For the tribe, see Chickahominy (tribe)

Chickahominy (tribe)

The Chickahominy are a tribe of Virginia Indians who primarily live in Charles City County midway between Richmond and Williamsburg in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This area is not far from where they lived in 1600....

.

The Chickahominy is an 87 miles (140 km) river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the eastern portion of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. The river rises about 15 miles (24.1 km) northwest of Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 and flows southeast and south to the James River

James River

The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...

. The river was named after the Chickahominy Indian tribe

Chickahominy (tribe)

The Chickahominy are a tribe of Virginia Indians who primarily live in Charles City County midway between Richmond and Williamsburg in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This area is not far from where they lived in 1600....

 who lived near the river when it was claimed by English colonists in 1607.

During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 (1861-1865), the upper reaches became a major obstacle to Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 General George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...

's Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...

, a failed attempt in 1862 to capture the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 capital of Richmond. Docile, narrow, and relatively easily crossed during dry weather, after periods of rain, it grows across a flood plain with swamps as much as a mile across. The Chickahominy was in flood stage and divided the Union Army during crucial periods, despite continuous efforts to build and maintain bridges by the United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

. Other battles were fought nearby again in 1864.

In modern times, the lower Chickahominy River has become a major source of drinking water for the lower portion of the Virginia Peninsula

Virginia Peninsula

The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...

 and a popular recreational area for boating and sport fishing, featuring Walker's Dam and Chickahominy Lake. It serves as a border for the Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area

Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area

Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area is a protected area located in Charles City County, Virginia. The only Wildlife Management Area located in the coastal plain of tidewater Virginia, it received its name from the Chickahominy River, which forms its eastern boundary...

.

Geologic definition

The Chickahominy River is a Coastal Plain

Atlantic Coastal Plain

The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...

 tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 to the James River

James River

The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...

 with headwaters northwest of Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. For its first 15 miles (24.1 km) the Chickahominy flows over igneous and metamorphic bedrock of the Piedmont

Piedmont (United States)

The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...

, but soon becomes a Coastal Plain stream near Mechanicsville

Mechanicsville, Virginia

Mechanicsville is the name of four places in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States of America:*Mechanicsville, Hanover County, Virginia*Mechanicsville, Loudoun County, Virginia*Mechanicsville, Rockbridge County, Virginia...

. The low-gradient

Gradient

In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar field is a vector field that points in the direction of the greatest rate of increase of the scalar field, and whose magnitude is the greatest rate of change....

 Chickahominy sluggishly flows through broad swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

y lowlands for 40 miles (64.4 km) from Henrico County

Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 to eastern New Kent County

New Kent County, Virginia

At the 2000 census, there were 13,462 people, 4,925 households and 3,895 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 per square mile . There were 5,203 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...

. 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Providence Forge

Providence Forge, Virginia

Providence Forge is an unincorporated community in New Kent County, Virginia, United States. It was one of the earliest settlements in the county and the site of a colonial iron forge that was destroyed by British General Banastre Tarleton during the American Revolutionary War.Nearby, the...

 the Chickahominy River becomes an estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 and makes a turn towards to the south.

When sea level was higher during warmer (non-glacial) periods in the Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

 the Chickahominy was a much broader river. The ancient riverbanks and meander loops are still recognizable. As sea level rose after the last glacial interval (during the last 20,000 years) the Chickahominy has also risen causing old flood plains and valleys to be backfilled as marshes.

History

In 1607, Captain John Smith, one of the Jamestown

Jamestown, Virginia

Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...

 settlers, sailed up the Chickahominy in the hope that it would prove to be a passage to the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. There, he was captured by warriors of the Chickahominy tribe and taken to meet Chief Powhatan

Chief Powhatan

Chief Powhatan , whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh , was the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Virginia Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607...

, an event that led to his legendary rescue by Powhatan's daughter, Matoaka (Pocahontas

Pocahontas

Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...

).

In the 19th century, the Chickahominy was bordered in many places by swampy forests, which during heavy rains and spring thaw were covered with water as to be almost impassable. At such times, the river's normally narrow path could grow to be as much as a mile wide. This small river became a major obstacle and natural force to be dealt with during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 (1861–1865).

1862: Peninsula Campaign

In the spring and summer of 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...

, General George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...

 pushed a Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 force up the Virginia Peninsula

Virginia Peninsula

The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...

 from Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...

 at the mouth of Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 in an attempt to capture the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 capital of Richmond. After McClellan's troops had taken Yorktown

Yorktown, Virginia

Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....

 on the York River

York River (Virginia)

The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...

