A day trip to study the architecture of Civil War era Harper's Ferry and Sheppardstown, WV. Before the Civil War, 3,000 people lived and worked in the prosperous industrial town of Harpers Ferry. Benefitting from abundant natural resources and situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, this area was advertised as “one of the best situations in the United States for… factories.” The town’s largest source of industry, the United States Armory, had over 20 factory buildings and 400 employees. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal also provided a steady flow of people and commerce throughout the town. These assets made the town strategically important to both sides during the war. The town changed hands eight times but remained under control of the Union for 80 percent of the war. On April 18, 1861 Virginia militia march on Harpers Ferry, VA. Federal soldiers torch the US Armory and Arsenal, destroying over 15,000 weapons. 10 days later, Colonel Thomas J. (later “Stonewall”) Jackson takes his first command of the war at Harpers Ferry, VA. Over the next seven weeks, all machinery and tools from the armory are removed and shipped south to Richmond, VA, and Fayetteville, NC, to produce weapons for the Confederacy. On June 14th, The B&O Railroad bridge and the US Armory buildings are burned by evacuating Confederates. By July 21, Union troops occupy Harper's Ferry until they withdraw to the Maryland shore on August 17th; Harper's Ferry isn't occupied by either side again until February 1862. To learn more about the history of this beautiful, little town visit: https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/historyculture/hf-civil-war.htm
