Harpers Ferry, WV

"The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature ... This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic ..."

Thomas Jefferson, 1783

Jefferson wrote those lines as he overlooked the river from a rock outcropping, high above the riverbed. Harper's Ferry is situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, from where you can stand in one place and almost throw a rock into West Virginia, Maryland, or Virginia. Home to John Brown's raid on the arsenal in protest of slavery and the largest surrender of Union soldiers during the Civil War.



Harpers Ferry changed hands between the Confederate and Union soldiers fourteen times during the Civil War. St Peter's Church built in 1833, was the only church relatively unscathed by artillery during the conflict. Reverend Costello is credited with this due to his decision to fly the Union Jack above the church during the conflict.

Harpers Ferry is maintained as a Historic National Park and is well worth the visit . . .