, his army followed the retreating Confederates, and gained another victory over them on May 5, 1862, at Williamsburg

Battle of Williamsburg

The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War...

, the old colonial capital, which was located on high ground between the York and James Rivers about ten miles (16 km) below the mouth of the Chickahominy. The Confederates then retreated northwest and crossed the Chickahominy near the point where New Kent, Henrico, and Hanover counties border each other, in modern times known as Bottoms Bridge

Bottoms Bridge, Virginia

Bottoms Bridge is a small unincorporated community in New Kent County, Virginia, United States. Located on U.S. Route 60 and State Route 33 in modern times, it was named for a crossing of the Chickahominy River between New Kent and Henrico County....

. A portion of the Union army followed them, while other portions remained east of the river.
Not long after the Union forces were astride the apparently docile Chickahominy River, a period of heavy rains came on and the river and swamps were so flooded that they became almost completely impassable. The Union army was thus cut in two; for though the two halves were only a short distance apart, their only means of reaching each other was by a bridge many miles away.

General Joseph E. Johnston

Joseph E. Johnston

Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career U.S. Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...

, who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

, resolved to attack the two (of five) corps

Corps

A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...

 that were south of the river and destroy them before the rest of the army could come to their aid. The attack was made in two places, at the railroad station of Fair Oaks

Fair Oaks, Virginia

Fair Oaks is an unincorporated community located in Henrico County, Virginia. Fair Oaks Station was located on the Richmond and York River Railroad and played a role in the Peninsula Campaign in 1862 during the American Civil War. A major battle was fought nearby, known variously as the Battle of...

 and (about a mile away) at the crossroads of Seven Pines. (The battle is often referred to as the Battle of Seven Pines

Battle of Seven Pines

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen....

 in the North, Fair Oaks in the South.) At first the Union troops were driven back and almost beaten, but meanwhile the soldiers on the other side of the Chickahominy had succeeded in building a bridge, and several thousand men hurried over to help, driving the Confederates back. General Johnston was severely wounded (May 31). The next day the attack was renewed at Fair Oaks, but the Confederates were again defeated and they retreated in disorder to Richmond.

It is surmised that if General McClellan had followed them into Richmond, he would have probably taken the city. Instead, he advanced slowly and cautiously, thinking the Confederate forces there were much larger. The slow advance gave the Confederates time to build forts and to receive reinforcements. In a few weeks, the Confederates had nearly as many men as the Federals, and their army was now commanded by General Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....

.

General McClellan up to this time had received his provisions and supplies by the way of the York River

York River (Virginia)

The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...

, and his base (that is, the place where his provisions were landed) was at White House on the Pamunkey River. He also heavily depended upon the recently completed Richmond and York River Railroad

Richmond and York River Railroad

Richmond and York River Railroad was completed between Richmond, Virginia and West Point, Virginia in 1861. The western terminus was adjacent to Richmond's Tobacco Row...

 to supply his forces.

General Lee's army now recrossed the Chickahominy southwest of Mechanicsville, trying to get between the Union army and White House and so leave the Union army without provisions. Instead of trying to prevent this, General McClellan resolved to change his base to Harrison's Landing

Berkeley Plantation

Berkeley Plantation, one of the first great estates in America, comprises about on the banks of the James River on State Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia. Berkeley Plantation was originally called Berkeley Hundred and named after one of its founders of the 1618 land grant, Richard Berkeley...

 or City Point

City Point, Virginia

City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...

 on the James River, about 30 miles (48.3 km) east of Richmond. To do this, he had to unite his army on the west side of the Chickahominy and march toward City Point.

The Confederates had already attacked the Union Army at Mechanicsville on the east side of the river, but after the bloody battle they were driven back (June 26). A still more bloody battle was fought on the next day at the Battle of Gaines' Mill

Battle of Gaines' Mill

The Battle of Gaines's Mill, sometimes known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War...

, 5 miles (8 km) from Mechanicsville near a crossroads called Cold Harbor. There General McClellan had left a rear-guard under General Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter

Fitz John Porter was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War...

, while the rest of the army crossed the river. But the rear-guard was attacked so fiercely that many thousands recrossed the river to help it, and even then it was hardly saved from a terrible defeat. At night the rear-guard crossed the river, and the whole army was united on the west side (the side nearest to Richmond).

They might easily have taken most of the city, for General Lee and most of his army were still on the east side of the Chickahominy, and farther away from Richmond than McClellan was. But McClellan still supposed that a large army was defending the city, and they began to retreat towards City Point

City Point, Virginia

City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...

