Published for the Members and Friends IN THIS ISSUE: of the Harpers Ferry David L. Larsen Historical Association Memorial Fund Spring 2012 Update “Harpers Ferry Under Fire” 2012 Civil War Sesquicentennial Published Park Entrance Fees Special Events Increased “Stonewall Stopped: Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign” May 26 – 27 “Prelude to Freedom: The 1862 Battle of Harpers Ferry” September 13 – 15 he National Park Service will com- preceded Abraham Lincoln’s memorate two significant 1862 Civil September 22, 1862 signing of TWar events at Harpers Ferry National His- the Preliminary Emancipation torical Park in 2012. On May 26 and 27 Proclamation which shifted the ranger-led programs will guide visitors purpose of war and ultimately through Union General Rufus B. Saxton’s led to the freedom of four mil- successful defense of Harpers Ferry dur- lion enslaved Americans. ing Stonewall Jackson’s 1862 Shenandoah From September 13 to 15 Valley Campaign. The event, Stonewall this event, Prelude to Freedom: Stopped: Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign, will The 1862 Battle of Harpers also include living history and family/youth Ferry, will feature living his- activities. tory, ranger-led programs, Several events are being planned for family/youth activities, special September to mark the 150th anniversary of hikes, bus tours, lectures, panel Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North. discussions, and book signings. One day following the Battle of South There will also be special Mary- Mountain and just two days before the land Campaign lectures with authors Scott Battle of Antietam, over 12,000 Union Hartwig and Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust. soldiers surrendered to General Stonewall Mark your calendars now for these Jackson at Harpers Ferry. All of these battles special event weekends. The Calamities of War: Harpers Ferry in 1862 The Union officer partly responsible for raid. Friends feared for her safety. The picture which appears altering the Harpers Ferry landscape in 1862 on our newsletter’s nameplate, Tyndale accepted the precarious duty. dating from 1803, is one of the was not a stranger to the town. In 1859, He traveled to Harpers Ferry and met oldest prints of Harpers Ferry. Hector Tyndale, a Philadelphia business- Brown’s coffin when it arrived by train Twenty years earlier, in 1783, man with anti-slavery sympathies, was asked from Charles Town. Mary feared that in Thomas Jefferson had declared to escort Mary Brown to Harpers Ferry, the Southern rage over the attack on Harp- that this view was “worth a where her husband awaited execution in ers Ferry, the abolitionist’s remains might voyage across the Atlantic.” a jailhouse in nearby Charles Town. John be confiscated for dissection or mutilation. Brown’s soon-to-be widow had suffered in- According to Tyndale’s memoir, “When the sults and threats in the wake of his October continued on page 2 1 Armory Superintendent Members Jo (Kuhn) Curtis in memory of Jim Kuhn and Alexander and Mary Murphy Brandywine, MD Dr. Robert Johnson Harpers Ferry, WV Ronald Jones Our Lady of Sorrows School Farmington, MI Prior to the war, the peninsula between the two rivers was a thriving commercial district with hotels, Nancy Myers, in Honor of restaurants, a dry goods store, and drug store. (Historic Image Collection, Harpers Ferry National Don Campbell Historic Park) Harpers Ferry, WV Jim and Suzanne Silvia The Calamities of War and annoy the federal soldiers on the Mary- Taunton, MA & Harpers Continued from Page 1 land shore.” On February 7, 1862, a Union Ferry, WV coffin arrived, Hector Tyndale declined to scout named George Rohr rowed across receive it until the lid was removed and the the river with a flag of truce, reportedly to Paymaster Members remains identified. This request caused an investigate an African American man wav- Cynthia Gayton outburst of anger . but he remained calm ing his own white flag from the shoreline. Harpers Ferry, WV and determined, and finally . the coffin Before the boat reached the shore, Confed- was opened, and was found to contain the erate snipers opened fire, killing Rohr. body of John Brown.” Tyndale then escorted “Our battery on the heights at once Master Armorer Mrs. Brown out of Virginia, and the nation’s resented the act by shelling the buildings Members slide toward disunion continued to gain where the Rebels were supposed to be se- Allison Alsdorf momentum. creted,” observed a news correspondent. Harpers Ferry, WV Two years after Brown’s execution, the Without hesitation, Colonel John Geary, Kirk Bradley town of Harpers Ferry had already suffered commander of the 28th Pennsylvania, or- Sanford, NC the effects of war. Resident Joseph Barry dered a detachment to destroy the Rebel Donald and Patricia remembered the winter of 1861-1862 as “a hideout. Burgess scene of the utmost desolation. All the in- Harpers