Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1882-07-29
: VIRGINIA TOWN IN RUINS.

( steeiai correspondent writes to the
Philadelphia Times the. following inter-
ealing description Of Harper's Ferry un-
der date Of July Is:
There is a graveyard look about this
town, 1t is like country cemetery with
half the gravestones knocked down. lis
a town Of ruins. Everything is in decay.
Everybody is asleep. In years past the
roar of artillery about the mountain peaks
rept things In tolerably lively state. In
these DAYS the nearest approach to war
like sound is the occasional crack Of the
sportsman's rifle. The putting of an en-
zine is about the only noise which awak-
ems the echoes. The only excitement is
when the express trains from Washington
draw up to the little depot. Then every
boy In town swarms upon the unsuspect-
ing traveller like hive of bees and in
sists upon disposing of basket of cherries
and hard-bOiled eggs and lndigestlDle
pies. In a moment more the train SHOOTS
up the bank of the Potomac and threads
its way through the mountains TO the
West, or follows along the Shenandoah
and ruyhes up the fertile valley OF VIZ
ginia, and Harper's Ferry sinks back INTO
its sleepy state and waits for something
else 10 turn up. There is not another
such a tumble down place ON the eartn.
The main street runs uphill at an angle
of forty.fiye degrees. 1t is q good deal
like climbing ladder to 60 up it. One
house is built almost upon the roof OF an
other. At least that seemed to be the
idea when the place was laid out, but now
about one house in possible five has its
side blown out or its roof caved in or its
nuderpinning completely knocked away,
and when house begins to go its end is
near, for no one ever thinks of repairing
damages. 1t requires pretty sure-footed
horse to climb street, and as for side
walks-well, there may be some, but l
haven't seen any. There hasn't been en-
ergy enough in town even to keep the
yandals away. All the sentiment Of the
thing is taken away when one reads on
the side of the historic landmark, Jeffer
sons Rock, the wretchedly scraw.ed al
vertisement of nasty cigarette.
But ruin and decay cannot detract from
the beautiful scenery, and they only add
to the interest of the many stories of the
war. Old John Browns fort'loOks as if
it had bad attack of ague. The old ar
senal is i'm ruins, but no one passes them
by if he knows it. Neither the fort nor
the arsenal was here when President JEFF
eyes flashed upon the same grand scenery
that one can see to-day. He told every
body he met that to stand OH the top Of
Bolivar was worth trip across the Allan
tic. There are those who come to Har-
per's Ferry in these days who are not dis
posed to contradict him. Three great
States terminate their boundaries in three
huge mountains. When the thunder rolls
and the lightning plays about their peaks
they seem to hurl defiance at each other.
The Potomac, dividing Maryland and
West Virginia, and the Shenandoah, sep
arating West Virginia from the Old Do
minion, miEgle their waters under the
long bridge, and piercing the very heart
of the Blue ridge flow on to the sea. They
look very peaceable just now, flowing
over their rocky beds, but when the rains
of early spring melt the snow and it
rushes down the mountain sides the
peaceful rivers become mighty torrents
almost without warning and nothing can
withstand them. Mountains line the side
Of the united rivers as far as the eye can
reach, while to the west high walls soon
shut out from view the winding Potomac.
Behind lies the great valley of Virginia,
where, as the fortunes of war changed,
opposing armies chased each other, bent
only on death anG destruction. The val
lev is one great battlefield. From Har-
per's Ferry to Staunton many OF the
bloodiest battles of the Rebellion were
fought, and thousands OF the sons of Vir-
ginia lie buried under the sod by the side
of the dead Of the Northern armies.
From Bolivar some of the hattle-fields
can easily be picked out. In fact there
was fighting on this very height. In
September, 1862, Colonel White held Har-
per's Ferry, and he had something like
eleven thousand men to help HIM to do it,.
Stonew Jackson, on his way to meet
Lee, captured it. While the fight was
raging on Bolivar, Lee was engaged with
Mcclellan at South Mountain. lt was at
South Mountain where Hayes was wound
ed. Lee fell back to Sharpsburg, and
from Bolivar, Jackson saw the smoke Of
Antietam, only ten miles away. He
Joined Lee and saved his army from being
pretty effectually blotted out, and Lee es-
capped to Winchester. Every inch of land
between Harper's Ferry and Winchester
has been trodden under foot many time
by marching men. There is no more in
teresting point In the valley than this
latter town. Rich in its memories of
Washington it was knocked about like a
shuttle-cOck between "Feds" aud "Rebs".
On an eminence back of the town are two
cemeteries, mute witnesses of strife and
carnage. In the Union Cemetery the
stars and stripes rise and fall above the
graves of four thousand four hundred
dead. Keeper Drum keeps the grass
closely shaven and the flowers in full
bloom; but even he cannot tell the names
of more than half the heroes who rest un-
der the sod. The rest belong to the great
army of the unknown. Just across a mar
row path lie the heroes of the opposing
forces. They have no marble slabs ut
their heads, but their slumber is just as
peaceful. The granite shaft made in
Philadelphia and erected here three or
four years ago is lasting monument to
the unrecorded dead Of The StOnewall
Cemetery.
Any one who cares to do so can find in
Winchester all sorts of anecdotes of the
war. Ladies can tell of the part they
PLAYED in nursing the wounded. Men
can tell of the incessant tramp of march
ing feet and of many a narrow escape.