History of The Grand Old Ditch

THE C & O CANAL DURING THE
CIVIL WAR: 1861–1865

Research for the U.S NPS by Harlan D. Unrau
Prepared by Karen M. Gray
Edited to HTML by Barry A. Boyd

 

 

INTRODUCTION

A study of the Civil War experiences of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company indicates a continuation of the ups and downs that had characterized the history of the waterway since the 1830s. The immediate effects were almost all negative. During the early war years the canal failed to share in the general prosperity which came to the northern States. One reason for its failure to secure much of the increased trade was that it was not a through route to the west, thereby limiting its portion of the heavy east-west traffic. Also, it's geographical location was unfortunate because its entire line was on the border between the Union and the Confederacy. Consequently it's trade was greatly reduced and it's works alternately occupied and/or destroyed by the opposing forces. The resulting irregularity of it's services as a carrier argued against large-scale use of it by the government or by private shippers. Furthermore the financial straits in which the company continually labored were a serious obstacle to the progress of the canal.

The only direct advantage derived from the war was the large demand for coal. Of the 15.5 million tons of coal mined in the United States in 1860, nearly 60 percent was Pennsylvania anthracite while the remainder came from the Appalachian fields of Maryland and Virginia (including West Virginia). A specialized “super-coal,” Maryland’s product was particularly suited for New England textile mills and for steamship bunkering, and it had been used successfully for smelting iron. Thus, with Virginia coal no longer available to the northeastern market, Maryland’s contribution became increasingly important to the Union cause. Yet the company had to wait over two years before its carrier was sufficiently clear of the battle zone to permit long periods of uninterrupted navigation.1

In the long run, the war both encouraged and discouraged hopes for improved business prospects. The year 1863 marked a definite financial turning point in canal affairs as profits rose sharply to levels well above those of the prewar years. For a decade after the war, the net income of the company rose measurably with regularity unknown to the disaster-ridden canal. It should be noted, however, that during the conflict a sizeable portion of the increased profits were the result of the neglect of the physical condition of the canal and of rising toll rates during the inflationary period, rather than by a marked increase in trade.

In other important ways, the war record was even less bright. Markets were affected differently. The lucrative flour trade, which was already passing to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1860, was finally and definitely lost as a result of the unreliability of canal navigation during the war. The coal trade, on the other hand, improved steadily toward the end of the conflict, and by 1865 it had become, for all practical purposes, the sole support of the Canal Company. Accounting for more than 90 percent of the trade on the waterway, the traffic in coal came to bear a great weight in canal affairs. When technological improvements later enabled the railroad to compete more successfully for the trade, the Allegany County coal companies forced toll reductions which deprived the canal of its profits before the trade was lost.

The physical condition of the waterway deteriorated greatly during the hostilities. Years passed before the masonry structures were properly repaired and the trunk restored to its original dimensions. As a result of the suspension of improvements, the canal was becoming outmoded and incapable of meeting the demands of an enlarged business. When improvements became unavoidable during the next fifteen years, the company found itself without the tremendous sums required. At best, the prosperity of the latter war years merely arrested the inevitable decline of the canal. At worst, the war indirectly hastened the end, while causing much incidental anguish to those that depended on it for a livelihood.2

1 Katherine A. Harvey, “The Civil War and the Maryland Coal Trade,” Maryland Historical Magazine, LXII (December, 1967)
2 Walter S. Sanderlin, “The Vicissitudes of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal During the Civil War,” Journal of Southern History, XI (February, 1945)

THE CANAL PRIOR TO THE OUTBREAK OF WAR
Section I

Section Index