{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_35459/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_35459","id":"gutenberg_35459","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35459","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - American","Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) -- History","Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) -- History -- John Brown's Raid, 1859","US Civil War"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by Mark C. Orton, Louise Pattison and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n    THE STRANGE STORY OF\n    HARPER'S FERRY\n\n    WITH LEGENDS OF\n    THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY\n\n    BY\n\n    JOSEPH BARRY\n\n    A resident of the place for half a century\n\n\n    PRINTING HISTORY\n\n    1st Printing By Thompson Brothers, Martinsburg, W. Va.          1903\n\n    2nd Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District\n    (Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,\n    Shepherdstown, W. Va.)                                          1958\n\n    3rd Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District\n    (Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,\n    Shepherdstown, W. Va.)                                          1959\n\n    4th Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District\n    (Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,\n    Shepherdstown, W. Va.)                                          1964\n\n    5th Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District\n    (Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,\n    Shepherdstown, W. Va.)                                          1967\n\n    6th Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District\n    (Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,\n    Shepherdstown, W. Va.)                                          1969\n\n\n    Copyright, 1903, by\n    JOSEPH BARRY\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe =real story= of Harper's Ferry is sad, and but little less wild and\nromantic than the old-time legends that abound in the long settled\ncountry around. The =facts= of the story we give with scrupulous\n=exactness=. We, ourselves, have witnessed many of the most important\nincidents narrated and, for what happened before our time, we have the\nevidence of old settlers of the highest character and veracity.\n\nThe =legends= are =consistent=, even though they may have no other claim on\nour consideration. They never have more than one version, although one\nnarrator may give more facts than another. The narratives never\n=contradict= one another in any material way, which goes to show that\nthere was a time when everybody around believed the main facts.\n\n    THE AUTHOR.\n\n\n[Illustration: JOHN BROWN'S FORT]\n\n\n\n\nTHE STRANGE STORY OF HARPER'S FERRY\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nHarper's Ferry, including Bolivar, is a town which, before the war of\nthe late rebellion, contained a population of about three\nthousand--nine-tenths of whom were whites. At the breaking out of\nhostilities nearly all the inhabitants left their homes--some casting\ntheir lots with \"the confederacy\" and about an equal number with the old\ngovernment. On the restoration of peace, comparatively few of them\nreturned. A great many colored people, however, who came at various\ntimes with the armies from southern Virginia, have remained, so that the\nproportion of the races at the place is materially changed. Also, many\nsoldiers of the national army who married Virginia ladies, during the\nwar, have settled there and, consequently, the town yet contains a\nconsiderable number of inhabitants. The present population may be set\ndown at sixteen hundred whites and seven hundred blacks. The village is\nsituated in Jefferson county, now West Virginia, at the confluence of\nthe Potomac and the Shenandoah, at the base and in the very shadow of\nthe Blue Ridge Mountain. The distance from Washington City is fifty-five\nmiles, and from Baltimore eighty-one miles. The Baltimore and Ohio\nrailroad crosses the Potomac, at the place, on a magnificent bridge and\nthe Winchester and Potomac railroad, now absorbed by the Baltimore and\nOhio, has its northern terminus in the town. The Chesapeake and Ohio\ncanal, also, is in the immediate neighborhood. Within the last twelve\nyears, the place has become a favorite summer resort for the people of\nWashington City and, from about the first of June to the last of\nOctober, it is visited by tourists from every part of the northern\nstates and Europe.\n\nThe scenery around the place is celebrated for its grandeur, and Thomas\nJefferson has immortalized it in a fine description composed, it is\nsaid, on a remarkable rock that commands a magnificent view of both\nrivers and their junction. The rock itself is a wonderful freak of\nNature and it is regarded by the inhabitants with pride for its being a\ngreat natural curiosity, and with veneration on account of the tradition\namong them that, seated on it, Jefferson wrote his \"Notes on Virginia.\"\nIt is, therefore, called \"Jefferson's Rock.\" It is composed of several\nhuge masses of stone, piled on one another (although the whole is\nregarded as one rock) the upper piece resting on a foundation, some\nyears ago, so narrow that it might easily be made to sway back and forth\nby a child's hand. It is supported now, however, by pillars placed under\nit, by order of one of the old armory superintendents, the original\nfoundation having dwindled to very unsafe dimensions by the action of\nthe weather, and still more, by the devastations of tourists and\ncuriosity-hunters. It is situated on the south side of \"Cemetery Hill,\"\nbehind the Catholic church, the lofty and glittering spire of which can\nbe seen at a great distance, as you approach from the East, adding much\nbeauty to the scene. The first church building there was erected in 1833\nby Father Gildea. In 1896 the old edifice was torn down and a beautiful\none substituted, under the supervision of the Rev. Laurence Kelley.\nThere can be no doubt that =this= church, at least, is \"built on a\nrock,\" for there is not soil enough anywhere near it to plant a few\nflowers around the House of Worship or the parsonage, and the worthy\nFathers have been obliged to haul a scanty supply from a considerable\ndistance to nourish two or three rosebushes. If \"The Gates of Hell\" try\nto prevail against =this= institution they had better assault from\nabove. There will be no chance for attacking the foundation, for it is\nsolid rock, extending, no one knows how far, into the bowels of the\nearth or through them, perhaps, all the way to the supposed location of\nthose terrible gates themselves.\n\nOn one side, the Maryland Heights, now so famous in history and, on the\nother, the Loudoun Heights rise majestically, and imagination might\neasily picture them as guardian giants defending the portals of the\nnoble Valley of Virginia. The Maryland Heights ascend in successive\nplateaus to an altitude of thirteen hundred feet above the surrounding\ncountry, and two thousand feet above the level of the sea. The Loudoun\nHeights are not so lofty, but the ascent to them is difficult and,\nconsequently, as the foot of man seldom treads them, they present the\nappearance of a more marked primeval wildness than the Maryland\nmountain--a circumstance which compensates the tourist for their\ninferiority in height. Between these two ramparts, in a gorge of savage\ngrandeur, the lordly Potomac takes to his embrace the beautiful\nShenandoah--\"The Daughter of the Stars,\" as the Indians poetically\nstyled this lovely stream. It will be seen, hereafter, however, that\nthis usually serene and amiable damsel, like the daughters of men, is\nsubject to occasional \"spells\" of perversity, and that, when she =does=\ntake a tantrum she makes things lively around her. The former river\nrises in western Virginia and, tumbling from the Alleghany Mountains in\nan impetuous volume, traverses the northern extremity of the Valley of\nVirginia, forming the boundary between \"The Old Dominion\" and the State\nof Maryland. At Harper's Ferry it encounters the Blue Ridge, at right\nangles, and receives the tributary Shenandoah which, rising in the upper\npart of the great valley, flows in a northerly course, at the base of\nthe same mountain, and unites its strength with the Potomac to cut a\npassage to the Ocean. This is the scenery of which Jefferson said that a\nsight of it was worth a voyage across the Atlantic, and no person with\nthe least poetry in his soul will consider the praise extravagant. It\nis, truly, a sublime spectacle and imagination, when allowed to do so,\nlends its aid to the really wonderful sublimity of the scene. On the\nrugged cliffs, on both the Maryland and Loudoun sides are supposed to be\nseen, sculptured by the hand of Nature, various shapes and faces, the\nappearance of which changes with the seasons and as they are concealed\nmore or less by the verdure of the trees. The giant, dwarf, centaur and\nalmost every other animal of Nature or of Fable are here portrayed to\nthe eye of Faith. On one rock, on the Maryland side, is a tolerably well\ndefined face with an expression of gravity which, with some other points\nof resemblance, will remind one of George Washington, and, at almost any\nhour of any day, may be seen strangers gazing intently on the mountain\nin search of this likeness. Frequently, the Bald Eagle wheels in\nmajestic circles immediately above this rock and, then, indeed, the\nillusion is too agreeable to be rejected by the most prosaic spectator.\nGeorge Washington, chiseled by the hand of Nature in the living rock, on\nthe summit of the Blue Ridge, with the Bird of Victory fanning his brow,\nis too much poetry to be thrown away and common sense matter of fact is\nout of the question. Of late years, a new feature has been added to the\nscene which gives it quite an alpine appearance. Shortly after our civil\nwar, a man named Reid, who then lived at the foot of the Maryland\nHeights, procured a few goats for the amusement of his children. The\ngoats multiplied rapidly and gradually spread up the side of the\nmountain, where their opportunities for mischief in gnawing the bark of\ntrees and for avoiding the attacks of dogs were practically unlimited.\nTheir number is now Legion and they frequently gather in great crowds on\nthe overhanging rocks, always in charge of a dignified old buck, with a\npatriarchal beard, and look down placidly and, may be, with contempt on\nthe busy hive of men below. Perhaps, the old buck often thinks, \"'What\nfools those two legged mortals be.' They call themselves Lords of the\ncreation and claim to own us, free sons of the mountain, and even our\nneighbor, the eagle, but I would like to see one of them climb up the\nface of this cliff and jump from crag to crag as the feeblest of =my=\nclan can do. There they go crawling along, and when one of them wants to\ntravel a few miles he must purchase a railroad ticket for a point to\nwhich my friend, the eagle, could arrive in a few dozen flaps of his\nwings without the care and trouble of baggage or the fear of a run-in or\na collision.\" Such may be and such, it is to be feared, =ought= to be,\nthe reflections of that old buck.\n\nBefore the war, the Loudoun Heights used to be the favorite roosting\nplace of immense numbers of crows that, during the autumn and winter\nforaged all over the Shenandoah Valley and all the rich grain lands east\nof the Blue Ridge, as, also, Middletown Valley and the proverbially\nfertile region between the Catoctin and the Patapsco. About an hour\nbefore sunset, advance bodies of the vast army would appear from every\ndirection and, before daylight had died out, it is no exaggeration to\nsay, the whole sky was obliterated from view by myriads upon myriads of\nthe sable freebooters. For some reason best known to themselves, these\nbirds do not, at once, settle down to rest, on arriving at their\nencampments, but wheel and circle 'round, as if none of them had a fixed\nperch, and, from their deafening and angry cawing, it may be inferred\nthat, every night, they have to contend for a convenient sleeping place.\nSometimes, it would appear as if they were holding a court, for, bodies\nof them are seen, frequently, to separate themselves from the main crowd\nand, after conferring, as it were, beat and banish a member--presumably\na criminal--and then return to the rookery. During the war, they\ndisappeared and, no doubt, sought a more peaceful home. Besides, in\nthose sad years agriculture was neglected in this region and it may be\nsupposed that these sagacious birds sought for plenty as well as peace.\nEven after the war, they no longer frequented the Loudoun Mountain, but\ntook to the Maryland Heights, where they may be seen every morning and\nevening in the autumn and winter, starting out on their forays or\nreturning to their inaccessible resting place. Their numbers vary very\nmuch, however, for, during several consecutive years, they will be\ncomparatively few, while for another period, they will appear in\ncountless thousands. They always disappear in the spring to fulfill the\ngreat law of increase and multiplication, but, strange to say, a crow's\nnest is a comparatively rare sight in the Virginia or Maryland woods,\nand as far as the writer is advised, it is the same in the neighboring\nstates. The farmers are unrelenting enemies of the crows, and they never\nneglect an opportunity for their destruction, and the sagacious birds,\nknowing this by instinct and experience, no doubt, take special pains to\nprotect their young by rearing them in the least accessible places. Some\nday, perhaps, we will know what useful part the crow takes in the\neconomy of Mother Nature. That he does something to compensate for the\ncorn he consumes, no reflecting man will be disposed to deny but what\nthat service is, certainly, no Virginia or Maryland grain producer\nappears to have discovered, if we are to judge from the amount of\nprofanity heard from those hard-fisted tillers of the soil, when the\nsubject of crows is mentioned.\n\nAt a point unapproachable from any quarter by man and not far from\nWashington's profile, is a crevice in the rock which has been ever the\nhome of a family of hawks that, like the robber knights of old, issue\nfrom their impregnable fortress and levy tribute from all that are too\nweak to resist them. They prey on the beautiful and useful little birds\nthat are indigenous, often extending their ravages to poultry yards. The\nonly way to destroy them is by shooting them with single bullets, while\nthey are on the wing, for they fly too high for shot. Their screams are\npeculiarly harsh and cruel, and they often mar the peaceful serenity of\na summer evening. The people would compromise with them gladly, if they\nwould war on the English sparrows, but as far as the author knows they\nnever do =that=, recognizing, no doubt, and respecting a kindred\ndepravity. May the shadows of both nuisances grow rapidly less! But,\nhold; not so fast. =They= too, perhaps, have their uses in the nice\nbalance of Nature, and their annihilation might cause an injurious\nexcess somewhere. How inconsistent, even a philosopher can sometimes\nbe!\n\nNear the hawks' fortress there is a traditional beehive of immense\nproportions. No one has seen it, for, like the hawks' nest, it is\ninaccessible to man, but wild bees are seen, in the season of flowers,\nflying to and from the place where the hive is supposed to be, and it is\nbelieved that there is a very great stock of honey stored away,\nsomewhere near, by many generations of these industrious and sagacious\ncreatures. =They=, too, and the hawks and crows, as well as the goats\nand eagles, may have their own opinion of the would-be Lords of\ncreation, and it may be well for us of the genus homo that we do not\nknow what that opinion is.\n\nIt is supposed by many that the whole Valley of Virginia was, at one\ntime, the bed of a vast sea and that, during some convulsion of Nature,\nthe imprisoned waters found an outlet at this place. There are many\ncircumstances to give an appearance of truth to this theory, especially\nthe fact that complete sea shells, or exact likenesses of them, are\nfound at various points in the Alleghany and Blue Ridge Mountains. Be\nthis as it may, the passage of the rivers through the mighty barrier is\na spectacle of awful sublimity and it well deserves the many panegyrics\nit has received from orator and poet. A good deal depends on the point\nfrom which, and the time when, the scene is viewed. The writer would\nrecommend the old cemetery and 10 o'clock, on a moonlight night,\nespecially if the moon should happen to be directly over the gorge where\nthe rivers meet. Then the savage wildness of the prospect is tempered\nagreeably by the mild moonbeams, and the prevailing silence adds to the\nimpression of mingled sublimity, and weird loveliness. Let no one fear\nthe companionship of the still inhabitants of \"the City of the Dead.\"\nThey are quiet, inoffensive neighbors and they, no doubt, many a time in\ntheir lives, admired the same scene and, like the men of to-day,\nwondered what this whole thing of creation and human existence means.\nPerhaps they know it all now and, perhaps, they do =not=. Any way, their\ntongues will not disturb one's meditations, and it may be that their\nsilence will furnish a wholesome homily on the nothingness of this life\nand the vanity of all earthly pursuits.\n\nRobert Harper, from whom the place gets its name, was a native of Oxford\nin England. He was born about the year 1703 and, at the age of twenty\nyears, he emigrated to Philadelphia where he prosecuted the business of\narchitecture and millwrighting. He erected a church for the Protestant\nEpiscopalians in Frankfort, which edifice, however, through some defect\nof title, was afterwards lost to the congregation for which it was\nbuilt. In 1747 he was engaged by some members of the Society of\n\"Friends\" to erect a meeting-house for that denomination on the Opequon\nriver, near the site of the present city of Winchester, Virginia, and,\nwhile on his way through the then unbroken wilderness to fulfill his\ncontract, he lodged, one night, at a lonely inn on the site of what is\nnow the city of Frederick, Maryland. While staying at this hostelry, he\nmet a German named Hoffman to whom, in the course of conversation, he\ncommunicated the business that took him on his journey and, also, his\nintention to proceed to his destination by way of Antietam, a name now\nso famous in our national history, for the terrible battle fought there\nduring the late rebellion. Hoffman informed him that there was a shorter\nroute, by way of what he called \"The Hole,\" and, as an additional\ninducement, he promised him a sight of some wonderful scenery. Harper\nagreed to go by the way of \"The Hole\" and, next night, he arrived at\nthat point and made the acquaintance of a man named Peter Stevens who\nhad squatted at the place which was included in the great Fairfax\nestate. Harper was so much pleased with the scenery that he bought out\nStevens for the sum of fifty British guineas. As, however, he could only\nbuy Stevens' good will, the real ownership being vested in Lord Fairfax,\nhe, next year, paid a visit to Greenway, the residence of that nobleman,\nand from him or his agent he obtained a patent for the lands formerly\noccupied by Stevens on the precarious tenure of squatter sovereignty.\nStevens had held the place for thirteen years and the agents of Lord\nFairfax had experienced great trouble from him. They were, therefore,\nvery glad to be rid of him. Harper settled down there and established a\nferry, when the place lost the undignified name of \"The Hole\" and\nacquired the more euphonious title of \"Harper's Ferry\" by which it has,\never since, been known and by which, no doubt, it will be designated by\nthe remotest posterity. At that time, there was but one dwelling\nthere--the Stevens cabin--which was situated on what is now called\nShenandoah street, on the site of the house at present owned by Mr.\nWilliam Erwin and used as a drug store, liquor saloon, and a boarding\nhouse. Harper lived in this house, many years, until about the year\n1775, when he built one about half a mile farther up the Shenandoah,\nwhere he died in 1782.\n\nMr. Harper was a man of medium height and considerable physical\nstrength. He was very energetic and well suited for pioneer life. He\nleft no children, and his property descended, by will, to Sarah, only\nchild of his brother Joseph, and to some nephews of his wife, named\nGriffith. Sarah Harper was married to a gentleman of Philadelphia, named\nWager. He was a grandson of a German of the same name who, many years\nbefore, had emigrated from the city of Worms in Hesse Darmstadt. Neither\nMr. Wager nor his wife ever saw their Harper's Ferry property, but many\nof their descendants were born there and some of them are now living in\nthe neighboring cities, owning still a considerable estate at their old\nhome. Of this family was the late venerable Robert Harper Williamson, of\nWashington city, the first person having the name of Harper who was born\nin the town. The wife of Judge Swaim, a few years ago of the Supreme\nCourt of the United States, was one of the Wager family and their son\nwas General Wager Swaim, much distinguished in the Union army during the\nlate rebellion. Just as this goes to press we learn of his death.\n\nMr. Harper was interred on his own property and his moss-grown grave is\nyet to be seen in the romantically situated cemetery that overlooks the\ntown--the same heretofore mentioned, as affording the best point from\nwhich to view the scenery. By a provision of his will, several acres of\nland were bequeathed to the place, as a burial ground--his own grave to\nbe in the centre--and now, a very large number sleep their dreamless\nsleep in a beautiful though until lately a sadly neglected cemetery\naround the founder of the village.\n\nFew of the events that transpired in Mr. Harper's time are recorded.\nShortly after building the house on Shenandoah street he erected a large\nstone dwelling on what is now called High street. This house yet stands\nand occasionally it is occupied by some of his heirs. He experienced\ngreat difficulty in finishing this building, owing to a scarcity of\nmechanics, nearly all the able-bodied men of the place and neighborhood\nhaving gone to join the army of Washington. It is recorded that an\nintimate friend of Mr. Harper, named Hamilton, lost his life in this\nhouse, by an accidental fall and this tradition, coupled with the age of\nthe house, gives a sombre character to the building. At the time of Mr.\nHarper's death, therefore, there were but three houses at \"The Ferry.\"\n\nIn 1748, there was a great flood in the Potomac, which, according to\nsome memoranda left by the founder of the place, drove him from the\nhouse he then occupied--the Stevens cabin--and another, through a less\nfreshet, called \"The Pumpkin Flood,\" is recorded as having occurred in\n1753. The latter derived its name from the great numbers of pumpkins\nwhich it washed away from the gardens of the Indians who, then, resided\nin scattered lodges along the two rivers.\n\nIt is said that, at the commencement of the Revolution Mr. Harper's\nsympathies were Tory, but that, soon, he espoused the cause of his\nadopted country.\n\nIn 1794, during the administration of =General Washington=, Harper's\nFerry was chosen as the site of a national armory. It is said that the\ngreat Father of his Country, himself, suggested it as the best location\nthen known for the purpose, having visited the place in person. This is\na tradition among the people and, if it is true, it is characteristic of\nthe most sagacious of men. The water-power at the place is immense, some\npeople supposing it to be the finest in the world. The Valley of\nVirginia and that of Middletown, as well as the fertile plains of\nLoudoun, gave promise of an abundance of the necessaries of life and,\nperhaps, with the eye of prophecy, he saw railroads penetrating the\nwilderness of the Allegheny regions and transporting its then hidden\nmineral treasures to aid in the proposed manufacture of arms. In the\nyear above mentioned Congress applied to the General Assembly of\nVirginia for permission to purchase the site and, by a vote of the\nlatter, leave was granted to buy a tract, not exceeding six hundred and\nforty acres. Accordingly a body of land containing one hundred and\ntwenty-five acres was bought from the heirs of Mr. Harper. This tract is\ncontained in a triangle formed by the two rivers and a line running from\nthe Potomac to the Shenandoah along what is now called Union Street.\nAnother purchase was made of three hundred and ten acres from a Mr.\nRutherford. The latter tract is that on which the village of Bolivar now\nstands. In some time after, Congress desiring to obtain the benefit of\nthe fine timber growing on the Loudoun Heights and not deeming it proper\nto ask for any further concessions from the State of Virginia, leased in\nperpetuity of Lord Fairfax, proprietor of \"The Northern Neck,\" the right\nto all the timber growing and to grow on a tract of thirteen hundred and\nninety-five acres on the Loudoun Heights immediately adjoining Harper's\nFerry.\n\nThus prepared, the government commenced the erection of shops, and in\n1796, a Mr. Perkins, an English Moravian, was appointed to superintend\nthe works. He is represented as having been an amiable, unsophisticated\nman, and tradition still tells of his simplicity of dress and\ndeportment. During his time, nothing of moment occurred at the place.\nThe town was yet in its infancy, with very few denizens, and, as the\nperiod antedates the time of that venerable personage--the oldest\ninhabitant--very little is known of what took place during Mr. Perkins'\nadministration. One or two centenarians, now a few years deceased,\nhowever retained some faint remembrance of him and another Englishman,\nnamed Cox, who had been for many years employed under him as a man of\nall work, and who had followed him to Harper's Ferry from southern\nVirginia, where Mr. Perkins had formerly resided. On one occasion, Cox\nwas required by his employer to attend to his--Perkins'--garden which\nwas overrun with weeds. For some reason, Cox did not relish the job, but\ngave, however, a grumbling consent. Next morning, Cox commenced weeding\nand, towards evening, he presented himself to Mr. Perkins with the\ninformation that \"he had made a clean sweep of it.\" The master was much\ngratified and he told Mrs. Perkins to give Cox a dram of whiskey for\nwhich the latter had a good relish. On visiting his garden next day, Mr.\nPerkins discovered that, sure enough, Cox had made a clean sweep. The\nweeds were all gone, but so were cabbages, turnips, carrots and\neverything else of the vegetable kind. In great wrath, he sent for Cox,\ncharged him with every crime in the calendar and, with a kick on the\nseat of honor, ejected him from the house, at the same time forbidding\nhim to show his face again around the works. Cox retreated hastily,\nmuttering \"the devil a step will I go--the devil a step will I go.\" He\nmade his way to the shop where he was usually employed and, the\ngood-natured Perkins, soon forgetting his anger towards his old\nfollower, \"the devil a step,\" sure enough, did Cox go from Harper's\nFerry. Sir Walter Scott relates that a Scotch nobleman once addressed\nhim in the following words an old and spoiled servant of his family who\nhad given him mortal offense. \"John, you can no longer serve me.\nTomorrow morning either you or I must leave this house.\" \"Aweel,\nmaster,\" replied John, \"if y're determined on ganging awa, we would like\nto ken what direction ye'll be takin.\" No doubt, the same relations\nexisted between Mr. Perkins and Cox as between the nobleman and his\nservant.\n\nIn 1799, during the administration of John Adams, in anticipation of a\nwar with France, the government organized a considerable army for\ndefense. A part of the forces was sent, under General Pinkney, into\ncamp at Harper's Ferry, and the ridge on which they were stationed has\never since been called, \"Camp Hill.