Ferry, WV habitants had fled, except a few old people, Hon. and Mrs. Thomas who ventured to remain and protect their Curtis and Family homes, or who were unable or unwilling to Baltimore, MD leave the place.” Peter Dessauer Hector Tyndale, now a major in the Harpers Ferry, WV 28th Pennsylvania Infantry, was back in the Kim and Frank Edwards Harpers Ferry vicinity, stationed in Sandy Edgewood, MD Hook, Maryland, a mile down the Potomac. Laurence Freiheit The Union had been sending scouts across Berkeley Springs, WV the river, gathering intelligence for plans to Deborah Hale rebuild the B&O Railroad bridge that had Harpers Ferry, WV been destroyed by Confederates the previ- Rebecca Harriett ous year. The Federals had other strategic Berryville, VA plans for Harpers Ferry as well. Its location Tony Horwitz at the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley Vineyard Haven, MA made its possession a military necessity for continued on page 3 any conceived invasion of Virginia. Hector Tyndale was a player in two significant Confederate cavalry frequently pa- events in Harpers Ferry history. (Photo courtesy trolled the Virginia side of the river. Ac- of the Massachusetts Commandery Military Order cording to Barry, “the confederates were ac- of the Loyal Legion/U.S. Army Military History 2 customed to conceal themselves and watch Institute) Hector Tyndale supervised the destruc- For many soldiers, their first steps on Master Armorer tion. Soon, the commercial part of town the Virginia shoreline were their first upon Members (Cont’d) from the armory entrance to the ruins of the enemy soil. As they trudged up the boat Bruce Kramer railroad bridge was in flames. The Potomac ramp near the armory, one of the first struc- Baltimore, MD Restaurant, B&O Railroad depot and office, tures to come into view was John Brown’s Gregory Light Gault House Saloon, and the Wager House Fort. “A fitting place to begin an advance Fort Lupton, CO Hotel where Mary Brown had stayed in against the rebellion,” one soldier recalled. Anne A. Long 1859, awaiting her husband’s body, all were Hundreds marched past with their voices Myersville, MD destroyed. raised in song: John Brown’s body lies a mold- Cynthia K. Mason The next day’s headline in Baltimore’s ering in the grave, But his soul goes marching Baltimore, MD American and Commercial Advertiser read: on. Marc Mayer “Treacherous Conduct on the Part of the “The spirit of the troops is most excel- Waldorf, MD Rebels – Our Troops Retaliate – The Whole lent,” McClellan reported. “They are in the Adam Oestreich Lower Part of Harper’s Ferry Laid in Ashes.” mood to fight anything.” Baltimore, MD For Joseph Barry it was “another calam- With the Union army on the advance, George Rutherford ity to the hapless town.” Harpers Ferry sprang back to life. Many Ranson, WV Plans to rebuild the bridge and occupy citizens returned. Strangers also spilled into Ed Wheeless and Chris the town moved forward. On February 24, town to visit friends or sell goods to the Craig despite a violent current that drowned six soldiers. Abandoned armory buildings were Harpers Ferry, WV soldiers, Colonel Geary’s men secured a rope transformed into supply depots. And on ferry across the Potomac. The next day the March 18, after B&O workers battled the Recent Donations Federals had possession of both Bolivar and swift, uncooperative Potomac for weeks, the Deborah Maples Loudoun Heights, ensuring safety for the first locomotive crossed the new railroad Merritt Roe Smith bridge builders and the thousands of troops bridge. Max and Nancy Weaver that Union General George B. McClellan The first winter of the war was end- Bill Barker planned to march into Virginia. ing. Two great armies were on the march. Hagerstown Community On February 26, McClellan watched For the citizens of Harpers Ferry, their fate College personally as military engineers pieced to- rested in the outcome of battles to be fought Dale Utrup gether a pontoon bridge across the Potomac. that year—some far away, one right at their Donald and Barbara Cum- Then regiment after regiment—8,500 infan- doorstep. berland try, eighteen cannon, and two squadrons of Kathleen Pino cavalry—cautiously traversed the swaying bridge. Harpers Ferry Under Fire: A Border Town in the American Civil War HFHA is thrilled to announce the pub- lication of Harpers Ferry Under Fire: A Border Town in the American Civil War by Dennis E. Frye. The book examines the town’s tumultuous war years through the voices of the civilians, nurses, and sol- diers who experienced it firsthand. Their narrative is accompanied by 200 historic photos, illustrations, maps, and full-color images. At press time, books are scheduled to arrive March 14. Be sure to stop by the bookshop or call 304.535.6881 for your copy! 3 2012 Schedule of Events These events relate the natural and cultural Location: Lower Town history of the area and give accounts of Learn about Gen.