Harpers Ferry tourJun 27, 2011
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| We got an early start today at the Harpers Ferry visitor center. It turns out little to nothing is at the visitor center except a free shuttle bus that takes you to the high ground and the lower town area. The high ground is where Jackson setup his artillery during the siege of Harpers Ferry just prior to Antietam. In fact, Antietam almost didn’t happen because of 13000 union troops at Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is strategically located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers where Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia meet. Also, in is the northern most point of the Shenandoah Valley. The valley was Lee’s only escape route. So, Lee needed Jackson to remove the union troops. However, this mean half of lee’s army was unavailable to fight at Antietam. But Jackson was able to take Harpers Ferry quickly and make it back to lee in time for the attack. Had Jackson been unsuccessful or delayed, Lee would have retreated back to Virginia without firing a shot. We toured the lower town area seeing the John Brown’s “fort”, various old houses, markers showing where the arsenal use to be located, the B&O rail line and the bridge where the line crosses the Potomac river, the C&O cannel, and the Point where the rivers meet. Other than that, there really is not much to see. It is a very pretty area and if we had the time hiking the many trails would have been worth the effort. After lunch we headed for Gettysburg arriving around 6pm.and turned in early. |
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