June 28 - Baltimore to Delaware City, DL

Neil Kraay joined us today for the trip to New York City. Due to the last minute cancellation of his flight, he ended up arriving a few hours late. At 12:00 Noon we were able to finally depart and returned to the Chesapeake. As we cruised to the north, it became more windy and the clouds became darker. It was the making of a good thunderstorm. We were very fortunate that the storm passed by quickly. We were headed to the small town of Delaware City, our overnight stop. This small town is located along the shores of the Delaware River, just north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. When the C&D Canal opened in 1829, Delaware City was the eastern terminal of the canal and site of one of the four locks (see above). Teams of mules and horses were available to haul the boats through the narrow canal and locks. The canal became too small and in 1929 a new canal was dug with the entrance 2 miles south of the old canal. Across the river of Delaware City is Fort Delaware on Pea Island.During the Civil War it was used to hold Confederate prisoners - the last ones to be released in 1866. The fort was reactivated during World War II to house German prisoners of war.