The Chesapeake Bay region has played a vital role in the growth of Maryland. From Captain John Smith's early travels up the Chesapeake and the settlement of Jamestown to the agricultural growth of fishing communities, the Bay region has been a major social and economic epicenter. The Chesapeake Bay region has also been the site of battles in both the American Revolution and Civil War.
For more information on Chesapeake Bay history, use the suggested subject headings below to search the online catalog. You may also consult archival collections covering topics related to Bay history, including Shipping and Shipbuilding in Maryland and American History, 1820-1865.
You may also consult the Maryland Map Collection for historical maps of the Chesapeake Bay region.
You can browse this page for a selection of books, available in the Maryland Room, on the following topics:
Image: Ship ARK and pinnace DOVE with about 200 colonists arrive in Maryland Waters, March 1634 (University of Maryland Special Collections, Institute of American Deltiology Postcard Collection, Series 1, Subseries 21, Box 1, Folder 5)
Use these subject terms when searching the University of Maryland Library online catalog. Select "Subject beginning with..." on the drop-down menu. Then enter one of the terms below.
1812: Rediscovering Chesapeake Bay’s Forgotten War by 
A Travel Guide to the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake : eighteen tours in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia by 
Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War by 
Chesapeake Waters: Four Centuries of Controversy, Concern, and Legislation by 
Colonial Chesapeake: New Perspectives by 
Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay and Other Tales of the Lost Chesapeake by 
Maritime Maryland: A History by 
Tobacco Coast: a Maritime History of Chesapeake Bay in the Colonial Era by 
Chesapeake Bay Steamers by 
Chesapeake Sailing Craft : Recollections of Robert H. Burgess by 
Chesapeake Steamboats: Vanished Fleet by 
Maryland’s Skipjacks by 