Harpers Ferry Main • Tour the Battlefield
Harpers Ferry is a place of conflict, both natural and man-made. The Shenandoah River joins the Potomac here, forcing a narrow gap through the mountains that surround the town. The United States Armory and Arsenal was the most important of the several industries that took advantage of the water power, drawing John Brown and his raiders to the town in 1859 and Virginia militia in 1861. The strategic Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ran through the town and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal paralleled the Potomac on the opposite shore, both vital supply routes and vulnerable targets.
John Brown’s Raid made Harpers Ferry the scene of fighting even before the start of the war. When Virginia left the Union its troops concentrated here as it became the northern frontier of the Confederacy. The city changed hands many times in the Civil War and saw numerous clashes. The largest was the siege and battle in September of 1862, when Stonewall Jackson captured 13,500 Federal troops in the largest surrender of American forces until World War II.