Petersburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Rohoic Dam

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 1, 2013

1. Rohoic Dam Marker

Inscription. Erected by Genl. R.E. Lee
Aug. 1864

Erected 1914 by A.P. Hill Camp, S.C.V.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Sons of Confederate Veterans/United Confederate Veterans series list. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1864.

Location. 37° 11.882′ N, 77° 26.568′ W. Marker is in Petersburg, Virginia. Marker is on Dupoy Road north of Boydton Plank Road (Virginia Route 142), on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Petersburg VA 23805, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Confederate Fort Gregg (approx. 0.4 miles away); Battery 45 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Fort Gregg (approx. 0.4 miles away); Cottage Farm (approx. half a mile away); Siege of Petersburg—Grant's Eighth Offensive (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Battle of Fort Whitworth (approx. 0.7 miles away); Central State Hospital Cemetery (approx. 0.7 miles away); Southside Virginia Training Center (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Petersburg.

Regarding Rohoic Dam. "The Confederates also strengthened their defenses with the aid of impounded water, called inundations.

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The largest of these liquid barriers confronted the Sixth Corps along Old Town or Rohoic Creek opposite Fort Fisher and to the left of Lane's North Carolina Brigade. Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph Talcott of Lee's staff superintended the construction of this military dam, which rendered asn assault across its expanse utterly impractical." -The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion by A. Wilson Greene

"Confederate engineers began to experiment with new ways to strengthen their defenses as to hold the line with fewer men. They built a dam on Rohoic Creek, which ran parallel to and in front of the Boydton Plank Road Line. Located just downstream from the junction of two branches, it was a large project 300 feet long, 50 feet tall, 100 feet thick at the base, and 30 feet wide at the top. The dam created a large water obstacle in front of this section of the works, stretching half a mile wide and as much as 30 feet deep." -In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat by Earl J. Hess

“They didn't have men enough to form the lines back then [during the siege of Petersburg] to prevent the Yankees from taking Petersburg. So they built a big dam up there [on Indian Town (or Rohoic) Creek, to make a water barrier half a mile long],… named it Rohoic Dam. And it broke. And it washed away everything

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 1, 2013

2. Rohoic Dam Marker

between there and the river. It washed away the canal, it washed away the Norfolk and Western [then the Southside] Railroad.” -How The Canal Aqueduct Fell Down by William E. Trout, III Ph.D.

Rohoic Creek image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bernard Fisher, June 1, 2013

3. Rohoic Creek

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 1, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,049 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 1, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.