Around Harpers Ferry, April 26, 2013

Today we took thte auto tour around Harpers Ferry, visiting some of the pivotal scenes of the battle that took place here in September 1862.

Learning that the garrison at Harpers Ferry had not retreated after his moving north into Maryland, Lee decided to surround the union force and capture it. He divided his army into four columns, three of which converged upon Harpers Ferry. On September 15, after Confederate artillery was placed on the heights overlooking the town, Union commander Colonel Miles surrendered  his force of more than 12,000.  What were the Confederates to do with over 12,000 prisoners? They "paroled" them--let them go, with  their promise not to engage in battle again until they could be exchanged for "captured" Confederate soldiers. Read more about this unique formal battle procedure in force during the Civil War here. Jackson took possession of Harpers Ferry, then led most of his soldiers to join with Lee at Sharpsburg (Antietam).

One interesting note: the battle of Antietam, named for the creek in Sharpsburg, was called that by the north. The south called it the battle of Sharpsburg. A year after the battle of Antietam, Confederate forces came back to try another attempt to invade the north at Gettysburg.

Harpers Ferry was the site of another historical event. John Brown was an abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. In 1859, Brown led an unsuccessful raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry that ended with his capture. Brown's trial resulted in his conviction and a sentence of death by hanging. Brown's attempt in 1859 to start a liberation movement among enslaved African Americans in Harpers Ferry, Virginia electrified the nation. He was tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men, and inciting a slave insurrection. He was found guilty on all counts and was hanged. This event played a major role in the start of the Civil War, revealing a deep division between North and South.

We finally strolled around Virginius Island in the Shenandoah River, where people lived and worked until floods drove everyone out. There are only traces of the settlement there now.

During the day, we had the pleasure of meeting a couple from Seneca Falls, NY who was visiting the area. We chatted for a bit, discussing the history of the area, and our mutual pleasure at traveling at a time of year when we weren't surrounded by throngs of people.

Great Falls of the Potomac, Maryland side, April 24, 2013

Today we traveled about 45 miles south to a place we visited last summer. We were curious to see if the Potomac was more filled with water this spring. Last summer, we visited the Virginia side of the river. This time, we went on the Maryland side.

We had determined that we would hike one or two of the trails there. After reading trails descriptions, we settled on the aptly named Billy Goat trail. It had been billed as a strenuous trail, one where  you'd have to scramble over large boulders, and climb up cliff faces. Hey--we're in good shape--no problem!

The first part of the trail was really pretty easy, down the flat tow path, and through a hardwood forest. Easy-peasy. Then came the billy goat part. The hike takes you on a "path" parallel to the Potomac, up on the crest of the river bank. That "path" was, in large part, more like a boulder field. There was little or no dirt, little or no place to put your whole foot flat on the ground. There was a lot of climbing up rock, and scrambling back down. At one point, we did find ourselves on a "beach" of sorts. Unfortunately, we had to climb back up a steep granite face to get back up to the crest of the river bank. All in all, it took us about 4 hours. Here are a few pictures:

I've got to say, that there were times on the trail, when we wondered how we were going to get up and over the rocks. But, fact is, after you've been on the trail for a few hours, you know that you can't turn around and go back, so you find a way. The last leg of the trail takes you along the tow path, reward for the tough hike you just did. It was a beautiful day, and the views of the river from the trail were fabulous.

BTW, the falls were fantastic as well. The Maryland side offers a different perspective.

Antietam, April 23, 2013

We will be staying at the Harpers Ferry KOA for several days, and taking small trips to area sights. Today we traveled the 17 or so miles to Antietam, the site of  the place where 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led to Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. For these reasons, Antietam was crucial to the history of our country.

On a day that started out cloudy and cool, and ended up sunny and beautiful, we toured the Antietam battleground. How can you not be moved while standing at the spot where, at the end of this stage of the battle, hundreds of bodies of men lay in piles? This was the case at the Sunken Road,  a rough lane eroded over many years to wagon tracks. Confederates used it as an improvised trench, and it was the object of ferocious Union assaults. A number of union regiments attacked the Sunken Road in waves. It was finally taken, and troops were shocked to see a huge number of Confederate bodies piled atop each other.

When the photographer, Alexander Garner arrived on the scene, 2 days after the battle, the Sunken Road was still filled with bodies.

The Sunken Road today

The sad truth of this day in history, is that neither side won the battle, with roughly the same casualties. No advantage was won in the war. All those men died in vain.

