses would land them at Columbia before the river barges arrived carrying the Confederate bounty.
River travel was much slower than the gallop of thousands of horses in mad pursuit. Confederates soldiers guiding the loaded supply barges knew that they would not win a “horse vs. barge” race and were faced with a difficult decision. They had succeeded in saving the supplies from capture in Scottsville, but there was no way they were going to beat the speed of horses. It was now obvious that the mounted troops would arrive in Columbia first and would be waiting there to receive the supplies.
Some of these barges were loaded with highly coveted ammunition and powder, and obtaining these military supplies would represent a windfall to the Union Army. There was only one choice to make which ensured these supplies would not end up on the hands of the enemy. Confederate leaders gave the order to blow up the barges, right on the river. The explosions were nothing short of massive. Entire boats loaded with bullets and powder were set afire, and the massive explosions that followed catapulted tens of thousands of bullets into the surrounding area like rain falling from the sky.
There are just a few historical accounts of this activity, and this makes it difficult to determine the exact locations of the action. The team dug through the historical archives and asked around within the local community. A clue was uncovered, and the team had a chance to take the Minelab metal detectors out on private property to see if they could locate some of the blown artifacts. How many barges were blown up? What was on them? Was it possible to pinpoint this exact location? Could this be the location?
Find out by watching The Civil War Uncovered, Episode 3: The Lost Bullet Boat Incident.
David Shackleton
The Civil War Uncovered - The Lost Bullet Boat Incident
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