Western Trails

Civil War Trails: Harpers Ferry

Article by Tom Straka
Photographs by Pat Straka

There would be many places to start the Civil War trail and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia would have to be one of them. It is at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and this made it one of the hubs of early American history. The town is a mixture of picturesque public and private buildings and is a National Historical Park that goes all the way back to a ferry operated by Robert Harper and his heirs from the mid-1700's to 1824 when a bridge was built across the Potomac. Surprisingly, much of the historical park deals with the multi-layered history of the town and not just one important incident. But, yes, there is plenty about John Brown also.

Inside the Wax Museum.  John Brown is captured.

Harpers Ferry is a patchwork of historical sites, museums and displays, and complementary private attractions (like a wax museum and bookstores) and restaurants. The thing most likely to be etched in your mind is the intense natural beauty of the place. One of the best views if from Jefferson Rock high above the town, where Thomas Jefferson viewed the water gap in 1783 and wrote: "The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature. You stand on a very high point of land. On your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Patowmac in quest of a passage also. In the moment of their junction they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder and pass off to the sea." A developed trail now leads to Jefferson Rock.

The location made Harpers Ferry a magnet for human activity starting with Native Americans who used the gap for travel and transportation. The rivers were a source of water power and the hardwood forests a source of charcoal for fuel and heat. Harpers Ferry slate is an excellent building material. George Washington, first president of the Patowmack Company, spend time at the gap determining the need for a bypass canal and in 1794 he championed the site as ideal for a new federal armory and arsenal.

The Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers at Harpers Ferry.

John Brown's Raid

John Brown was one of the most controversial figures in American history. In late 1859 John Brown and his 21-man strong "Provisional Army of the United States" commandeered the arsenal and armory at Harpers Ferry with the intention of arming slaves and creating an uprising. Local militiamen surrounded Brown and his men and a battle ensued. Most of Brown's men were killed or escaped before 90 U.S. marines (led by Col. Robert E. Lee) arrived by train from Washington, D.C. The marines stormed the engine house where Brown and his men were cornered and killed or captured the remaining invaders. Seventeen men were killed in the raid: two slaves, four townsmen, one marine, and ten of Brown's men. One newspaper reported that "the Harpers Ferry invasion has advanced the cause of disunion more than any other event that has happened since the formation of the government." John Brown was hung about a month and a half later. His words from the gallows were prophetic: "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it be done." Civil war was now inevitable.

John Brown's Fort. The old armory fire engine house where John Brown and his men held off local militia and U.S. marines for three days. The marines ended up battering down the door and capturing Brown and a few of his men. It is located near its original location.

The Civil War

Harpers Ferry was a strategic location during the Civil War and three battles were fought there. It was located on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley. Within 24 hours of Virginia seceding from the Union, federal troops attempted to burn the armory and arsenal in order to keep them out of Confederate hands. The town changed hands between North and South eight times during the war. In 1861 Bolivar Heights, just west of Harpers Ferry, saw a 6-hour battle that resulted in a Union victory as they held the Heights. In early 1862 an attack by General Stonewall Jackson on Harpers Ferry also resulted in a federal victory. In late 1862 Harpers Ferry played a role in the Battle of Antietam during the South's first invasion of the North. Before Lee could progress through Maryland, federal troops garrisoned at Harpers Ferry to the south had to be addressed. Lee sent General Stonewall Jackson to eliminate this threat. The Battle of Harpers Ferry resulted in the capture of over 12,500 Union troops, the largest single capture of federal troops in the War. Much evidence still exists within the historical park of Civil War battles and the Bolivar Heights battlefield is preserved as part of the park.

Transportation and Industry

The arsenal made Harpers Ferry an industrial center. John H. Hall pioneered the interchangeable machine-manufactured firearm In Harpers Ferry, giving the town some claim to the development of modern manufacturing technology. Plus the town had an array of smaller industries, like lumber, flour milling, machining, cotton milling, tanning, and an iron foundry.

Nature made it a transportation hub; the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Winchester and Potomac Railroad, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal all converged at the gap. Transportation in the nineteenth century meant trains and boats. Harpers Ferry had both. The historical park museums have multiple exhibits on the history of transportation and industrial development at Harpers Ferry.

Africa-American History

The first black person in Harpers Ferry was a slave owned by Robert Harper. By the time of John Brown's raid, ten percent of the town's population was black. When the Union army controlled the town, it served as a refuge for runaway slaves. The ex-slaves lived in "contraband camps" or tent cities not far from where John Brown was captured. Their fate depended on which side controlled the town. After the war, Storer College, an integrated school intended to educate freed slaves, was established. Frederick Douglas was on the Board of Trustees. In 1906, the Niagara Movement, founded by Dr. W. E. B. De Bois and other leading Africa-Americans, held its second conference at Storer College. The Niagara Movement was the forerunner of the NAACP.

Visiting

Harpers Ferry is located at the intersection of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia. It is only 60 miles from Washington, DC and less than 20 miles from Antietam National Battlefield. The historical downtown is mainly small museums in various buildings and private gift shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions. Parking downtown is limited, but if you get there before 9:00 a.m. you ought to be able to find a parking spot. Give yourself at least a full day.

Streets in Harpers Ferry are quaint and picturesque. On some streets you feel like you are back in the 1800's.

There are probably ghosts in Harpers Ferry. This might be John Brown's ghost in a shadowy window. Or, perhaps it has something to do with the wax museum upstairs.

For more info:

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park http://www.nps.gov/hafe/index.htm

Harpers Ferry Historic Town Foundation http://historicharpersferry.com

Harpers Ferry Historical Association http://www.harpersferryhistory.org

The Battle of Harpers Ferry http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/harpers-ferry.html

Author: Thomas J. Straka is a forestry professor at Clemson University in South Carolina.