Harpers Ferry

By: Dennie Spence

After much contemplation, largely due to laziness, I have finally sat down to write the first of many blogs pertaining to the time spent in Gettysburg’s Civil War Era Studies program. It has been some three odd weeks now since the first of our fieldtrips to various Civil War battlefields. Our first trip was certainly a mix of emotions ranging from a bit of real concern to a fear of boredom. When we loaded on the bus in the early morning hours we seemed on the whole to be in a jovial, albeit sleepy mood. I must readily confess that for me, it seemed a bit like the emotions felt when a child walks into kindergarten for the first time. I was a bit concerned over how the tour would be conducted, how much was to be expected of us and to what degree would we be expected to retain any information that was given unto us.

As the bus pulled into the park, I was met with a certain comfort. This was not my first time in the park and indeed would certainly not be my last as both I and my fellow southerner Phillip Brown are interns at the park. Perhaps this was part of the nagging concern over the question of possible boredom at the park. However, we soon were met by Dennis Frye, and this quickly alleviated some of the anxiety. We would begin our tour with a trip to the lower town. Our morning was full of debates concerning who was this man John Brown who came to the very town we were now in, in October 1859. Mr. Frye would lead us through the story from the highs of excitement with the marines smashing in the door of the fire engine house to the very lows of one of the raider’s bodies being thrown to the hogs. We were met with questions such as why had this man John Brown attacked such a peaceful village. Was it only for the weapons? Could it be that he was one of America’s very first terrorists? Was this man, John Brown really such a martyr as we have made him to be, or is he simply a crazed fanatic? As our morning drew to an end, we all certainly had formed our own opinions of this man who made such an impact on such a beautiful community.

After dinner at the Anvil, we would resume our tour. However, now it was three years after John Brown and no longer focused on Lower Town. Now we would find ourselves standing atop Bolivar Heights imagining ourselves as both Colonel Dixon Miles and Robert E. Lee. We would have a raging debate over what we feel as though we might do in each man’s particular boots as it were. Many would feel that Miles should have done more even if it meant fighting on Camp Hill and in the streets of Lower town if it meant only one more day of engaging in delay, while others felt Col. Miles had done the best job possible with the men and orders given under his command. One thing we all would agree is that the night march executed by A.P. Hill was a thing of inspiring courage and fortitude and without a shadow of a doubt the nail that sealed the coffin for the siege of Harper’s Ferry.

In retrospect, I must say that none of my early morning anxiety was well founded. It was a more than average educational experience and never did it possess a moment of dullness throughout the day. My only concern is that I wish I could have stayed for just a while longer. I regretted in leaving that there was not enough time in the day to truly scale the cliffs and ravines as Hill’s men did, that we could not have marched over from the Kennedy farm, and that I could not see the views of the town as they would have so long ago atop Maryland and Loudin Heights. Even so, as our bus pulled in front of the Appleford, our beautiful home, I admit to a feeling of pride, shame, and accomplishment. The story of Harper’s Ferry then, and how it has impacted me now, is one of so many instances, emotions and people that one could never fully understand its beauty, both physical and historical.