BGuthrie Photos: WV -- Harpers Ferry NHP -- Bolivar Heights/Schoolhouse Ridge

WV -- Harpers Ferry NHP -- Bolivar Heights/Schoolhouse Ridge:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. HARPBO_130104_029.JPG: Battle of Harpers Ferry: Invasion rocked the United States during the second year of the American Civil War. In September 1862 Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched his army into Maryland - the North. Lee's first target became Harpers Ferry. He ordered "Stonewall" Jackson to make the attack. Here Jackson overcame the great obstacles, defeating the Union during a three-day battle and forcing the largest surrender of U.S. troops during the Civil War. His victory at Harpers Ferry enabled Lee to make his stand at nearby Antietam. "At first their missiles of death fell far short of our camp; but each succeeding shell came nearer and nearer, until the earth was plowed up at our feet and our tents torn to tatters." -- Lieutenant James H. Clark, 115th New York Infantry
2. HARPBO_130104_033.JPG: Union Stronghold: Harpers Ferry was located at the gateway into Confederate Virginia and the strategic Shenandoah Valley. The Union army used it as a supply base for operations into Southern territory. The Railroad Brigade, headquartered here with a force of over 14,000 men, protected over 400 miles of Northern rail lines, stretching from Baltimore into western Virginia. By the second week of September 1862 the brigade's world shrank to this hillside. Colonel Dixon Stansbury Miles, a West Point graduate and Mexican War hero, commanded the Railroad Brigade. His 42 years of military service were tarnished by one day - the Union's first defeat at Bull Run - where he was unjustly accused of drunkeness. The Battle of Harpers Ferry 14 months later cost him his life, and the defeat further tarnished his military record. A young boy - possibly an escaped slave - pictured with a Union soldier in Harpers Ferry just weeks before the battle. Bolivar Heights is visible in the background. The desire for freedom drove enslaved African Americans to the Union lines here at Harpers Ferry, but when the Confederates captured the town hundreds were forced to return to slavery.
3. HARPBO_130104_042.JPG: Harpers Ferry Prize of War "It may be said with truth that no spot in the United States experienced more of the horrors of war." -– Joseph Barry, Harpers Ferry resident Trapped on the border between North and South, Harpers Ferry changed hands eight times during the Civil War. Because of its position on the Potomac River -- an international boundary for four years from 1861 to 1865 -- the town's industries were destroyed, its buildings were abandoned, its mountains were raped, and the population dwindled from more than 3,000 to fewer than 100 residents. Both Union and Confederate forces coveted Harpers Ferry's strategic location at the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley. The Federals used the town and its connection to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a supply base, launching repeated invasions from here into the heart of Virginia. The Confederates targeted this area as an avenue of invasion into the United States, occupying Harpers Ferry during the 1862 Maryland (Antietam) Campaign, the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863, and the raid on Washington in 1864. Throughout the war, the mountains surrounding Harpers Ferry played a key role. Forests were denuded for artillery fire and firewood; the earth was carved into earthworks and forts; and ridge tops were converted into campgrounds and battlegrounds. No one, and no thing, escaped the fury of the Civil War at Harpers Ferry.
4. HARPBO_130104_058.JPG: Closing the Doors Resting with his troops in Frederick, Maryland, 20 miles northeast of here, Confederate General Robert E. Lee had hoped the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry would abandon its post when he invaded the North. They did not. Lee decided to attack. He divided his army into four columns, sending three to seize the three mountains overlooking Harpers Ferry. On the first day of the battle, the Confederates captured Loudoun Heights, south of the Shenandoah River. North of the Potomac, Union forces abandoned Maryland Heights after a nine-hour defense. "Stonewall" Jackson seized Schoolhouse Ridge to the west, closing all doors of escape. Bolivar Heights, the mountain you stand on, remained in Union control. The Confederates were now poised to attack the surrounded garrison. Union Commander Dixon Miles faced a great disadvantage. Outnumbered nearly two to one by the surrounding Confederates, many of Miles's troops were raw recruits, untrained and undisciplined, who had been in the army for only three weeks.
