Down on the Chickahominy by Jack Trammell

Author:Jack Trammell [Trammell, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, State & Local, South (AL; AR; FL; GA; KY; LA; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA; WV)
ISBN: 9781625842763
Google: Acd2CQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2009-10-01T17:30:34+00:00

The Chickahominy River behind the train tracks at Lanexa, Civil War era. Courtesy of the author.

Like many places in the South where the opposing armies battled, the environment near and along the river was literally scoured. Homes were burned, crops destroyed or confiscated, families were displaced, bridges were demolished and railroad tracks were pulled up, laid down and pulled up again. River traffic was often interrupted by Union raiders or naval patrols. Animals were hidden in swamps and specially chosen pastures to avoid seizure, and root cellars were camouflaged. Gardens, too, were moved as much out of the line of sight as possible. Gold, silver, family jewelry and cutlery were buried in the ground (not necessarily the best idea in the Chickahominy region, where a high water table and humidity can lead to rapid decomposition of almost anything).

The memory of those times is a collective experience still passed down from one generation to the next. It is also a memory that merges historical truth and collective memory of truth—fraternal perhaps, but far from identical twins.

“I heard about the war from my relatives long before I learned about it in school or read about it in books,” Bill remembers. “That’s the way we learned.”

“There are all kind of Civil War stories,” T.R. said, implying much more.

“If only the river could talk,” Bill said. “It could tell you a lot more about the Civil War than I could.”

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