Trade and Transportation on the Tidewater
1. The Bay at the Beltway
For centuries, humans have relied upon the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for numerous purposes, including transportation and trade. From the smaller vessels utilized by Native Americans through the larger English ships and later the steamboats to the pleasure craft and workboats of the modern era, the water played a crucial role in shaping the history of the region.
2. The Colonial Period and the Triangular Trade Route
A hilltop that overlooked the Patuxent River with an adjacent creek that made for an ideal location for a wharf served as the perfect vantage point in 1703 when James Bowles had the original hall and chamber manor house constructed. Bowles and later the Platers would have watched as larger vessels traversed the Patuxent. During the Colonial period sites like Sotterley were engaged in the Triangular Trade, which connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Large cargo ships would sail from Europe to the west coast of Africa brought with them manufactured goods including textiles, firearms, and alcohol. These ships then traveled across the Atlantic on what is referred to as the Middle Passage or the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Humans who were held captive were loaded below deck and chained for the trek across the ocean to the Americas- a voyage that lasted months. James Bowles was an investor in the Royal African Company- a company that played a major role in the African slave trade in the English colonies. Slave ships including one known as “The Generous Jenny” would dock at wharves and ports throughout the English colonies including here establishing a link between the history of slavery and that of transportation and trade on the Tidewater. The slave trade became extremely profitable for many including the planter elite and was a source of revenue for them in addition to the sale of cash crops. For the members of our descendant’s community whose ancestors were enslaved, sites like Sotterley serve as a reminder as to how and why their ancestors were brought here. The final leg of trip involved these ships returning from the colonies to Europe with raw materials and cash crops including hogs head barrels filled with tobacco.
3. Southern Maryland at War and the Pursuit of Freedom
The Tidewater region would become the setting for two major conflicts- the Revolution and the War of 1812. Naval blockades were utilized as aa means of putting a halt to trade between the colonies and later fledgling nation, with other non-British trading partners in an attempt to decimate the American economy. Sotterley, like other Tidewater plantations, experienced both the presence of British troops on their doorstep but also the economic hardship that a lack of trade and commerce resulted in, in addition to this the British would often encourage the enslaved to elope or to take their freedom by joining them. Between the two wars approximately 60 enslaved men, women, and children left Sotterley on British ships.
The Civil War was another conflict that directly affected the lives of those who lived and labored in the Tidewater region. The Chesapeake Bay and her tributaries had longed served as a vital means of trade connecting the urban centers of the north with the cash crop producing plantations of the south. During the war, a blockade that once again limited trade was put in place crippling the economy of places like Southern Maryland both during and after the war. During the 19th century, steamboats along with the railroad introduced a modern era in transporting people and goods. Steamboats revolutionized travel and transport and expanded it to include leisure and entertainment. For the second half of the 19th century and into the 20th century, Sotterley was one of many steamboats stops and what is now a peaceful site was filled with the hustle and bustle of people coming and going.
5. The Satterlees at Sotterley
Other large ships continued to enter into Sotterley Creek in addition to steamboats. Financier, JP Morgan, whose daughter Louisa owned Sotterley in the early to mid-20th century with her husband, Herbert was known to have docked his yacht the Corsair in the creek.
6. Workboats on the Water
Workboats have also played a significant role in the history of trade and transportation in the Tidewater. From early dugout and log canoes to bugeyes used for dredging for oysters, deadrises and skiffs, dory boats, and others were once a common site that can still be spotted from time to time. For many in Southern Maryland prior to the development in the 20th century working on the water was one of the leading sources of employment- especially as the demand for crabs and oysters increased.
7. Transportation, Trade, and Tourism on the Tidewater
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the emergence of the railroad. The Chesapeake Beach Railway that reflected a modernization of how people and goods were transported to and from Southern Maryland. The railroad served as a way to link Washington, D.C. with tourist sites-including resort towns along the water.