ALMOST HEAVEN

Everybody sing along!

Almost heaven, West Virginia/Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River

Life is old there, older than the trees/Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze.

Betty was a John Denver fan-girl when she was a kitty. She still loves her some John Denver. What a pure voice. His songs speak to the heart. Speaking of, we really enjoyed our time in West Virginia. We visited Harpers Ferry, the most eastern point of the state. We’ll try to visit the rest of it at a point TBD.

Our camping park was located right next to Harpers Ferry National Park. We hadn’t done any research about the park, so we were surprised to find that the town of Harpers Ferry is actually in and part of the national park.

Harpers Ferry’s history is based around the confluence of two rivers. The Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers converge at the Point in Harpers Ferry. Settlers used the rivers for power and transportation and then railroads were built along the rivers. The area was a major center for industry and transportation in the 1800s.

In 1796, the federal government purchased a parcel of land from the heirs of Robert Harper. The feds constructed the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. This was the second of only two such facilities in the United States, the first being in Springfield, Massachusetts. Together they produced most of the small arms for the U.S. Army.

So, you’ve probably heard of John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry. It was probably the match that lit the fire of the public debate on slavery. John Brown’s goal was to capture the arsenal. Wiki says in part, “on October 16, 1859, the abolitionist John Brown led a group of 22 men in a raid on the armory. Five of the men were black: three free black men, one freed slave, and one fugitive slave. Brown attacked and captured several buildings, hoping to secure the weapons depot and arm the slaves, [with the goal of] starting a revolt across the South.” The raid failed and Brown and his men were pinned down in the firehouse, later known as John Brown’s fort. Wiki continues, “Brown was quickly tried in Charles Town, the county seat of Jefferson County, for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder, and fomenting a slave insurrection. Convicted of all charges, … he was hanged on December 2. John Brown's words "captured the attention of the nation like no other abolitionist or slave owner before or since." Fair to say that his words and actions accelerated a civil war.

We also visited the battlefield at Harpers Ferry. A ranger with the U.S. Parks Department led us on a very educational tour of the area. He discussed placements, strategy, movements of troops, and how the battle unfolded and resolved. We’re not fanatics about battles and battlefields, but this was a fascinating look at how the officers moved a bunch of scared teenagers and twenty-somethings around and got them to shoot each other. The Confederate Army prevailed in a very embarrassing loss for the Union. The Battle of Harpers Ferry led to the capitulation of 12,500 Union troops, which was the largest number of Union prisoners taken at one time during the war. For those of you who are battlefield fanatics, this is your place. We were in driving distance to Antietam National Battlefield, Gettysburg, and I don’t know how many others.

History is great!

Betty and Buster

A view of the river from the battlefield

The Shenandoah River flowing into the Potomac

The rivers running together - you can see an old advertisement painted on the hillside across the river

Part of the upper town

more of upper town

The Ranger talking to our group in front of the Murphy farmhouse which is part of the HP battefield

This is one of the buildings in Lower Town. I liked the way the owners enlarged their house - they just built up and back!!