The balance of sea-level rise and sediment and organic matter accumulation affect the sustainability of tidal marshes along the Chesapeake Bay. The objective of this study is to quantify the factors controlling accretion and thus carbon sequestration in restored tidal marshes at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Soil samples were collected along multiple transects to characterize the initial carbon and nitrogen distributions in these cells on a natural marsh and a marsh restored in 2003 with coarse-textured sediments. Preliminary results indicate that the natural marsh has greater mean concentrations of soil C 29.2% and N 1.4% than does the restored marsh, 17.8% C and 0.8% N. The volume of C is greater in the restored marsh (3.4 g cm-3) than the natural marsh (2.4 g cm-3) due to the presence of A and C horizons with higher bulk densities. O horizons are not significantly different between cells while A and C horizons have lower concentrations and similar volumes of C and N. The policy challenges of acquiring carbon credits for terrestrial carbon sequestered in restored marshes will be discussed.