Buzzard Point

Buzzard Point boat slips

Quick Facts

Amenities

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

From this vantage point you can see where the Anacostia River flows into the Potomac. A half a mile in front of you on the night of April 15, 1848 one of the largest escape attempts by enslaved people took place. Under the cover of darkness, 77 freedom seekers boarded the schooner Pearl in an attempt to sail down the Potomac and up the Chesapeake Bay to freedom. Unfortuately, they were recaptured near the mouth of the Potomac River. Known as "The Pearl Incident," the attempt served as a flashpoint leading to the American Civil War and eventual Emancipation Proclamation.