Date: 2019-06-19
From: 4 mile campsite

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 4.1

Day 79 Civil WarToday was all about American History and in particular the civil war. I was a short distance from Harpers Ferry, a town that played a significant part in former times. My first stop for the day was at the Appalachian Trail Conservatory where I was photographed and given a ¢halfway¢ number. When I started I was #1789. At the psychological ¢halfway¢ point I am now #736. I guessing that means that there¢s quite a few who have dropped out as my pace is fairly average and I don¢t think I¢ve past over 1,000 hikers. Harpers Ferry is not the true halfway point, that¢s another 70 miles further north. But by the time hikers get here it feels half way and it¢s a good place to celebrate. My next stop was ¢Jefferson Rock¢ from where I sketched the above view. The landmark derives from Thomas Jefferson, (principal author of the Declaration of Independence) who stood here on October 25, 1783. He reportedly wrote:¢The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature. You stand on a very high point of land. On your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent.....This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic." I note that he didn¢t also add that it was worthy of a voyage across the Pacific. Maybe Australians shouldn¢t be bothered with the view!!! Anyways I was impressed. Just below the Rock was the St John¢s Church. During the Civil War some of the battles occurred quite close by and the vicar was really scared one or other of the opposing sides would blow up his church. To demonstrate his neutrality he flew the British Union Jack and his was one of the few that escaped without cannonball damage. Lucky he didn¢t try the same trick during the earlier War of Independence! When I was a kid we used to sit around the campfire and sing ¢John Browns body lies a-moulds ring in the grave¢ I never really knew what the song was about or even if John Brown was a real person. As it turns out one of the next buildings I visited had a lot to do with John Brown. It was an old fire station, and before that it was part of the US Armory. Back in the 1850¢s, John Brown was an outspoken critic of slavery and he decided that the only way to end it was with open armed rebellion. So in secret he gathered 19 men and in 1859 they took over the US Armoury in Harpers Ferry. He hoped that this would lead to a slave liberation movement. His plan didn¢t quite work out as he intended and sadly not many people wanted to join the revolt. The US Government on hearing its armory had been taken over was not impressed so they sent in their top General ( Robert E. Lee) with a large contingent of men. John Brown was captured and later convicted of murder, inciting a slave revolt and treason. He was hung as a traitor. The government of the time thought  that would be the end of that.Or was it??? Turns out John Browns actions later were to become a rallying point that lead in part to the Civil War. Later the catchy tune was written as a marching song for the Northern Army to keep in step to as they headed off to battle. All that I learnt and much much more as I wandered through Harpers Ferry. I had a great time. That night I slept in a hostel that dated from the civil war times. Everything about the building was scaled down including the doorways. I¢m guessing that in the civil war people were much shorter then and needed far less space!