5. HARPBO_130104_074.JPG: Facing the Enemy Union Commander Dixon Miles knew the Confederates were coming. His cavalry reported the Southern troops advancing from three different directions. Ordered to "hold Harpers Ferry until the last extremity." Miles divided his forces to retain Maryland Heights - the highest mountain - and to defend Bolivar Heights - the longest ridge. As Miles watched "Stonewall" Jackson's 14,000 men spread across Schoolhouse Ridge, word arrived that Miles's soldiers had lost the fight for Maryland Heights. Bolivar Heights stood as the Union army's last bastion. "We were greatly surprised at finding ourselves in the face of the enemy so soon ... felt proud in being considered worthy of such a trust, and determined to do our duty." -- Sergeant Nicolas DeGraff, 115th New York
6. HARPBO_130104_088.JPG: Casualties of War "...We enter the barren waste of Bolivar Heights...a windswept deserted moorland...except its populous graveyard." -- James E. Taylor, war correspondent Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, August 10, 1864 Military discipline for desertion seldom resulted in execution during the Civil War. But in the last months of the war, two Union deserters suffered this fate on Bolivar Heights. William Loge, convicted of "being a deserter ... bushwhacker, murderer and assassin," was hanged from a gallows near this spot, on December 2, 1864 - exactly five years after abolitionist John Brown's hanging in nearby Charles Town. Three months later, on March 3, 1865, deserter Thomas Murphy of the 6th U.S. Cavalry died here at the hand of a firing squad. A temporary burial ground with primitive wooden markers expanded as sickness spread throughout the camps. Most of the soldiers who died on Bolivar Heights succumbed to dysentery typhoid, or yellow fever. In April 1865 the war ended and the nation began its long healing process. Bolivar Heights also healed as soldiers and returned home Union remains were moved to the National Cemetery in Winchester, Virginia. Today only shallow remnants of the once-formidable fortifications remind us of the Civil War events on Bolivar Heights.
7. HARPBO_130104_098.JPG: Fortifying Bolivar Heights "...the heights became dotted with tents, and at night...the neighboring hills were aglow with hundreds of watchfires..." -- Joseph Barry, Harpers Ferry resident, October 1862 After the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, General Lee withdrew his Confederate army back into Virginia. Instead of pursuing Lee, Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan reoccupied the Harpers Ferry area with nearly 60,000 soldiers. While McClellan paused to reorganize and re-equip his army, President Abraham Lincoln visited here on October 1 to review the troops on Bolivar Heights and encourage McClellan to move against the Confederates. The Federals advanced south one month after Lincoln's visit, leaving only 5,000 soldiers to garrison Harpers Ferry. The Confederates invaded the North again in the summers of 1863 and 1864, forcing Union troops on Bolivar Heights to withdraw to stronger fortifications on Maryland Heights. This left Harpers Ferry open to the Confederates resulting in the destruction of the railroad bridge and capture of Federal supplies. In August, 1864, Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan's army occupied this area. Sheridan's men constructed a 2-mile line of earthwork defenses, connecting six artillery redoubts, along the crest of Bolivar Heights. These fortifications secured Harpers Ferry as a Union supply base for the rest of the war.