\" It runs north and south between\nHarper's Ferry and Bolivar. When the war cloud disappeared many of the\nsoldiers settled down at the place. A good many had died while in the\nservice, and their bodies are buried on the western slope of Camp Hill.\nAlthough the mortal portion of them has mingled, long since, with Mother\nearth, their spirits are said to hover still around the scene of their\nearthly campaign and \"oft in the stilly night\" are the weird notes of\ntheir fifes and the clatter of their drums heard by belated Harper's\nFerryans. The colored people who appear to be especially favored with\nspirit manifestations, bear unanimous testimony to these facts, and it\nis well known that some fine houses in the neighborhood were, for many\nyears, without tenants in consequence of their being supposed to be\nplaces of rendezvous for these errant spirits. Once, over forty years\nago, the writer spent a winter's night in one of these houses, in\ncompany with a corpse and the recollection of the feelings he\nexperienced, on that occasion, still causes the few hairs he has\nretained to stick up \"like the quills of the fretful porcupine.\" The\ndeceased was a stranger who had taken temporary possession of the house\nand had died there very suddenly. He had been keeping bachelor's hall\nthere and, as he had no relatives at the place, a committee of\ncharitable citizens undertook the care of the remains, and the writer,\nthen a young man, affecting some courage, was detailed to watch the\ncorpse for one night. The house had an uncanny reputation, any way, and\na corpse was not exactly the companion a man would choose to stay with,\nin a haunted house, but the writer was then courting and desired to rise\nin the estimation of his girl, and this nerved him to the task. He held\nto it, but, gentle reader, that was a very long night, indeed, and even\nsuch fame as he acquired on that occasion and the approval of his loved\none would, never again, be inducement enough for him to undergo a\nsimilar ordeal. But the spirits of the soldiers behaved with commendable\ndecency on the occasion and \"not a drum was heard\" or fife either. The\ncorpse, too, conducted itself discreetly but, dear reader, that night\nwas a very long one notwithstanding, and the daylight, when at last it\ndid appear, was enthusiastically welcomed by the quaking watcher.\n\nAt that time--1799--a bitter war existed between the Federalists and\nRepublicans, and a certain Captain Henry, in General Pinkney's army is\nsaid to have taken his company, one day, to Jefferson's Rock and ordered\nthem to overthrow the favorite seat of Jefferson, his political enemy.\nThey succeeded in detaching a large boulder from the top which rolled\ndown hill to Shenandoah street, where it lay for many years, a monument\nof stupid bigotry. This action was the occasion for a challenge to\nmortal combat for Captain Henry from an equally foolish Republican in\nthe same corps, but the affair having come to the ears of General\nPinkney, he had both of the champions arrested before a duel could come\noff, very much to the regret of all the sensible people in the town who\nexpected that, if the meeting was allowed to take place, there would be,\nprobably at least, one fool the less at Harper's Ferry.\n\nOpposite to Jefferson's Rock and on the Loudoun side of the Shenandoah,\nthere grew, at that time a gigantic oak which had been, from time\nimmemorial, the eyrie of a family of eagles. Jefferson, while at the\nplace, had been much interested in these birds and after his election to\nthe presidency, he sent a request to Mr. Perkins that he would try to\nsecure for him some of their young. At Mr. Perkins' instance, therefore,\nthree young men named Perkins--the superintendent's son--Dowler and Hume\nascended the tree by means of strips nailed to it, and, after a terrible\nfight with the parent birds, they succeeded in securing three eaglets.\nThey were forwarded to the president and, by him, one of them was sent\nas a present to the King of Spain who, in return, sent a noble\nAndalusian ram to Mr. Jefferson. Being forbidden by law to receive\npresents from foreign potentates, the president kept the animal in the\ngrounds around the White House, as a curiosity, but the ram being very\nvicious, and the boys of the city delighting to tease him, he, one day,\nrushed into the streets in pursuit of some of his tormentors and killed\na young man, named Carr, whom he unfortunately encountered. Mr.\nJefferson, therefore, advertised him for sale, and thus was the first of\nthat breed of sheep introduced into America.\n\nSome time during Mr. Perkins' administration, a singular character came\nto reside at Harper's Ferry. His name was Brown and he was supposed to\nbe a native of Scotland. He had served as a surgeon in the American\narmy, during the Revolution. He was a bachelor and as, in addition to\nthe profits of his profession, he drew a pension from the government, he\nwas in good circumstances and able to indulge in many costly\neccentricities. He lived alone on what is now called High street, and\nhis cabin was situated on the lot opposite to the present residence of\nMrs. Ellen O'Bryne. A cave, partly natural and partly artificial, near\nhis cabin, was used as his store-house and dispensary. His\neccentricities were numerous, but the principal one was an inordinate\nlove for the canine and feline races. No less than fifty dogs followed\nhim in his daily rambles and made the night hideous in the town with\ntheir howlings. His cats were as numerous as his dogs and they mingled\ntheir melodies with those of their canine companions to the delectation\nof his neighbors. A favorite amusement with the young men of the place,\nwas to watch for the doctor, when he walked abroad, and shoot some of\nhis dogs--an offense that was sure to earn his bitter hatred. He had\nmany good qualities and he made it a point never to charge an armorer\nfor medical advice. He died about the year 1824, and on his death-bed,\nhe ordered that his coffin should be made with a window in the lid and\nthat it should be placed in an erect position, in a brick vault which he\nhad erected in the cemetery, and that it should be left so for nine days\nafter his burial, when, he said, he would return to life. A person was\nemployed to visit the vault every day, until the promised resurrection\nwhich did not take place, however, and probably will not, until the\nArchangel's trump wakes him up like other people. In time the vault\ncrumbled to pieces, and, for years, a skull, supposed to be that of the\ndoctor, lay exposed on the hillside near the site of the vault and\nchildren used it for a play-thing. Alas! poor Yorick!\n\nWith Mr. Perkins came, from eastern Virginia, the ancestors of the\nStipes and Mallory families, as well as others who were regarded as\nbeing among the best citizens at the place. In Mr. Perkins' time a\nshocking accident occurred in the armory. Michael McCabe, an employe was\ncaught in the machinery of one of the shops and, as he was drawn through\na space not exceeding eight inches in breadth, of course, he was crushed\nto a jelly.\n\nMr. Perkins died at Harper's Ferry and was interred in Maryland. He was\nsucceeded, in 1810, by James Stubblefield, a Virginian, and a gentleman\nof the true Virginia stamp. At that time, it was deemed absolutely\nnecessary that the superintendent of a national armory should be,\nhimself, a practical gun-maker. Mr. Stubblefield, therefore, in order to\nsatisfy the ordnance department of his fitness for the position, was\nobliged to manufacture a gun, he, himself, making all the component\nparts. The specimen giving satisfaction, he got his appointment, after a\nconsiderable interregnum. His superintendency was the longest of any in\nthe history of the armory. It continued from 1810 to 1829, a period of\nnineteen years. In 1824, some discontented spirits among the armorers\nbrought charges against Mr. Stubblefield which occasioned the convening\nof a court martial for their investigation. The court acquitted Mr.\nStubblefield and, as he was generally popular, his friends among the\nemployes gave him a public dinner which was served in the arsenal yard,\nin honor of his victory. While the trial was yet pending, a Mr. Lee was\nappointed to the superintendency, pro tem, but, on the termination of\nthe court martial, Mr. Stubblefield was reinstated. During this\nsuperintendency--August 29th, 1821, an armorer named Jacob Carman lost\nhis life by the bursting of a grinding-stone in one of the shops. A\nfragment struck him and, such was the force of the blow, that he was\ndriven through the brick wall of the shop and his mangled remains were\nfound several steps from the building.\n\nWhile Mr. Stubblefield was superintendent, about the year 1818, a\ngentleman named John H. Hall, of the State of Maine, invented a\nbreech-loading gun--probably the first of the kind manufactured. He\nobtained a patent for his invention and, the government having concluded\nto adopt the gun into its service, Mr. Hall was sent to Harper's Ferry\nto superintend its manufacture. Two buildings on \"The Island\" were set\napart for him, and he continued to make his guns in those shops until\n1840, when he moved to Missouri. After this period, other buildings were\nerected on the same island, for the manufacture of the minie rifle, but\nthe place retained the name of \"Hall's Works\" by which it was known in\nMr. Hall's time. It was, sometimes, called \"the Rifle Factory.\" The\nreader will understand by the term \"armory,\" used in this book, the main\nbuildings on the Potomac. Although both ranges of shops were used for\nthe manufacture of arms, custom designated the one, \"The Armory\" and the\nother--the less important--\"the Rifle Factory\" or \"Hall's Works.\" Mr.\nHall was the father of the Hon. Willard Hall, at one time a member of\nCongress from Missouri and, during the war, Governor of that state. He\nwas a high-toned gentleman and a man of great ability. His daughter,\nLydia, was married to Dr. Nicholas Marion, an eminent physician who\nresided at Harper's Ferry from 1827 until his death in 1882. Their sons,\nWilliam V., and George H., are physicians of Washington, D. C., and are\nranked among the first, as specialists, in diseases of the eye and ear.\nAnother son, Robert, is a surgeon in the United States Navy. It may be\nremarked here, that Harper's Ferry has contributed more than any other\nplace of the same size to the prosperity of other parts of our country,\nespecially the West and Southwest, by sending them many distinguished\npeople. Here, some eighty-five years ago was born, in an old house, now\nin ruins, on the bank of the Shenandoah, General Jeff Thompson. \"Jeff\"\nwas but a nickname, his proper name being Merriweather Thompson. His\nfather was, at one time, paymaster's clerk in the armory and was very\nhighly respected.\n\nBesides the parties above named, Harper's Ferry has furnished many other\neminent men to the West. Some sixty-five years ago, Captain Jacamiah\nSeaman, who had resigned his position as captain in the company\nstationed at Harper's Ferry, moved to Sullivan county, Missouri. He took\nwith him a youth to whom he had taken a fancy. The young man was named\nRobert W. Daugherty and he had been left by his dying parents in care of\nMr. Martin Grace and his wife, nee O'Byrne. This lady's brother, Mr.\nTerence O'Byrne, will figure further on in this history as one of John\nBrown's prisoners at the time of that fanatic's famous raid. Young\nDaugherty had the consent of his guardians to accompany Captain Seaman,\nwho was a man of very high standing at the place, and whose\nfamily--originally of Welsh descent--were always held in the greatest\nesteem in Virginia. Young Daugherty was a scion of the very warlike and\nsingularly successful clan of O'Daugherty, who, from time immemorial,\ndwelt in the valleys of romantic Inishowen, in the county of Donegal,\nIreland, and who distinguished themselves particularly, in the\nsanguinary battles of Benburb and Yellow Ford, fought in the 16th\ncentury, to the utter destruction, by the Irish clans of two powerful\nEnglish armies. The name still flourishes in their native country, but\nalas, like many others, they =will= drop the O before their name,\nregardless of the loss of euphony, and the memory of the many glories\ntheir fathers achieved under the venerable old name. Robert's father was\nJames Daugherty, a man of great force of character and executive\nability. He was born in Donegal about the end of the 18th century and\ndied young, of the cholera epidemic at Harper's Ferry, in 1831-1832,\nleaving several children. He and his wife who, also died young, are\nburied, side by side, in the cemetery attached to Saint John's Catholic\nchurch, Frederick, Maryland, of which they were devoted members. Their\nchildren were put under strict Christian guardianship, and those of them\nwho lived to maturity married into some of the best families of Virginia\nand Maryland. Mary Jane, a highly educated lady, married Hugh Gifford,\nof Baltimore. John died, we believe, unmarried, at Memphis, Tennessee,\naged 22 years. Catherine Anne, the third child, died in the Orphans'\nHouse of the Catholic church in Baltimore aged 14 years. Elizabeth\nEllen, the youngest child, married James Wall Keenan, of Winchester,\nVirginia, a brave confederate soldier, whose sister, Catherine, married\nCharles B. Rouse, the Merchant Prince and gallant soldier of New York.\n\nRobert W. Daugherty, the second son, accompanied Captain Seaman to the\nWest, as before stated, and, afterwards, married Lydia E. Seaman, sister\nof Captain Jacamiah Seaman and Richard S. Seaman who, in the civil war,\nserved prominently under General T. J. Jackson. Robert W. Daugherty was\nthe first man in Sullivan county, Missouri, to answer the call of\nGovernor Jackson for volunteers, when the civil war broke out. He\nentered as a private and was elected captain, but refused further\npromotion. He served with distinction in the 3rd Missouri Infantry of\nthe Confederate army. At the close of the war, he surrendered at\nHempstead, Arkansas, and engaged in planting on Red River, Bosier\nParish, Louisiana. He died there on his plantation, June 2nd, 1877,\nleaving a son, Jacamiah Seaman Daugherty, now of Houston, Texas, who\nmarried Maggie C. Bryan, of Lexington, Kentucky, daughter of Daniel\nBryan and sister of Joseph Bryan, M. D., who, while in charge of some\nhospital in New York, first applied plaster of paris in the treatment of\nsprains and fractures. The Bryans are of the old family who accompanied\nBoone to Kentucky. A daughter of Robert W. Daugherty--Miss May\nEllen--married Col. Caleb J. Perkins, who distinguished himself as a\nfearless fighter under General Sterling Price of the Confederate army.\nCol. Perkins is now dead. His widow survives him in Carroll county,\nMissouri, with an only son, a young man of great promise, as befits his\ngallant father's son and one with the mingled blood of the Seamans of\nVirginia and the O'Daughertys of Inishowen, so many whom fought and bled\nfor their beloved native land on the gory fields of Benburb, Yellow Ford\nand many other famous battles.\n\nNancy Augusta Jane Daugherty married Wesley Arnold, of Bosier Parish,\nLouisiana. He was a member of the old Arnold family of Georgia. Her\nhusband is now dead and she lives with her two promising children--Hugh\nand Genevieve Arnold in Terrel, Kaufman county, Texas. Robert Richard\nDaugherty disappeared from Daugherty, Kaufman county, Texas, in the fall\nof 1889. He left his store locked and his safe had a considerable amount\nof cash in it. That was the last thing known of him, except that his hat\nwas found in a creek bottom, a mile from his store. It is supposed that\nhe was murdered by a band of thieves, because of his having aided in the\narrest of some of their companions. John Edward, the youngest child of\nRobert W. Daugherty, married a Miss Scott in Kaufman county, Texas. He\nis now a prominent farmer of Denton county, in that state.\n\nThe parties who were instrumental in bringing charges against Mr.\nStubblefield were not yet satisfied and, in 1829, he was subjected to\nanother trial by court martial. He was again acquitted, after a\nprotracted hearing and the general sympathy of the community was more\nthan ever before in his favor. While the second trial was progressing,\nhis accusers were very active in hunting up evidence against him. They\nlearned that Mr. Stubblefield had obligingly given to a man named\nMcNulty the temporary use of some tools belonging to the government.\nThey sought this man and they were much gratified to find that he spoke\nvery disparagingly of the superintendent. Expecting great things from\nhis evidence, they had him summoned, next day, before the court martial.\nOn his being questioned by the prosecuting lawyer, however, he gave the\nmost glowing account of Mr. Stubblefield's goodness and efficiency. Much\ndisappointed, the counsel for the complainants exclaimed: \"Sir, this is\nnot what you said last night.\" \"No,\" replied McNulty, \"but what I said\nthen was nothing but street talk. I am now on my oath and I am\ndetermined to tell the truth.\" The court and a great majority of the\npeople were satisfied, before, of Mr. Stubblefield's innocence and his\nacquittal was long deemed certain, but McNulty's testimony tended to\nthrow contempt on the whole prosecution and ridicule is often a more\npowerful weapon than reason or logic.\n\nDuring the second trial, Lieutenant Symington was appointed to the\ntemporary superintendency, but, as in the case of Lee, at the first\ntrial, he was immediately withdrawn on the second acquittal of Mr.\nStubblefield, and the latter was again reinstated. The proud Virginian,\nhowever, refused to continue in the office. He had been a benefactor to\nthe people and had been treated with ingratitude by many. Twice he had\nbeen honorably acquitted by a military tribunal--always the most rigorous\nof courts--and, his honor being satisfied, he voluntarily vacated the\nsuperintendency.\n\nIn Mr. Stubblefield's time--1824--the \"bell shop\" of the armory was\ndestroyed by fire. It got its name from its having the armory bell\nsuspended in a turret which overtopped the roof. The origin of the fire\nwas unknown, but it was supposed that some sparks from a fire made in\nthe yard for culinary purposes, occasioned the accident.\n\nMr. Stubblefield was succeeded, in 1829, by Colonel Dunn. This gentleman\nhad been connected with a manufacturing establishment, at the mouth of\nAntietam Creek. His was a melancholy history. He was a strict\ndisciplinarian and, indeed, he is represented as having been a martinet.\nThe severity of his rules offended several of the workmen, and he paid\nwith his life a heavy penalty for his harshness. A young man named\nEbenezer Cox, an armorer, had given offense to Lieutenant Symington,\nwhile the latter temporarily filled the office of superintendent, during\nthe second court martial on Mr. Stubblefield, and, therefore, he was\ndismissed by that officer. When Colonel Dunn succeeded to the office,\nCox applied to him for a reinstatement. It is said that the latter\nexpressed contrition and made submission to Colonel Dunn who, with\nviolent language, refused to be appeased and displayed great\nvindictiveness by threatening with expulsion from the armory works any\nemploye who should shelter the offender in his house. Cox's\nbrother-in-law, with whom he boarded, was obliged to refuse him\nentertainment, and it appeared as if Colonel Dunn was determined by all\nmeans to force Cox to leave his native town. Thus \"driven to the wall\"\nthe desperate man armed himself with a carbine and presented himself at\nthe office of the superintendent, about noon, on the 30th day of\nJanuary, 1830. What conversation took place is unknown, but in a few\nminutes, a report of fire arms was heard. People rushed to Colonel\nDunn's office and were met by his wife who, with loud lamentations,\ninformed them that her husband was murdered. The colonel was found with\na ghastly wound in the stomach, through which protruded portions of the\ndinner he had eaten a few minutes before. Being a very delicate,\ndyspeptic man, he generally used rice at his meals and a considerable\nquantity of this food was found on the floor near him, having been\nejected through the wound, but, strange to say, it was unstained with\nblood. When found the Colonel was expiring and no information could be\ngot from him. Mrs. Dunn was in her own house, opposite to the office,\nwithin the armory enclosure, when the crime was committed, and knew\nnothing, except the fact of the murder. She had heard the shot and,\nsuspecting something wrong, had entered the office and found her husband\nas above described, but the murderer had escaped. Suspicion, however, at\nonce rested on Cox and diligent search was made for him. He was\ndiscovered in the \"wheelhouse\" and taken prisoner. The arrest was made\nby Reuben Stipes. Cox made no resistance and he was immediately\ncommitted to Charlestown jail. The body of Colonel Dunn was buried in\nSharpsburg, Maryland, near the spot where, many years afterwards,\nGeneral Robert E. Lee of the Confederate army, stood while directing the\nmovements of his troops at the battle of Antietam. There is a tradition\nthat the day of his funeral was the coldest ever experienced in this\nlatitude. So severe, indeed, was the weather that the fact is thought\nto be of sufficient interest to be mentioned in the chronicles of the\nplace. In the course of the following summer--August 27th--Cox was\nexecuted publicly, near Charlestown, confessing his guilt and hinting\nstrongly at complicity in the crime, on the part of some others. His\nwords, however, were not considered to be of sufficient importance to\nform grounds for indictment against those to whom he alluded, and there\nwere no more prosecutions. This murder marks an era in the history of\nHarper's Ferry and, although many more important and thrilling events\nhave occurred there, since that time, this unfortunate tragedy still\nfurnishes material for many a fireside tale, and the site of the\nbuilding in which the murder was perpetrated is yet pointed out, as\nunhallowed ground.\n\nCox is said to have been a remarkably handsome young man of about\ntwenty-four years of age. He was a grandson of Cox who, in Mr. Perkins'\ntime, figured in various capacities around the armory and who\nparticularly distinguished himself at gardening, as before related.\n\nGeneral George Rust succeeded Colonel Dunn in 1830. For the seven years\nduring which he superintended the armory, nothing of any interest is\nrecorded. He was rather popular with the employes, and survivors of his\ntime speak well of his administration. It may be that the melancholy\ndeath of his immediate predecessor had cast a gloom on the place which\noperated to prevent the occurrence of any stirring events. It is said\nthat General Rust spent very little of his time at Harper's Ferry. He\nwas a wealthy man, owning a good deal of property in Loudoun county,\nVirginia, where he lived much of his time, delegating the duties of his\noffice in the armory to trusty assistants who managed his affairs so as\nto give satisfaction to the government. Had he been a poor man his long\nstays at home, no doubt, would have excited comment and some busy-body\nwould have reported the facts to his detriment. As it was, the General\nwas independent and he enjoyed his otium cum dignitate without any\nattempt at interruption or annoyance from tale-bearers.\n\nGeneral Rust was succeeded, in 1837, by Colonel Edward Lucas, a\nVirginian of Jefferson county. He was an exceedingly amiable and\ngenerous man, although fiery and pugnacious when he deemed himself\ninsulted. He was extremely popular and the writer well remembers his\nbent form, while he walked or rode his mule along the streets of\nHarper's Ferry, lavishing kind expressions on old and young and\nreceiving in return the hearty good wishes of every one he met. The name\nof \"Colonel Ed\" was familiar as a household word at the place, and, as\nhe was honored and respected in life, so was he lamented at his death,\nwhich occurred in 1858, while he occupied the position of paymaster at\nthe armory. While Colonel Lucas was superintendent, the armory canal was\nmuch improved by the building of a permanent rock forebay. A stone wall\nalso was built, extending from the front gate of the armory to the \"tilt\nhammer shop\"--the whole river front of the grounds--protecting the yard\nand shops from high waters and, indeed reclaiming from the Potomac,\nseveral feet of land and adding that much to the government property.\nTwelve good dwellings, also, were built for the use of the families of\nthe employes, and the place was much improved in every respect. During\nthe exciting presidential contest in 1840, Colonel Lucas was a strong\nVan Buren man but, to his honor, he never oppressed any of the men under\nhim, on account of politics nor was he charged with having done so. In\n1847, he was appointed paymaster, an office which he filled until his\ndeath, eleven years afterwards.\n\nIt is said of Colonel Lucas that, if any of the mechanics or laborers\nemployed under him did wrong, he was not inclined to discharge them,\npreferring to punish them by administering a sound thrashing. He had\nseveral fist-fights with his men and, although he was a small man, it is\nsaid that he always deported himself well in his combats and generally\ncame off winner. In any case, he was never known to use his authority as\nsuperintendent to punish any one who had spirit enough to stand up for\nwhat he considered his rights, even if it involved a personal quarrel\nwith himself. The Colonel owned a good many slaves, nearly all of whom\nwere of the most worthless description. It was said, indeed, with some\nshow of reason, that he was virtually owned by his servants. Whenever a\nnegro, anywhere near Harper's Ferry, had become so unprofitable that his\nmaster determined to sell him to a trader, the slave would appeal to\nColonel Lucas to save him from the slave-drivers and servitude in\n\"Georgia,\" which was regarded, justly perhaps, by the negroes as a fate\nworse than death. With them \"Georgia\" was a synonym for all the South.\nThe good-natured Colonel would purchase the slave, if possible, and,\nconsequently, he always had the most useless lot of servants in\nVirginia. His favorite slave was a diminutive old negro named \"Tanner,\"\nwho hardly weighed one hundred pounds, but who, nevertheless, prided\nhimself on his muscle and was as fiery as his master. One day, Tanner\nhad a fight with another negro and, while they were belaboring one\nanother, the Colonel happened to come up, and, seeing his servant in a\ntight place, he called out, \"Pitch in, Tanner! Pitch in, Tanner!\" The\nstreet arabs took up the cry, and it has been used ever since, at\nHarper's Ferry, in cases where great exertion of muscle or energy is\nrecommended. Colonel Lucas was truly a chivalrous man and we will not\nsee his \"like again,\" very soon.\n\nIt is to be noted that Colonel Lucas and his predecessors, with military\ntitles, were, in reality, civilians, being merely militia officers or\ngetting the prefix to their names by courtesy. This explanation is\nnecessary for an understanding of the following:\n\n\n\n\nTHE MILITARY SYSTEM.\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nColonel Lucas was succeeded in the superintendency by Major Henry K.\nCraig in 1841. The Major was an ordnance officer and, of course, his\neducation having been military, he was inclined somewhat to that\nstrictness of discipline which the most amiable of men, in military\ncommand, soon learn to exact from their inferiors, having been taught to\nobserve it, themselves, toward their superiors. There were two classes\nof employes in the armory--the day workers and the piece workers. By an\norder of Major Craig, the latter were obliged to work the same number of\nhours as the former. This edict was deemed unjust by the piece workers,\nas they considered themselves entitled to the privilege of working for\nwhatever time they chose. They claimed remuneration, only, for the work\ndone, and, in their opinion, it mattered little to the government how\nmany hours they were employed. The superintendent thought otherwise,\nhowever, and hence arose a \"causa tetterima belli.\" Besides, everything\naround the armory grounds assumed a military air, and a guard, at the\ngate, regulated the ingress and egress of armorers and casual visitors.