By Amy Scanlin
Photos courtesy of the Eastern Shore Maritime Museum
For many thousands of years a tiny bi-valve has captured our culinary senses. Greeks were the first to cultivate oysters amidst broken shards of pottery and Roman emperors traded oysters for gold. But, closer to home, and in more recent times, oysters have also been a catalyst for battle: Tongers vs Dredgers, Virginians vs Marylanders, sailing vessels vs motorized boats, watermen vs packers. 
The history of these battles on the Chesapeake Bay stretches as far back as the early 1800s when oystermen aboard schooners known as Pungies (with two-raked masts, deep draft and a V-hull), Bugeyes, (with two-raked masts, shallow draft and centerboard) and sloops known as Skipjacks, (with a raked rigged mast, long boom, shallow draft and centerboard,) plied these shimmering waters, maneuvering in and out of reed-filled bays and cultivating the oyster habitats.
In those days, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, tonging was the preferred method of harvesting. Just as it sounds, Tongers sailed aboard schooners and sloops, plunging two long poles into the shallow waters to bring up their catch in a rope and metal basket affixed to the tong’s ends. Life was good for the watermen, and minus the infractions of an occasional poacher or two, they largely enjoyed a peaceful life of hard yet honest work tending to their nets and craft. The oysters were prolific, and in Onancock, Virginia, the oyster capital of the Eastern Shore, there were plenty to go around. That is, until the late 1800s.
With the introduction of the dredging technologies, the ability to scoop up significant numbers of oysters began to threaten their population. In fact, Francis Winslow predicted, after a first ever scientific survey of the Chesapeake oysters resources in 1878, that the oyster population was in decline. His warnings went largely unheeded and by 1881 there were 5,800 oyster vessels based out Virginia alone. Around this time, Virginia passed the Oyster Bill outlawing dredging in attempt to slow down over harvesting.
The Victoria J. Peed
In 1882, with dredgers now outlawed, poachers cast out in schooners to raid the oyster grounds at night. Virginia Governor, William E. Cameron, in an effort to bolster his popularity with the working class, declared war on these oyster pirates with the help of his “bi-valve buccaneers”. The battle lines were drawn and a plan was hatched to ward off the invaders. During the wee hours of February 17, 1882, Governor Cameron and the Norfolk Militia set out from Richmond aboard the tug Victoria J. Peed in the direction of the Chesapeake. They were followed by a small freighter, Louisa and their destination was the Rappahannock River where dredgers had been seen catching oysters. As the ships approached the river, they saw them: One sloop and six schooners. Cameron, as a ruse, had the Peed take Louisa under tow as they approached the dredging vessels.
Suddenly, Peed fired on the schooners at the order of it’s Commander, General Groner. Two schooners surrendered immediately, but one sped away with Peed in pursuit. After a 35 mile chase, the schooner Kirkwood was caught, though it’s commander, Captain Crockett, protested any knowledge of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Louisa captured the rest of the oyster pirates and Governor Cameron declared the attack a success, with $15,000-$20,000 in 1882 dollars captured between the boats and oysters.
Though Cameron gained political capital from the battle, the effects were brief for it was soon determined that most of the pirates hailed, not from pesky foreign ports, like those in Maryland, but from Onancock itself.
Two years later, with rumors of more illegal dredging surfacing, Governor Cameron sought his revenge, sending two Virginia steamers to intervene. Of the reported 60 dredging schooners, only eight were apprehended, one of which was the Maryland, though her captain and crew escaped in a row boat. The rest had been reportedly tipped off by a passing tug. Cameron captured five boats that day, a seeming success. However, humiliation again set in after an invited stowaway reporter from the “Norfolk, Virginian” who was to report on the attack’s success, published the fact that all of the illegal dredging action had again been undertaken by watermen from…. Onancock.
It wasn’t just official government action that tried to stop the oyster raids. When Onancock resident, Mr. Charles R. Lewis, heard in 1889 that nearby Smith Islander dredgers were raiding the oyster grounds at his Virginia land lease at the mouth the Potomac River, Lewis threatened to sink them. Hiring another Onancock-native, Captain Russell in command of the tug Ida Augusta, the illegal schooner was spotted, rammed and sunk. The schooner’s captain and crew were duly taken to the authorities, where it was discovered that they hailed from from… Onancock.
Today, the oyster wars continue, not just in Onancock but across the region, though with new technologies and opposing sides. Military-grade radar watches for poachers in the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster sanctuaries and wealthy homeowners struggle with oyster growers and working-class watermen. This tiny bi-valve continues to captivate and cause struggle for those who seek to balance preservation with a way of life.
More can be learned about the history of Virginia’s Eastern Shore Oyster Wars at the Eastern Shore Maritime Museum, 6 College Ave, Onancock, Virginia. Find them on Facebook.
Special thanks to museum director, Dr. Paul L. Ewell, for providing his invaluable insight.