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38-659: In 1607, the Rappahannock were the dominant tribe of the Rappahannock River valley, maintaining thirteen villages along the north and south banks of the river named after them. Their capital town was Topahanocke (or Tappahannock). They were a peripheral group among the Algonquian -speaking tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy . In spring of that year, when news spread of explorers sailing on

76-401: A Blue Ridge minerality to come through. These oysters are known for being good to consume with wine. The nutritious oysters were eaten on a large scale in 19th-century Washington. They were served fresh, grilled, stewed, or as part of a pie. The name of the river comes from an Algonquian word, lappihanne (also recorded as toppehannock ), meaning "river of quick, rising water" or "where

114-563: A wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains a few miles southeast of Front Royal, Virginia , near the single point where Warren , Fauquier , and Rappahannock counties come together. (Source Coordinates 38°49'40.1"N 78°06'08.8"W.) It flows southeastward, past Remington , Kelly's Ford , and Richardsville , before it is joined from the right by the Rapidan River , its largest tributary . The Rappahannock passes through

152-520: A copper plate on the other side, with two feathers arranged like horns, and earrings made of bird-claws fastened with yellow metal. When the weroance came to the shore, he was playing a flute. He escorted the explorers to his camp following a tobacco ceremony. The settlers were confused about the native names. For some time they referred to the Quiockohannock, who lived south of the James, as

190-766: Is an anglicized version of "Moraughtacund", the name of a Native American tribe whose primary village may have been on or near this site. The Moraughtacunds and their site were discovered by Captain John Smith in 1608. He would mediate a feud between the Moraughtacunds and their neighbors, the Rappahannock tribe . The Moraughtacund tribe moved further west by 1650. In 1706, the site was deeded by Joseph Ball I , who originally purchased it in late 1698. He began building Morattico Plantation, also referred to as Morattico. In 1711, Joseph Ball I would die, and

228-417: Is thought to have originated from the second Morattico Indian Reservation. Frog Pond is a swampy area located westside of Mulberry Creek Road. A well that provided water to many residents from the 18th century to the mid-20th century was located in its northwestern boundary. Carpenter's Landing is an area used as a boat landing from both the early 19th century and early 20th century. It is located between

266-479: The James River , their weroance took a party and rushed there. They stayed with their cousins, the Quiockohannock, and sent word requesting audience with the newcomers. The weroance and explorers met on May 4. George Percy wrote a vivid description of the weroance , whose body was painted crimson, and face was painted blue sprinkled with silver. He wore a red deer-hair crown tied around his hair knot and

304-575: The Tappahannock . After Captain John Smith was captured in December 1607, he was taken northward to the Rappahannock capital. He was told that they wished to see if he was from the same nation that had attacked them some years earlier (possibly the Spanish); however, they determined that he was not. In 1608 Smith returned to the Rappahannock and mediated a feud between them and their neighbors,

342-524: The 1650s, when colonists began settling along the river, the Rappahannock withdrew from the southern bank; their weroance Accopatough deeded the land east of Totuskey Creek to settlers just before he died in April 1651. His successor Taweeren confirmed the deed in May. Their main town in 1652 was 2 mi (3.2 km) up Cat Point Creek. By 1653, English settlers were moving into the region in such numbers, that

380-656: The Moraughticund. The Rappahannock seldom appeared in English colonial records. Colonists attacked them in 1623 in retaliation after tribes attacked settlers in and near Jamestown in the Indian massacre of 1622 . When the Second Anglo-Powhatan War of 1644–1645 broke out, the colonists seem to have viewed the Rappahannock as independent and outside the conflict, and did not attack the people. In

418-711: The Rappahannock River was referred to as "Hedgeman's River". A 1736–1737 survey labeled the Rappahannock above the mouth of the Rapidan as "Cannon", and further upstream it was identified as "Hedgeman's River," named after Nathaniel Hedgeman, an early settler of the region. Morattico Morattico is an unincorporated former post office town along the Rappahannock River in Lancaster County , Virginia , United States. It sits across Mulberry Creek from Belle Isle State Park . "Morattico"

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456-535: The Rappahannock River, considered by the tribe as sacred. The Rappahannock use Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium for a variety of uses. They take an infusion of the roots for chills, smoke an infusion of dried leaves or dried stems in a pipe for asthma , and chew the leaves recreationally. Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia , in the United States, approximately 195 miles (314 km) in length. It traverses

494-512: The Rappahannock incorporated in 1921; their first chief was George Nelson. The Commonwealth of Virginia officially recognized the tribe in January 1983. In 1998, they elected Chief G. Anne Richardson , the first woman chief to lead a Native American tribe in Virginia since the 18th century. The tribe did not have a reservation, and during the centuries had intermarried with other ethnicities in