8. HARPBO_130104_133.JPG: Confederate Victory "The Rebels were all around us and our only refuge was the open canopy of heaven." -- Sgt. Charles E. Smith, 32nd Ohio Infantry, September 14, 1862 Thousands of Federal soldiers huddled in ravines on Bolivar Heights to escape the Confederate shells of September 14, 1862. By evening, the Federals were demoralized. Pvt. Louis B. Hull of the 60th Ohio Infantry wrote in his diary at sunset: "All seem to think that we will have to surrender or be cut to pieces." By 8:00 a.m. on September 15, the situation had worsened for the surrounded and outnumbered Federals. During the night, Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's division of 3,000 Confederates had turned the Federal left flank on the south end of Bolivar Heights. With Union artillery ammunition exhausted, the situation appeared hopeless. About 9:00 a.m., Col. Dixon S. Miles, Union commander, decided to surrender his forces. Moments later, a Confederate shell fragment wounded the Colonel. He died the next day, leaving many unanswered questions about the Federal disaster at Harpers Ferry. An unconditional surrender accepted by Stonewall Jackson from Union Brig. Gen. Julius White on School House Ridge finished the siege. The Confederates captured 73 cannon, 13,000 small arms, 200 wagons and 12,500 prisoners - the largest surrender of U.S. forces until Bataan during World War II. Jackson reviewed the captured Federal garrison on Bolivar Heights on the afternoon of September 15. On Union soldier recalled: "There we were on the hill, our arms stacked before us, and waiting. Soon the celebrated 'Stonewall' Jackson rode along our lines with his staff. He rode a cream colored horse and was plainly dressed in ... a grey dingy suit."Another soldier shouted, "Boys, he's not much for looks, but if we'd had him we wouldn't have been caught in this trap!"
9. HARPBO_130104_137.JPG: A Union Predicament "Do all you can to annoy the rebels should they advance on you...You will not abandon Harpers Ferry without defending it to the last extremity." -- Maj. Gen. John G. Wool, USA, Telegraph message to Col. Dixon S. Miles, USA, September 7, 1862 The first large-scale Federal occupation of Harpers Ferry began in February 1862. Despite the destruction of the armory and arsenal the previous year, Harpers Ferry remained important in protecting Union communication and supply lines and in deterring Confederate invasions of the North. The Confederates invaded the North for the first time in September 1862. By September 7, Gen. Robert E. Lee's army had crossed the Potomac River and encamped outside Frederick, Maryland. The large Union force at Harpers Ferry, now located behind the invading Confederates, threatened Southern communication and supply lines. In response, Lee boldly divided his army into four parts, sending three columns to capture or destroy the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry. Maj. Gen. Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson's Confederate force of 14,000 traveled 51 miles in three days and occupied School House Ridge, 1/2-mile west of Bolivar Heights, on September 13. Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Confederate force of 8,000 captured Maryland Heights after a battle there on September 13. Brig. Gen. John G. Walker's Confederate force of 2,000 occupied undefended Loudoun Heights on September 13. After Jackson's column cornered the Federals into an inescapable position on Bolivar Heights, the trap was set. For five hours on Sunday afternoon, September 14, the Confederates fired their artillery from the captured heights. One hapless Federal wrote, '...the hissing and screeching of shot and shell discharged at us was a strange medley for a Sabbath day's worship.
10. HARPBO_130104_149.JPG: Rats in a Cage The Union army refused to give up. Frustrated by the Federals' stronghold on Bolivar Heights, "Stonewall" Jackson ordered cannons to the mountain tops and nearby plateaus. Pounded by a day and a morning of Confederate bombardment, Union soldiers felt the strain, "A general feeling of depression observable in all the men...All seem to think that we will have to surrender or be cut to pieces," wrote Union Private Louis B. Hull. "We are as helpless as rats in a cage." -- Captain Edward Ripley, 9th Vermont
11. HARPBO_130104_155.JPG: The First Year of the War "The people for the most part were tongue-tied with terror...overwhelmed with ruin..." -- Porte Crayon, war correspondent, April 18, 1861 The armory and arsenal's destruction signaled the beginning of the war and the end of prosperity in Harpers Ferry. On April 18, 1861, the day after Virginia seceded from the Union, Virginia militia awaited reinforcements on this ridge while preparing to seize Harpers Ferry. At 10:00 p.m. the out-numbered Federal garrison blew up the arsenal and attempted to burn the armory before retreating into Maryland. War correspondent Porte Crayon, wrote: "There was a sudden flash that illuminated for miles around the romantic gorge where the rivers meet.... The flashes and detonations were several times repeated; then a steadier flame was seen rising from two district points, silently and rapidly increasing in volumes until each rock and tree on Loudoun and Maryland Heights were distinctly visible, and the now overclouded sky was ruddy with the sinister glare." Col. Thomas J. Jackson arrived ten days after the arsenal's destruction to assume his first command of the Civil War. He drilled thousands of Virginia volunteers encamped here on Bolivar Heights into a disciplined military unit that soon became famous as the "Stonewall Brigade." In mid-June 1861, Maj. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston ordered the Confederate forces to abandon Harpers Ferry, pronouncing the area "untenable." On October 16, 1861, exactly two years after John Brown raided Harpers Ferry, 500 Confederates led by Col. Turner Ashby attacked 600 Union soldiers commanded by Col. John White Geary on this ridge. Ashby ordered repeated assaults on the Union position. After six hours of fighting, Geary's troops ultimately repulsed the Confederates. The "Battle of Bolivar Heights" ended as Ashby's troops fell back toward Charles Town and Union flags were planted on the ridge.
