Aquia Landing

Aquia Landing. The Railroad. The straight, level road you used to get here was once the bed of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. As its name implies, the railroad ran from Richmond, through Fredericksburg, to the Potomac River, ending here at Aquia landing. Passengers wishing to continue north boarded a waiting steamship here that carried them up the Potomac River to Washington, D.C., 55 miles away., Because of its location on the Potomac River and its proximity to Fredericksburg, Aquia Landing was destined to play an important role in the Civil War. It was the site of one of the war’s earliest military engagements and became a major supply base for the Army of the Potomac in three separate campaigns. , To learn more about the 1861 military engagement at Aquia Landing, follow the trail to your right up the hill to the redoubt overlooking the landing. For more information about Aquia Landing’s role as a supply base, walk down the road on your left, go through the park entrance gate, and continue one-half mile to the sign located at the end of the point. , Sidebar under the left picture: Aquia Landing was the Army of the Potomac’s base of supply from November 1862 through June 1863. Supplies unloaded at the landing were sent by rail to Brooke Station, Falmouth Station and other points closer to the front. Confederates tore up the tracks in 1863. The Union army shifted its supply base to Belle Plains the following year. , Sidebar under the right picture: Locomotives carried men and supplies from Aquia Landing to the front and brought wounded soldiers to the rear. The Genl. Haupt, pictured here, was named in honor of Herman Haupt, who supervised construction and transportation of the Union’s military railroads.