page_title: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
section_title: Civil War
hierarchical_section_title: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia / History / Civil War
caption_attribution_description: English: Title: Harper's Ferry and Bridge, from Maryland Heights, 1872, DeGolyer Library, SMU. Place: Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, West Virginia Part Of: Photographic views of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road and its branches from the lakes to the sea Description: This is an albumen print from the book Photographic Views of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road, and Its Branches, From The Lakes to The Sea, which is illustrated with images of attractions found along the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore and Chicago. Physical Description:1 photographic print: albumen, part of 1 volume; 19 x 25 cm on 26 x 34 cm File: vault_ag1982_0119x_035_opt.jpg Rights: Please cite Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, DeGolyer Library when using this image file. A high-quality version of the file may be obtained for a fee by contacting degolyer@smu.edu. For more information, see: http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/nam/id/258 View the full album at: http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/search/collection/nam/searchterm/Ag1982.0119x/mode/exact View North America: Photographs, Manuscripts, and Imprints: http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/all/cul/nam/index.asp
context_page_description: Harpers Ferry, population 286 at the 2010 census, is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, in the lower Shenandoah Valley. It is situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet. It is the easternmost town in West Virginia and during the Civil War was the northernmost point of Confederate-controlled territory.
  The town's original, lower section is on a flood plain created by the two rivers and surrounded by higher ground and is within Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Most of the remainder, which includes the more highly populated area, is included in the separate Harpers Ferry Historic District. Two other National Register of Historic Places properties adjoin the town: the B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing and St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church.
  The town was formerly spelled Harper's Ferry with an apostrophe—in the 18th century, it was the ferry owned and operated by Robert Harper—and that form continues to appear in some references.
context_section_description: The Civil War was disastrous for Harpers Ferry, which changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865. Because of the town's strategic location on the railroad and at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, both Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry frequently. The town's garrison of 14,000 Federal troops played a key role in the Confederate invasion of Maryland in September 1862. Gen. Robert E. Lee did not want to continue on to Maryland without capturing the town. It was on his supply line and could control one of his possible routes of retreat if the invasion did not go well.
  Dividing his army of approximately 40,000 into four sections, Lee used the cover of the mountains to send three columns under Stonewall Jackson to surround and capture the town. The Battle of Harpers Ferry started with light fighting September 13 as the Confederates tried to capture the Maryland Heights to the northeast, while John Walker moved back over the Potomac to capture Loudoun Heights south of town. After a Confederate artillery bombardment on September 14 and 15, the Federal garrison surrendered. With 12,419 Federal troops captured by Jackson, the surrender at Harpers Ferry was the largest surrender of U.S. military personnel until the Battle of Bataan in World War II.
  Because of the delay in capturing Harpers Ferry and the movement of Federal forces to the west, Lee was forced to regroup at the town of Sharpsburg. Two days later he commanded troops in the Battle of Antietam, which had the highest number of deaths among troops of any single day in United States military history. By July 1864, the Union again had control of Harpers Ferry. On 4 July 1864, the Union commanding Gen. Franz Sigel withdrew his troops to Maryland Heights. From there he resisted Jubal Anderson Early's attempt to enter the town and drive the Federal garrison from Maryland Heights.
caption: Harpers Ferry and bridge from Maryland Heights, 1872
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