Harpers Ferry, MD

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THE HISTORY OF HARPERS FERRY HAS FEW PARALLELS IN THE AMERICAN DRAMA. It is more than one event, one date, or one individual. It is multi-layered – involving a diverse number of people and events that influenced the course of our nation's history. Harpers Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States. - source: nps.gov

Day 1: This was the drive from South Carolina to Harpers Ferry. Everyone was right, driving through the Shenandoah Mountains and the northern farm country was just beautiful. It may have just been me, but one thing that stood out was how green the grass was. Maybe the grass isn't as green in the south because we are in the middle of a drought? But either way, the grass is green and beautiful up North. It truly is gorgeous country.

We arrived in Harpers Ferry about 6:30 that evening, grabbed dinner and just relaxed for the night.

Day 2: We left the hotel about 9 that morning and took the shuttle to the old town area of Harpers Ferry. As soon as you step off the shuttle and begin walking into th

e town, you are immediately taken back to the 1800's. With the exception of a few shops and eateries, the entire town has been preserved and made into a museum. Very cool place to visit, although the tour only lasts a couple of hours (unless you want to read every plaque, see every mini-museum), so I wouldn’t recommend planning a while day there.





Above is what one sees when walking into town, just after exiting the shuttle bus.



Here is a color picture looking south towards the Dry Goods Store and the Provost Marshall office.



This picture was taken inside of the Dry Goods Store. Notice the shelves are stocked just how they would have been during the 1800's.



This is the front of a clothing store.



This is looking inside the clothing store.



This was taken inside of a Gunsmith shop.

This is looking north up High Street.



This displays how the town looks like it was "carved right out of a mountain".



Tunnel by John Brown's Fort. It's exact use is unknown, but the kids sure thought it was cool.



The famous "John Brown's Fort.

It was in this building that John Brown and several of his followers barricaded themselves during the final hours of their ill-fated raid of October 16, 17, and 18, 1859. - source

If you're not familiar with John Brown, you will be by the time you leave Harpers Ferry. John Brown was an abolitionist, and advocated the end of slavery, even by means of armed force. Before the start of the Civil War, in 1859, John Brown led a movement to rally slaves to rebel. He planned a raid on the armory at Harpers Ferry (which was still part of Virginia at the time, since West Virginia didn't secede until after the start of the civil war). He had planned to lead a force of thousands of men, but when the time came, he only had 21. Brown hoped to seize the weapons in the armory, then use them to arm local slaves. He did well at first, but when the locals started firing back, he barricaded himself in the fire engine house. The raid ended two days after it started. Ten of Brown's men died, five escaped, and seven were captured, including Brown. He was tried for treason and murder, and executed December 2, 1859 -- but in the process, became a martyr for the abolitionist movement.
schools in the United States.



Looking south down High Street.



A shot of a train heading into the famous Harpers Ferry rail tunnel.

Gettysburg Trip - 2009

Well I'm finally going to start posting about our trip to Gettysburg April 5th-9th.

Instead of creating one long post for my trip I will divide it into several posts to explain each place we visited.

More to come..

Fort Lamar - Secessionville, SC

Fort Lamar is the site of the Battle Of Secessionville.

The Battle of Secessionville (or the Battle of James Island) occurred on June 16th, 1862, in the American Civil War. It was the only attempt of the Union forces to capture the city of Charleston, South Carolina, by land. - wikipedia.org

Early June 1862, Maj. Gen. David Hunter transported Horatio G. Wright’s and Isaac I. Stevens’s Union divisions under immediate direction of Brig. Gen. Henry Benham to James Island where they entrenched at Grimball’s Landing near the southern flank of the Confederate defenses. On June 16, contrary to Hunter’s orders, Benham launched an unsuccessful frontal assault against Fort Lamar at Secessionville. Because Benham was said to have disobeyed orders, Hunter relieved him of command. - Source: CWSAC Battle Summaries

Interesting facts:

The attack on the fort was launched at approximately 4 AM in attempt to surprise the confederate forces while they slept. Some sources say the Union soldiers stayed up all night drinking, and this could have some to do with why the attack was such a failure.

From the Letter of R.L. Crawford: "I think the Yankees were all drunk," the letter jests, for "nearly every canteen was half full of liquor, the prisoners tell us their officers told them that the fort was out of ammunition, and that all they had to do was to take it and go on to Charleston. They say that their officers were drunk and that they had been drinking all night. A number of our men who were on picket say that numbers remarked that night, that the Yankees must be drunk, they judged so from the fuss they kept." - Letter of R.L. Crawford, James

The fort was named after the commanding officer, Colonel T. G. Lamar. It is said that Lamar himself commanded the eight inch cannon that fired the first shot of the battle, a canister shell full of nails, glass, and scrap metal that tore a hole through the center of the Union line.

Forces Engaged: 8,600 total (US 6,600; CS 2,000)
Estimated Casualties: 889 total (US 685; CS 204)

The sign at the entrance of the parking area.

Monument erected to honor veterans who served in the battle


A view of the pathway leading to the east side of the Fort. This is said to be the area where the 8 inch cannon was located that Col. Lamar operated.


An earthwork on the east side of the fort. Just past this earthwork is the marshy area where the Union soldiers launched their first attack.


A larger view of the earthwork



Another view of the earthwork.


This is a view from the west bank of the fort. All though the water level was much lower at the time of the battle, due to poor reconnaissance, the union forces were not aware of this marshy area and their advance to the fort was greatly delayed because of it. This must have been where many of the Union soldiers fell.




A view from the center section of the fort.



This site is said to be a Union mass grave.

Battery #5 - James Island, SC

Like its sister batteries, Leroy and Battery Number 1, Battery Number 5 was part of Beauregard’s James Island Siege Line built in 1863 to replace General J.C. Pemberton’s faulty defense line. As part of this important siege line, Battery Number 5 was designed to protect against an infantry attack via the Secessionville region of southern James Island. Battery Number 5 also supplemented the firepower of the Secessionville batteries and was kept in good order, mounting four guns in 1865. Battery Number 5 is the eastern terminus of the James Island Siege Line. It overlooks Seaside Creek and Secessionville on the southern edge of James Island. The battery is an earth redan with its right and left faces measuring about 200 feet and the center face about 100 feet. The parapet is approximately 10 feet high. The powder magazine has been destroyed. Listed in the National Register August 11, 1982.

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The battery is located in the Seaside Plantation residential neighborhood on James Island. Shortly after entering the neighborhood, on the right there is a small sign that reads “This site is protected by: The S.C. Battleground Preservation Trust INC.” On the right side of this picture, you can see there are two empty flag poles. The large earthworks can be seen to the left behind the trees.

As you can see in the image above, even after 140 plus years the earth works are still clearly defined.

This photo was taken looking down from the top of one of the earthworks.