The Dismal Swamp Canal, hand dug by hired enslaved labor, opened to navigation in 1805. The 22-mile-long canal allowed trade between the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. It also offered passage to escaped slaves and was used by Confederates to ferry supplies. Union troops fought to gain control of it on several occasions, but their grip on it was always tenuous. The adjacent 8.3-mile Dismal Swamp Canal Trail today offers bikers, runners, and hikers a scenic respite. (Joel Zatz/Alamy Stock Photo )
Joel Zatz/Alamy Stock Photo