The day after my visit to Antietam, I was heading further South, and on my way I stopped at Harpers Ferry for a couple of hours. I had actually tied to find it the day before. It was signposted on the Highway, but I could not find it on my SatNav. But I had been unable to find the place. Turns out I had the wrong State set on my device. Harpers Ferry is West Virginia......
It is a historic town in Jefferson County, most famous for John Brown's raid on the armoury, and for its part in the American Civil War.
The Potomac and the Shenandoah Rivers meet here, as do three States. Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It also lies on the Appalachian Trail.
The local librarian was very helpful and suggested the best places to visit in my limited time.
John Brown was a radical abolitionist and with a group of men raided the armoury in Harpers Ferry on the 16th October 1859. He hoped to use the weapons he might steal to begin a slave uprising in the South.
The raid failed, and Brown and his men took refuge in an engine house beside the armoury.
2 days later, troops arrived, negotiations failed and the engine house was attacked. Brown was captured, tried and hanged. The Engine House still stands.
Because of its strategic position, Union and Confederate troops frequently passed through the town. During the war, it changed hands 8 times.
Robert E Lee was determined to control the town, and in the Battle of Harpers Ferry he was successful. The Union Garrison surrendered. 12,419 Union troops were taken prisoner.
This battle was fought just 2 days before Antietam.
By the beginning of the 20th Century, the town had become bit like Coney Island, but its popularity faded. The Great Depression, and serious flooding destroyed the tourist trade.
In 1944, most of the town became a park, Harpers Ferry National Park.
Most of the houses still there are registered Historic houses. It felt like going back in time as I wandered down by the riverside with the old houses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_Ferry,_West_Virginia
http://historicharpersferry.com/
http://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment