Evening journal., 1911-11-02

neers, in a recent issue contains an
Interesting article on The Chesa-
peake and Delaware Canal in the
Civil War" written by Major r. R.
Raymond United States Engineer, in
charge Of this district Major Ray
mond has made a deep study OF the
canal and its possibilities since COM
ing to Wilmington. His article is
printed herewith:
During a very interesting lecture
upon a totally different subject, the
lecturer told Of a magnificent mas
onry lock which has been constructed
by the government at considerable
expense, and yet through which only
one vessel passed each way daily.
To him It appeared that Uncle Sam
was extremely generous to the owners
of this vessel He passed on to other
matters, leaving in the minds OF his
audience a distinct impression that
the people has been forced TO pay a /
large sum for the benefit of a few in
dividuals, and that If only his wisdom
has been possessed by the government Z
engineers. this wonderful waste would
not have occurred. The lecturer was
an able minister of the Gospel and /
therefore well qualified to pass upon
problems in engineering and com
merce.
There is a proverb that "They also
serve who only stand and watt; at
least, that is the Substance OF it. The !
mere existence of that lock standing
there practically idle, but ready at
any time to serve, was doubtless saw
ing The people countless thousands
Of dollars day after day through It's
effect upon freight rates of other
systems of transportation I'm the same
section of the country. The purpose
of this very brief article is to sug-
gest that the true value Of water
way is not always apparent, and to
unearth an interesting bit Of history
which tends to show that even the
military importance of such a high
way is not invariably appreciated.
There is a small canal cutting
through the backbone of the peninsula
between Delaware and Chesapeake
bays; its channel is of small dimen-
sions aud its length is less than ia
miles. A great majority Of the people
of the United States are unaware OF
it's existence. High authorities have
pronounced it to be of little military or
naval Importance; and yet someone
must have recognized the urgency for
such a canal, else the herculean task
of cutting such a great ditch through
a ridge 100 feet high by means of the
primitive hand methods Of century
ago, would hardly have been under
taken. nor would the government and
three States have contributed Two
and a quarter millions for the wouk.
In 1906. Captain Philip Reybold
! H. ,HI IN this canal al
Wilmington, Del, and the following
extract from his remarks sheds some
light upon the matter
"On the gath day Of August, 1914,
the battle OF Bladensburg was fought,
and the British under General Ross
and Admiral Cockburn, captured
Washington, burning the Capitol,
White House, and all the public
buildings. The American people do
not want that repeated. II was this
disaster that resulted in the building
of the Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal. and that Is why the govern
ment contributed $450,000 to its con-
structlon"
The canal was completed in 1929,
Int as railroads we're constructed and
, constantly improved. its Importance
became overshadowed, and when the
War of the Rebellion broke out II
had been apparently completely for
gotten by the military authorities at
. Washington. II was Captain Rey-
, holds father. CAPTAIN Anthony Rey-
bold. who. being a maritime man
was well acquainted with the canal
, and who. meeting by the merest
chance and at the psychological
moment an agent of the Federal Gov
eminent, suggested at time OF great
nerll to the country the use OF the
canal so graphically described by
Captain Reybold in the address mem
toned above and quoted below
"On Wednesday the nth day OF
April. 1861. Virginia seeded from the
Union and was starting her troop5
: north to 90 to Washington There
! was not a handful OF troops In that
] citv nor a breastwork thrown up, and
! the Federal Government started It's
{ troops south. You know what hap
= pened in Baltimore on Friday the
= 10th OF April. as the Sixth Massa-
3 chusetts passed through, and that
night every bridge on the Philadelphia.
Baltimore and Washington Railroad
r was burned from Baltimore TO the
! Susquehanna River and totally de-
, stroyed. and the Federal Government
had absolutely no means of transport
, ing troops along the seaboard by
i rail to Washington; in fact, all lana
communication was severed
/, "On Saturday, the 20ths the govern
ment seized all the propeller steamers
in Philadelphia that could pass
through the Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal. and how we'll l remember that
Saturday night as they steamed down
the Delaware River and passed
through the canal, and before day
light in the morning they were at
: Perryville. and just as the sun was
peeping up over the horizon, the
I trains arrived at Perryville with the
=. troops. where they we're rushed on
. board OF steamers and hurried away
j down the Chesapeake to Annapolis
= and by way of Annapolis Junction to
Washington, and when that body OF
troops arrived at the Capital the Con-
federate outposts were at the Virginia
d end Of the Long Bridge, and for the
s next sixty days this Chesapeake and
n Delaware Canal was the whole key
J. to the situation. The Potomac was
closed by a series OF batteries from
+" Aqua Creek 10 its mouth and its
n waters were patrolled by a steamer
called the Page, which the Confed-
/" crates had converted into a gunboat
. C,A,1oa fboro b,I haap