Flowerdew Hundred
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The American Civil War came to Flowerdew Hundred Plantation, a James River plantation, after the battle of Cold Harbor. The Commanding General of the Armies of the United States Ulysses S. Grant ordered his men to cross the James River in an effort to flank Gen. Robert E. Lee. As part of the Overland Campaign, the Corps of Engineers found a spot with 1,992 feet of river and in a remarkable feat of construction built a pontoon bridge in one evening that set a record for a floating bridge. Grant’s Crossing at Flowerdew or Wilcox Landing as it is also known held this record until 1945 and World War II. At least three corps and a supply train 30-50 miles in length crossed the river in about three days heading for City Point and the Siege of Petersburg.
The site of the pontoon bridge was “found” again in 1986 by Eugene Prince and Taft Kiser. Using Prince’s Principle,[1] a simple 35 mm camera, a cypress tree, and an Alexander Gardner photograph taken in 1864, they were able to place the bridge into the modern landscape.
Today, Flowerdew Hundred plantation has extensive archaeological sites, tours, and a museum. The address is 1617 Flowerdew Hundred Road, Hopewell, Virginia. Closed after October 12, 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ Margaret S. Purser (Sonoma State University) and Eugene Prince (University of California, Berkeley) (November 2005). "The Principle Then and Now: An Update on Photography for Discovery and Scale" (html). The Society for Historical Archaeology. “In 1988 Gene Prince of the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology published a short note in Antiquity entitled "Photography for discovery and scale by superimposing old photographs on the present-day scene." The technique he'd developed was simple, relatively low-tech and low cost, and lent itself to a myriad of applications. Dubbed "Prince's Principle" by Ivor Noel Hume, the technique has had a fascinating if not highly publicized career. In the intervening years, it has been used for purposes of site location, architectural reconstruction, and public interpretation. Experiments have extended the application from historical photographs to paintings and lithographs, and have reproduced the technique digitally for website applications.”
- Hannum, Warren T., "The Crossing of the James River in 1864," The Military Engineer. 1932. Vol. XV. No. 81. P. 229-237.
- Prince, Eugene. "Photography for discovery and scale by superimposing old photographs on the present-day scene." Antiquity. 1988. Vol. 62, No. 234. P. 113-116.
