Categories: Civil War 150th

Harper’s Ferry Abandoned

The burned bridge with Harper’s Ferry in the background

150 years ago yesterday Joseph E. Johnston of the Confederacy evacuated Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, retreating before Robert’s Patterson’s Army of the Shenandoah. In this theater of the war, there were four main armies. The Union had one army under Gen. McDowell stationed near Washington, and another under Gen. Patterson at the head of the Shenandoah Valley. Their plan was to invade Virginia. Gen. Johnston commanded the Confederate army facing Patterson, and Gen. Beuregard commanded the other army facing McDowell.

The same bridge pillars today

Harper’s Ferry was a very strategic point in the Civil War. It was at the junction of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, and it is at the head of the Shenadoah Valley. It changed hands eight times during the Civil War. It was abandoned by the Union troops and occupied by Johnston, and now he was retreating in the face of Patterson’s superior forces.

civilwar150th

Share
Published by
civilwar150th

Recent Posts

An Update on My William Bradford Biography

Since I announced several years ago that I was writing a new biography of William…

3 days ago

Harry Wisbey: God’s Word in WW1 Trenches

The Suffolk Regiment in World War I Harry Wisbey kissed his wife and squeezed his…

4 days ago

On Bradford’s Trail: Leiden

Bradford lived in Leiden during a truly formative period of his life, and we spent…

5 days ago

First Signs of the Transformation of Cannibals into Christians

Aniwa Today. Photo by David Stanley under CC-BY 2.0 The story of John G. Paton’s…

3 weeks ago

John Chambers: Alaska Missionary Bush Pilot

Photo by NASA/Maria-José Viñas The small aircraft buzzed along between two vast expanses of whiteness.…

4 weeks ago

Semper Reformanda Taught by the Pilgrim Pastor

Delftshaven, from which the Pilgrims departed Many Reformed churches today hold dearly to the principle…

4 months ago