We visited many such sites around the Antietam battle field, including Burnside's bridge, originally a passageway over Antietam Creek for farmers to take their produce and livestock to market in Sharpsburg.
Confederates held the Union force at bay, until the union soldiers finally decided to storm the bridge. It looks very much the same as it did 151 years ago, guarded by the sycamore tree that was there at the time.

Sycamore at top right was standing when the battle at Burnside's bridge took place.

We ended our tour at the national cemetery at Antietam.

The KOA where we are staying is clean and quiet. We're loving it. One weird thing: there is no Verizon data service here, although the phone signal is good.

Harpers Ferry 4/22/2013

As is usual for us when we travel, we were up early, had a cup of coffee, watch the news on TV, dubbed about a bit, got showered and dressed, and then packed up to go. With the trailer, packing up and going is a bit more complicated. But, with practice, I suspect we'll get faster at it. Today, we drove south to Harpers Ferry, WV, a historic town at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. In 1761, Robert Harper established a ferry across the Potomac here, making the town a starting point for settlers moving into the Shenandoah Valley and further west. The area is marked by hills and valleys that we had remembered from our trip this past summer. With spring in full bloom, roads are lined with flowering crabapples, and weeping cherry and pear trees. There is a National Historical Park at Harpers Ferry, and we enjoyed walking the streets of the town, and learning more about the town's history, especially during the Civil War. Due to its strategic location on the railroad and at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, both Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry frequently. As a matter of fact, the Civil War was disastrous for Harpers Ferry, which changed hands between the Union and Confederacy eight times between 1861 and 1865.

 

Harpers Ferry

The center of town itself looks much like it did in the 1800s. The National Park has restored some of the buildings to recapture the look of the town in its heyday, with a dry goods store, boarding house, blacksmith,

St. Peter's Church

bookshop, clothing store, confectionery store and more. We hiked up a steep staircase, hand-cut into the stone hill to St. Peter's Catholic Church, at the top of a hill. The church is only open for Sunday Mass. One piece of interesting information was that during the Civil War, the pastor of the church flew a British flag to indicated its impartiality, so it would not be bombarded by either side. In this way, the church became one of the few buildings in town not damaged in the war. We also visited the rock at which Thomas Jefferson stopped on October 25, 1783. He found the view from the rock impressive and wrote that "this scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic". The view of the valley below really is impressive.

Again, the 3 hour drive south had us dealing with nutty people who swerved around us. Our favorite "crazy" today was a van that missed its exit off the interstate, and did a quick u-turn through a construction site, to the amazement of the workers. Yikes. We also had to stop for town workers taking down a giant tree. The road went down to one very small lane. When traffic resumed, we just squeaked through. The weather has been cool, but crisp, with bright blue skies. Tomorrow, we head to Antietam.

Maiden cruise 4/22/2013

We left on Saturday to check out our new addition, our Bullet Premier 19FBPR--a little travel trailer built for 2. Thankfully, the weather was clear, if cool. But Ray found out that just clear weather does not necessarily mean easy driving, especially when you're pulling 4500 pounds. Man, it was windy. Try pulling a trailer through New York City and across the George Washington Bridge in heavy wind. Try changing lanes in heavy traffic, where you have to rely on the courtesy of truck drivers, because the car drivers don't really give a ----. It was interesting watching cars weave in and out around us on every road. No wonder truck drivers hate car drivers. Sitting up higher, we had a great view of all the craziness on the roads. But the absolute highlight of our trip down to PA was the last leg, once we got off the highway. As we were staying at a campground in Coatesville, PA (a small town west of Philly), our GPS took us down some pretty hairy roads. You know you're in trouble when you are asking yourself  "Is this road rated to carry an RV?", and then you see a sign that says "RVs permitted". We took the trailer on roads that were barely wide enough for the truck and another car coming the other way, never mind a truck and a trailer, and opposing traffic. One of the last parts of the road took us around a hairpin turn. Yup, "RVs permitted".  Let's just say that Ray has my great admiration as a driver (as well as for other reasons).

After setting up at the campground and settling in, we spent a lovely, comfy night. It's great traveling with all the comforts of home. We set out yesterday morning for Longwood Gardens. What a fabulous place. No matter how many times we go, it is always different and dazzling. The tulip beds that greeted us at the entrance were almost iridescent. The conservatories were spectacular. Maybe the fact that this past winter was nasty and long, made us ever more appreciative of the green and floral wonderland that is Longwood. We spent the day strolling through the absolute beauty of the place. Pictures just don't do Longwood justice.

Monday, we head to Harpers Ferry, WV.