\nDrunkenness was positively forbidden. These restrictions were not\nrelished at all by the armorers and the older men remembered with regret\nthe good old days of Perkins and Stubblefield, when the workmen used to\nhave hung up in the shops buckets of whiskey from which it was their\ncustom to regale themselves at short intervals. It is said, indeed, that\nthis license was carried to such excess in the time of Mr. Stubblefield\nthat an order was issued, prohibiting the men from drinking spirituous\nliquors in the shops--a command which, at the time, was deemed arbitrary\nand which was evaded through the ingenious plan of the men's putting\ntheir heads outside of the windows, while they were taking their \"nips.\"\nThese grievances rendered the men rebellious and, for some years a\nbitter feud existed between the parties favoring the military system\nand those who were opposed to it. In 1842, a large number of the men\nchartered a boat on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and proceeded to\nWashington City to see the president, John Tyler, and state to him their\ngrievances. At that time, little of an exciting nature had taken place\nat Harper's Ferry. The Dunn murder, alone, furnished the whole history\nof the town, up to the period of which we are treating, and that trip to\nWashington, therefore, assumed an undue importance which it has retained\never since, in the minds of the survivors of the voyage, notwithstanding\nthe fearful ordeals to which they were afterwards subjected. Neither\nJason and his Argonauts when they went in search of the Golden Fleece\nnor Ulysses in his protracted return home from Troy encountered as many\nvicissitudes of fortune as those hardy mariners of the canal boat. The\nwriter has been listening to stories of this expedition for more than\nforty years, but as they never had any interest for him and as he does\nnot suppose his readers would care to hear them, he leaves them to be\ncollected by some future poet, able and willing to do them justice. The\noctogenarian participants in this voyage deem them of surpassing\ninterest, but they were young when those events took place and, now,\nthey are old and that accounts for their fond recollection. Having\nreached Washington they obtained an audience of the president who\nreceived them in a style worthy of the head of a great nation and, what\nis more in the estimation of some people, a Virginia gentleman.\nCompliments were exchanged and the president gave each of them a cordial\nshake of the hand, an honor which was duly appreciated, for it is\nrelated that one of the delegation, in a burst of enthusiasm, reached\nout a hand of enormous proportions and dubious color to meet that of the\npresident, at the same time exclaiming, \"Hullo, old fellow, give us your\ncorn stealer.\" This handsome compliment, no doubt, was very gratifying\nto the president, for he made them a speech in which he declared in the\nmost emphatic manner, that he considered the working men as the bone and\nsinew of the land and its main dependence in war and in peace; that he\nloved them as such and that their interests should be his care. In this\nstrain he continued for some time, but suddenly, he threw cold water on\nthe hopes he had created by telling them that \"they must go home and\nhammer out their own salvation.\" This figurative expression and the\nallusion to that emblem of vulcanic labor--the hammer--were not received\nwith the admiration which their wit deserved, and it is said that many\nloud and deep curses were uttered by some sensitive and indiscreet piece\nworkers, and that the august presence of \"Tyler too\" had not the effect\nof awing the bold navigators into suitable respect for the head of the\nnation. They returned home wiser but hardly better men and, from that\nperiod dates the bitter opposition of many Harper's Ferry people to the\nmilitary system of superintendency which continued until the final\noverthrow of that order of things in 1854. This contest is the chief\nevent of the time of Colonel Craig's command.\n\nThe Colonel was a veteran of the war of 1812. He had served on the\nCanadian frontier with General Scott and had received a severe wound in\nthe leg, the effects of which were, ever after, apparent in his walk. He\nwas not, however, a graduate of West Point.\n\nHe was succeeded in 1844 by Major John Symington, another military\nofficer and the same who, with an inferior rank, had superintended the\narmory, pro tem, during the second trial of Mr. Stubblefield. Major\nSymington was an exceedingly eccentric man. His talents were undoubted\nand he got credit for many virtues, but his oddities detracted much from\nhis usefulness. His voice was of a peculiar intonation and his gestures\nwere odd, but withal, he had a clear head and a good heart and, during\nhis administration, many improvements were made at his suggestion, and\nthe people were generally prosperous. The shops were remodeled, and many\nbelieve that he did more for the prosperity of the place than any other\nsuperintendent. Those who knew him best asserted that his eccentricities\nwere mere pretense and assumed for the gratification of a latent vein of\nhumor. On the whole, he is remembered with very kind feelings. Like\nother superintendents, he was much annoyed with applications for\nemployment. People of every trade and calling, when out of work, thought\nthey had a right to a part of the government patronage, no matter how\nunsuited they were, from their former occupations, to serve as armorers.\nOne day the Major was troubled by more than the usual number of\napplicants and his temper was sorely tried. Towards evening a stranger\npresented himself and made the stereotyped request for work. \"Well,\"\nsaid the Major, rubbing his hands in a manner peculiar to himself, \"What\nis =your= trade?\" \"I am a saddler and harnessmaker,\" replied the\nstranger. \"Oh,\" said the Major, \"we do not make leather guns here. When\nwe do we will send for you.\"\n\nHe made it a point to exact from his subordinates the most literal\nobedience to his orders and, while he must have often regretted his\nhaving issued absurd commands while in his pets, he always gave credit\nto those who carried them out fully. He had a colored servant on whom he\ncould always rely for the exact performance of his most unreasonable\norders. One day, this servant carried to the dinner table a magnificent\nturkey, cooked in the most approved fashion, but the Major was in one of\nhis tantrums and would not endure the sight of the sumptuous feast.\n\"Take it to the window and throw it out,\" said he, in the querulous tone\npeculiar to him and, perhaps, to his surprise, the command was instantly\nobeyed. The servant raised the window and pitched out into the lawn,\nturkey, dish and all. The Major commended his servant's obedience and\nwas instantly appeased and induced to settle down to his dinner.\n\nIn his time, one of those exhibitions then rare, but unfortunately too\ncommon now--a prize fight--took place at, or very near Harper's Ferry.\nThe then notorious Yankee Sullivan and an English bruiser named Ben\nCaunt, met by appointment there in 1846, and treated the people to one\nof those brutal shows. Caunt came to Harper's Ferry several weeks before\nthe fight and there he went through his course of training. He was the\nfavorite with the people, no doubt, because of his nationality--most of\nthe armorers being descended from Birmingham gun-smiths. Sullivan\narrived on the night before the encounter and with him came a crowd of\nshoulder-hitters, pick-pockets, et hoc genus omne. They took possession\nof the town and, until the fight was decided, the utmost terror\nprevailed among the peaceable inhabitants. The battle ground was outside\nthe town limits, east of the Shenandoah, in a meadow near what is called\n\"the old still-house,\" on the line of Jefferson and Loudoun counties.\nSullivan won the fight, but the exhibition broke up in a general row.\n\nIn the summer of 1850, the fearful scourge--the Asiatic cholera again\nmade its appearance at the place and decimated the people. Although it\nis said that the ravages of this pestilence are mostly confined to\npeople of dissolute habits, it was not so in this case, for it visited\nthe homes of rich and poor indiscriminately, and all classes suffered\nequally. It is estimated that over one hundred people at the place\nperished by this epidemic and, the town having been deserted by all who\ncould leave it, business, too, suffered severely.\n\nMajor Symington was succeeded, in 1851, by Colonel Benjamin Huger. He\nwas of Huguenot extraction and a native of South Carolina. His\nadministration was not marked by any very important events. The\nexcitement against the military system that arose in the time of Colonel\nCraig continued unabated. During Colonel Huger's superintendency in\n1851, a sad accident occurred at Harper's Ferry. On the opening of the\nBaltimore and Ohio railroad from Cumberland to Fairmont, an excursion\ntrain containing the principal officers of the road proceeded from\nBaltimore to what was then the western terminus of that great channel of\ncommerce. A number of Harper's Ferry people determined to give them a\nsalute, as they passed that station, and, with this purpose, they loaded\nan old twelve-pounder cannon which was kept at the armory for such\noccasions. Through some mismanagement, there was a premature explosion\nwhich caused the death of two colored men. One of them, named John\nButler, was a veteran of the war of 1812 and had been long a resident of\nthe town. The other, named Scipio, was, too, like Butler, well known and\nrespected at the place. A third party, a white man, named James\nO'Laughlin, to whose want of forethought the accident was attributed,\nlost his life shortly afterwards by being run over by the railway cars,\nin front of the ticket office.\n\nIn 1852, on an order from the Secretary of War, the government disposed\nof a considerable portion of its property at Harper's Ferry to employes\nat the armory. Many of those people desired to purchase houses and the\ngovernment deemed it politic to encourage them in so doing. The plan\ninsured a number of prudent, sober and steady mechanics for employment\nin the government works--men who, having a deep interest in the place,\nwould consult the well-being of society there and would feel the more\nattached to the public service. Therefore, many houses and lots were\ndisposed of at public sale and, at the same time, many donations of land\nwere made by the government for religious, educational and town\npurposes.\n\nIn 1852 there was a remarkable inundation at Harper's Ferry--the\ngreatest that, up to that time, had occurred there--at least since the\nsettlement of the place by white people. The winter of 1851-1852 was\nexceedingly severe. From November until April, the snow lay deep upon\nthe ground, and when, about the middle of the latter month, there was a\nheavy and warm rain for several days, the snow melted rapidly and an\nunprecedented flood was the consequence. The Potomac, swollen by a\nthousand tributaries, the smallest of which might aspire, at the time,\nto the dignity of a river, rolled in an irresistible tide and was met by\nthe Shenandoah with the accumulated waters of the whole upper Valley of\nVirginia. The town was literally submerged and large boats were\npropelled with oar and pole along the principal streets. Of course, much\ndamage was done to property, but no loss of life on that occasion is\nrecorded. Similar inundations we have mentioned as having occurred there\nin Mr. Harper's time, and in 1832 a very remarkable one took place\nwhich is fresh in the memories of a few of the citizens. Indeed, there\nis a belief that at least once in every twenty years the town is\npartially submerged. Since the war these inundations are more frequent\nand far more injurious than they were before, because of the wholesale\ndestruction of the forests for the use of the armies during the civil\nwar, and the increased demand for timber for mercantile purposes. The\nday will come when legislation must step in to prevent this evil and\nwhen the American people must take a lesson from certain European\ngovernments in which the state takes charge of the forests and regulates\nthe cutting down and planting of trees. The suggestion is, perhaps, an\nunpopular one, but it may be right nevertheless.\n\nIt may be observed that Colonel Huger afterwards became a general in the\nservice of the Confederacy and obtained some fame in the seven days'\nfighting before Richmond.\n\nColonel Huger was succeeded, in 1854, by Major Bell, who was the last of\nthe military superintendents. He \"reigned\" but a few months, the\ngovernment having decided about the end of that year to change the\nsystem of armory superintendence back from the military to the civil\norder. There was great rejoicing among the anti-military men and a\ncorresponding depression among those of the opposite party, for the\nmilitary system had many friends at the place, although they were in a\nminority.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE CIVIL SYSTEM REVIVED.\n\n\nMajor Bell was succeeded, early in 1855, by Henry W. Clowe, a native of\nPrince William county, Virginia, a very worthy mechanic who had been\nemployed, for many years before, as a master millwright in the armory.\nHe was a man of a very impulsive nature with all the virtues and many of\nthe faults of men with that temperament. He was highstrung, as the\nsaying is, but he was generous to a fault and never did the place enjoy\ngreater prosperity than under his administration. Whether this was owing\nto his good management or not was a question which every man at the\nplace decided according to his partialities, perhaps, but the fact of\nthe great prosperity of Harper's Ferry at that time, is undoubted.\nHaving been associated a long time with the workmen as an equal he had\nmany difficulties to encounter to which a stranger would not be exposed.\nIt is probable, however, that his greatest trouble arose from the\nintrigues of politicians. He had a quarrel with the representative in\nCongress from the district to which Harper's Ferry then belonged, and by\nthe influence of the latter or of some other party, Mr. Clowe was\nremoved from the superintendency about the close of 1858.\n\nIn this administration, in the spring of 1856, a tragical occurrence\ntook place in the town. Two men named Engle and Alison had a quarrel\noriginating in drunkenness, when the latter struck the former on the\nhead with a four-pound weight, breaking his skull in several places. The\nwounded man lay in a comatose state for some hours before his inevitable\ndeath. Alison was arrested immediately and conveyed to Charlestown jail\nto await trial. Having concealed on his person a small pistol he blew\nout his own brains in a few minutes after his lodgement in prison, and\nhis spirit arrived at the great judgment seat almost as soon as that of\nhis victim.\n\nIn the summer of 1858--June 10th--a melancholy accident occurred in the\narmory yard, whereby Mr. Thomas Cunningham, a most worthy man, lost his\nlife. A very curious circumstance is connected with this accident. The\nmishap took place about 9 o'clock a.m. A few minutes before that hour\nthe writer of these pages was passing the armory gate, when he\nencountered a very respectable citizen of the place, who, in an excited\nmanner asked him if he had heard of any accident in the shops or the\narmory yard. Having heard of none the writer inquired what grounds the\nother had for the question. The reply was, that he had heard of no\naccident, but that he was certain that somebody was or would be hurt\nthat day at the place, for he had seen in his dreams that morning\nseveral men at work in a deep excavation in the armory grounds and\nnoticed particles of gravel falling from the sides of the pit and a big\nrock starting to fall on the men. In his endeavor to give notice to the\nparties in danger he awoke and this was his reason for believing that\nsomebody would be injured that day in the place. Politeness alone\nprevented the writer from laughing outright at what he considered a\nfoolish superstition in his friend. He reasoned with him on the\nabsurdity of a belief in dreams which, instead of being prophetic, can\nalways be traced to some impression made on the mind during waking\nhours. While they were yet conversing, a man ran out from the armory in\nbreathless haste and inquired for a physician. On being questioned he\nreplied that Mr. Cunningham had been crushed by a rock falling on him in\nan excavation he was making and that Mr. Edward Savin, also, had been\nbadly hurt. Mr. Cunningham died in a few minutes after his being injured\nand thus was the dream literally verified, even to the exact place,\nforeshadowed--the armory yard--for there it was the excavation was being\nmade. Mr. Savin recovered from his hurts and afterwards served with\ngreat credit in the 69th regiment of New York Volunteers. At the first\nbattle of Bull Run he had, it is said, his clothing perforated in more\nthan a dozen places by bullets, but he escaped without a wound. It is\nreported that his preservation in this battle was among the most\nextraordinary of the war of the rebellion, considering the very shower\nof bullets that must have poured on him to so riddle his clothes.\nWhether the dream was a mere coincidence or a psychological phenomenon\nlet every reader judge for himself. There is high authority for\nbelieving that \"coming events cast their shadows before\" and the above,\nfor which the writer can vouch, would appear to confirm the truth of\nwhat every one is inclined, in his heart, to believe, though but few\ndare to own it, for fear of incurring ridicule. The occurrence convinced\nthe writer of what he more than suspected before and fully believes now,\nthat verily, there are many things transpiring daily which do not enter\ninto anybody's philosophy and which can not be explained by intellect\nclothed in flesh. Perhaps, we will understand it all when we enter some\nother sphere of existence and, perhaps, again, we will =not=.\n\nApropos of the foregoing, the reader may feel interested in the\nfollowing which, although it did not occur at Harper's Ferry, took place\nso near to it that it will not be considered much out of place in our\nchronicles. Besides, it was proposed at the start that the author should\ngive strange incidents of the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry, especially\nwhen the actors in the scenes, as in this case, were identified closely\nwith that place and had daily business relations with its people. Some\nsixty years ago, there lived near Kabletown in the upper part of\nJefferson county, a Scotchman, named McFillan, who was overseer on a\nplantation belonging to a Mrs. Hunter. He was a man of dissipated\nhabits, and some person whom he had offended informed his employer in an\nanonymous note that he was neglecting his duties. On being taken to task\nby Mrs. Hunter, McFillan at once concluded that the author of the note\nwas a neighbor named Chamberlain with whom he had had some quarrel. In a\nshort time after McFillan and his supposed enemy encountered one another\nat a blacksmith's shop in Kabletown and, the former charging the latter\nwith the authorship of the letter, fight took place between them, when\nChamberlain struck McFillan on the head with a stone, injuring him\nseverely. Before any great length of time the wounded man died and, it\nbeing supposed that his death was caused by the injury received from\nChamberlain, a coroner's inquiry was held over the remains and a\npost-mortem examination was made by Dr. Creamer, a physician of local\ncelebrity in those days. Chamberlain was put on trial in Charlestown\nand, as the fact of his having struck the deceased was notorious, he\nbased his defense on the probability that McFillan had come to his death\nby dissipation. Dr. Creamer's evidence favored the prisoner's theory,\nand, as the utmost confidence was felt generally in the doctor's ability\nand integrity, the accused was acquitted. Why the doctor did not so\ntestify before the coroner's jury, the tradition does not tell.\n\nIn some time after the trial a man named Jenkins moved into the\nneighborhood of Kabletown and took up his residence in the house\nformerly occupied by McFillan and in which he had died. Jenkins was a\nbachelor and he lived without any company, except that of some slaves\nwhom he had brought with him. Feeling lonely, he extended an invitation\nto the young men of the vicinity to visit him and assist him to pass\naway the long winter evenings in a social game of \"old sledge\" or\n\"three-trick loo.\" One night Chamberlain visited him and engaged at a\ngame. Their conversation was cheerful and not, at all, calculated to\nexcite their imaginations disagreeably. While they were playing, a\nshuffling of feet was heard in the hall and, presently, a knock was\ngiven at the room door. Jenkins said, \"walk in,\" when the door was\nopened and in came two men who were strangers to the proprietor.\nChamberlain instantly fell to the floor in a swoon and Jenkins jumped up\nto assist him. While stooping to help his friend, the host, of course,\ntook his eyes from the strangers and when he had succeeded in lifting\nChamberlain to a seat, they had vanished unseen and unheard by any other\nperson about the house. The negroes, on being questioned, denied\npositively their having heard or seen them arrive or depart, and it was\nimpossible that any one in the flesh could enter the house and proceed\nto the room occupied by Jenkins and Chamberlain, without being\ndiscovered by the servants. Chamberlain exhibited signs of the most\nabject terror and his host was obliged to send some five or six of his\nslaves to accompany him to his home. Of course, the matter got noised\nabroad and the neighbors eagerly questioned Jenkins about it, but he\ncould give no explanation of it, beyond describing the appearance of the\nstrangers. The description of one of them answered exactly to that of\nMcFillan. The height, make, complexion and dress of the supposed spectre\ncorresponded closely with those of the deceased overseer and the other\nequally resembled Chamberlain's father who had been dead some years. The\nlatter apparition wore the peculiar dress of the Society of Friends of\nwhich the old gentleman had been a member and, in other respects, its\ndescription coincided exactly with that of the deceased Quaker. Of\ncourse, no one ventured to question Chamberlain on the subject, but it\nis religiously believed in the neighborhood that the apparitions were\nthe ghosts of the men whom they so much resembled, but why they should\ntravel in company or what the object of their visit was is as much of a\nmystery as the dream which suggested this episode. Jenkins had never\nbefore seen either of them, being as before noted, a stranger in the\nneighborhood and, certainly there was no reason why =his= imagination\nshould conjure up those apparitions.\n\nWhatever skepticism may be entertained about the matter, it is certain\nthat Jenkins, to the day of his death, persisted in his statement, and\nthere was no man in the county of a higher character than he for\nveracity. It is said that never after that night did Chamberlain sleep\nin a dark room, but that he always kept a light burning in his bed\nchamber, from the time he retired to rest until daylight. He met his\ndeath many years afterwards in a singular manner. He was riding one day\nin a wagon over a rough road. In the bed of the wagon was a loaded\nmusket with the muzzle of the barrel pointing towards him. In some way\nthe musket was discharged and the bullet killed Chamberlain. It was\nclaimed by some who, perhaps, were interested in having it appear so,\nthat the jolting of the wagon caused the discharge of the gun, but no\none attempted to explain how the weapon was cocked or why the bullet did\nnot pass under the driver's seat, instead of through his body. Many ugly\nrumors floated around for some time in connection with the affair, but\nthe writer does not feel at liberty to give them further currency. All\nthe parties concerned are now dead, and let no one disturb their repose\nby rehashing what may have been mere slander or idle gossip. During Mr.\nClowe's time as superintendent--in 1857--died at Harper's Ferry, John,\ncommonly known as \"Lawyer\" Barnett, who was in his way, quite a\ncelebrity. He was by trade a carpenter and he had the reputation of\nbeing an excellent mechanic. Like many other deluded visionaries, he\nconceived that he had discovered a principle on which perpetual motion\ncould be produced and, for many years, he devoted his energies, spent\nhis earnings and tried the patience of his friends, in the construction\nof a machine illustrative of his idea, and explaining his theory to any\nperson willing to listen. His device was certainly very ingenious but\nmarvelously complicated and when set in motion, it terrified, with its\nunearthly noises, his timid neighbors, many of whom looked with\nsuperstitious awe on the mysterious fabric and its uncanny inventor. The\npoor \"Lawyer,\" however, was the most harmless of mankind and the last\nman that his friends should suspect of being in league with the powers\nof darkness. If any compact existed the poor fellow's appearance\ncertainly did not indicate any accession of wealth, as he always went\nabout dressed like a scare-crow, his rags fluttering in the breeze,\nbetokening the most abject poverty. He always carried a thick cudgel and\nwas accompanied by a ferocious looking bull dog. The latter was,\nhowever, as harmless as his master and, for all that any one knew, as\nmuch abstracted in the contemplation of some problem of interest to his\ncanine friends. Barnett, like many other great men, would take sprees\noccasionally, and the poor fellow died one night in one of his drinking\nbouts, at his solitary bachelor home, and his face was devoured by rats\nbefore his death was discovered by his neighbors. It need not be said\nthat he did not accomplish the impossibility he had proposed to himself,\nand his machine now lies in a garret almost forgotten. Had the \"Lawyer\"\nbeen a married man he would not have met so appalling a fate and,\nbesides, if we may rehash a stale joke on the ladies, he might have got\nsome valuable hints from his wife's tongue and accomplished something\nfor science.\n\nMr. Clowe was succeeded in January, 1859, by Alfred M. Barbour, a young\nlawyer from western Virginia, whose administration was the most eventful\nin the history of the place, as it was during that period that the great\ncivil war broke out which, as is well known, caused the total\ndestruction of the armory works. Other remarkable events, however,\noccurred in Mr. Barbour's time which were precursors of the subsequent\ngreat evils and foreshadowed the final catastrophe. These will be\nnarrated in the next chapter.\n\nOn the 28th day of June, 1859, a memorable tornado swept over the place.\nAbout 3 o'clock in the afternoon a thunder storm came up and two clouds\nwere noticed approaching each other, driven by currents of wind from\nopposite directions. When they encountered one another, a fierce flash\nof lightning followed by an appalling thunder peal, lit up the heavens.\nRain poured down in cataracts, and, as if Aeolus had suddenly released\nall his boisterous subjects, the winds rushed from all quarters and came\nin conflict in the gap through which the Potomac finds its way to the\nOcean. In the war of winds a fine covered bridge that crossed the\nShenandoah about three hundred yards above the mouth of that river was\nlifted from its piers and completely overturned into the bed of the\nstream. Mrs. Sloan, a respectable old lady, happened to be on the bridge\nat the time and, of course, was carried with it into the river. She was\nfound shortly after, standing up in a shallow place, and completely\ncovered over with the debris of the wrecked bridge, but fortunately,\nand almost miraculously, she received very little injury.