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The Potomac River insulated Washington DC from artillery batteries that could have at some point in the war been mounted to actually shell the capital from the shores of Virginia. For a time, early in the war, Southern artillery batteries did slow down sea traffic that would use the river to bring supplies to Washington DC. This opportunity, however, did not last long, and with Alexandria, Virginia soon occupied by the North. The Potomac River, however, did have fording points northwest of the city that did allow raiding forces from the South to cross and recross it multiple times during the four years of the war.

By and large, however, the river did not effect the outcome of the US Civil War.

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Q: Why was the Potomac River important in the US Civil War?
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