Existing comment:
Chart of the Head of Navigation of the Potomac River Shewing the Route of the Alexandria Canal
The Alexandra Canal, featured in this nautical chart, formed the southern half of the canal system that connected Cumberland, Maryland with Alexandria. Barges traveled via the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal from Cumberland to Georgetown, and then across the Potomac River by means of the Potomac Aqueduct. The aqueduct enabled the boats to cross the Potomac River without descending to the river level. The Alexandria Canal then ran south from Rosslyn on the western bank of the Potomac.
Lt. Col. Kearney and Capt. William Turnbull, engraving, 1848 |