The Oyster Wars

 Somewhere Between Baltimore, MD and Baton Rouge, LA

The Oyster exhibit at the Maryland Museum of History and Culture

The Oyster Wars

We are currently on the road but it's my goal to keep fresh content coming to you by way of scheduled posts.  As we explore areas interesting bits of history pop up and I end up doing a deep dive into them and if they are interesting enough I share them with you.  

When settlers first arrived to what now is The New England area they were met by the locals already living here and oysters were one of the things that was shared.  They were plentiful, easy to harvest, and provided good nutrition.  It was a cheap and easy meal.  So easy that they quickly became the poor mans meal as we developed as a nation.  So plentiful and easy to get that people of means were tired of them but this all changed when refrigeration and quicker more efficient travel came about.  Soon oysters were being shipped all over the place and even canned and shipped even farther into the interior of the continent.  Canning, shipping, and refrigeration increased demand for the oyster so commercial oyster harvesting began.  Harvesting quickly become more efficient and oyster beds began diminishing.  This led to Maryland passing laws in 1830 stating that only Maryland State Residents could harvest Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River and they couldn't use dredging.  Virginia continued to allow dredging until 1879.  During this time in 186 Maryland tightened things up again and required annual permits to harvest oysters.  

In 1870, Virginia began passing legislation to regulate oyster harvesting in their waters.  In the 1880s the oyster harvesting industry exploded.  Local oyster beds were depleted which caused clashes between Maryland and Virginia oyster harvesters looking for new beds.  Armed and organized dredgers from Maryland began violating Virginia bans.  This caused Virginia to begin policing their waters hoping to curb illegal oyster farming.  Armed boats would intercept "Oyster Pirates" and with the hopes to prosecute illegal harvesters from Maryland.  On February 17, 1882, Cameron's force (The Governor of Virginia's armed fleet), consisting of the tugboat Victoria J. Peed and the freighter Louisa, engaged pirates at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. The governor's raid resulted in the successful convictions of 41 dredgers and the forfeiture of seven boats. The raid represented the high point of the governor's term.  Later attempts to capture and convict weren't as successful.  These sometimes violent conflicts continued until 1959 when the Potomac River Fisheries Commissioner ordered the fisheries police to disarm after an officer killed a Virginia waterman who was illegally dredging.  

Most of the information was taken from Wikipedia here, but there is also great information in this Covid Era presentation presented by Kate Livie and The Baltimore Museum of Industry.  If this subject is interesting to you watch the 13 minute video.  It really brings the story to life.

That's it for today.  Check back for timed posts and check back on November 6th for updates from Baton Rouge, LA.

If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.