532-470: The Rappahannock to demonstrate tribal continuity as required for federal recognition. For more than two decades, persons who were of mixed race had been classified as black in records, despite identifying culturally as Rappahannock. Rappahannock men, Robert Percell Byrd, Oliver W. Fortune and Edward Arnell Nelson were drafted as “colored,” they refused to serve and were convicted and jailed. Upon release and classification as conscientious objectors, they served in

570-423: The city of Fredericksburg . Southeast of Fredericksburg, the river begins to slow and widens into a brackish tidal estuary approximately 50 miles (80 km) long. It passes two small, important historic, river towns, Port Royal and Port Conway , which developed opposite each other, the former on the south bank, the latter on the north. The last navigable points for ocean-going ships, they were early ports for

608-564: The city reached for their futures, crossing the river to gain freedom behind Union lines. This exodus and its "Trail of Freedom" was commemorated in 2010 by installation of historical markers on both sides of the river, in Fredericksburg and in Stafford County. The exodus to freedom is now celebrated in an annual re-enactment starting in Fredericksburg. In some 18th- and 19th-century documents, including some Civil War records,

646-803: The colonial era, early settlements in the Virginia Colony were formed along the river. During the American Civil War , due to the river's acting as a barrier to north–south troop movements, it effectively functioned as the boundary of the eastern theater of the war, between the "North" (the Union ) and the "South" (the Confederate States of America ). It was at the center of a major theater of battle where tens of thousands of troops fought against each other. In this period some 10,000 enslaved African Americans escaped to freedom across

684-437: The colony assigned the tribe reserved land. They also committed to build Taweeren an English-style house. Disputes between the two groups continued. In November 1654, a group of colonists visited the tribe to demand restitution for damages, but a brawl ensued in which Taweeren was killed. Border disputes continued under his successor Wachicopa. In 1662, the Virginia Colony fixed the Rappahannock boundaries at Cat Point Creek on

722-563: The confluence of the Rappahannock and the Rapidan. Known as the Germanna settlement(s), these villages were founded in order to exploit the iron ore deposits of the region. During the War of 1812 , the Battle of Rappahannock River was fought on the river. Seventeen British boats filled with hundreds of marines and sailors captured four American privateers . During the American Civil War ,

760-840: The entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west where it rises, across the Piedmont to the Fall Line , and onward through the coastal plain to flow into the Chesapeake Bay , south of the Potomac River . An important river in American history, the Rappahannock was long an area of occupation by indigenous peoples, including the Rappahannock Tribe . Similarly, during

798-577: The export of tobacco, the major commodity crop. As it flows past Tappahannock on its southern bank, the river is well over a mile wide. The last settlements of any size before it reaches the Chesapeake Bay are Irvington , Urbanna , Stingray Point , and White Stone Beach . The broad river enters the Chesapeake Bay approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of the mouth of the Potomac River and approximately 60 miles (97 km) east of

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836-547: The military as medics. But on January 12, 2018, federal recognition was granted to the Rappahannock Tribe through the passage of the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017, in addition to five other landless Virginia tribes who had suffered from similar documentation and discrimination issues. In 2022, the Rappahannock Tribe reacquired Fones Cliff , 465 acres of land along

874-560: The plantation after her death in 1849. Around 1850, the original dwelling was dismantled by Downman himself. From 1864 to 1868, Downman lost his ownership of the site, and his creditors would purchase the plantation. Decades later, the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane would reportedly cover the first floor of all buildings in the Morattico area except for the Morattico Plantation itself. L.C Thrift would then dismantle

912-549: The plantation after his father, Joseph Ball Downman's death. Eventually, James W.P Downman would die at a young age in 1834, leaving neither an heir nor a will. In 1835, his surviving siblings petitioned to have Morattico Plantation to be divided into eight equal parts, which succeeded. From 1835 to 1845, George William Downman and Sarah Downman purchased most of the plantation. George William Downman would die at an unknown date, leaving his share to Sarah Downman, his sister. Littleton Downman Mitchell, Sarah's nephew, would inherit

950-483: The plantation in 1935, using some materials from it to construct a two-story farmhouse. The Village of Morattico Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. The Morattico Waterfront Museum chronicles the history of Morattico and is located on the site of the original Morattico Wharf that operated from 1889 to 1933. The Norwood Church was established in 1893 with

988-491: The plantation would be inherited by his son Joseph Ball II. However, the site would mainly be run by Joseph Chinn, Ball's nephew, due to Joseph Ball II's primary residence in England. After Joseph Ball II died in 1760, the plantation's ownership was transferred to his daughter, Frances Ravenscroft Ball Downman. Her son, Joseph Ball Downman would take over the site after her death in 1782. In 1799, James W.P Downman inherited

