Sept 12- 15, 1862 - Harpers Ferry
Sept. 12- 15, 1862
Stonewall Jackson out-maneuvered the Union at Harper's Ferry and earned his reputation as a military genius. He got higher than the high ground by sneaking his troops around; he pulled off the greatest capture of American prisoners of war until the Bataan death march of the Korean War. Then again, the town is surrounded by heights - what is one to do?!
On the 14th of Sept., Union troops (Miles', NY Regiments) came down from the heights to form a skirmish line facing Jackson's troops across on School House Ridge.
Harpers Ferry
Jefferson County, WV
Dixon S. Miles's 13,000-man garrison
vs.
Confederate forces under Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson(Barksdale's Mississippi brigade; Gen. John G. Walker's division; Gen. A.P. Hill's division - famously races from here straight into battle at Antietam)
* The(?) First(?) Battle of Harpers Ferry, actually several battles here
* Stonewall besieges Union garrison at Harpers Ferry
* largest surrender of American troops until WWII (Miles was surrounded by heights on three sides); "Believing the situation to be hopeless, Miles called a meeting of his subordinates. As surrender was debated, a shell burst through the wall of the house where the officers met, shattering Miles’ left leg. The garrison surrendered a short time later."
* Miles was "infamous for his drunkenness during Bull Run"
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One view of Harpers Ferry from the opposite Bolivar Heights, sight of multiple skirmishes. And a particular location that changed hands several times. |
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| Looking down on Harpers Ferry from the heights, and clearly that smudge is a picture of Mothman. |
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Schoolhouse Ridge outside Harpers Ferry |
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https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5396
The raw recruits of the 111th New York Regiment marched through the darkness to this position on the Union skirmish line." |
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| Skirmish line roughly parallel with the modern road |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5397 |
"On the dark, moonless night of September 14, 1862, 100 men from the 126th New York Regiment established a skirmish line here. These men were new to the war, having only been in uniform for a few short weeks. After surviving a terrifying afternoon of relentless Confederate artillery fire, these young men were thrust into a dangerous and vulnerable position on the front line. If the Confederates wanted to attack this location, this was a good time to do it.
'On Sunday evening, the second day of our fight, I was ordered out in front of our camp to skirmish as the Rebs were getting rather thick. Now just keep in mind that I had been up for three nights before. You can imagine how pleasantly I must have felt. It was a dangerous position, but I felt as if I did not care whether the Rebs had me or not. Our hundred men were detailed and put under Lt. Munson & myself. You ought to have seen us hunting our way down Bolivar Heights for the front of our camp. At last we reached our position.'Lieutenant George York, Company I, 126th New York Regiment, from a letter to his father."
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=5398 |
"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 of 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."
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| I've been to Harpers Ferry before, but I had never caught this little sign hiding in a corner of a field by the tree line. This really is like Pokémon GO sometimes |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2944 "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." |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=173627 "Site of the Confederate position during the Siege and Cannonade, September 12-15, 1862." |
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| https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=229766 |
"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
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."
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| I sincerely hate this! |
"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."
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The Murphy/Chambers Farm: sights, trails, and panoramic views. |
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This is the view of town from across the river that Jackson saw after getting in position. Picturesque and worth the hike through a sweltering field and farm. |
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| The Harpers Ferry train station- still in operation. |
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| Got a little too close to the CSX as it crossed the same bridge that I was on. |
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Harpers Ferry: very limited parking. Some of those old houses are modern cafes and others are semi-open-air museum exhibit. Neat. * * * Not the same visit (this was another time, in 2024, on the way to Romney, WV) but technically the same battle, just outside of town. Sept. 13, 1862 * The first Civil War battle in Maryland!    Battle of Maryland Heights Maryland's First Civil War Battle — Antietam Campaign 1862 — (Preface): After Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's smashing victory over Union Gen. John Pope at the Second Battle of Manassas, Lee decided to invade the North to reap the fall harvest, gain Confederate recruits, earn foreign recognition, and perhaps compel the Union to sue for peace. The Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River on September 4, 1862. Lee divided his force, detaching Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's command to capture Harpers Ferry. At Antietam Creek on September 17, Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac fought Lee's men to a bloody draw. Lee retreated to Virginia September 18-19. On September 12-13, 1862, Maryland's first battle of the Civil War raged on the mountain in front of you. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee had ordered Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to capture or destroy the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry that threatened the Confederate line of supply and communication during Lee's first invasion of the North. Jackson's subordinate, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, received the difficult task of seizing this mountain. Four miles to your left is the Potomac River and a gap in the mountains of the Blue Ridge, where Harpers Ferry is located. There, 14,000 Union soldiers threatened the Confederate flank, and the problem had to be eliminated for Lee's advance to continue. McLaws and 8,000 Confederates marched into Pleasant Valley past this spot to help surround and attack Harpers Ferry from the north. When McLaws encountered the Union soldiers defending Maryland Heights on Friday, September 12, skirmishing commenced. McLaws directed Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw's South Carolina Brigade and Gen. William Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade to ascend Elk Ridge at Solomon's Gap (the gap in front of you). The Confederates then turned left, encountering stiff resistance until nightfall. At dawn on Saturday, September 13, the Confederates attacked with fury. They faced "a most obstinate resistance" and "a fierce fire" from Federals behind log breastworks. After nine hours and more than 300 Union and Confederate casualties, the Federals withdrew into Harpers Ferry. Two days later, they capitulated to Jackson in the largest surrender of U.S. troops during the war. (Sidebar): The pacifist Anabaptist German religious sect nicknamed Dunkers for their form of baptism arrived in Pleasant Valley in the late 1700s. Generations were baptized here in Israel Creek, where they were submerged three times in honor of the Trinity. The battles of Maryland Heights and South Mountain interrupted their peaceful way of life, but their church and farms were not wrecked like those of the Antietam Dunkers. The Dunkers still thrive in Pleasant Valley, worshipping here at the Brownsville Church of the Brethren (shown left as constructed in 1852).  See also Sept. 14-15, 1862 - the Battle of South Mt. Read a whole book chapter about this MD battle from the NYers who fought it here. * |
So yea - Lee famously split up his army: sending some North through Maryland and others under Jackson to Harpers Ferry. He also famously wrote down those orders, and then a copy of those orders were lost. Even when the Union miraculously found these famous Lost Orders outside Frederick, Gen McClellan only accelerated slightly more than his usual glacial pace, but it was enough to catch-up at South Mountain, stop the speedy invasion of the North, and force Lee to either retreat home to Virginia or have a battle at Antietam...
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/harpers-ferry
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