Civil War & Reconstruction
Civil War
Stafford's Confederate Year
Potomac River
Potomac River
Confederate States Signal Corps and Secret Service operatives occupied camps near key Potomac crossing points and rowed across in sleek, fast row-boats with amazing speed by taking advantage of light and shadows on the river. Those captured by waterborne Federal patrols were usually able to dump secret information or material and/or illicit supplies. As a result, the Federal army and navy never grasped the system’s complexities.