sentences:  From 1805–1822, they excavated the White Oak Marsh Canal or Hamburg Ditch (now known as Cross Canal), about south of the Virginia line.It was Gates County's water route to the major port of Norfolk, running straight east for through the Dismal Swamp, from a landing on Daniels Road in Gates County to the Dismal Swamp Canal that led to Norfolk.The Cross Canal is no longer a through route, as it was blocked by hurricanes that toppled trees and blocked access.