\n\nHaving given a sketch of each of the superintendents, the writer thinks\na notice due to the master-armorers, also. Originally, the\nsuperintendents were styled master-armorers, and Messrs. Perkins and\nStubblefield went by this appellation officially. In 1815, however, the\nlatter gentleman was allowed an assistant to whom that title was\ntransferred, and that of superintendent was given to the principal\nofficer. In the above mentioned year, Armistead Beckham was appointed to\nthe second office in the armory. He was a high-minded gentleman who did\nhis duty regardless of the clamor of factions and with a stern resolve\nto do justice--a difficult task during a portion of his time, as the\nadministration at Washington was democratic and Mr. Beckham was always\nmuch opposed to President Jackson. The latter, however, could not be\ninduced to dismiss the honest master-armorer--such was the respect\nentertained for the character of that gentleman. In 1830 Mr. Beckham\nexchanged with Benjamin Moore, who occupied a similar position in\nPittsburg, each taking the place of the other. In some time after, Mr.\nBeckham was appointed superintendent of the Western Penitentiary of\nPennsylvania, in Allegheny City, which position he held until his death,\nmany years after.\n\nBenjamin Moore was a remarkable person. He was a fine specimen of the\nphysical man and his mind was on the same scale as his body. He occupied\nthe position of master-armorer at Harper's Ferry for nineteen years and,\nduring that time, he introduced an improvement into the manufacture of\narms which is universally admitted to be of utmost advantage, but for\nwhich neither he nor his heirs ever received compensation, although a\nclaim for it has been pending for many years. His invention was that of\nthe interchange of the component parts of a gun, which means that any\nparticular part will suit any gun. The advantage of this plan in field\noperations must be at once apparent as, from piles composed of the\nvarious parts of a rifle or musket, a gun can be extemporized to\nreplace one rendered useless by accident. It is to be hoped that his\ndescendants may yet reap the benefit of his ingenuity and that justice\nmay at length be done to the heirs of a man who did so much for the\nefficiency of our armies.\n\nLike many other men of studious minds, Mr. Moore had, in many things, a\nchild-like simplicity. His son, Thomas, was a man of great talent and,\nin almost every field of art, his ability was apparent. Among other\nagreeable gifts, he possessed that of consummate mimicry. Sometimes he\nwould disguise himself in the garb of a beggar and meet his father with\nthe most piteous tale of distress, which never failed to work on the old\ngentleman's sympathies to the opening of his purse. Many a dollar did\nthe son thus obtain from the benevolent father and, when the young man\nwould throw off his disguise and make himself known, nobody enjoyed the\ndeception better than the victim. Next day, however, the father was just\nas liable to be taken in as before, such was his abstraction of mind,\ncaused by intense thought on the subject of his invention. He died some\nforty years ago, at a ripe old age, covered with honors and with the\nhappy assurance of the rewards promised for a well-spent life.\n\nMr. Moore was succeeded in 1849 by James Burton, a young man whose whole\nprevious life had been devoted to the service of the government at\nHarper's Ferry. He was a fine musician and a man of varied\naccomplishments. In 1853, he was appointed by the British government to\nsuperintend the manufacture of their Enfield rifle. Shortly before our\ncivil war, he returned to his native country, and, while the struggle\nwas in progress, he superintended the manufacture of arms in Richmond.\nMr. Burton died a few years ago in Winchester, Virginia.\n\nHe was succeeded in 1853 by Samuel Byington, a good-natured, easy-going\nman, who was much respected by all at Harper's Ferry. He died, during\nthe civil war, at Washington City, to which place he had moved in 1858.\n\nMr. Byington was succeeded in the year last mentioned, by Benjamin\nMills, a practical gunsmith, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Mr. Mills did\nnot reside very long at Harper's Ferry, returning, in the autumn of\n1859, to his former residence. During his stay, however, he met with an\nadventure which will be related in the next chapter, and it can be\nsafely said that, in his experience in the west, he scarcely met with\nanything that made a deeper impression on him than what he encountered\non this occasion, or which will bide longer in his memory.\n\nMr. Mills was succeeded, in 1859, by Armistead M. Ball, a man of\nremarkable powers as a machinist. He participated in Mr. Mills'\nadventure and, like the latter, no doubt, had a lively recollection of\nthe affair until his death, which occurred in 1861.\n\nThe capacity of the Harper's Ferry armory was from fifteen hundred to\ntwo thousand guns a month, and the muskets and rifles manufactured there\nwere, generally, considered the best in the world. A good deal has been\nheard of the needle-gun, the Chassepot and other guns used by various\nnations, which may be all that is claimed for them, but the Harper's\nFerry Rifle Yerger enjoyed in its day a reputation second to no weapon\nof the small arms kind under the sun, and it is very doubtful if it will\nbe much excelled hereafter, notwithstanding the many improvements we\nhear of year after year. In the war of the rebellion it went by the name\nof the Mississippi Rifle because the troops of that state were the first\nof the Confederates to be armed with it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE BROWN RAID.\n\n\nIn the summer of 1859, a party of strangers made their appearance at\nSandy Hook, a small village of Washington county, Maryland, in the\nimmediate vicinity of Harper's Ferry. With them was an old man of\nvenerable appearance and austere demeanor who called himself Isaac\nSmith. They represented themselves as being prospecting for minerals,\nand they took frequent and long rambles, with this ostensible purpose,\nover the various peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Since the first\nsettlement of Harper's Ferry, it has been believed that, in the earth\nbeneath the wild crags of the Maryland and Loudoun Heights, mines of\ndifferent metals and of fabulous value are hidden, awaiting the eye of\nscience and the hand of industry to discover and develop them. Many of\nthe citizens of the place, from time to time, have supposed that they\nhad found them and no small excitement has been aroused on this account\nby sanguine explorers. Specimens of different kinds of valuable ore or\nwhat was supposed to be such, were sent to Boston and subjected to\nchemical analysis and very favorable reports were returned by the most\neminent chemists and geologists of the Athens of America. No wonder was\nfelt, therefore, at the appearance of the party, and their expedition\nover the tortuous and difficult paths of the mountains excited no\nsuspicion. At first, they boarded at the house of Mr. Ormond Butler,\nwhere their conduct was unexceptionable. They paid in gold for whatever\nthey purchased and, as their manners were courteous to all, they were,\non the whole, very much liked by Mr. Butler's family and his guests.\nAfter a week's stay at Sandy Hook, they removed to what is known as \"the\nKennedy Farm\" about five miles from Harper's Ferry, on the Maryland side\nof the Potomac, where they established their headquarters. While at this\nplace, Smith and his party, of whom three were his sons, made\nthemselves very agreeable to their neighbors and they were as popular\nthere as they had been at Sandy Hook. The father was regarded as a man\nof stern morality, devoted to church exercises, and the sons, with the\nothers of the party, as good-natured, amiable, young men. Thus things\ncontinued 'till the night of Sunday, October 16th, 1859. On that night\nabout 10 o'clock, Mr. William Williams, one of the watchmen on the\nrailroad bridge, was surprised to find himself taken prisoner by an\narmed party, consisting of about twenty men, who suddenly made their\nappearance from the Maryland side of the river. Most of the party then\nproceeded to the armory enclosure, taking with them their prisoner, and\nleaving two men to guard the bridge. They next captured Daniel Whelan,\none of the watchmen at the armory, who was posted at the front gate, and\nthey took possession of that establishment. The party then separated\ninto two bodies--one remaining in the armory and the other proceeding to\nthe rifle factory, half a mile up the Shenandoah, where they captured\nMr. Samuel Williams--father of William Williams before mentioned--an old\nand highly respected man, who was in charge of that place as night\nwatchman. He, too, was conducted to the armory where the other prisoners\nwere confined, and a detachment of the strangers was left to supply his\nplace. About 12 o'clock--midnight--Mr. Patrick Higgins, of Sandy Hook,\narrived on the bridge, for the purpose of relieving Mr. William\nWilliams. They were both in the employment of the Baltimore and Ohio\nrailroad company as watchmen, and each used to serve twelve hours of the\ntwenty-four on duty. Higgins found all in darkness on the bridge and,\nsuspecting that something had gone wrong with Williams, he called loudly\nfor him. To his astonishment he was ordered to halt and two men\npresented guns at his breast, at the same time telling him that he was\ntheir prisoner. One of them undertook to conduct him to the armory, but,\non their arriving at a point near the Virginia end of the bridge, the\nhot-blooded Celt struck his captor a stunning blow with his fist, and,\nbefore the stranger could recover from its effects, Higgins had\nsucceeded in escaping to Fouke's hotel, where he eluded pursuit. Several\nshots were fired after him without effect, and he attributes his safety\nto the fact that his pursuers, while in the act of firing, stumbled in\nthe darkness over some cross pieces in the bridge, and had their aim\ndisconcerted. About this time a party of the invaders went to the houses\nof Messrs. Lewis Washington and John Alstadt, living a few miles from\nHarper's Ferry, and took them and some of their slaves prisoners,\nconducting them to the general rendezvous for themselves and their\ncaptives--the armory enclosure. From the house of the former they took\nsome relics of the great Washington and the Revolution, which the\nproprietor, of course, very highly prized. Among them was a sword, said\nto be the same that was sent to the \"Father of his Country\" by Frederick\nthe Great, King of Prussia--a present, as a legend inscribed on it said,\n\"from the oldest General of the time to the best.\" All through the\nnight, great excitement existed among such of the citizens as became\ncognizant of these facts. There happened to be, at the time, protracted\nmeetings at nearly all of the Methodist churches in the town and\nneighborhood, and the members, returning home late, were taken prisoners\nin detail, until the armory enclosure contained a great many captives,\nwho were unable to communicate to their friends an account of their\nsituation.\n\nAbout one o'clock a.m., Monday, the east bound express train, on the\nBaltimore and Ohio railroad, arrived in charge of Conductor Phelps. The\ntrain was detained by order of the leader of the band, and the telegraph\nwires were cut. The object of these orders was, of course, to prevent\nnews of the invasion from being spread. The train was allowed to\nproceed, however, after a considerable delay. While the train was at\nHarper's Ferry, great alarm naturally existed among the passengers who\ncould not understand these movements. Several shots were exchanged\nbetween the attacking force and a Mr. Throckmorton, clerk at Fouke's\nhotel, and some other parties unknown, but no person was injured. Some\ntime in the course of the night, Heywood Shepherd, a colored porter at\nthe railroad office, walked to the bridge, impelled, no doubt, by\ncuriosity to understand the enigma. He was ordered to halt by the guards\nat the bridge and being seized with a panic and running back, he was\nshot through the body. He succeeded in reaching the railroad office,\nwhere he died next day at 3 o'clock, in great agony.\n\nA little before daylight, some early risers were surprised to find\nthemselves taken prisoners, as soon as they appeared on the streets.\nAmong them was James Darrell, aged about sixty-five years, the\nbell-ringer at the armory, whose duties, of course, compelled him to be\nthe first of the hands at his post. It being yet dark, he carried a\nlantern. When near the gate, he was halted by an armed negro, one of the\ninvading party, and, Darrell, not dreaming of what was transpiring and\nmistaking his challenger for one of Mr. Fouke's slaves on a \"drunk,\"\nstruck the negro with his lantern and consigned his \"black soul\" to a\nclimate of much higher temperature than that of Virginia. The negro\npresented a Sharp's rifle at Darrell and, no doubt, the situation of\nbell-ringer at Harper's Ferry armory would have been very soon vacant\nhad not a white man of the stranger party who appeared to relish very\nhighly the joke of the mistake, caught the gun and prevented the negro\nfrom carrying out his intention. Another white man of the party,\nhowever, came up and struck Darrell on the side with the butt of his\ngun, injuring him severely. Darrell was then dragged before \"the\ncaptain\" who, pitying his age and his bodily sufferings, dismissed him\non a sort of parole. Mr. Walter Kemp, an aged, infirm man, bartender at\nFouke's hotel, was taken prisoner about this time and consigned to Limbo\nwith the others.\n\nIt was, now, daylight and the armorers proceeded singly or in parties of\ntwo or three from their various homes to work at the shops. They were\ngobbled up in detail and marched to prison, lost in astonishment at the\nstrange doings and many, perhaps, doubting if they were not yet asleep\nand dreaming. Several of the officers of the armory were captured, but\nthe superintendent not being in the town at the time, the invaders\nmissed what, no doubt, would have been to them a rich prize. About this\ntime, Mr. George W. Cutshaw, an old and estimable citizen of the place,\nproceeded from his house on High street, towards the Potomac bridge, in\ncompany with a lady who was on her way to Washington City and whom Mr.\nCutshaw was escorting across the river, to the place where the canal\npacketboat on which she intended to travel, was tied up. He passed along\nunmolested until he disposed of his charge, but, on his return, he\nencountered on the bridge several armed apparitions--one of them, an old\nman of commanding presence, appearing to be the leader. Mr. Cutshaw, who\nwas \"a man of infinite jest,\" used to relate in the humorous manner\npeculiar to himself, how he, on first seeing them, took up the thought\nthat a great robbery had been committed somewhere and that the tall,\nstern figure before him was some famous detective, employed to discover\nand arrest the perpetrators, while the minor personages were his\nassistants. He was halted, but, being in a hurry for his breakfast, he\nwas moving on, when he received another and peremptory challenge. At\nlast he said impatiently, \"let me go on! What do =I= know about your\nrobberies?\" These were unfortunate words for Cutshaw, as they gave the\nchief to understand that his party were suspected of an intention to\nplunder--an imputation which the old warrior very highly resented. Mr.\nCutshaw was, therefore, immediately marched off to the armory and placed\namong the other prisoners, where \"the Captain\" kept a close eye on him\nuntil his attention was engrossed by the subsequent skirmish.\n\nA little before 7 o'clock a.m., Mr. Alexander Kelly approached the\ncorner of High and Shenandoah streets, armed with a shotgun, for the\npurpose of discharging it at the invaders. No sooner did he turn the\ncorner than two shots were fired at him and a bullet was sent through\nhis hat. Immediately afterwards, Mr. Thomas Boerly approached the same\ncorner with the same purpose. He was a man of herculean strength and\ngreat personal courage. He discharged his gun at some of the enemy who\nwere standing at the arsenal gate, when a shot was fired at him by one\nof the party who was crouching behind the arsenal fence. The bullet\npenetrated his groin, inflicting a ghastly wound, of which he died in a\nfew hours.\n\nThe writer of these annals met with an adventure on this occasion which,\nthough it partook largely of romance to which he is much addicted, was\nanything but agreeable. Sharing in the general curiosity to know what it\nwas all about, he imprudently walked down High street to Shenandoah\nstreet. At the arsenal gate he encountered four armed men--two white and\ntwo black. Not being conscious of guilt he thought he had no reason to\nfear anybody. The four guards saluted him civilly and one of the white\nmen asked him if he owned any slaves. On his answering in the negative,\nthe strangers told him that there was a movement on foot that would\nbenefit him and all persons who did not own such property. The writer\npassed on strongly impressed with the thought that, sure enough, there\nwas something in the wind. He then looked in at the prisoners, among\nwhom was Mr. Thomas Gallaher, to whom he spoke. The invaders had ceased\nsome time before from making prisoners, as they thought they now had as\nmany as they could well manage. This accounts for the writer's escape\nfrom arrest when he first exposed himself to capture. The leader of the\nparty approached the writer on his speaking to Gallaher, and ordered him\noff the street, telling him, that it was against military law to talk\nwith prisoners. Not conceiving that this stranger had a right to order\nhim off so unceremoniously and not being at the best of times of a very\npatient temper, the historian refused to comply, when a pistol was\npresented at his breast by the captain, which obliged him to duck a\nlittle and take shelter behind a brick pillar in the wall that enclosed\nthe armory grounds. The commander then called out to the same men whom\nthe writer had encountered at the arsenal gate, on the opposite side of\nthe street, and who were not thirty yards off when the encounter with\nthe chief took place. He ordered them to shoot or to arrest the\nhistorian and they at once prepared to obey the order. Not relishing\neither alternative of death or imprisonment, the writer dodged up the\nalleyway that ran along the sidewall of the armory yard, and, in order\nto disconcert their aim, he took a zigzag course which probably would\nnot have been enough to save him from four bullets shot after him in a\nnarrow alley by experienced marksmen, had not aid come from an\nunexpected source. And, now, for the romance. A colored woman, who was\ncrouching in a doorway in the alley, rushed out between him and the\nguns, and, extending her arms, begged of the men not to shoot. They did\nnot shoot and the present generation has not lost and posterity will not\nbe deprived of this history, a calamity which, without the intervention\nof a miracle, their shooting would have entailed. Ever since, the writer\nhas claimed great credit to himself for presence of mind in thinking of\nthe \"zigzag,\" under these trying circumstances, but his friends\nmaliciously insinuate that absence of body did more to save him than\npresence of mind. He takes consolation, however, by comparing himself to\nthe great John Smith, the first white explorer of Virginia, who was once\nin an equally bad fix and was saved by the timely intervention of\nanother dusky maiden. The heroine who, in the present case, conferred so\ngreat a blessing on posterity, was Hannah, a slave belonging to Mrs.\nMargaret Carroll, of Harper's Ferry, and her name will be embalmed in\nhistory, like that of Pocahontas, and it will be more gratefully\nremembered than that of the Indian maiden, by future readers of this\nveracious story, who will consider themselves--partly at least--indebted\nto her for an unparalleled intellectual treat.\n\nIt was now breakfast time and \"the captain\" sent an order to Fouke's\nhotel for refreshments for his men. The state of his exchequer is not\nknown, but he did not pay for the meals in any usual species of\ncurrency. He released Walter, familiarly called \"Watty\" Kemp, the\nbartender at Fouke's and he announced this as the equivalent he was\nwilling to pay. It is to be feared that the landlord did not duly\nappreciate the advantages he gained by this profitable bargain, and it\nmay be that \"Uncle Watty\" himself did not feel much flattered at the\nestimate put on him in the terms of the ransom and his being valued at\nthe price of twenty breakfasts. Be this as it may, the bargain was\nstruck and the meals furnished. The leader of the raiders invited his\nprisoners to partake of the provisions as far as they would go 'round,\nbut only a few accepted the hospitable offer for fear of the food's\nbeing drugged.\n\nUp to this time no person in the town, except the prisoners, could tell\nwho the strange party were. To the captives, as was ascertained\nafterwards, the strangers confessed their purpose of liberating the\nslaves of Virginia, and freedom was offered to any one in durance who\nwould furnish a negro man as a recruit for the \"army of the Lord.\"\nHowever, as there was little or no communication allowed between the\nprisoners and their friends outside, the people, generally, were yet\nignorant of the names and purposes of the invaders and, as may be\nbelieved, Madam Rumor had plenty of employment for her hundred tongues.\nSoon, however, they were recognized by some one as the explorers for\nminerals and then suspicion at once rested on a young man named John E.\nCook, who had sojourned at Harper's Ferry for some years, in the various\ncapacities of schoolmaster, book agent and lock-keeper on the Chesapeake\nand Ohio canal and who had married into a reputable family at the place.\nHe had been seen associating with the Smith party and, as he had been\noften heard to boast of his exploits in \"the Kansas war,\" on the Free\nSoil side, it was instinctively guessed that he and the Smiths were\nconnected in some project for freeing the slaves and this opinion was\nconfirmed by the fact of there being negroes in the party. Shortly\nafter, a new light broke on the people and it was ascertained, in some\nway, that \"the captain\" was no other than the redoubtable John Brown, of\nKansas fame, who had earned the title of \"Ossawattomie Brown\" from his\nexploits in the portion of Kansas along the banks of Ossawattomie\nriver. The information came from one of the prisoners--Mr. Mills--who\nwas allowed to communicate with his family.\n\nAt the regular hour for commencing work in the morning, Mr. Daniel J.\nYoung, master machinist at the rifle factory, approached the gate to\nthese shops, expecting to find Mr. Samuel Williams at his post, as\nwatchman, and little anticipating to find the place in possession of an\nenemy. He was met at the gate by a fierce-looking man, fully armed, who\nrefused him admittance, claiming that he and his companions--four or\nfive of whom appeared at the watch house door, on hearing the\nconversation--had got possession by authority from the Great Jehovah.\nMr. Young, being naturally astonished at hearing this, asked what the\nobject of the strangers was and learned that they had come to give\nfreedom to the slaves of Virginia; that the friends of liberty had tried\nall constitutional and peaceable means to accomplish this end and had\nfailed signally, but that, now the great evil of slavery must be\neradicated at any risk and that there were resources enough ready for\nthe accomplishment of this purpose. Mr. Young said in reply: \"If you\nderive your authority from the Almighty I must yield as I get my right\nto enter only from an earthly power--the government of the United\nStates. I warn you, however, that, before this day's sun shall have set,\nyou and your companions will be corpses.\" Mr. Young then went back to\nstop the mechanics and laborers who were on their way to go to work and\nwarn them of their danger. It appeared to be no part of the policy of\nthe strangers to keep prisoners at the rifle works, as no attempt was\nmade to arrest Mr. Young. This gentleman, it may be remarked, became\nconspicuous afterwards for his adhesion to the cause of the Union.\nDuring the war, he was in charge of the ordnance at Harper's Ferry, with\nthe rank of captain. Soon after the close of hostilities he received a\ncommission in the regular army with the same rank, and, after having\nserved the government for a long time, at various points, he was retired\nsome years ago, and took up his residence at Troy, New York, where he\ndied in 1893.\n\nAbout 9 o'clock, a.m., the people had recovered from their amazement and\nsought for arms wherever they thought they could find any. It was no\neasy matter to find effective weapons, as the arsenal and nearly all the\nstorehouses were in possession of the enemy. It was remembered, however\nthat, some time before, a lot of guns had been removed from the place\nwhere they were usually stored, in order to protect them from the river\nwhich, at the time, had overflowed its banks and encroached on the\narmory grounds and buildings. The arms were put away in a building\nsituated far above high water mark and the strangers knew not of their\nexistence. Enough was procured from this lot to equip a few small\ncompanies of citizens and a desultory skirmish commenced around the\narmory buildings and the adjacent streets which continued all day. A\ncompany under Captain Henry Medler crossed the Shenandoah on the bridge\nand took post on the Loudoun side of the river, opposite the rifle\nworks. Another company under Captain Hezekiah Roderick, took position on\nthe Baltimore and Ohio railroad, northwest of the armory, and a third\nbody, under Captain William H. Moore, crossed the Potomac about a mile\nabove Harper's Ferry and marched down on the Maryland side to take\npossession of the railroad bridge. Thus Brown's party were hemmed in and\nall the citizens who were not enrolled in any of these companies engaged\nthe invaders wherever they could meet them. The rifle factory was\nattacked and the strangers there posted were soon driven into the\nShenandoah where they were met by the fire of Captain Medler's men who\nhad crossed the river on the bridge, and, between the two fires, they\nall perished, except one--a negro named Copeland, who was taken\nprisoner. It is said that one of the citizens named James Holt, waded\ninto the river after one of the enemy who had reached a rock in the\nstream, knocked him down with his fist and disarmed him. Whether it was\nCopeland or one of those who were afterwards killed that was thus\nknocked down the writer is not informed, but that Holt performed this\nfeat is undoubted.\n\nAt the armory proper, however, where Brown commanded in person, a more\ndetermined resistance was made. Brown had told several of his prisoners\nin the course of the morning that he expected large re-inforcements and\nwhen, about noon, the company of citizens under Captain Moore, that had\ncrossed into Maryland, was seen marching down the river road great\nexcitement prevailed, it being supposed by the prisoners and such of the\nother citizens as were not aware of Captain Moore's movements and,\nperhaps, by Brown's party, that these were, sure enough, allies of the\ninvaders. Soon, however, it was ascertained who they were and Brown now\nseeing that the fortune of the day was against him sent two of his\nprisoners, Archibald M. Kitzmiller and Rezin Cross, under guard of two\nof his men, to negotiate in his name with Captain Moore for permission\nto vacate the place with his surviving men without molestation. The two\nambassadors proceeded with their guards towards the bridge, but when\nthey came near the \"Gault House\" several shots were fired from that\nbuilding by which both of the guards were wounded severely and put hors\nde combat. One of them contrived to make his way back to the armory, but\nthe other was unable to move without assistance and Messrs. Kitzmiller\nand Cross helped him into Fouke's hotel, where his wounds were dressed.