12. HARPBO_130104_159.JPG: Jackson at Harpers Ferry The Stonewall Brigade As you explore Jefferson County's Civil War sites, you will learn about some of the notable exploits on the native soil of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, one of the wars most famous figures. Jackson was born in Clarksburg, Virginia (now West Virginia). He graduated from West Point and distinguished himself in the Mexican-American War. He left the army to become the Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and Instructor of Artillery at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. Jackson led cadets to Charles Town in 1859 to provide security at John Brown's execution. After the war began in April 1861, Jackson's first command was at Harpers Ferry, where he formed and trained one of most famous units in the Civil War, the Stonewall Brigade. Both Jackson and his brigade earned their nickname at the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861. Jackson also acquired Little Sorel, his favorite mount for the rest of his life, while he was here. Jackson returned here in September 1862 and captured Harpers Ferry and 12,500 Union soldiers to eliminate a potential Union threat to the rear of Gen. Robert E. Lee's army in Maryland. Jackson rejoined Lee in September 17 in time for the Battle of Antietam. Technically a draw, the battle gave President Abraham Lincoln sufficient political capital to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, a turning point in the war. "My great grandfather was up on that ridge with Stonewall Jackson." -- County Commissioner Edgar Ridgeway, May 2000, as he voted to preserve a portion of the battlefield surrounding this site
13. HARPBO_130104_177.JPG: A Position Strong by Nature In 1862 Union Colonel Dixon Miles thought that the ridge in front of you, Bolivar Heights, was the perfect place to defend Harpers Ferry. However, in September of '62, Colonel Miles and 14,000 Union soldiers found themselves surrounded by 24,000 Confederates led by "Stonewall" Jackson. From the Confederate position behind you on School House Ridge, one of Jackson's officers described Bolivar Heights as "a position strong by nature." Jackson agreed. He had no time for a siege and did not want to risk an attack up the steep slope of Bolivar Heights. Jackson planned a fake attack here on the southern end of Bolivar Heights. Following a full afternoon of artillery bombardment on September 14, the Confederate plan began to unfold. "In the afternoon, General Hill was ordered to move along the left bank of the Shenandoah, turn the enemy's left, and enter Harper's Ferry....General J.R. Jones was directed to make a demonstration against the enemy's right." -- "Stonewall" Jackson
14. HARPBO_130104_181.JPG: The First Line of Defense: The Union Skirmish Line After sunset on September 14, 1862, the Confederate cannons across the road on School House Ridge vanished in the darkness. The features of the landscape began to blur as the shell-shocked Union soldiers on Bolivar Heights wondered if they could survive another day of artillery bombardment. The Union troops could not rest until tomorrow, however, because General "Stonewall" Jackson's Confederate Army might charge over School House Ridge at any moment. To guard against such an attack, the Union command established a human alarm system on this field in the form of a skirmish line. It was the first line of defense. If the Confederates advanced, the gunfire from the Union soldiers on the skirmish line would reveal the location of the attack. "Stonewall" Jackson was counting on it.