1026-502: The point where, geologically, continental bedrock of the Piedmont meets the sedimentary rocks and alluvial soils of the coastal plain. It is usually the last navigable portion of a river from the sea. Spotswood encouraged settlement in a river valley other than that of the James. In 1714, he began recruiting Protestant immigrants from the Rhineland-Palatinate and Switzerland to homestead on lands he controlled near

1064-399: The present church being built in 1897. It is located east of the local village and north side of Morattico Road. The denomination of the church is Baptist and it contains a cemetery. Mulberry Creek is a 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile long tidal stream that enters the Rappahannock river around 26 miles above the river's mouth. Morattico Creek is a body of water located in the town. Its name

1102-649: The rapids are Class I and Class II in difficulty, but, near Remington, there are some rapids that are considered to be Class III. The river's watershed is protected in various places as parcels of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge . The oysters that thrive in the estuary of the Rappahannock River are the least salty oysters of the East Coast. They are renowned for their sweet and smooth flavor, described as almost buttery. The low salinity allows

1140-496: The region. But they had a community and identified as Rappahannock or Indian. By the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 , Virginia enforced a binary system of a one-drop rule , classifying all persons as "white" or "colored", and even requiring changes to vital records to reflect this. Most of the Rappahannock and other Native Americans lost their records as "Indian" after this law was implemented. This made it difficult for

1178-778: The ridge between the Mattaponi and Rappahannock rivers. The Virginia Colony ordered them to merge with the Portobago Indians on the Upper Rappahannock in Essex County, Virginia , supposedly for protection from the marauding Iroquois Seneca nation . The Seneca had invaded the area from their base in western, present-day New York as part of the Beaver Wars . Rappahannock descendants continued to live there. The Nanzatico ( Nantaughtacund ) lived across

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1216-567: The river changed hands many times during the course of the war. Significant battles fought along the river include the Battle of Fredericksburg and two Battles of Rappahannock Station . The defensive line at the river was finally circumvented by General Ulysses S. Grant in the Wilderness (or Overland) Campaign of 1864, ending in the ultimate Union victory. During and after the first battle at Fredericksburg in late December 1862, about 10,000 enslaved African Americans from area plantations and

1254-656: The river from them, and until 1705 (when the colonial legislature outlawed Indian slavery) colonists deported the Nanzatico as slaves to the West Indies . The Rappahannock Tribe consists of a few hundred descendants of the allied Algonquian Rappahannock, Morattico ( Moraughtacund ), Portobacco, and Doeg tribes, who merged in the late 17th century. Most live in Essex , Caroline , and King and Queen counties. To solidify their tribal government to seek state recognition,

1292-403: The river to Union lines, after the first Battle of Fredericksburg . The river drains an area of 2,848 square miles (7,380 km ), approximately 6% of Virginia. Much of the watershed is rural and forested. Development in the area has increased since the late 20th century with the southward expansion of the metropolitan Washington, D.C. suburbs. The Rappahannock River rises at Chester Gap ,

1330-423: The river, with few convenient fords and fewer bridges, provided a barrier and defensive line behind which movements of troops could be accomplished with little fear of attack from the river-side flank. It was an especially difficult barrier for Union troops to overcome in their attempts to thrust into southern Virginia, as they were vulnerable to attack while trying to cross the river on temporary bridges. Control of

1368-481: The state capital, Richmond . At the point where the river enters the bay, between Windmill Point, on the north, and Stingray Point , on the south, it is more than 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide. This estuary , south of the Northern Neck peninsula, is a productive oyster and crab fishery. Above Fredericksburg, the Rappahannock provides fine opportunities for recreational canoeing and kayaking . Most of

1406-470: The tide ebbs and flows," the name used by the local Rappahannock tribe . In 2018 it became one of the federally recognized tribes in Virginia. Although a few small hamlets developed along the lower Rappahannock during early colonial times, the settlement of the Rappahannock River valley began in earnest during the first years of the eighteenth century, at the urging of Governor Alexander Spotswood . The James River had been surveyed up to its fall line ,

1444-483: The west and Totuskey Creek on the east. The Rappahannock gave up trying to defend their homeland and moved away; by 1669 they were settled at the headwaters of the Mattaponi River with 30 bowmen (and likely about 100 people in total). In 1677, the Rappahannock joined the briefly resurrected Powhatan Confederacy of Cockacoeske , but broke away again in 1678. In 1684, the tribe numbered only 70 total, located on

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