\nIt will be believed that neither of the envoys was foolish enough, like\nRegulus of old, to return to captivity. Brown, finding that his doves\ndid not come back with the olive branch and now despairing of success,\ncalled in from the streets the survivors of his party and, picking out\nnine of the most prominent of his prisoners as hostages, he retreated\ninto a small brick building near the armory gate, called \"the engine\nhouse,\" taking with him the nine citizens. This little building was\nafterwards famous under the name of \"John Brown's Fort,\" and, from the\ntime of the invasion until the spring of 1892, it was an object of great\ncuriosity to strangers visiting the place. It was sold at the time last\nmentioned to a company of speculators for exhibition at the World's Fair\nin Chicago, and with it much of the glory of Harper's Ferry departed\nforever. About the year 1895, it was repurchased and reshipped to\nHarper's Ferry by the late Miss Kate Fields, and it is now to be seen\nabout two miles from its original site on the farm of Mr. Alexander\nMurphy. Of course, the bricks are not relaid in their original order and\nthe death of Miss Fields makes its restoration to anything like its old\nself very improbable. About the time when Brown immured himself, a\ncompany of Berkeley county militia arrived from Martinsburg who, with\nsome citizens of Harper's Ferry and the surrounding country made a rush\non the armory and released the great mass of the prisoners outside of\nthe engine house, not, however, without suffering some loss from a\ngalling fire kept up by the enemy from \"the fort.\" Brown's men had\npierced the walls for musketry and through the holes kept up a brisk\nfusillade by which they wounded many of the Martinsburg and Harper's\nFerry people and some Charlestown men who, too, had come to take part in\nthe fray. The sufferers were Messrs. Murphy, Richardson, Hammond,\nDorsey, Hooper and Wollett, of Martinsburg; Mr. Young, of Charlestown,\nand Mr. Edward McCabe, of Harper's Ferry. Mr. Dorsey was wounded very\ndangerously and several of the others were injured severely. All got\nwell again, however, except one, whose hand was disabled permanently.\n\nBefore Brown's retreat to the fort, two of his men approached the corner\nof High and Shenandoah streets, where Mr. Boerly had been shot in the\nmorning. It was then about 2 o'clock p.m. and Mr. George Turner a very\nrespected gentleman of Jefferson county who had come to town on private\nbusiness was standing at the door of Captain Moore's house on High\nstreet about seventy-five yards from the corner above mentioned. He had\narmed himself with a musket and was in the act of resting it on a board\nfence near the door to take aim at one of those men when a bullet from a\nSharp's rifle struck him in the shoulder--the only part of him that was\nexposed. The ball after taking an eccentric course entered his neck and\nkilled him almost instantly. A physician who examined his body\ndescribed the wound as having been of the strangest kind the bullet\nhaving taken a course entirely at variance with the laws supposed to\nprevail with such projectiles. It was thought by many that the shot was\nnot aimed at Mr. Turner and that the man who fired it was not aware of\nthat gentleman's being near. There were two citizens named McClenan and\nStedman in the middle of the street opposite to Captain Moore's house.\nThey had guns in their hands and at one of =them= it is supposed was\naimed the shot that proved fatal to Mr. Turner.\n\nAfter this shooting the two strangers immediately retreated and a\nludicrous occurrence took place if indeed, any event of that ill-omened\nday can be supposed to be calculated to excite merriment. Mr. John\nMcClenan--above mentioned--shot after them and his bullet striking the\ncartridge box of one of them, as he was approaching the armory gate, an\nexplosion of his ammunition took place and he entered the gate amid a\ndisplay of fireworks of a novel description. Apparently, he did not\nrelish the honors paid him and, with accelerated pace, he took refuge\nwith his company in the engine house.\n\nThe strangers continued to fire from their fortress and they now killed\nanother very valuable citizen--Fountain Beckham, for many years agent of\nthe Baltimore and Ohio railroad company at Harper's Ferry, and long a\nmagistrate of Jefferson county. Being a man of nervous temperament he\nwas naturally much excited by the occurrences of the day. Moreover,\nHeywood Shepherd, the negro shot on the railroad bridge on the previous\nnight, had been his faithful servant and he was much grieved and very\nindignant at his death. Against the remonstrances of several friends he\ndetermined to take a close look at the enemy. He crept along the\nrailroad, under shelter of a watering station, which then stood there\nand peeped 'round the corner of the building at the engine house\nopposite, when a bullet from one of Brown's men penetrated his heart and\nhe died instantly. A man named Thompson, said to be Brown's son-in-law,\nhad been taken prisoner a short time before by the citizens and confined\nin Fouke's hotel under a guard. At first it was the intention of the\npeople to hand him over to the regular authorities for trial, but the\nkilling of Mr. Beckham so exasperated them that the current of their\nfeelings was changed. They rushed into the hotel, seized Thompson and\nwere dragging him out of the house to put him to death, when Miss\nChristina Fouke, a sister of the proprietor, with true feminine\ninstinct, ran into the crowd and besought the infuriated multitude to\nspare the prisoner's life. This noble act has elicited the warmest\ncommendations from every party and it may be considered the one\nredeeming incident in the gloomy history of that unfortunate day. Miss\nFouke's entreaties were unheeded, however, and Thompson was hurried to\nthe railroad bridge, where he was riddled with bullets. He tried to\nescape by letting himself drop through the bridge into the river. He had\nbeen left for dead, but he had vitality enough remaining to accomplish\nthis feat. He was discovered and another shower of bullets was\ndischarged at him. He was either killed by the shots or drowned and, for\na day or two, his body could be seen lying at the bottom of the river,\nwith his ghastly face still showing what a fearful death agony he had\nexperienced.\n\nAnother of the invaders, named Lehman, attempted to escape from the\nupper end of the armory grounds by swimming or wading the Potomac. He\nhad been seen shortly before conducting one of the armory watchmen,\nnamed Edward Murphy, towards the engine house. He kept his prisoner\nbetween himself and an armed party of citizens who were stationed on a\nhill near the government works. More than a dozen guns were raised to\nshoot him by the excited crowd and, no doubt, he and Murphy would have\nbeen killed had not Mr. Zedoc Butt, an old citizen, induced the party\nnot to fire, in consideration of the danger to the innocent watchman.\nImmediately afterwards, Lehman disappeared for a while, but soon he was\nseen endeavoring to escape as above mentioned. A volley was fired after\nhim and he must have been wounded, as he lay down and threw up both his\narms, as if surrendering. A temporary resident of Harper's Ferry waded\nthrough the river to a rock on which Lehman lay, apparently disabled,\nand deliberately shot him through the head, killing him instantly. =His=\nbody, too, lay for a considerable time where he fell, and it could be\nseen plainly from the high ground west of the armory. The slayer now\nasserts that Lehman first drew his pistol to shoot at him.\n\nA little before night Brown asked if any of his captives would volunteer\nto go out among the citizens and induce them to cease firing on the\nfort, as they were endangering the lives of their friends--the\nprisoners. He promised on his part that, if there was no more firing on\nhis men, there should be none by them on the besiegers. Mr. Israel\nRussel undertook the dangerous duty--the risk arose from the excited\nstate of the people who would be likely to fire on anything seen\nstirring around the prison house--and the citizens were persuaded to\nstop firing in consideration of the danger incurred of injuring the\nprisoners. Like Messrs. Kitzmiller and Cross, Mr. Russel, it will be\nreadily supposed, did not return to captivity. It is certain that the\npeople of the place would have disposed of Brown and his party in a very\nshort time, had they not been prevented all along from pushing the siege\nvigorously, by a regard for the lives of their fellow townsmen, who were\nprisoners. As it was, they had killed, wounded or dispersed more than\nthree-fourths of the raiders and, consequently, the sneers that were\nafterwards thrown out against their bravery, were entirely uncalled for\nand were by parties who, in the subsequent war, did not exhibit much of\nthe reckless courage which they expected from peaceful citizens, taken\nby surprise and totally at a loss for information as to the numbers and\nresources of their enemies.\n\nIt was now dark and the wildest excitement existed in the town,\nespecially among the friends of the killed, wounded and prisoners of the\ncitizens' party. It had rained some little all day and the atmosphere\nwas raw and cold. Now, a cloudy and moonless sky hung like a pall over\nthe scene of war and, on the whole, a more dismal night cannot be\nimagined. Guards were stationed 'round the engine house to prevent\nBrown's escape and, as forces were constantly arriving from Winchester,\nFrederick City, Baltimore and other places to help the Harper's Ferry\npeople, the town soon assumed quite a military appearance. The United\nStates' authorities in Washington had been notified in the meantime,\nand, in the course of the night, Colonel Robert E. Lee, afterwards the\nfamous General Lee of the Southern Confederacy, arrived with a force of\nUnited States' marines, to protect the interests of the government, and\nkill or capture the invaders. About 11 o'clock at night Brown again\nendeavored to open negotiations for a safe conduct for himself and his\nmen out of the place. Colonel Shriver and Captain Sinn, of the Frederick\ntroops, had a conference with him which, however, did not result in\nanything satisfactory. About 7 o'clock on Tuesday morning--October\n18th--Colonel Lee sent, under a flag of truce, Lieutenant J. E. B.\nStuart, of the 1st Cavalry regiment--afterwards so famous for his\nexploits in the service of the confederacy--who had accompanied Colonel\nLee from Washington, to summon the garrison to surrender. Knowing the\ncharacter of Brown, Colonel Lee did not hope for any success in trying\nto induce him to lay down his arms, and he sent Lieutenant Stuart merely\nthrough solicitude for the prisoners and a desire to use every expedient\nin his power before ordering an assault and subjecting them to the\ndanger of being injured by mistake in the melee. As anticipated, Brown\nstubbornly refused to surrender and, therefore, about 8 o'clock, an\nattack was made by the marines under Lieutenant Greene. At first, they\ntried to break open the door with sledge hammers, but failing in this\nthey picked up a large ladder that lay near and with that used as a\nbattering ram they succeeded in making a breach. Through a narrow\nopening thus made, Lieutenant Greene squeezed himself, but he found that\nthe insurgents had barricaded the door with a fire engine and hose that\nwere in the building. Over these obstructions Lieutenant Green\nscrambled, followed by his men and attacked Brown who, with his party,\nwas fortified behind the engine. It is said that one of Brown's men\noffered to surrender and that Brown announced the man's willingness to\ndo so, but, for some reason, the offer was not accepted. While the\nmarines were effecting a breach and when they commenced to rush in, the\nenemy fired on them and one of the soldiers--Luke Quinn--was mortally\nwounded and another, named Rupert, had his upper lip badly lacerated.\nThe former was shot through the body and, if the latter is still alive,\nhe certainly has an ugly scar to remind him and the others of John\nBrown's raid. The insurgents were all bayoneted or captured, but\nfortunately none of the citizen prisoners received any injury. Their\nescape, indeed, was almost miraculous, as it was difficult for the\nmarines to distinguish them from the enemy. Brown himself was wounded\nseverely by Lieutenant Greene and he was taken to another building where\nhis injuries were examined by a physician and his wounds dressed. He\nreceived a cut on the head and a sword thrust in the shoulder. Two or\nthree survivors of his men were kept in the engine house, under a guard\nof marines. The bodies of the slain raiders were collected soon after\nfrom the streets and rivers and, with one exception, buried in a deep\npit on the southern bank of the Shenandoah, about half a mile above\nHarper's Ferry, and the prisoners--Brown included--were lodged in\nCharlestown jail. One body was taken away by some physicians for\ndissection, and, no doubt, the skeleton is now in some doctor's closet.\nAfter having lain just forty years in this rude grave by the Shenandoah,\nthe bodies of the slain raiders were disinterred about three years ago\n(1899) and taken to North Elba, New York, where they now rest close to\nthe grave of their famous leader. This removal and reinterment were\naccomplished through the efforts and under the auspices of Professor\nFeatherstonhaugh, of Washington, D. C., who has ever taken a deep\ninterest in everything appertaining to John Brown and famous raid. Can\nfiction imagine anything more weird than the reality of the sad fate of\nthose men?\n\nSome of Brown's men had escaped, however, from the place, in the course\nof the skirmish, and Cook had not been noticed at all in the fray or in\nthe town since an early hour on Monday morning, when he was seen to\ncross the Potomac on the bridge into Maryland with a few others, taking\nwith him two horses and a wagon captured at Colonel Washington's place\non the previous night, and two or three slaves belonging to that\ngentleman. There was satisfactory evidence, however, of his being fully\nimplicated in the outrage and it was ascertained that he, Owen\nBrown--one of old John's sons--and others had been detailed to operate\non the Maryland shore and that they had seized a schoolhouse, taken the\nDomine--McCurrie--prisoner and driven away the pupils, for the purpose\nof establishing at the place a depot for arms convenient to Harper's\nFerry. It was learned, also, that all the day of the 17th, they had kept\nup a musketry fire from the Maryland mountain on the people of the town,\nand that late in the evening Cook had got supper at the canal lockhouse,\non the Maryland side of the river. Moreover, it was supposed that,\nfinding the fate of war against them, they had fled towards\nPennsylvania. A large body of men, under Captain Edmund H. Chambers, an\nold citizen and a man of well known courage, marched towards the\nSchoolhouse and the Kennedy farm and, at each place they found a large\nnumber of Sharp's rifles, pistols, swords, &c., with a corresponding\nquantity of powder, percussion caps and equipments of various kinds. A\nswivel cannon carrying a one pound ball was discovered, also, in a\nposition to command the town, although it is not known that it was used\nduring the skirmish. A large number of pikes of a peculiar form, and\nintended for the hands of the negroes, was also found. The blacks were\nexpected to turn out at the first signal, and this weapon was considered\nto be better suited to them than firearms, especially at the\ncommencement of the campaign. It should have been mentioned before that\nBrown had put into the hands of his negro prisoners some of these pikes,\nbut, up to the time of the discovery of the magazine at the Kennedy\nfarm, the object of this novel weapon was not fully understood. Captain\nChambers' party found, also, a great number of papers which tended to\nthrow light on the conspiracy and several hundred copies of a form of\nprovisional government to be set up by Brown as soon as he had got a\nfooting in the south.\n\nThe Governor of Virginia, Henry A. Wise, had arrived in the meantime. He\nimmediately took every precaution to secure the prisoners and guard the\nstate against any attempt from the many allies Brown was thought to have\nin the north. Governor Wise indulged in many uncalled for strictures on\nthe people of Harper's Ferry, for their supposed inefficiency as\nsoldiers on this occasion, boasting that he could have taken Brown with\na penknife. This he might have done if the handle was long enough to\nallow him to keep beyond rifle range while he was punching the old man\nthrough the key hole, but with an ordinary penknife or even with a minie\nmusket and bayonet, it is doubtful if the governor could have done more\nthan was performed by many a mechanic of Harper's Ferry in the skirmish\nof Monday. In the subsequent war Governor Wise held quite an important\ncommand and history does not record of him any of the wonderful feats of\nskill or courage that might be expected from a man so confident of his\nown prowess as the governor was when sneering at a brave people taken by\nsurprise and unarmed, when an unexpected attack was made on them. To\nGovernor Wise Brown confessed the whole plan for liberating the slaves\nand, indeed, he had, all along, communicated to his prisoners his\nintentions, but, as before noted, he kept his captives isolated as much\nas possible and, in consequence, the people generally had but a vague\nsuspicion of his purpose. It is true that the party at the rifle factory\nhad informed Mr. Young of their objective, but so many wild rumors had\nbeen started before his interview with them, and there was so much\ngeneral confusion that \"neither head nor tail\" could be found for the\nstrange occurrences of the day. The governor who, although he exhibited\na great deal of petulance on this occasion, was certainly a gallant man\nhimself, could not refrain from expressing admiration for Brown's\nundaunted courage, and it is said that he pronounced the old man honest,\ntruthful and brave.\n\nThe interview between these two men of somewhat similar character,\nthough of diametrically opposite views on politics, is said to have been\nvery impressive. It lasted two hours and those who were present reported\nthat Brown exhibited a high order of uncultivated intellect in his\nconversation with the highly educated and polished governor of Virginia.\nIt is said, also, that in the course of this interview, Brown foretold\nthe utter destruction of Harper's Ferry to take place in a very short\ntime--a prophecy which, if uttered at all, has met with a terrible and\nliteral fulfillment. Brown, Wise and the group surrounding them while\nthis conversation was in progress, would furnish a fine theme for a\npicture. The stern, old Puritan with his bleeding wounds and disordered\ndress, his long, gray beard and wild gleaming eyes, like some prophet of\nold, threatening the wrath of Heaven on a sinful generation, and the\nstately governor of Virginia reminding one of some cavalier of Naseby or\nWorcester--each firm and true as the blade he carried and each a type of\nthe noble though fanatical race from which he sprang, would make an\nimpressive picture and, perhaps, the scene will exercise, some day, the\ngenius of a future painter.\n\nOn Wednesday night, October 19th, while the fever of excitement was yet\nat its height, a gentleman residing in Pleasant Valley, Maryland, about\nthree miles from Harper's Ferry, heard a rumor that the \"abolitionists\"\nand the slaves were butchering the people around Rohrsville, a few miles\nfarther up the same valley, and very properly gave notice of what he had\nheard, riding furiously through Sandy Hook, towards the centre of the\ntrouble, the government armory. The people of Sandy Hook, men, women and\nchildren rushed wildly towards the same point for protection at the\nhands of the troops there assembled, while the people of Harper's Ferry\nwere equally wild with this new excitement. The marines who were yet at\nthe place turned out and marched to the point designated, where their\nappearance caused another and more reasonable alarm among the people\nthere, who had not been disturbed by Brownites, white or black and who,\nfor a long time, could not be convinced that the soldiers had come to\nprotect and not molest them. Sandy Hook was totally deserted by its\npeople on this occasion, and many of them hurried away whatever of their\nportable property they deemed most valuable. It is said that one man\nshouldered a half-grown hog of a favorite breed and made tracks to\nHarper's Ferry, and, as he and his neighbors scoured along the road, the\nsqueals of the indignant pig blended harmoniously with the multifarious\nnoises of the flying column. The marines, finding no enemy, returned to\nHarper's Ferry, but, for many weeks afterwards, similar alarms were\nstarted by nervous or mischievous people with nearly the same results.\n\nHarper's Ferry was now patrolled every night by details of citizens\nuntil the execution of Brown, which took place near Charlestown,\nDecember 2d, 1859. Many a midnight tramp did the author take along the\nmuddy streets that winter with an old Hall's rifle on his shoulder when\nhis turn came to watch out for prowling abolitionists. The companion of\nhis watch was a worthy Milesian gentleman named Dan. O'Keefe, from \"the\nbeautiful city called Cork.\" They made it a point to watch Dan's house\nparticularly, through a very natural praiseworthy anxiety on the part of\nthat gentleman for the safety of his better half and several pledges of\nlove presented from time to time by that excellent lady to her lord and\nmaster, as well as for the sake of a corpulent flask which the\nhospitable Hibernian never failed to produce from a cupboard, near the\ndoor, when in their rounds, they came to his house. As the night and the\ncontents of the flask waned, the courage of the brothers-in-arms arose\nand it is fortunate, perhaps, for the fame of Horatius Cocles, Leonidas\nand other celebrated defenders of bridges or passes that no\nabolitionists attempted to cross to \"the sacred soil of Virginia\" while\nthose worthies were on guard and full of patriotic enthusiasm and\nwhiskey punch. No doubt, their exploits would have eclipsed those of\nthe above mentioned Roman and Greek and of anybody else who has gained\ncelebrity by blocking the passage of an enemy. Several companies of\narmorers were organized for the defense of the place and, once a week\ndid they display all \"the pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war\"\nmarching and countermarching along the streets, to the delight of the\nladies, the children and, no doubt, of themselves, as well as to the\nterror of any book peddler from the north who might be in the\nneighborhood and who might reasonably be suspected of being opposed to\nslavery. A force of United States troops under Captain Seth Barton,\nafterwards prominent in the service of the confederacy, was stationed at\nHarper's Ferry and, gradually, quiet was restored. A Milesian warrior,\nnamed Sergeant McGrath of the above troop was detailed to instruct the\nawkward squad of citizens in the manual of arms and his deep Munster\nDoric could be heard on parade evenings thundering his commands to\nrefractory recruits.\n\nCook and another of Brown's party, named Albert Hazlett, were arrested\nin Pennsylvania and brought back to Virginia on requisitions. This\ncircumstance furnished a lesson to the fanatics who unhappily abounded\non both sides of Mason and Dixon's line. To the southern men it ought to\nhave proved that the people of the north did not sympathize to any great\nextent with the invaders of Virginia and to the northern people who\nexpressed themselves as being shocked at the want of clemency exhibited\nby the state of Virginia on this occasion, it showed that among\nthemselves were men who were ready to deliver over Brown's party to the\ntender mercies of the slave holders for the sake of a few hundred\ndollars offered as a reward for this service.\n\nCook and another white man, named Edwin Coppic, with two negroes, named\nGreen and Copeland, were executed on the 16th of December, in the same\nyear and Hazlett and Aaron D. Stevens--both white--met the same fate on\nthe 16th of March, 1860.\n\nBrown's trial was, of course, a mere matter of form. He took no pains to\nextenuate his guilt and openly avowed that he desired no favors from\nthe state of Virginia. Two young lawyers of Boston, named Hoyt and\nSennott, volunteered to defend him and they acquitted themselves\ncreditably. The Honorable Samuel Chilton, of Washington City, was\nemployed for the defense by John A. Andrew, of Massachusetts, afterwards\ngovernor of that state, but, of course nothing could save the prisoner\nand he was executed as before stated.\n\nBrown died with unshaken fortitude and, bitter as the animosity against\nhim was, his courage or rather his stoic indifference elicited the\nadmiration of even his unrelenting enemies. Indeed it is difficult at\nthe present time to do justice to the character of this remarkable man,\nbut, no doubt, the future historian of this country who will write when\nthe passions that excite us have subsided or, perhaps, are forgotten\nwill class him with the Scotch Covenanters of the 17th century. It\nappears to the writer that in many respects John Brown very closely\nresembled John Balfour, of Burly, whose character is so finely portrayed\nin Scott's \"Old Mortality.\" The same strong will and iron nerve and the\nsame fanaticism characterized these two men and it must be said of both,\nfor Burly's character is taken from life--that, while no sane person can\nwholly approve of their actions, their most implacable opponents cannot\ndeny a tribute of respect to their unflinching courage. The other\nprisoners, also, died bravely and, indeed, it was a melancholy thing to\nsee men of so much strength of character lose their lives in such a\nfoolish undertaking--foolish, as far as the limited facilities of man\ncan reach--but wise, perhaps, could men understand the workings of Him\n\"whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways.\"\nIn judging of this invasion it is well to remember that everything which\nJohn Brown proposed to do was successfully accomplished within five\nyears from the day of his execution, and who can tell how much active\nprovidential interference there was in this apparently wild and lawless\nenterprise?\n\nAn attempt to escape was made by Cook and Coppic on the night before\ntheir execution. By some means they succeeded in eluding the vigilance\nof the cell watch and in climbing the outer wall of the prison when they\nwere challenged by a citizen guard who was posted outside and their\nfurther progress was prevented. The name of the sentinel who discovered\nthem in their flight was Thomas Guard and many jokes and puns were\nperpetrated for months afterwards on the coincidence. They were taken\nback immediately to their cell and closely =guarded= 'til morning.\n\nA characteristic anecdote was told by the late Mr. James Campbell, who\nwas sheriff of Jefferson county at the time of the Brown troubles. It\nwill be remembered that, on the morning of the raid, Brown got breakfast\nfor his men at Fouke's hotel and that, in liquidation, he restored to\nliberty Walter Kemp, the bartender, whom he had taken prisoner. A short\ntime before Brown's execution Sheriff Campbell sold some property\nbelonging to Brown which was found at the Kennedy farm and was\naccounting to him for it, and naming some claims presented against him\nby various parties with whom Brown had had dealings. Among these claims\nwas one of Mr. Fouke for the refreshments mentioned. Brown was reclining\non his bed, not having yet recovered from his wounds, and, no doubt,\nwith his spirit darkened by the shadow of his impending fate. He\nlistened apathetically to the list of debts, until that of Mr. Fouke was\nmentioned when he suddenly rose up and protested against this demand.\n\"Why, Mr. Campbell,\" said he, \"I made a fair exchange with Mr. Fouke; I\nrestored to him his bartender as pay for the meals referred to, and I do\nnot think it honorable in him to violate the contract.\" Mr. Campbell\nreplied: \"Why, Mr. Brown, I wonder at you. I thought you were opposed to\ntrading in human flesh, but, now, I find that even you will do it, like\nother people, when it suits your convenience.\" A grim smile played for a\nmoment 'round the old Puritan's firmly compressed mouth. He lay down\nagain quietly and remarked \"Well, there may be something in =that=,\ntoo.