2019 Harpers Ferry

Lady Adventurer and I spent a very nice long weekend in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. It was to celebrate the 44^th anniversary of our wedding, and besides Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, we also visited Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland and stayed in historic Martinsburg, West Virgina. But Harpers Ferry was the main attraction.

Located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, Harpers Ferry is a quaint and picturesque historical village that is surrounded by trails and battlefields in three states (West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia). The hiking was supposed to be wonderful.

It was. We started with the Maryland Heights hike. It consisted of over six miles of challenging mountain hiking and 1,500 feet of elevation gain and loss. Lary A., had been worried about the difficulty, but we took our time and did just fine. The scenery was spectacular, and we had to wonder how the Civil War soldiers managed to build stone fortifications and haul cannon up that mountain. Our second hike was shorter and less difficult: Murphy-Chambers Farm. It was a huge open area, and scene of another battle. Still scenic, it wasn’t quite so spectacular.

Harpers Ferry is most famous as being the site of the famous John Brown Abolitionist raid of 1859. His goal had been to arm and free the slaves, but after a siege, he was captured and executed. The Southern Slave holders were not much in favor of armed slaves, so they didn’t look too kindly on John Brown and his gang.

The Civil War began two years later, and the town changed hands eight times, with several different battles occurring in nearby areas. It seemed as though the Confederates won most of the battles, yet the Union held the town for most of the war. Now, several of the riverside buildings are part of the National Park, and are staffed by Living History folks to tell you about the war and the raid.

Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg is every bit as serenely beautiful and awe-inspiring as Gettysburg National Battlefield. Although they are in different states, they aren’t all that far apart, and the landscapes are similar: wide-open farmland with rolling hills and some trees. The Antietam battle marks the single bloodiest day in American History, with 23,000 casualties.

I love history so much that I get goosebumps when I go to sites like these. I visited Gettysburg NP several years ago, and it was, as always, an awesome experience. I was gratified and moved to see that even in these times, our National Park System is devoted to the preservation of the land and its history. This visit restored some of my faith in our heritage and even our government. By visiting historical places, we become part of that history, and it becomes part of us.

Now, as to that question as to why so many Civil War battles were fought in National Parks: despite my best efforts, I still don’t have an answer.