15. HARPBO_130104_220.JPG: From Skirmish Line to Burial Ground Some of the Union infantrymen who defended this ground on the night of September 14th returned the next day. Even though the Confederate strategy had won the battle for Harpers Ferry, and these Union soldiers were part of the largest surrender of United States troops in American history, these particular soldiers had unfinished business here. "Went to the foot of the hill to bury Disbrow, was shot in the head the knight before. Sad time. We buried him with overcoat and blanket wrapped around him." -- Private John Paylor, Company D, 111th New York Regiment "Horace Acker of Meridian had been killed. Poor boy, he was such an impulsive nature. It was impossible to tell whether he was killed by friend or foe as he was found dead in front of our line." -- Private Newman Eldred, Company H, 111th New York Regiment I found 4 men killed and 1 very seriously wounded; he died. That made 5 killed. I do not know how many were wounded, 9 or 10, mostly slightly wounded. One man was wounded in the breast, and another had a little finger shot off - some little things of that kind. I could not tell how many of the rebels were killed, or whether any of them were. When they came into our camp [after the surrender] they told us we had killed 20 of them and wounded a number more." -- Colonel Jesse Segoine, 111th New York Regiment
16. HARPBO_130104_241.JPG: Union Skirmish Line Union troops on the crest and slope of Bolivar Heights to the East were attacked by Confederates lead by Gen. Jackson from School House Ridge to the West on 14 Sept. 1862. Private Paylor, Co. D., 111th NY, recalled this as "an awful fight." This action helped defeat 12,000 Union troops at Harpers Ferry. Their surrender on 15 Sept. was the largest of Federal forces until Bataan, the Philippines, WW II, 1942.
17. HARPBO_130104_252.JPG: Battle of Harpers Ferry: Invasion rocked the United States during the second year of the American Civil War. In September 1862 Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched his army into Maryland - the North. Lee's first target became Harpers Ferry. He ordered "Stonewall" Jackson to make the attack. Here Jackson overcame the great obstacles, defeating the Union during a three-day battle and forcing the largest surrender of U.S. troops during the Civil War. His victory at Harpers Ferry enabled Lee to make his stand at nearby Antietam. "At first their missiles of death fell far short of our camp; but each succeeding shell came nearer and nearer, until the earth was plowed up at our feet and our tents torn to tatters." -- Lieutenant James H. Clark, 115th New York Infantry
18. HARPBO_130104_255.JPG: Jackson Arrives: Confederate Major General "Stonewall" Jackson arrived here on Schoolhouse Ridge with 14,000 men to commence the Battle of Harpers Ferry. Jackson faced mountain obstacles and a determined Union army defending Bolivar Heights. But in a three-day battle, he forced the largest surrender of U.S. Troops during the Civil War. Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was the most successful Confederate general by the late summer of 1862. At the war's outbreak in April 1861, he began his Confederate career as a colonel in command at Harpers Ferry. Returning 17 months later, Jackson used his knowledge of the area's rugged terrain to outmaneuver the Union troops.
19. HARPBO_130104_268.JPG: Civil War Preservation Trust Campaign to Save School House Ridge, Harpers Ferry, WV Site of the Confederate position during the Siege and Cannonade, September 12-15, 1862
20. HARPBO_130104_327.JPG: No Man's Land: No soldier liked to be trapped between opposing battle lines. Here where you stand, in these open pastures about half way between the crest of Schoolhouse Ridge and the steep slopes of Bolivar Heights, was no man's land on this battlefield. Artillery from the crests easily could bombard this area. With no forest on Bolivar Heights, Union officers could readily see any movements across these fields. The challenge for "Stonewall" Jackson: How to cross this vulnerable expanse and attack Bolivar Heights.