\" He made no further opposition to the claim. A part of the property\ndisposed of by Sheriff Campbell was a horse which Brown had bought from\na Harper's Ferry horse trader. In the transaction Brown had been badly\nbitten, as the animal was nearly valueless and, on the day of the raid\nthe old man made particular inquiries about the tricky trader. The\nlatter was warned of his danger and took care not to encounter his\nvictim, who, with all the solemn thoughts of a great national uprising,\nand the fearful risk of his undertaking, was yet smarting from the petty\ndeception put on him in the sale and eager to take vengeance for it.\n\nOn the morning of his execution he bade an affectionate farewell to his\nfellow captives with the exception of Cook whom he charged with having\ndeceived him, and Hazlett of whom he denied any knowledge. It is said\nthat he gave to each of them, with the exceptions noted, a silver\nquarter of a dollar, as a memento and told them to meet their fate\ncourageously. His pretense not to know Hazlett was understood to be for\nthe benefit of the latter whose trial had not yet come off. Hazlett\nstoutly denied that he knew anything of Brown or that he was connected\nin any way with the raid on Harper's Ferry. It will be remembered that\nhe was arrested in Pennsylvania, some time after the invasion, and, of\ncourse, his defense, if he had any, was an alibi. A very absurd story\nwas published about Brown's taking a colored baby from its mother's arms\nat the scaffold and kissing it. No colored person of either sex would\ndare to approach the scene of the execution. The slaves were frightened\nand bewildered so thoroughly at the time that their sole aim was to\navoid the public eye as much as possible but the paragraph promised to\ntake well and the reporter was not disappointed.\n\nBrown's wife arrived at Harper's Ferry shortly before his execution and,\nto her his body was delivered for burial. He was interred at North Elba,\nin the State of New York, where he had resided for some years. His wife\nwas a rather intelligent woman and she did not appear to sympathize with\nher husband's wild notions on the subject of slavery. In conversation\nwith a citizen of Harper's Ferry she expressed an opinion that Brown\nhad contemplated this or a similar attack for thirty years, although he\nhad never mentioned the subject to her. The bodies of Cook, Coppic,\nHazlett and Stevens, also, were delivered to friends, and it is said\nthat the last named two are buried near the residence of a benevolent\nlady of the Society of Friends in New Jersey. She had always sympathized\nwith their cause and she provided their remains with the only thing now\nneeded--a decent burial.\n\nMany anecdotes of John Brown are told in the neighborhood of the Kennedy\nfarm where he and his party resided during the greater part of the\nsummer previous to the attack, and they serve to illustrate the\ncharacter of this extraordinary man. Whenever he killed an animal for\nhis own use and that of his men he invariably sent a portion of it to\nsome of his neighbors, many of whom were poor and sorely in need of such\nattentions. In other respects, also, especially in his love for\nchildren, he exhibited a kindness of heart which made him to be much\nliked by all who knew him. He was very regular in his attendance at\nchurch exercises and his piety was undoubtedly genuine, as will appear\nfrom the following: Once, a large crowd had assembled in a log\nschoolhouse to listen to an itinerant preacher. The minister made but a\nvery poor show and his sermon was considered, even in that\nunsophisticated region, as far below mediocrity. John Brown or Isaac\nSmith, as he was then called, was one of the audience and, all through\nthe sermon he kept his eyes riveted on the preacher and appeared to be\ntotally absorbed in attention, as much so, indeed, as if the pulpit was\noccupied by Henry Ward Beecher or some other far famed divine. When the\nsermon was concluded one of Brown's neighbors in the audience made some\njocular remark about the preacher and the discourse and asked Brown if,\never before, he had heard such trash from a pulpit. \"Sir,\" said the\nstern old man. \"When I come to hear the word of God, I do not propose to\ncriticize the preaching of His minister. I recognize the Master, humble\nas the servant may be, and I respect His word, though coming from the\nmouth of an obscure and illiterate man.\"\n\nOn the other hand he sometimes savored strongly of blasphemy, whenever\nreligious dogmas or tenets appeared to clash in any way with his\nfavorite hobby. After his conviction many preachers of various\ndenominations offered him the consolation of religion according to their\nparticular rites. At their introduction to him Brown always asked these\ngentlemen: \"Do you approve of slavery?\" As the answer at that time was\nsure to be in the affirmative for not even a minister of the Gospel\ndared then to hint at any sin in \"the institution\"--he refused to\nreceive their services, preferring to go before his God unshriven to\naccepting the ministrations of slavery-loving preachers. One reverend\ngentleman remarked to him that Saint Paul himself had sent back a\nfugitive slave to his master, when Brown, with his dark eye ablaze said:\n\"Then Saint Paul was no better than you are.\" And in this spirit he\nentered the great unknown, where it is to be hoped that honest\nconvictions receive at least as much honor as well conned creeds,\nlearned by rote, and often wanting in the great essential--an active\ncharity.\n\nThe gallows on which Brown was hung must have been a vast fabric and the\nrope used must have been as long as the Equinoctial Line, or, else, both\nhad some miraculous powers of reproduction. Of the many thousands of\nsoldiers who were stationed from time to time in Jefferson county, from\nthe day of Brown's execution till the last regiment disappeared, more\nthan a year after the war, almost every other man had a portion of\neither as a souvenir of his sojourn in Virginia. The writer saw pieces\nof wood and fragments of rope purporting to have formed parts of\nthem--enough to build and rig a large man-of-war. If the soldiers\nbelieved they had genuine relics they were as well contented as they\nwould be if they had the reality and it would be cruel to undeceive\nthem. The true history of that scaffold is as follows: It was built by a\ncarpenter of Charlestown, named David Cockerell, expressly for the\nexecution of Brown. When this purpose was accomplished the builder took\nit to his home, and put it away as a curiosity. When the war broke out\nCockerell joined the confederate army and acted as engineer on the staff\nof Stonewall Jackson. Fearing that in his absence from home his family\nmight be annoyed by soldiers coming to see the relic or, if possible, to\nsteal it, he ordered it to be built into a porch attached to the house\nand the whole structure to be painted in the same color so that no\nstranger could guess at anything beyond the common in the ordinary\nlooking porch. Cockerell died some years after the war, and it is said\nthat his heirs disposed of the famous scaffold to some Washington City\nspeculators, who proposed to exhibit it at the World's Fair in Chicago\nin 1893. The writer gives this history of the scaffold as he has\nreceived it from trustworthy sources. For several months after the raid\na brisk trade was prosecuted by the boys of Harper's Ferry selling \"John\nBrown pikes\" to railroad passengers who, every day now stopped at the\nstation from curiosity and, as the number of genuine pikes was not very\nlarge, the stock must have been exhausted in a very short time. It is\nsaid, however, that some ingenious and enterprising blacksmiths in the\nneighborhood devoted much of their time and capital to the manufacture\nof imitations, and it is certain that the number of pikes sold to\nstrangers exceeded, by a great many, the number supposed to have been\ncaptured at Brown's headquarters.\n\nThe names of the invaders, as well as could be ascertained, were as\nfollows: John Brown, Watson Brown, Oliver Brown, Owen Brown, Aaron D.\nStevens, Edwin Coppic, Barclay Coppic, Albert Hazlett, John E. Cook,\nStuart Taylor, William Lehman, William Thompson, John Henrie Kagi,\nCharles P. Tydd, Oliver Anderson, Jeremiah Anderson, 'Dolph Thompson,\nDangerfield Newby, Shields Greene alias \"Emperor,\" John Copeland and\nLewis Leary, of whom the last four were negroes or Mulattoes.\n\nJohn Brown was, at the time of the raid, fifty-nine years old. He was\nabout five feet and eleven inches in height, large boned and muscular,\nbut not fleshy, and he gave indications of having possessed in his youth\ngreat physical strength. His hair had been a dark brown, but at this\nperiod it was gray. His beard was very long and, on the day of the\nraid, it hung in snowy waves to his breast and helped to give to his\naquiline features a singularly wild appearance. His eyes were of a dark\nhazel and burned with a peculiar light that gave promise of a quick\ntemper and a daring courage. His head, as it appeared to the writer, was\nof a conical shape, and, on the whole, his physique well corresponded\nwith the traits of his character. The portrait of him in this book is an\nadmirable likeness. He was a native of Connecticut, but he had resided\nfor many years in the states of New York and Ohio where, it is said, he\nwas a rather extensive and successful wool-grower. He was twice married\nand he had a very large family of sons and daughters, the most of whom\nwere married. He emigrated to Kansas at an early period in the history\nof that territory and he was an acknowledged leader in the civil broils\nwhich distracted that region for several years. Of course, various\nopinions were entertained concerning him--the Free Soil men considering\nhim a hero, and the pro-slavery people regarding or affecting to regard\nhim as a demon incarnate. It is said that, in 1851, he visited Europe\nwith the ostensible purpose of exhibiting samples of wool, but in\nreality to study the science of earth fortifications and gain military\nknowledge to be made available in a servile war which he designed to\nexcite at a suitable opportunity. He certainly suffered a great deal in\nKansas--losing one of his sons, Frederick, and a considerable amount of\nproperty in fighting the southern settlers, and it is probable that a\nbitterness of feeling on this account mingled with his natural hatred of\nslavery.\n\nThere was confusion respecting the identity of his two sons--Watson and\nOliver. They were both mortally wounded on the 17th. One of them,\nsupposedly, a young man apparently about twenty-three years of age, of\nlow stature, with fair hair and blue eyes, was shot in the stomach and\ndied in the course of the night in the engine house, while the party had\nstill possession of it. It is said that he suffered terrible agony and\nthat he called on his companions to put him out of pain by shooting him.\nHis father, however, manifested no feeling on the occasion beyond\nremarking to his boy that \"he must have patience; that he was dying in a\ngood cause, and that he should meet his fate like a brave man.\" The\nother was a tall man, about six feet in height, with very black hair.\nHe, also, as before stated, was wounded in the skirmish of the 17th, and\nhe died next morning, after the marines got possession of the engine\nhouse. He was one of the two men who were wounded from \"the Gault\nhouse.\" When he died his father was a prisoner and badly wounded. On\nlearning that one of his men had died a few minutes before, he sent out\nto inquire if it was his son and, on being informed that it was, he\nmanifested the same stoicism and made a remark similar to the one of the\nprevious night, when the other son was dying--that the cause was good\nand that it was glorious to die for its sake. When the news reached him\nhe was engaged in the interview with Governor Wise. After satisfying\nhimself as to the identity of the man just deceased, he resumed his\nconversation with the governor, as if nothing had happened which was\ncalculated in the least to discompose him. As before noted, there is a\ndoubt with the people of Harper's Ferry as to which of these two men was\nOliver and which was Watson, and, indeed, whether or not the fair-haired\nyouth was his son at all.\n\nOwen Brown was one of those detailed to operate in Maryland. He was not\nin the skirmish, and he made his escape and was not seen again in\nVirginia or Maryland. The writer has no knowledge of his appearance or\nage.\n\nAaron D. Stevens was a remarkably fine looking young man of about thirty\nyears of age. He was about five feet and ten inches in height, heavily\nbuilt and of great symmetry of form. His hair was black and his eyes of\ndark hazel had a very penetrating glance. He was said to be a desperate\ncharacter and, as it was reported that he had suggested to Brown the\nmurder of the prisoners and the firing of the village, there was greater\nanimosity felt towards him than any of the others, except, perhaps,\nCaptain Brown himself and Cook. He received several wounds in the\nskirmish and it was thought he could not survive them. In consequence of\nthese injuries he was one of the last put on trial and executed. He was\nsaid to be a believer in spiritualism or spiritism which is, perhaps,\nthe proper term. He was the one who was so badly wounded from \"the Gault\nhouse\" and who was taken to Fouke's hotel. Had he not been disabled, it\nis to be feared, from what is reported of him, that a massacre of the\nprisoners would have been perpetrated on his recommendation. Whatever\nhis crimes may have been it is certain that he was a man of undaunted\ncourage and iron nerve. While he lay at Fouke's hotel helpless from his\nwounds, a crowd of armed and frenzied citizens gathered 'round him, and\nit was with the utmost difficulty that a few of the less excited people\nsucceeded in saving his life for the present. One man put the muzzle of\nhis loaded gun to Stevens' head with the expressed determination to kill\nhim instantly. Stevens was then unable to move a limb, but he fixed his\nterrible eyes on the would-be murderer and by the sheer force of the\nmysterious influence they possessed, he compelled the man to lower the\nweapon and refrain from carrying out his purpose. To this day the\nmagnetized man avers that he cannot account for the irresistible\nfascination that bound him as with a spell.\n\nEdwin Coppic or Coppie was a young man aged about twenty-four years,\nabout five feet and six inches in height, compactly built and of a\nflorid complexion. He was a very handsome youth, and for various\nreasons, great sympathy was felt for him by many. He was not wounded in\nthe skirmish, but he was taken prisoner by the marines in the engine\nhouse. He had come from Iowa where resided his widowed mother, a pious\nold lady of the Society of Friends. He had been for a long time in the\nemploy of a Mr. Thomas Gwynn, living near Tipton, Cedar county, in the\nabove mentioned state. Mr. Gwynn was a farmer and merchant and Coppic\nassisted him as a farm laborer and \"help\" around his store. His employer\nwas much attached to him and came to Charlestown for his remains, which\nhe took with him to Iowa. After Coppic's conviction a petition was\nforwarded to the governor of Virginia, requesting executive clemency in\nhis case. It was not successful, however, and he was executed as before\nstated. In conversation with a citizen of Harper's Ferry who interviewed\nhim in his cell, Coppic said that, when he left his home in Iowa, he had\nno intention to enter on any expedition like the one against Virginia,\nbut he confessed that his object was to induce slaves to leave their\nmasters, and to aid them to escape.\n\nOf Barclay Coppic little is known in Virginia beyond the fact that he\nwas Edwin's brother and that he was with Brown's party in the raid. He\nwas with Owen Brown and Cook on the Maryland side of the Potomac while\nthe skirmish was in progress and he was not captured. It is said that he\nwas killed some years ago in a railroad accident in Missouri.\n\nAlbert Hazlett, of Pennsylvania, was a man of about five feet and eleven\ninches in height, raw-boned and muscular. His hair was red and his eyes\nwere of a muddy brown color and of a very unpleasant expression. He was\nvery roughly dressed on the day of the raid, and in every sense of the\nword he looked like an \"ugly customer.\" He made his escape from Harper's\nFerry on the evening of the 17th, about the time when Brown withdrew his\nforce into the engine house, but he was afterward captured in\nPennsylvania and executed with Stevens. His age was about thirty-three\nyears.\n\nJohn E. Cook was a native of Connecticut and he was a young man of about\ntwenty-eight years--five feet and eight inches in height, though, as he\nstooped a good deal, he did not appear to be so tall. He had fair hair\nand bright blue eyes and he was, on the whole, quite an intelligent\nlooking man. As before stated, he had resided several years at Harper's\nFerry, and he had become acquainted with all the young men of the place,\nby whom he was regarded as a pleasant companion. He had married a\nrespectable young lady of the place, who knew nothing of his former life\nor of his plans against the peace of Virginia. He was highly connected\nand the governor of Indiana at that time--Willard--was his\nbrother-in-law, being the husband of Cook's sister. At his trial Daniel\nVoorhees, afterward so famous as a politician and criminal lawyer, made\na speech for the defense which is regarded as one of his best efforts.\n\nLittle is known of Stuart Taylor. Some contend that he was a man of\nmedium size and very dark complexion, while others believe that he was a\nredhaired young man who was bayoneted by the marines in the engine house\nand dragged dead from that building at the same time that Brown was\nremoved. The writer is inclined to the latter opinion and he thinks that\nthose who favor the former confound him with a man named Anderson of\nwhom mention will soon be made at some length.\n\nWilliam Lehman, who was killed on a rock in the Potomac while\nendeavoring to escape, was quite a young man, with jet black hair and a\nvery florid complexion. The killing of this young man was, under all\ncircumstances of the case, an act of great barbarity, as he had made\nsigns of a desire to surrender. The man who shot him was, as before\nstated, but a temporary resident of Harper's Ferry and, in reality,\nbelonged to a neighboring county. Nothing can be gained by giving his\nname and the concealing of it may save people yet unborn from unmerited\nshame. In justice it must be said that he now claims that Lehman drew a\npistol to shoot him, but we did not hear of this until very lately.\n\nWilliam Thompson, who was shot on the bridge, was a man apparently of\nabout thirty years of age, of medium size, but of a symmetrical and\ncompact form. His complexion was fair, and he gave indications of being\na man of pleasant disposition. He was well known to many in the\nneighborhood of the Kennedy farm and he was very popular with all his\nacquaintances there. The killing of this man was unnecessary, also, but\nsome palliation for it may be found in the excitement caused by Mr.\nBeckham's death.\n\nJohn or, as he was sometimes called, Henrie Kagi, is said to have been a\nremarkably fine looking man, with a profusion of black hair and a\nflowing beard of the same color. He was about thirty years of age, tall\nand portly, and he did not display the same ferocity that many of the\nothers exhibited. He was \"secretary of war\" under Brown's provisional\ngovernment and he held the rank of captain. He is supposed to have been\na native of Ohio. He was killed in the Shenandoah near the rifle\nfactory.\n\nOf Charles P. Tydd little is known. It is said that, before the raid, he\nused to peddle books through the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry. As far\nas ascertained, he did not appear in the fight, but escaped from\nMaryland to parts unknown. It is said that he was a native of Maine.\n\nRespecting the identity of Oliver and Jeremiah Anderson there is a\ndoubt, as in the case of the young Browns. One of them was killed by the\nmarines, but what became of the other is unknown. The man who was killed\nwas about thirty years of age, of middle stature, very black hair and\nswarthy complexion. He was supposed by some to be a Canadian mulatto. As\nbefore noted, he is confounded by many with Stuart Taylor. He received\nthree or four bayonet stabs in the breast and stomach and, when he was\ndragged out of the engine house to the flagged walk in front of that\nbuilding, he was yet alive and vomiting gore from internal hemorrhage.\nWhile he was in this condition a farmer from some part of the\nsurrounding country came up and viewed him in silence, but with a look\nof concentrated bitterness. Not a word did the countryman utter, as he\nthought, no doubt, that no amount of cursing could do justice to his\nfeelings. He passed on to another part of the armory yard and did not\nreturn for a considerable time. When he came back Anderson was yet\nbreathing and the farmer thus addressed him: \"Well, it takes you a h--\nof a long time to die.\" If Anderson had vitality enough left in him to\nhear the words this soothing remark must have contributed greatly to\nsmooth his way to the unknown land of disembodied spirits. The writer\nheard from very good authority that another and still greater barbarity\nwas practised towards this helpless man while he was in the death agony.\nSome brute in human shape, it is said, squirted tobacco juice and\ndropped his quid into the dying man's eye. The writer did not see the\nlatter occurrence, but it was related by witnesses of undoubted\nveracity. After death, also, this man--Anderson--was picked out for\nspecial attentions. Some physicians of Winchester, Virginia, fancied him\nas a subject for dissection and nem. con. they got possession of his\nbody. In order to take him away handily they procured a barrel and tried\nto pack him into it. Head foremost, they rammed him in, but they could\nnot bend his legs so as to get them into the barrel with the rest of the\nbody. In their endeavors to accomplish this feat they strained so hard\nthat the man's bones or sinews fairly cracked. These praiseworthy\nexertions of those sons of Galen in the cause of science and humanity\nelicited the warmest expressions of approval from the spectators. The\nwriter does not know, certainly, what final disposition they made of the\nsubject which the Fates provided for them, without the expense or risk\nof robbing a grave.\n\n'Dolph Thompson was quite a boy and he appeared to be an unwilling\nparticipator in the transaction. He was seen by not more than two or\nthree of the citizens, and it is supposed that he escaped early on the\n17th. He had fair hair and a florid complexion.\n\nDangerfield Newby was a tall and well built mulatto, aged about thirty\nyears. He had a rather pleasant face and address. He was shot and killed\nat the Arsenal gate by somebody in Mrs. Butler's house opposite, about\n11 o'clock, a.m., on Monday, and his body lay where it fell until the\nafternoon of Tuesday. The bullet struck him in the lower part of the\nneck and went down into his body, the person who shot him being in a\nposition more elevated than the place where Newby was standing. Mr.\nJacob Bajeant, of Harper's Ferry, used to claim the credit of having\nfired the fatal shot, and the people generally accorded him the honor. A\nnear relative and namesake of George Washington disputes Bajeant's claim\nand is confident that it was a shot from =his= rifle that put an end to\nNewby's career. Mr. Bajeant is now dead and it is not likely that the\nquestion will be brought up again. From the relative positions of the\nparties, the size of the bullet or some other circumstance, the hole in\nNewby's neck was very large, and the writer heard a wag remark that he\nbelieved a smoothing iron had been shot into him. The writer has no\nintention to make light, as might appear from the following, of what was\na fearful occurrence. He relates the simple truth, as many can attest.\nSome fastidious critics have objected to the details of this tragedy in\nformer editions of this book, but Truth is mighty and ought to prevail.\nThat Newby's body was torn by hogs at Harper's Ferry is too well known\nto require an apology for a relation of the facts, although the details\nare undoubtedly disgusting. Shortly after Newby's death a hog came up,\nrooted around the spot where the body lay and, at first appeared to be\nunconscious that anything extraordinary was in its way. After a while,\nthe hog paused and looked attentively at the body, then snuffed around\nit and put its snout to the dead man's face. Suddenly, the brute was\napparently seized with a panic and, with bristles erect and drooping\ntail, it scampered away, as if for dear life. This display of\nsensibility did not, however, deter others of the same species from\ncrowding around the corpse and almost literally devouring it. The writer\nsaw all this with his own eyes, as the saying is, and, at the risk of\nfurther criticism, he will remark that none of the good people of\nHarper's Ferry appeared to be at all squeamish about the quality or\nflavor of their pork that winter. Nobody thought on the subject or, if\nanybody did recall the episode, it was, no doubt, to give credit to the\nhogs for their rough treatment of the invaders.\n\nOn Tuesday evening, after Brown's capture, and when the people were\nsomewhat relieved from the terror of a more extensive and dangerous\ninvasion, a citizen of Harper's Ferry, who had not had a chance to\ndistinguish himself in the skirmish of Monday, fired a shot into what\nwas left of Newby's body, a feat which, it must be supposed, tended to\nexalt him, at least, in his own estimation. Like Kirkpatrick at the\nmurder of the Red Comyn, he thought he would \"make sicker\" and guard\nagainst any possibility of the dead man's reviving. The citizen referred\nto was somewhat under the influence of whiskey when he fired the\nsuperfluous shot, but the writer saw another man who was apparently\nsober and who was certainly a person of excellent standing in the\ncommunity, kick the dead man in the face and, on the whole, great a\ncrime as the invasion of the place was and natural as the animosity\ntowards the raiders should be considered, it must be confessed that the\ntreatment the lifeless bodies of those wretched men received from some\nof the infuriated populace was far from creditable to the actors or to\nhuman nature in general.\n\nShields Greene alias \"Emperor\" was a negro of the blackest hue, small in\nstature and very active in his movements. He seemed to be very officious\nin the early part of Monday, flitting about from place to place, and he\nwas evidently conscious of his own great importance in the enterprise.\nIt is supposed that it was he that killed Mr. Boerly. He is said to have\nbeen a resident of the State of New York, but little is known with\ncertainty about him. He was very insulting to Brown's prisoners,\nconstantly presenting his rifle and threatening to shoot some of them.\nHe was aged about thirty years.\n\nJohn Copeland was a mulatto of medium size, and about twenty-five years\nof age. He was a resident of Oberlin, Ohio, where he carried on the\ncarpenter business for some years.\n\nLewis Leary, a mulatto, was mortally wounded at the rifle factory in\nMonday's skirmish and died in a carpenter's shop on the island. He was a\nyoung man, but his personal appearance cannot be described minutely by\nany person not acquainted with him before the raid, as he was suffering\na great deal from wounds when he was captured and, of course, his looks\nwere not those that were natural to him. He, too, had resided in\nOberlin, and his trade was that of harness making.\n\nA negro man whom Colonel Washington had hired from a neighbor and who\nhad been taken prisoner with his employer on the previous night was\ndrowned while endeavoring to escape from his captors. He was an\nunwilling participant in the transactions of the day, and no blame was\nattached to him by the people.