Lunsford Point in Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Potomac River Oyster Wars

Photographed by J. J. Prats, July 13, 2026

1. Potomac River Oyster Wars Marker

Inscription. Disputes over harvesting oysters in the Potomac River fueled violence between local watermen and Maryland’s fisheries police for many decades. Conflicts escalated after World War II as watermen violated Maryland law by dredging, rather than tonging, for oysters. When detected, they raced toward shallow waters with armed patrol boats in pursuit. After Maryland officers killed Virginian Berkeley Muse near here in April 1959, the fisheries police underwent extensive reforms, and the two states and the federal government finalized an agreement to regulate the river. In 1962 the U.S. Congress created the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, bringing an end to the era of violence.

Erected 2022 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number JT-24.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Law Enforcement. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1959.

Location. 38° 13.913′ N, 76° 57.663′ W. Marker is in Colonial Beach, Virginia, in Westmoreland County. It is in Lunsford Point. It is at the intersection of Irving Avenue and Monroe Bay Avenue, in the median on Irving Avenue. It is in

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the small triangular park with Castlewood Drive on two sides and Irving Avenue to the north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1617 Irving Ave, Colonial Beach VA 22443, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Northern Neck.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

in the Chesapeake Bay Region,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lunsford Point (a few steps from this marker); Colonial Beach Roll of Honor (approx. 1.2 miles away); Skiff (approx. 1.3 miles away); Journey's End (approx. 1.4 miles away); Monroe Creek (approx. 1.4 miles away); James Monroe's Legacy (approx. 1.4 miles away); The Monroe Doctrine

Photographed by J. J. Prats, July 13, 2026

2. Potomac River Oyster Wars Marker

Photographer is standing on Irving Avenue

(approx. 1.4 miles away); "Era of Good Feelings" (approx. 1½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Colonial Beach.

Regarding Potomac River Oyster Wars. Water boundaries between jurisdictions are usually drawn down the middle of the waterway. This is not the case for the boundary between Maryland and Virginia along the Potomac River. The entire river belongs to Maryland, all the way to the low water mark on the Virginia side. Why? Because in 1632 King Charles I granted the second Lord Baltimore the land that became Maryland, with the southern boundary explicitly set to the far southern bank of the Potomac.

Therefore fishing in the river by Virginians was governed by Maryland then, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission now. All fishing and pleasure boats docked on the Potomac must show Maryland registration stickers to this day.

Also see . . .
1. The Oyster Wars of Chesapeake Bay. 2017 book by John Wennersten. Excerpt:

Besides, recalls Calvin Dickinson, a retired waterman, "There were so many police on the river that you couldn't make any money drudging oysters." Unless the boys from Colonial
via Wikimedia Commons. By Schell and Hogan in Harper's Weekly, March 1, 1884

3. “Pirates Dredging at Night”
Beach stopped making the oyster police "so damned crazy," warned the mayor, somebody was liable to get badly hurt.

A few weeks later a Virginia dredger was rammed so hard by a Maryland police boat that his stern fell off. The speed of the boat was enough to keep the water out until the dredger slowed down to beach her. The boat sank immediately. The Maryland oyster police reported coyly that the stern had merely "fallen off during a high-speed pursuit."

Also at this time [Maryland] Governor McKeldin sent a fast, specially equipped PT boat into the Potomac to work in concert with the patrol boat Honga River. McKeldin also announced that Maryland was abrogating the Compact of 1785 and would take full control of the river. Henceforth, he declared, an oysterman on the Potomac would be subject to the laws and governance of Maryland, and oyster pirates would be tried exclusively in Maryland courts. The final version of the abrogation bill passed the Maryland legislature in the spring of 1957. Shortly afterwards the Tidewater Fisheries Commission announced that it was in full control of the river
Via Wikimedia Commons. Sketch by Frank Cresson Schell published in Harper's Weekly, January 9, 1886

4. An Engagement in the Oyster War on the Chesapeake
and now expected “a quiet time on the Potomac."

(Submitted on July 16, 2026.) This website may earn income if you use this link to make a purchase on Amazon.com.

2. The Death of Berkeley Muse and the Last Oyster War. 2017 blog entry by FuzzySoul in Paddling in Southern Maryland. Opening quote:

“The worst one I remember was when they killed that fellow [Berkeley Muse] from Colonial Beach out there dredging in the nighttime. And he was a spectator, he wasn’t a waterman, he was a furniture man over in Virginia, but he just went out with his friend [Harvey King] to watch him. And I suppose the policemen had been watching King and one thing and another. It was in the nighttime, and they claimed the boat was running from 'em and they shot the boat. Was three policemen and one or the other of em killed him, I don’t know which it was.” —Clem Chedeldine Slackwater IV

(Submitted on July 16, 2026.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 16, 2026, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 27 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 16, 2026, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.