 On November 16, 1861, the Union Army quickly marched south from the
Maryland line and occupied the Eastern Shore of Virginia unopposed.At the same time shore
parties from three Union ships came ashore on Saxis to obtain supplies.After the Union gained control of the Eastern Shore, local tradition holds, at least two vessels from Saxis engaged in blockade running, carrying supplies to Confederate troops in Virginia on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.