\n\nHeywood Shepherd, the first man killed by Brown's party, was a very\nblack negro aged about forty-four years. He was uncommonly tall,\nmeasuring six feet and five inches, and he was a man of great physical\nstrength. He was a free man, but, in order to comply with a law then\nexisting in Virginia, he acknowledged 'Squire Beckham as his master. The\nrelations of master and slave, however, existed only in name between\nthem and \"Heywood\" accumulated a good deal of money and owned some\nproperty in Winchester. He was a married man and he left a wife and\nseveral children. It is supposed by many that the killing of this man\nwas the only thing that prevented a general insurrection of the negroes,\nfor some of the farmers of the neighborhood said that they noticed an\nunusual excitement among the slaves on the Sunday before the raid. If it\nis true that the negroes knew anything of the intended attack, it is\nprobable that they were deterred from taking a part in it by seeing one\nof their own race the first person sacrificed.\n\nThomas Boerly, the second man killed, was a native of the County of\nRoscommon, in Ireland. As before noticed, he was a man of great physical\nstrength and he was noted for courage. He measured about six feet in\nheight and weighed about two hundred pounds. He was a blunt,\nstraight-forward man in his dealing and he was very popular on account\nof his love for fun and from that unreasonable tendency of human nature\nto pay respect to the purely accidental quality of personal prowess.\nMany years before he encountered at fisticuffs an equally powerful man\nnamed Joseph Graff, who, at that time, resided at Harper's Ferry. The\nfight was conducted in the old border style of \"rough and tumble,\"\nincluding biting and gouging. Night alone terminated the encounter and\nthe combatants parted with their mutual respect greatly augmented and\nwith a great accession of glory to both. The admirers of each party\nclaimed a victory for their champion, but the principals themselves\nwisely divided the laurels and never again jeopardized their reputation\nby renewing the contest. Mr. Boerly's age was about forty-three years.\nHe was married and he left three children. His youngest child, Thomas,\njunior, still resides at Harper's Ferry and is quite a prominent\ncitizen. He has inherited the great bodily powers and the many genial\ncharacteristics of his father. The State of Virginia granted a small\npension to the widow but, the war breaking out shortly afterwards, she\nreceived no benefit from the annuity until at the restoration of peace,\nher claim was brought to the notice of the state authorities. From that\ntime, until her death a few years ago, she was paid punctually. Mr.\nBoerly kept a grocery store and was in very comfortable circumstances.\n\nThomas Boerly, junior, was the mayor of Harper's Ferry who arrested and\nbrought to justice Erwin Ford, the brutal murderer of Elsie Kreglow, of\nthe District of Columbia, in 1896.\n\nGeorge Turner, the third man killed (of the citizens) was a very fine\nlooking man, aged about forty years. It is said that he was educated at\nWest Point and that he was distinguished for great polish and refinement\nof manners. He was unmarried and he left a good deal of property. He was\na native of Jefferson county, Virginia--now West Virginia.\n\nFountain Beckham, the fourth and last of the citizen's party killed, was\nlike the others, a tall, powerfully built man. His age was about sixty\nyears. He was a native of Culpeper county, Virginia, and a brother of\nArmistead Beckham, heretofore mentioned as master-armorer. As before\nstated, he had been for many years a magistrate of the County of\nJefferson and the agent of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company at\nHarper's Ferry. At the time of his death he was mayor of the town. He\nwas a widower and two sons and a daughter survived him. Mr. Beckham was\nin many respects a remarkable man. It was said that he was the best\nmagistrate that Jefferson county ever had, his decisions being always\ngiven with a view rather to the justice than to the law of the cases\nand, in many instances, being marked with great shrewdness and soundness\nof judgment. On the other hand he was sometimes very whimsical, and some\namusing scenes used to be enacted between him and \"Haywood\"--his\nfactotum. Frequently, the squire would give unreasonable or\ncontradictory orders to his servant who never hesitated on such\noccasions to refuse obedience, and it was no uncommon thing to see\nHaywood starting out from the railroad office with a bundle on his back\nen route for Winchester, and swearing that he would not serve the squire\nanother day for any consideration. He never proceeded very far, however,\nbefore he was over-taken by a message from his master conveying\nproposals for peace and Haywood never failed to return. Notwithstanding\ntheir frequent rows, a strong attachment existed between these two men\nthrough life; and in death they were not parted. Mr. Beckham was very\nrespectably connected. His sister was the wife of Mr. Stubblefield, so\nlong superintendent of the armory, and his niece, Miss Stubblefield, was\nmarried to Andrew Hunter, of Charlestown, one of the most eminent\nlawyers of Virginia. Mr. Beckham's wife was the daughter of Colonel\nStevenson, of Harper's Ferry, and, thus, it will be seen that he was\nconnected with many of the most influential families of the Northern\nNeck. Mr. Beckham's death was mourned as a public loss for, with many\noddities of manner, he had all the qualities that go to make a lovable\nman and a good citizen.\n\nThe nine citizens who were confined as hostages in the engine house were\nas follows: Colonel Lewis W. Washington and John Alstadt, planters; John\nE. P. Dangerfield, paymaster's clerk; Armistead M. Ball,\nmaster-machinist; Benjamin Mills, master-armorer; John Donohoo,\nassistant agent of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad at Harper's Ferry;\nTerence O'Byrne, a farmer residing in Washington county, Maryland;\nIsrael Russell, a merchant of Harper's Ferry, and a Mr. Schoppe, of\nFrederick City, Maryland, who happened to be on a business visit that\nday at the scene of the trouble.\n\n[Illustration: JEFFERSON'S ROCK]\n\nColonel Lewis W. Washington was at the time a very fine looking man of\nabout fifty years of age, with that unmistakable air that always\naccompanies a man of true patrician birth and education. He was the soul\nof hospitality and Cook used to visit him at his home for the\nostensible purpose of contending with him in pistol shooting, an art in\nwhich both were famous adepts. On these occasions Colonel Washington\nused to exhibit the sword and some other relics of his great namesake\nand grand-uncle, and, thus it was that Cook and his companions in the\nconspiracy gained so intimate a knowledge of Colonel Washington's\nhousehold arrangements and were enabled to find at once the place in\nwhich the relics were stored and to capture the owner without\ndifficulty. Cook was entertained hospitably whenever he visited the\ngenerous Virginian, and the ingratitude manifested towards Colonel\nWashington was, perhaps, the worst feature of the whole transaction, and\nit is not to be excused for the moral effect that the capture might be\nexpected to secure. The grand-nephew of the founder of our nation, it is\nsaid, exhibited on this occasion a great deal of the dignity and\ncalmness which characterized his illustrious kinsman and his fellow\ncaptives used to speak of his great coolness under the trying\ncircumstances of his situation.\n\nColonel Washington, in his testimony before the select committee of the\nUnited States Senate, appointed to inquire into the outrage, gave a\ngraphic description of his capture by the party. He described them as\nhaving consisted of Stevens, Tydd, Taylor and the negro, Shields Greene.\nAnother, named Merriam, was supposed to be about the premises, but he\nwas not seen by Colonel Washington. In his recital no mention is made of\nCook's presence at the capture, but it was ascertained afterwards that\nthough he was not there in person, the captors had got from him all\nnecessary information and that they acted under his instructions. It may\nbe remarked that Merriam, although he is known to have been connected\nwith the enterprise, was not seen in the skirmish at Harper's Ferry, and\nwhat became of him afterwards is unknown to the writer. It was\nunderstood that he was an Englishman by birth and that, in early life,\nhe was a protege of Lady Byron, widow of the celebrated poet. Colonel\nWashington was one of those who disagreed with the author as to the\nidentity of Stuart Taylor. In the writer's opinion Anderson and not\nTaylor accompanied the party to make the seizure. The colonel had\nseveral narrow escapes from death while in the hands of \"the\nPhilistines.\" About the time when Mr. Beckham was killed, Brown was\nsitting on the fire engine near the engine house door, rifle in hand,\napparently watching an opportunity to make a good shot. Colonel\nWashington noticed him fingering his gun abstractedly, and like a person\ntouching the strings of a violin and, being somewhat struck with the\noddity of the idea, he approached Brown, for the purpose of inquiring if\nhe had learned to play the fiddle. It is easy to imagine the answer the\nstern, old Puritan would have returned, had there been time enough to\npropound the question. As Colonel Washington came near Brown, a bullet\nfrom the outside whistled immediately over the head of the latter,\npenetrated the handle of an axe that was suspended on the engine and\npassed through Colonel Washington's beard, striking the wall near him\nand sprinkling brick dust all over him. Brown coolly remarked, \"that was\nnear,\" and Colonel Washington postponed his inquiry, thereby consigning\nposterity to ignorance on the momentous question as to whether John\nBrown played the fiddle or not. The colonel deeming it prudent to leave\nthat neighborhood, moved a little to one side, when he entered into\nconversation with Mr. Mills, another of the prisoners. Their faces were\nnot four inches apart, yet through this narrow passage, another bullet\nsped and the friends finding one place as safe as another continued\ntheir conversation.\n\nColonel Washington at that time owned a dog of very eccentric appearance\nand habits and apparently of a most unamiable disposition. His name was\n\"Bob\" and he was of the common bull species. With other peculiarities,\nhe was remarkable for having been born without a tail. Nature, however,\nwith that tendency to compensation which our common Mother exhibits in\nawarding gifts to her children, gave him more than an equivalent for the\ncaudal deficiency by providing him with an extra allowance of brains. He\nmade it a point to visit several times every day the laborers on the\nplantation and, if there were more than one party of them, he would\ninspect each in turn, and eye the negroes suspiciously, after which he\nwould return to his bed which was in front of the main entrance to the\nhouse. He never made free with any person, not even with his master, who\ntried frequently, but in vain, to induce his surly dependant to follow\nhim 'round the farm. His morose disposition and the jealous eye with\nwhich he always regarded the negroes gave rise to superstitious dread of\nthe animal among the servants and a belief that in him was the soul of\nsome defunct plantation overseer who, with the ruling passion strong\n=after= death, continued to exercise his favorite avocation. Pythagoras\nhimself would, no doubt, have agreed with the negroes, had he known\n\"Bob\" and his peculiarities, and it may be supposed that the philosopher\nwould have pointed triumphantly to this overwhelming proof of the\nMetempsychosis. On the night of Colonel Washington's capture, however,\nBob's whole nature appeared to undergo a change. He accompanied his\nmaster to Harper's Ferry, stuck by him all day on Monday and, when\nColonel Washington was confined in the engine house as a hostage, his\nfaithful though hitherto undemonstrative dog followed him into close\ncaptivity. Brown and his men tried to eject him and even his master\nendeavored to induce him to go out, but in vain. When Colonel Washington\nwas released, he lost him in the dense crowd, but, on reaching home on\nTuesday night, he found the metamorphosed overseer waiting for him at\nthe gate and exhibiting signs of the most extravagant joy at his return.\nAfter this, the dog was regarded with more favor and many of the negroes\nfrom that time rejected the former theory of transmigration as a slander\non the faithful animal. Many years ago, at a ripe canine age, poor Bob\nwas gathered to his fathers, and he sleeps in an honored grave in the\nplantation garden, but, as slavery has been abolished in the United\nStates and bids fairly to disappear from the whole earth, it might\npuzzle even Pythagoras himself to find a suitable tenement for the now\nunhappy shade of the overseer. Colonel Washington died at his residence\nnear Harper's Ferry October 1st, 1871, much regretted by all who had the\npleasure of his acquaintance.\n\nMr. Alstadt was a gentleman then about sixty years of age, of very\nunassuming manners and amiable disposition. He, too, was examined before\nthe Senate committee and gave a lively picture of his adventures while a\nprisoner. His son, Thomas, then a little boy, was taken prisoner with\nhis father or voluntarily accompanied the party to Harper's Ferry to\nwatch for the old gentleman's safety. Mr. Alstadt, senior, has been dead\nfor some years, but Thomas yet survives, now a well-matured man, and he\nis probably the only one of the prisoners who were confined in the\nengine house who survives, with the possible exception of Messrs. Mills\nand Schoppe, of whom nothing has been heard at Harper's Ferry for the\nlast forty years.\n\nJohn E. P. Dangerfield was then a man of about forty years of age and of\na very delicate constitution. He bore up very well, however, and when he\nwas released by the marines his physical strength had not given way, as\nhis friends feared it would. At the breaking out of the war he moved to\nNorth Carolina and there he died suddenly a few years ago while on a\nhunt in the woods. It is supposed that his death was caused by too\nsevere exertion while he was prosecuting a favorite sport.\n\nArmistead M. Ball was at that time a man of about forty-six years of\nage. He was very corpulent but, notwithstanding his great bulk, his\nhealth was delicate. He died in June, 1861, of apoplexy. As before said,\nhe was a man of great mechanical ingenuity. He invented a rifling\nmachine which was used for several years in the armory, and was regarded\nas an excellent piece of mechanism. Many people, however, believed that\nMr. Ball owed much of his reputation to ideas borrowed from a man named\nJohn Wernwag who, at that time and for many years before and afterwards,\nlived at Harper's Ferry and whose name will hereafter appear in this\nhistory in connection with a thrilling adventure in the great flood of\n1870. Mr. Wernwag was, confessedly, a great genius in mechanics, but,\nas he was a man of very retiring habits and taciturn disposition, he\nnever made any show of his ability and, consequently, only a few were\naware of the wealth of mechanical genius that was possessed by this\nunassuming man, but was lost to the world through his unfortunate\nbashfulness. He and Mr. Ball used to take long and frequent rambles over\nthe neighboring heights, and it was supposed that in their conversation\non those excursions the latter got many hints which he improved and\npractically elucidated in his mechanical devices.\n\nBenjamin Mills was a man of about fifty years of age at the time of the\nBrown raid, low in stature but muscular and active. As before stated, he\nsoon after returned to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, from which place he had\ncome to Harper's Ferry. The writer knows not whether he yet survives or\nnot.\n\nJohn Donohoo was at the time quite a good looking young man of about\nthirty-five years of age. He was a native of Ireland, but a resident of\nthis country from his childhood. For many years his home was at Harper's\nFerry, where he was highly respected for his integrity and business\nqualifications. His life was one of many vicissitudes and he died in the\nspring of 1892 at Hagerstown, Maryland.\n\nTerence O'Byrne was at the time of the raid about forty-eight years of\nage. He was, as far as is known here, the last survivor of the hostages,\nexcept young Alstadt. As his name indicates, he was of Irish extraction.\nHe was in comfortable circumstances and resided near the Kennedy farm\nwhere, unfortunately for him, he became well known to Brown and his men.\nMr. O'Byrne was examined before the Senate committee and testified that\nthe party who captured him was composed of Cook, Tydd and Lehman. They\nvisited his house early on Monday morning and conducted him a prisoner\nto Harper's Ferry. Mr. O'Byrne died about the year 1898.\n\nIsrael Russell was then about fifty years of age. He was for many years\na magistrate of Jefferson county, and was very much respected. He died a\nfew years ago from a disease of the jaw, caused by the extraction of a\ndefective tooth. It is strange that men will often escape unhurt from\nthe most appalling dangers to succumb to apparently trivial ailments or\ncasualties.\n\nOf Mr. Schoppe little is known at Harper's Ferry. As before stated, he\nwas a resident of Frederick City, Maryland, and his connection with the\nraid was due entirely to his accidental presence at the scene of\ndisturbance on the memorable 17th of October.\n\nOf the Grand Jury that indicted Brown and the Petit Jury that tried and\ncondemned him there is but one survivor, as far as the writer knows, Mr.\nMartin, now of Virginia. Judge Parker, who presided at the trial, and\nthe lawyers--Hunter and Harding--who prosecuted, have all \"crossed the\nbar\" as have, probably, the strangers who defended. The\nsheriff--Cambell--who officiated at the execution, and all his deputies,\nhave passed away. Lee and Stuart are dead, and it is believed that of\nall who figured prominently in this remarkable tragedy the juror above\nreferred to is the only survivor, with the exceptions before named and\npossibly that of Lieutenant Greene of the marines; but John Brown's fame\nis on the increase and time enhances it, call him what you will. It is\nremarkable that the gentlemen who were Brown's prisoners displayed\nlittle or no vindictiveness towards the man who had subjected them to so\nmuch danger. The writer frequently noticed in conversation with them\nthat they invariably dwelt on his extraordinary courage and that the\nanimosity, which it was natural they should feel on account of his\ntreatment of them, was lost in their admiration for his daring, though\nmisguided bravery. Mr. Donohoo visited him in prison and, very much to\nhis credit, exhibited towards his fallen foe a generosity characteristic\nof the man himself and the gallant nation of his birth.\n\nThe story of the Brown raid should not close without notice of another\nparty who figured rather curiously in that memorable transaction. At\nthat time there lived at Harper's Ferry a half-witted fellow, named John\nMalloy, who managed to gain a precarious living by getting scraps of\nbroken bread and meat from the kitchens of the people, in return for\nservices rendered in carrying water from the town pump and the river. He\nwas never known to sleep in a house--a door step answering all the\npurposes of a bed, and a store box being regarded by him as a positive\nluxury. When drunk--which was as often as he could get whiskey\nenough--he had a particular fancy for a sleep on the railroad track and,\nin consequence, he was run over several times by the trains, but it\nappeared as if nothing could kill him. On one occasion the point of a\n\"cow catcher\" entered his neck and he was pushed by the engine a\nconsiderable distance. Even this did not terminate his charmed life, but\nseveral ugly scars remained as mementos of the adventure. Like others,\nhe was taken prisoner by Brown and confined in the armory yard. About 3\no'clock in the afternoon of Monday when the alarm had spread a long way\nand people had crowded in from the surrounding country, armed with every\nspecies of weapon they could lay hands on, John managed to escape by\nclimbing the armory wall. When he was seen getting over, the country\npeople to whom he was unknown supposed that he was one of Brown's men,\nand score of them blazed away at him with their guns. A shower of\nbullets whistled 'round him and his clothes, never in the best of\nrepair, were almost shot off his body. No less than twenty balls\nperforated his coat, but, strange to say, he escaped without a scratch\nand succeeded in regaining his liberty. When, after the raid, strangers\nvisited the scene, John always made it a point to be about, exhibiting\nthe scars which he had received from the cowcatcher and attributing them\nto wounds inflicted by Brown's party. Many a dollar did John receive on\nthe strength of those scars and, no doubt, he has figured in many a\ntourist's book as a hero and a martyr to the cause of the \"Divine\nInstitution.\" His escape from the bullets of his neighbors was certainly\nremarkable, and it goes to prove the truth of the old proverb: \"A fool\nfor luck, &c.\" Notwithstanding his many close calls and his persistent\ngood fortune, poor John finally succumbed to a combined assault of\nsmallpox and bad whiskey. He was attacked by the former disease in the\nwar--the other he was never without and in a delirium, he wandered away\nand was found dead in a fence corner.\n\nThe foregoing is a succinct account of the so-called \"Brown Raid,\" an\ninvasion which may be considered as the commencement of our unhappy\ncivil war. Of course, it created intense excitement all over the land\nand the feeling aroused had not subsided when the election of Mr.\nLincoln in November, 1860, renewed the quarrel on a greater scale. As\nbefore noticed, a select committee of the United States Senate was\nappointed to investigate the occurrence, and the following gentlemen\ntestified before it: John Alstadt, A. M. Ball, George W. Chambers, Lynd\nF. Currie, Andrew Hunter, A. M. Kitzmiller, Dr. John D. Starry, John C.\nUnseld, Lewis W. Washington and Daniel Whelan, all of Harper's Ferry or\nits neighborhood. Many gentlemen from the northern and western states,\nalso, who were supposed to be sympathizers with Brown were called on to\ngive testimony. Prominent among these were John A. Andrews, a lawyer of\nBoston, afterwards governor of Massachusetts, and Joshua R. Giddings, a\nleading anti-slavery man of Ohio and for many years a member of Congress\nfrom that state. Nothing, however, was elicited to prove that any\nconsiderable number of the people of the Free States knew of the\ncontemplated invasion and unprejudiced minds were convinced that the\nknowledge of it was confined mostly to John Brown and the party that\naccompanied him on the expedition.\n\nThus Harper's Ferry enjoys the distinction of having been the scene of\nthe first act in our fearful drama of civil war, and as will be seen\nhereafter, it was the theatre of many another part of the awful\ntragedy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nDURING THE WAR.\n\n\nIn the following we sometimes, indifferently use the words \"rebel,\"\n\"insurgent\" and \"confederate,\" \"federal,\" \"union men,\" \"northern men\"\n&c. These different epithets are used only to avoid disagreeable\nrepetitions of the same words. There is no offense intended, and it is\nhoped that none will be taken. George Washington was a rebel and he was\nproud to be considered one. We have noticed lately that some people are\nsensitive on this subject, and hence our explanation. Personally, we owe\ntoo little to either party to take sides very decidedly.\n\nWhen, on the election of Mr. Lincoln, the Gulf states seceded and the\nLegislature of Virginia called a convention of the people to consider\nwhat course was best to be pursued under the circumstances, Mr. A. M.\nBarbour, superintendent of the Harper's Ferry armory, and Mr. Logan\nOsborne, both now dead, were elected to the convention to represent the\nunion sentiment of the county of Jefferson over Andrew Hunter and\nWilliam Lucas, eminent lawyers, both of whom, also, are now deceased,\nwho were nominated on the secession ticket. While in Richmond, however,\nattending the convention, Mr. Barbour is said to have been drawn into\nthe vortex of rebellion through the powerful influences brought to bear\nby the secessionists on the members of that body. Mr. Barbour's family\nis one of the oldest and most aristocratic in Virginia, and many of his\nrelatives had seats in the convention and were ultra-southern in their\nviews. These, no doubt, had great influence over him, and, anyway he was\nfinally induced to vote for a separation of his native state from the\nunion. Indeed, many at Harper's Ferry who voted for him at the election,\ndid so with strong misgivings respecting his sincerity, but, as there\nwas no better choice under the circumstances, they gave him their\nsupport. Some who enjoyed his confidence said that he afterwards\nbitterly regretted his course, and the writer is convinced that Mr.\nBarbour acted from sheer compulsion. The author of these pages was then\na young man--poor and without weight in the community, but Mr. Barbour\nappeared to have some confidence in his judgment, for he sought an\ninterview with him and asked him his advice as to the proper course to\npursue in the convention. The author told him that he had a fine chance\nto immortalize himself by holding out for the Union of the States; that\nhe was of a prominent southern family and that, if he proved faithful,\nhis loyalty under the circumstances would give him such a national\nreputation as he could not hope for from the opposite course. They\nparted to meet but once again, and that for only a minute. After the\nfatal vote of the convention, Mr. Barbour called on business at the\nplace where the author was employed and said just three words to\nhim--\"You were right.\" These words told the tale of compulsion or,\nperhaps, of contrition. The ordinance of secession was passed by the\nVirginia convention on the 17th of April, 1861, and, on the following\nday Mr. Barbour made his appearance at Harper's Ferry in company with\nMr. Seddon, afterwards prominent in the confederate government. He made\na speech to his old employes advising them to co-operate with their\nnative state and give in their allegiance to the new order of things. He\nappeared to be laboring under great excitement caused, perhaps, by his\nconsciousness of having done wrong and unwisely. This speech excited the\nanger of the unionists to a high pitch, as he had received their\nsuffrages on the understanding that he was for the old government\nunconditionally. A partial riot took place and the appearance soon after\nof a southern soldier, a young man named John Burk, on guard over the\ntelegraph office, aroused the loyalists to frenzy. Lieutenant Roger\nJones, with forty-two regular United States soldiers, was then stationed\nat Harper's Ferry, a company of military having been kept there by the\ngovernment for the protection of the place since the Brown raid. Hearing\nthat a large force was marching from the south to take possession of the\narmory, he made some preparations to defend the post and called on the\ncitizens for volunteers. Many responded, prominent among whom was a\ngigantic Irishman named Jeremiah Donovan, who immediately shouldered a\nmusket and stood guard at the armory gate. This man was the first--at\nleast in that region--who took up arms in defense of the government and,\nas will be seen shortly, he was very near paying a heavy penalty for his\npatriotism. As before mentioned, a southern soldier was on guard at the\ntelegraph office and he and Donovan were not fifty yards apart at their\nposts. To use a homely phrase, Harper's Ferry was \"between hawk and\nbuzzard,\" a condition in which it remained 'till the war was ended four\nyears afterwards. All day the wildest excitement prevailed in the town.\nAll business was suspended except in the bar-rooms, and many fist fights\ncame off between the adherents of the adverse factions. Mr. William F.\nWilson, an Englishman by birth, but long a resident of the place,\nattempted to address the people in favor of the Union, but he was\nhustled about so that his words could not be heard distinctly. Mr.