, fighting as they went. At Savage's Station

Savage's Station, Virginia

Savage's Station was the wartime name of a supply depot, ammunition dump, field hospital, and command headquarters of the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War...

, east of Fair Oaks

Fair Oaks, Virginia

Fair Oaks is an unincorporated community located in Henrico County, Virginia. Fair Oaks Station was located on the Richmond and York River Railroad and played a role in the Peninsula Campaign in 1862 during the American Civil War. A major battle was fought nearby, known variously as the Battle of...

, they had a large hospital and many military stores. The stores were burned and a train of cars loaded with bombshells was set on fire; at the same time the engine was started, and as the train rushed off the shells exploded, until the cars reached a broken bridge, where they plunged into the river. Soon after the Confederates attacked the Federals at the station and drove them away, capturing the hospital with 2,500 wounded soldiers (June 29).

On the next day they made another fierce attack at Frayser's Farm

Battle of Glendale

The Battle of Glendale, also known as the Battle of Frayser's Farm, Frazier's Farm, Nelson's Farm, Charles City Crossroads, New Market Road, or Riddell's Shop, took place on June 30, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the sixth day of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War.The...

, where a bloody battle was fought without much advantage being gained on either side. Finally (July 1) almost the whole Confederate army attacked the Union army at Malvern Hill

Battle of Malvern Hill

The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the seventh and last day of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable...

, but they were beaten back with terrible slaughter and the Union army reached Harrison's Landing in safety.

The battles fought by Lee against McClellan from June 25 to July 1, 1862, are often called the Seven Days Battles

Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...

. The Union loss during this time was 15,200; the Confederate loss, 19,400.

1864: Overland Campaign

On June 3, 1864, a second battle was fought at Cold Harbor

Battle of Cold Harbor

The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles...

, between Union army under General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 and the Confederates under General Lee. The Confederates had much the smaller army, but they were in strong entrenchments, where the Union army attacked them. After one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the Unionists were driven back, leaving the ground covered with dead and wounded.

Walker's Dam

About 22 miles (35.4 km) upstream from the confluence with the James River is Walker's Dam. Its construction resulted in the creation of the 1200 acres (4.9 km²) Chickahominy Lake.

Walker's Dam was built in 1943 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 by the U.S. War Department to ensure an adequate water supply for the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and other military operations on the lower peninsula.

It is now owned by Newport News Waterworks, a regional water utility that serves more than 400,000 customers in Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and parts of York and James City counties. The Chickahominy River is the utility's primary water source.

Crossing of Rt. 5 near mouth

Near the mouth of the river and its confluence with the James River

James River

The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...

, State Route 5

Virginia State Route 5

State Route 5 runs between the independent cities of Richmond and Williamsburg in the U.S. state of Virginia. Between Charles City County and James City County, it crosses the Chickahominy River via the Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge, a fixed-span bridge which replaced historic Barrett's Ferry and...

 crosses the river on the Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge

Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge

Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge is a fixed-span bridge which carries State Route 5 across the Chickahominy River between Charles City County and James City County in eastern Virginia. It connects popular tourism destinations of the James River Plantations with Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown...

, a fixed-span bridge between Charles City County

Charles City County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

 and James City County

James City County, Virginia

James City County is a county located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. Its population was 67,009 , and it is often associated with Williamsburg, an independent city, and Jamestown which is within the...

 built in 2009. It replaced a swing-span movable bridge

Swing bridge

A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...

 that was built in 1939. The new $33.6 million fixed-span began construction in 2007 and opened on January 24, 2009. Located just west of the previous structure, it rises to a height of 52 feet (15.8 m) and includes a separate pathway for the Virginia Capital Trail

Virginia Capital Trail

Virginia Capital Trail is bicycle and pedestrian trail between Williamsburg, Jamestown and Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States...

 project.

The clearance for recreational boats used to be 12 feet (3.7 m) when the bridge was in the closed position. Vehicles on the highway were also limited by a 13'11" clearance restriction. The bridge was built on wood pilings and became increasingly troublesome mechanically and expensive to maintain as it aged.

Fishing

Fishing is a popular sport along the Chickahominy, both above and below Walker's Dam. Among the most populated are blue catfish, largemouth bass, river herring, striped bass

Striped bass

The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...

, shad

Shad

The shads or river herrings comprise the genus Alosa, fish related to herring in the family Clupeidae. They are distinct from others in that family by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. The several species frequent different areas on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea....

,bowfin fish and yellow perch

Yellow perch

The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...

.

Rowing

The Rowing Club of the College of William and Mary

College of William and Mary

The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

 in nearby Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...

 and James City County practices on the river.