21. HARPBO_130104_354.JPG: Fake Attack - September 14th "Stonewall" Jackson understood the principle of military deception. On the second evening of the battle, he used deception here. To lure the Union attention away from the south end of Bolivar Heights, Jackson faked an attack against the north end of the heights in front of you. Using darkness to disguise the deceit, the Stonewall Division marched forward from near this location, creating a commotion that successfully distracted the Federals from Jackson's real advance, one mile to the south. This fake maneuver ultimately helped Jackson position Confederates behind the main enemy line.
22. HARPBO_130104_368.JPG: Confederates Converge Confederate General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North hinged on eliminating the Harpers Ferry garrison. To do so Lee devised Special Orders 191. He divided his force of 40,000 into four parts. Three columns marched from near Frederick, Maryland, 22 miles northeast of here, to seize the three mountains surrounding Harpers Ferry. The fourth moved north and west toward Hagerstown. Following victory at Harpers Ferry, Lee intended to reunite his army and continue the invasion into Pennsylvania. Lee assigned Major General "Stonewall" Jackson to command the Harpers Ferry attack. Jackson's columns faced challenging barriers. Long sweeping marches over mountain passes and across the Potomac River required endurance. Once here, "Stonewall's" soldiers had to scale the surrounding heights. Victory demanded coordination, communication, and convergence. Any lapse would enable the Federals to escape.
23. HARPBO_130104_386.JPG: Destined for Antietam September 10, 1862 from Frederick, Maryland Confederate commander Lee sends part of his army to capture Harpers Ferry, while he waits in Maryland to advance on Pennsylvania. Jackson September 13 -- Maryland Heights, MD: Confederates force Union soldiers off Maryland Heights. September 13: Jackson arrives here on Schoolhouse Ridge, surrounding the Union garrison. September 14: Jackson's forces bombard Harpers Ferry and outflank the Federals on Bolivar Heights. September 15: Union garrison surrenders, and Jackson advances on Sharpsburg to help Lee, leaving General A.P. Hill behind to deal with the captured prisoners and spoils of war. Lee September 14 -- South Mountain, MD: Lee's troops clash with the Union army and delay its counter attack. September 15 -- Sharpsburg, MD: Lee withdraws toward Sharpsburg, north of Showman's Knoll. He awaits news from Jackson at Harpers Ferry. Antietam: September 17, 1862: Union and Confederate soldiers fight in the bloodiest day of the Civil War. Lee's invasion ends, President Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
24. HARPBO_130104_424.JPG: Assessing the Obstacle Never had "Stonewall" Jackson faced a stronger enemy position. Arriving here on Schoolhouse Ridge on the first day of the battle, Jackson scanned Bolivar Heights (the lower ridge in front of you) and saw a dangerous enemy - 7,000 Union infantry and dozens of cannon stretched across the ridge, ready for battle. He realized a frontal assault would be deadly. After securing Schoolhouse Ridge with his artillery and 14,000 infantry, Jackson labored to open communications with his officers on Maryland and Loudoun heights. Meanwhile, he devised a plan of deception and surprise.
25. HARPBO_130104_476.JPG: We Began Firing At Will: The 111th New York Regiment "We went below and formed in line of battle and laid down on our arms. Sleep was out of the question but of course, human nature will succumb and drowsiness was general among the boys. It must have been nine O'Clock or more by this time. All of a sudden there came a blinding flash in front of our line. We were all alert in a moment and we got in line of battle as quickly as possible. "We began firing at will for all we knew hardly a thing about military drill and didn't see anything to fire at but still kept firing till we were ordered to cease firing." -- Private Newman Eldred, Company H, 111th New York Regiment "Suddenly we heard a clattering among the stones; you could see nothing...it turned out to be a body of the enemy's cavalry that made a dash at us and delivered a fire from carbines, as I supposed. I immediately ordered my regiment to return the fire; I repeated it about three times." -- Colonel Jesse Segoine, 111th New York Regiment
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