But Does It Taste Like Chicken: Cockpit Point & The Tale of Virginiaโs Poultrygeist
Virginiaโs tourism motto โVirginia is for loversโ can easily be expanded to encompass history, and as you drive through our state, you may idly wonder what happened at certain places. For example, why is there a Cockpit Point?
According to Prince William County Park & Recreation (encompassing Historic Preservation), Cockpit Point Civil War Park contains the only remaining Potomac River battery and from October 1861 to March 1862, the Confederate earthworks, four massive batteries and connecting trenches helped the soldiers succeed in diverting almost all shipping destined for Washington, D.C. Prince William County Historian Rob Orrison wrote a brilliant blog about the actual battle and continuing preservation efforts and you can find it here via the Emerging Civil War blog and/or watch a virtual tour here.
(Library of Congress:ย Fry, Joshua, Approximately, Peter Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferys. A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina, 1755, link in citations)
Although the HDVI archives thoroughly acknowledge the importance of this strategic site, they also contain an interesting paper regarding the lore of Cockpit Point pre-Civil War. Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson identified โCock Pitt Ptโ above the Town of Dumfries in their 1755 Map โA map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina.โ According to J.P. Haynes, who presented a speech to HDVI on 05/05/1977 titled โSaga of Cockfighting at Cockpit Pointโ, people located an iron ring measuring about 12 feet in diameter with an iron 12-inch flange in 1914 giving more credence to the cockfighting lore. According to Mr. Haynes, Irish immigrant Gerr Shaw (aka Cockspur Shaw, Cockpit Shaw) infamously renowned throughout the Tidewater, held mighty and very popular cockfights at his riverside farms. Besides for his inability to refrain from illegally holding matches, he christened one of his most aggressive animals โThunderboltโ, eventually earning the title Thunderbolt โ Champ of the Patowmackโ. Haynes stated, โSuch became the reputation of the Champ that, when there was a thunderstorm with overmuch thunder, folks would proclaim, โThe Champโs on the loose again.โโ
Cockfighting in Virginia was a popular form of entertainment. Ebenezer Hazard, the person who insulted Dumfries in his travel journey (related blog post here), recorded the practice in 1777 writing, โHorse-racing & Cock-fighting seem to be the principal Objects of Attention between Williamsburgh & Smithfield at present.โ He later noted that Virginians were โโฆmuch addicted to Gaming, drinking, swearing, horse-racing, Cock-fighting, & most Kinds of Dissipation.โ Cockfighting was popular pre-Civil War, especially towards the end of the 18th century as Mr. Hazard observed. Men bred their gamecocks to be aggressive and even strapped weapons onto the roosters, such as finely honed spurs. People used matches to conduct social and political business as well commonly meeting with friends and neighbors. Shaw purportedly penned โscrappy natured roostersโ together and he placed any resultant chicks in special brooders until they showed aggressive behaviors โ they then received additional observation. Thus โThunderboltโ was born.
(Prince William County Park & Recreation, Historic Preservation: Cockpit Point Civil War Park)
Officials condemned the fights and tried to prohibit and eliminate them, especially after the Revolutionary War when it was viewed as a crude connection to British practices and customs. Eventually, American society condemned the fights more widely as inhumane and the ASPCA along with other groups actively work to stop this illegal practice โ spectating an event is illegal in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Haynes concluded with the following, โIt has been told, even today, if one should be strolling on the River shore on a moonless Sunday night in Spring, the ghost of Gerr Shaw may be seen at the site of the old cockpit, looking for Thunderbolt, his infamous Champ of the Patomack.โ
Note: Mr. Haynes wrote both โPatowmackโ and โPatomackโ in his original 1977 speech. Archaeologists dated a Patawomeck settlement on the Potomac Creek to around 1300. Although English encroachment in Virginia started in the early 1600s, the English actively began patenting Patawomeck land in the 1650s. Due to various factors, including disease and dispersal, the English continued and eventually declared war on the tribe. The tribe received formal recognition from the state of Virginia in 2010 after a two-year battle to assert their identity, following decades of discrimination.
Program with a Sprinkle of Luck: Continuing with the light note of folklore, please join us for Januaryโs Members First Program: New Years Superstitions on Saturday, 01/09/2021 @ 10am. This free virtual program discusses popular New Year superstitions along with the lore behind common phrases and practices! Your free ticket comes with no pressure or commitment to join the organization โ just to relax and have a safe creative morning! Free tickets here.
(Sources: HDVI Archival Files: Haynes, James P. Saga of Cockfighting at Cockpit Point, 05/1977; Prince William County Government, Cockpit Point Battlefield Study;ย Fry, Joshua, Approximately, Peter Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferys.ย A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolinaย [London, Thos. Jefferys, 1755] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/74693166/; Colonial Williamsburg Online Publications: Crews, Ed. Once Popular and Socially Acceptable: Cockfighting, Autumn 2008; ASPCA: Animal Cruelty/Other Animal Issues: Cockfighting)
