Dan River Civil War Trail Marker
In the 1820s, the Roanoke Navigation Company opened the upper Dan River for batteau traffic, making Leaksville (now Eden) and Madison key river ports. Farmers shipped produce downstream, while merchants received goods in return. Though river traffic declined after the railroad reached Danville in 1856, batteaux remained vital during the Civil War. Confederate authorities used them to transport food, grain, and iron to Danville’s commissary for shipment to Virginia troops. In 1863, Union prisoners mined coal near Leaksville, which was then sent by batteau to heat Danville’s prisons and hospitals. Leaksville Landing served as a key loading site during this period.
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