\nWilson continued all through the war to be an ardent supporter of the\nFederal government. Mr. George Koonce, a man of great activity and\npersonal courage, and Mr. Wilson, above mentioned, who is also a man of\ngreat nerve, were very prompt in volunteering their aid to Lieutenant\nJones, and the latter put great confidence in them. With a few young men\nthey advanced a little before midnight to meet the Virginia militia,\nabout two thousand in number, who were marching towards Harper's Ferry\nfrom Charlestown. They encountered and, it is said, actually halted them\non Smallwood's Ridge, near Bolivar. At this moment, however, news\nreached them that Lieutenant Jones, acting on orders from Washington\nCity or under directions from Captain Kingsbury, who had been sent from\nthe capital the day before to take charge of the armory, had set fire to\nthe government buildings and, with his men, retreated towards the north.\nThis left the volunteers in a very awkward position, but they succeeded\nin escaping in the darkness from the host of enemies that confronted\nthem. Mr. Koonce was obliged to leave the place immediately and remain\naway until the town again fell into the hands of the United States\ntroops. A loud explosion and a thick column of fire and smoke arising in\nthe direction of Harper's Ferry, gave to the confederate force\ninformation of the burning, and they proceeded at double quick to save\nthe machinery in the shops and the arms in the arsenal for the use of\nthe revolutionary government. Before they had time to reach Harper's\nFerry the citizens of that place had extinguished the fire in the shops\nand saved them and the machinery. The arsenal, however, was totally\nconsumed with about fifteen thousand stand of arms there stored--a very\nserious loss to the confederates, who had made calculations to get\npossession of them. Lieutenant Jones had put powder in the latter\nbuilding and hence the explosion which had given notice to the\nconfederates and, hence, also, the impossibility of saving the arsenal\nor its contents. Just at 12 o'clock on the night of April 18th, 1861,\nthe southern forces marched into Harper's Ferry. Poor Donovan was seized\nand it is said that a rope was put 'round his neck by some citizens of\nthe place who held secession views, and who threatened to hang him\ninstanter. A better feeling, however, prevailed and Donovan was\npermitted to move north and seek employment under the government of his\nchoice. The forces that first took possession of Harper's Ferry were all\nof Virginia and this was lucky for Donovan, for the soldiers of that\nstate were the most tolerant of the confederates, which is not giving\nthem extravagant praise. Had he fallen into the hands of the men from\nthe Gulf states who came on in a few days, he would not have escaped so\neasily. These latter were near lynching Dr. Joseph E. Cleggett and Mr.\nSolomon V. Yantis, citizens of the town, for their union opinions. The\nVirginia militia were commanded by Turner Ashby, afterwards so famous\nfor his exploits in the Valley of Virginia. His career was short but\nglorious from a mere soldier's view. He was killed near Port Republic\nJune 6th, 1862, by a shot fired, it is said, by one of the\nBucktail--Pennsylvania--regiment, and he and his equally gallant\nbrother, Richard, who was killed in the summer of 1861 at Kelly's\nIsland, near Cumberland, Maryland, now sleep in one grave at Winchester,\nVirginia. It may be noted that Donovan met with no valuable recognition\nof his gallantry. He worked all the rest of his days as a helper in a\nblacksmith's shop at laborer's wages, while many a smooth traitor who\nsecretly favored the rebellion and many a weak-kneed patriot who was too\ncowardly to oppose it, while there was any danger in doing so, prospered\nand grew fat on government patronage. There are many instances of this\nprudent patriotism not far from Harper's Ferry and certain it is that\nfew of the noisy politicians, so loyal now, exhibited the courage and\ndisinterested attachment to our government that was shown by this\nobscure laborer. Harper's Ferry now ceased for a time to be in the\npossession of the national government. Next day--April 19th--news\narrived of the disgraceful riot in Baltimore, when the 6th Massachusetts\nregiment was attacked while marching to the defense of the national\ncapital. Exaggerated reports of the slaughter of \"Yankee\" soldiers were\ncirculated and Maryland was truly represented as ready for revolt.\nNumbers of volunteers, arrived from various parts of that state,\nespecially from Baltimore, and many of those who participated in the\nriot came to Harper's Ferry and for a season were lionized. In a few\ndays the troops of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and other\nsouthern states arrived and were greeted with the utmost enthusiasm. The\nforces of Kentucky, like those of Maryland, were volunteers in the\nstrictest sense. Neither of these last two states ever formally seceded\nand therefore their sons were not in any way compelled to join the\nconfederate army. The Kentuckians who came to Harper's Ferry were among\nthe worst specimens of the force to which they were attached, being\ncomposed mostly of rough, Ohio boatmen and low bummers from the purlieus\nof Louisville and other river towns. Martial law was at once substituted\nfor the civil and for the first time--if we except the Brown raid--the\npeaceful citizens experienced the dangers and inconveniences of military\noccupation. General Harper, a militia officer of Staunton, Virginia,\nwas put in command, but in a few days the confederates wisely dispensed\nwith \"feather bed\" and \"corn stalk\" officers and put into important\ncommands West Pointers and men of regular military education. In\nconsequence of an order to this effect many a \"swell\" who had strutted\nabout for a few days in gorgeous uniform was shorn of his finery and it\nwas amusing to see the crest-fallen, disappointed appearance of the\ndeposed warriors. General Harper, like many of inferior grade, was\nremoved and Colonel Jackson was put in command of the place. The latter\nofficer was at this time quite obscure. He was known to few outside of\nthe walls of the Virginia military academy at Lexington, but he\nafterwards gained a world-wide reputation under the name of \"Stonewall\nJackson.\" All the government property at the place was seized and many\nfamilies who were renting houses from the government were obliged to\nvacate their homes at great inconvenience and procure shelter wherever\nthey could. Guards were posted along the streets at very short intervals\nand these, like all young soldiers, were extremely zealous and exacting.\nOf course, regular business was entirely destroyed, but new branches of\nindustry of the humblest and, in some cases, of the most disreputable\nkind sprang into existence. The baking of pies and the smuggling of\nwhiskey were the principal employments of those who felt the need of\nsome kind of work, and these trades continued to flourish at the place\nall through the war to the probable detriment to the stomachs and the\ncertain damage to the morals of the consumers. The whiskey business was\nexceedingly profitable and it was embraced by all who were willing to\nrun the risk attending it (for it was strictly interdicted by the\nmilitary commanders of both sides) and who regardless of the disgraceful\nnature of the employment.\n\nAnother trade soon sprang up--that of the spy. Malicious and officious\npeople--many of whom are to be found in all communities--stuffed the\nears of the hot-headed southern men with tales about sneaking\nabolitionists, black republicans, unconditional union men, &c., and\nprivate enmity had an excellent opportunity for gratification, of which\nvillains did not hesitate to avail themselves. Many quiet, inoffensive\ncitizens were dragged from their homes and confined in filthy guard\nhouses, a prey to vermin and objects of insult to the rabble that\nguarded them. Large histories could be written on the sufferings of\nindividuals during this period and our proposed limits would not contain\nthe hundredth part of them.\n\nSometimes a false alarm about advancing \"Yankees\" would set the soldiers\non the qui vive and, of course, the citizens were on such occasions\nthrown into a state of the utmost terror. Sometimes, also, the officers\nwould start or encourage the circulation of these reports in order to\ntest the mettle of their men and several times were lines of battle\nformed in and around the town. On one occasion a terrible hail storm\ncame up which, of itself, is worthy of a place in the annals of the\ntown. In the midst of descending cakes of ice the 2nd Virginia\nregiment--raised mostly in Jefferson county--was ordered to march to\nShepherdstown to repel an imaginary invasion. They obeyed with alacrity\nand returned, if not war-torn, certainly storm-pelted and\nweather-beaten, as their bleeding faces and torn and soaked uniforms\namply proved.\n\nThe confederates exercised control over the Baltimore and Ohio railroad\nand also the Winchester and Potomac railway, the latter being entirely\nwithin the territory of Virginia, and, whenever a passenger train\nstopped at the station, the travelers were scrutinized and, if a man of\nany prominence who was attached to the old government was recognized\namong them, he was greeted with groans, hisses and threats of lynching.\nOn one occasion the Hon. Henry Hoffman, of Cumberland, who, even then,\nwas regarded as an ultra-Republican, was a passenger and, when the train\nstopped at Harper's Ferry, the fact of his presence was made known to\nthe crowds of soldiers on the platform of the depot by a fellow\npassenger who evidently entertained some private malice against Mr.\nHoffman. The informer stood on the platform of one of the cars and, with\nwild gestures and foaming mouth, denounced Mr. Hoffman in the fiercest\nmanner and, no doubt, the life of the latter would have been sacrificed\nhad not some of the more cool-headed among the confederate officers\npresent poured oil on the troubled waters until the starting of the\ntrain. One evening the mail train was detained and the mail bags were\ntaken away from the government agent by an armed posse. The letters were\nsent to headquarters and many of the townspeople to whom friends in the\nnorth and west had written freely denouncing secession, were put under\narrest and some were in imminent danger of being subjected to the utmost\nrigor of military law. Mr. William McCoy, of Bolivar, an aged, infirm\nman and one of irreproachable character, was handled very roughly on\nthis occasion. He was arrested on some charge founded on evidence\nobtained from the plundered mail bags and he was kept for several days\nin close confinement. The military authorities in the meantime expressed\ntheir intention of making him a signal example of vengeance. Whether\nthey really meant to go to extremes with him or not is uncertain; but\nthere is no doubt that the ill usage he received from them hastened his\ndeath. With the utmost difficulty some powerful friends succeeded in\nobtaining for him a commutation of the proposed punishment, and he was\nallowed very grudgingly to move with his family to Ohio, on condition\nthat he should never return. Hastily picking up a few necessities, he\nstarted on the first train going west for the place of his exile, glad\nenough to escape with his life, even at the sacrifice of his valuable\nproperty in Bolivar. The confederate soldiers immediately destroyed the\nneat fence around his residence and filled up the post holes, in order,\nas they said, to give him as much trouble as possible in case he was\nenabled at any time to return. The house itself being necessary to them\nas barracks, was spared unwillingly. The poor old man died in a short\ntime after and, no doubt, he now enjoys all the happiness promised to\nthose who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. It is true that, even\nin the peaceful realms to which poor \"Uncle Billy\" has ascended there\nwas once a rebellion, but there never will be another in that happy\nland and, if there should be, he need not fear any worse treatment than\nhe received on earth from the chivalry of his native south.\n\nMr. Abraham H. Herr, proprietor of the Island of Virginius, was\narrested, like Mr. McCoy, on some charge founded on his intercepted\ncorrespondence. He was taken to Richmond, but was released soon after on\nparole, as is supposed. He was a native of Pennsylvania and, although he\nhad voted with the south to ratify the ordinance of secession passed by\nthe Virginia convention, he lay under suspicion of unfriendly thoughts\ntoward the south, and it will appear hereafter that he suffered for his\nsupposed attachment to the union, a heavy loss in property, besides the\ndeprivation of liberty above noted.\n\nHarper's Ferry was occupied for nearly two months by the confederates.\nThe fine machinery at the workshops was torn down and transplanted to\nFayetteville, North Carolina, where the rebels had established an\narmory. While the place was held by the insurgents it presented a scene,\nnovel at the time, but very familiar during the remainder of the war.\nOne night great excitement was caused by the capture of General Harney\nof the United States army, who was a passenger on board of one of the\ntrains en route for Washington City from Saint Louis. The general was\nsent a prisoner to Richmond, but his advanced years rendering it\nimprobable that he could do much good or harm to either side, he was\nsoon released, and he was not again heard from 'till the close of the\nwar. While a prisoner on the road from Harper's Ferry to Charlestown, he\nand his guards came up to a squad of farmers who, on their plough\nhorses, were learning the cavalry drill. The officer who was instructing\nthem sat in a buggy, either because he could not procure a decent horse\nor on account of illness. The sight furnished the old veteran with\ninfinite amusement and, turning to his guards, he said that in all his\narmy experience of over half a century and, in all he studied of\nwarfare, he had never before seen or heard of a cavalry officer\ncommanding his troop from a buggy seat, and his fat sides fairly shook\nwith laughter at the oddity of the conceit. The sarcasm was felt by the\nguards, and they were forced to admit that this innovation on cavalry\nmethods was hardly an improvement. In a short time after his appointment\nGeneral Jackson was succeeded by General Joe Johnston, who continued in\ncommand of the post until the retreat of the confederates from the place\nafter an occupancy of it of two months.\n\nOn the 14th of June the insurgents blew up the railroad bridge, burned\nthe main armory buildings and retreated up the valley, taking with them\nas prisoners, Edmond H. Chambers, Hezekiah Roderick, Nathaniel O.\nAllison and Adam Ruhlman, four prominent citizens of Harper's Ferry,\nwhom they lodged in jail at Winchester on the charge of inveterate\nunionism. From the first, preparations had been made for the destruction\nof the railroad bridge under the superintendence of competent engineers\nand, early in the morning of the day above named, the town was alarmed\nat hearing a loud explosion and seeing the debris of the destroyed\nbridge flying high in the air. The noise was apparently the signal for\nthe march or retreat of the confederates up the valley, for instantly\ntheir columns set out in that direction leaving, however, the most\ndangerous of their forces--that is the most dangerous to civilians, to\nloiter in the rear and pick up whatever was unprotected and portable.\nFortunately, however, they soon quarreled among themselves and, as\nusual, when bad people fall out, the honest are the gainers. Toward\nnight the marauders were gathered up by a guard sent back for them and\nthey vacated the place, leaving one of their number murdered by his\nfellows.\n\nAfter the retreat of the confederates a dead calm reigned for a few days\nand the stillness was rendered oppressive by contrast with the former\nbustle and confusion. On the 28th of June a force, composed of some\nBaltimoreans and a part of the 2nd Mississippi regiment, under the\ncommand of Colonel Faulkner of the latter, made its appearance in the\nearly morning hours and destroyed with fire the rifle factory and the\nShenandoah bridge, as also engine No. 165 and some cars of the\nBaltimore and Ohio railroad company which they pushed on the ruins of\nthe bridge destroyed on the 14th, until they fell through into the\nPotomac. Again, on the retreat of this force, did a silence deep as that\nof an Arabian desert brood over the place, broken only by the stealthy\nstep of some petty thief engaged in picking up stray articles belonging\nto the army or to the citizens who had fled in every direction, and\nalmost completely deserted the town as soon as the confederates had\npushed far enough up the valley to leave the roads comparatively safe.\nIt is to be noted that the confederates had outposts in Maryland and\nthat they refused permission to depart in any direction to any one of\nwhose loyalty to them they had any doubt. On their retreat the way to\nthe north was open to all whose inclinations led them in that direction\nand very many availed themselves at once of the opportunity to escape\noffered by the retreat of the rebels.\n\nOn the 4th of July a lively skirmish took place between Captain John\nHenderson's company of confederate cavalry and a part of the 9th New\nYork regiment of militia, which a few days before had occupied Sandy\nHook in Maryland--one mile east of Harper's Ferry--the same village in\nwhich John Brown boarded when he first came to the neighborhood--the\nfederal soldiers being on the Maryland side and the confederates on the\nVirginia shore of the river, the game was at \"long taw\" and\ncomparatively little damage was done. Two men were killed on the\nMaryland bank and at least one wounded on the Virginia side. The name of\none of the slain New Yorkers was Banks and it was said that he was a man\nof high character in his regiment and at his home, but the name of the\nother is unknown to the author. The man wounded on the Virginia shore\nwas a shoemaker of Harper's Ferry, named Harding, who, although not in\nthe army, was a sympathizer with the south. On this occasion he was on a\nspree and, having exposed himself recklessly, he received a dangerous\nwound. He was an Irishman by birth, and had served many years in the\nBritish East India Company's forces. The honor of having wounded him\nwas claimed by John, better known as \"Ginger\" Chambers, a citizen of\nHarper's Ferry, who, being strongly attached to the Union and, happening\nto be at Sandy Hook at this time, picked up a gun and fell into ranks\nwith the New Yorkers. Poor Ginger afterwards met his weird not far from\nthe spot where he fought on that 4th of July. On the morning of October\n14th, 1874, he was almost literally cut to pieces by an engine of the\nBaltimore and Ohio railroad while on his way to take charge of a train\nof which he was the conductor. Prominent among the confederates in this\nskirmish was a man named James Miller, of Halltown, Jefferson county,\nand it is thought that it was he who killed Banks. In a short time\nafter, while he was under the influence of whiskey, he, in company with\na fellow-soldier named Kerfott, shot his captain--Henderson--wounding\nhim severely, and for this offense he was executed in Winchester by\norder of a court martial. The skirmish, of course, effected little\nbeyond putting the few old people who still clung to their homes at the\nplace into a most uncomfortable state of alarm.\n\nIn the evening when the fight was over a sad occurrence took place\nwhereby the community lost one of its very best citizens. When the\nconfederates had retired Mr. F. A. Roeder walked towards the railroad\noffice and, while he was sauntering about, a shot was fired from the\nMaryland side of the Potomac, which inflicted a mortal wound on him, of\nwhich he died in half an hour. It is known that the bullet was\ndischarged at Mr. Ambrose Cross who, also, was on the railroad at the\ntime. The man who thus deprived the place of a valuable citizen was an\nold bummer belonging to a Pennsylvania regiment, who had straggled from\nhis command in Pleasant Valley and had become drunk, celebrating the\n\"glorious Fourth\" at Sandy Hook. Hearing of the skirmish at Harper's\nFerry, he staggered towards that place and arrived after the end of the\nfight, and, when the enemy had retired. Seeing Mr. Cross on the railroad\nhe fired off his gun at him, swearing that he would kill some d-- rebel\nanyway. The shot missed the object at which it was directed and,\nstriking the end of Fouke's hotel, it glanced and hit Mr. Roeder, who,\nunfortunately, happened to be then coming 'round the corner of that\nbuilding. The bullet tore a ghastly hole in his groin through which his\nintestines protruded. He managed to reach his home unassisted--for there\nwas scarcely an able-bodied man then at the place--when death soon\nreleased him from his sufferings. Little did the slayer know and little,\nperhaps, would he care if he knew--that the man he shot at--Mr.\nCross--was one of the sternest Union men in the whole land and that his\nbullet proved fatal to one of the first men in the State of Virginia who\ndared to express sympathy with the Republican party. Mr. Roeder was a\nnative of Saxony, but he had resided for many years at Harper's Ferry,\nwhere he was very much respected and where by industry he had\naccumulated a considerable property. He was very much opposed to slavery\nand his death, especially under the circumstances, was very much\ndeplored. It is singular that the first man killed by John Brown's party\nwas a negro and that the first who lost his life at Harper's Ferry at\nthe hands of the union army was a warm friend to the government and one\nwho would have sacrificed, if necessary, all the property he possessed\nto preserve the union of the states. Who knows what design an all-wise\nProvidence had in permitting these mistakes, or what good purposes the\ndeath of these men may have subserved. Mr. Roeder appeared to have a\npresentiment of his fate. On the 14th of June, when the confederates\nretreated, he called the author of these pages into his house and\ninvited him to partake of a cup of \"Schnapps,\" for a similarity of\ntastes and sentiments on many subjects had bound them for several years\nin the closest friendship. When they were seated Mr. Roeder remarked:\n\"Well, we have got rid of that lot and have escaped at least with our\nlives, but what will the next party that comes do with us?\" He appeared\nto be in very low spirits and to look forward to the next party with\napprehension. His fears were prophetic for, in a few days, he met his\nfate at the hands of the first body of federal troops that made its\nappearance at the place after the evacuation by Lieutenant Jones.\n\nIt was sad to see the rapid demoralization of the people at this time\nand the various phases of corrupt human nature suddenly brought to light\nby the war. Not only were the government buildings ransacked for\nplunder, but the abandoned houses of the citizens shared the same fate.\nEven women and children could be encountered at all hours of the day and\nnight loaded with booty or trundling wheelbarrows freighted with all\nimaginable kinds of portable goods and household furniture. In many\ninstances their shamelessness was astounding and it appeared as if they\nconsidered that a state of war gave unlimited privilege for plunder.\nCitizens who recognized their property in the hands of those marauders\nand claimed it, were abused and sometimes beaten and, sadder yet to be\nrelated, women were in many instances, most prominent in those\ndisgraceful scenes. Spies were constantly crossing and recrossing the\nPotomac to give information to their friends on either side, and it\nfrequently happened that the same parties were or pretended to be\nworking in the interests of both armies and, as the phrase goes,\n\"carried water on both shoulders.\" In the country horse-stealing was\nprosecuted on a gigantic scale and quite a brisk business was carried on\nby certain parties pursuing the thieves and capturing runaway negroes,\nfor slavery had not yet been abolished by law and many slaves were\ntaking advantage of the unsettled state of affairs to make their escape\nto freedom.\n\nOn the 21st of July General Patterson, who had been operating with a\nlarge union army watching General Joe Johnston's motions around\nWinchester, fell back from Charlestown to Harper's Ferry. This was the\nday on which the first battle of Bull Run was fought in which Johnston\ntook an important part, having given the slip to Patterson, who no\ndoubt, was much surprised afterwards to learn that his antagonist was\nnot still at Winchester on that fatal day. Patterson's army occupied\nHarper's Ferry for several days and helped themselves to most of what\nwas left by the rebels. Whatever may be said of their exploits on the\nfield of battle their achievements in the foraging line are certainly\nworthy of mention in this and all other impartial histories of that\nperiod. The United States army at that time was composed of \"three\nmonth's men\" and certainly, it must be said that if they were not\nthieves before their enlistment their proficiency in the art of stealing\nwas extraordinary, considering the short time they were learning this\naccomplishment so necessary or at least so becoming in a thorough\ncampaigner, especially while in an enemy's country. Hen's teeth are\narticles the scarcity of which is proverbial in all countries, but it\ncan be safely averred that, when this army left Harper's Ferry, the\nteeth of those useful fowls were as plentiful at that place as any other\npart of them, and Saint Columbkill himself could not desire more utter\ndestruction to the race of cocks than was inflicted on them at Harper's\nFerry by General Patterson's army. Indeed, every thing movable\ndisappeared before them and, at the risk of not being believed, the\nauthor will declare that he learned of their carrying off a tombstone\nfrom the Methodist cemetery. What they wanted with it he will not\nventure to guess, but a regard for the truth of history compels him to\nrelate the fact. It may have been that some company cook wanted it for a\nhearth-stone or it may have been that some pious warrior desired to set\nit up in his tent as an aid to his devotions, but certain it is that six\nor eight soldiers of this army were seen by many of the citizens\nconveying it between them from the cemetery to their bivouac in the\narmory yard.\n\nWhen Patterson's men crossed into Maryland on their way home--their\nthree month's term of service having expired--quiet again, and for a\ncomparatively long time, reigned at Harper's Ferry. At Sandy Hook,\nhowever, there was a lively time during the month of August and a part\nof September. General Nathaniel Banks, of Massachusetts, at one time\nspeaker of the House of Representatives, was sent with a large army to\noccupy that village and Pleasant Valley, and, for six or seven weeks,\nthose places enjoyed the felicity that had fallen to the lot of\nHarper's Ferry during the spring and early summer. General Banks earned\nfor himself the reputation of being a thorough gentleman and, although\nhis after career in the war was not signalized by much success, no\nfailure on his part has been sufficient to erase the respect which he\nearned from people of all shades of political opinion in that region.\nHis army occupied the low grounds between the Blue Ridge and the\nChesapeake and Ohio canal, as, also, Pleasant Valley, while the\nGeneral's headquarters were at the house of Mr. Jacob Miller, near Sandy\nHook. The latter place, though a mere hamlet, at once acquired a\nnational importance, but, for some reason, Harper's Ferry was entirely\nignored for the time. Indeed it appeared to be an axiom with the\nofficers of both armies that the latter place could not be defended\nsuccessfully against any considerable force. The first battle of Bull\nRun or Manassas had been fought July 21st--the day on which General\nPatterson's army retreated from Charlestown to Harper's Ferry, instead\nof being engaged with General Joe Johnston's forces, who were that day\naiding Beauregard at Manassas, having stolen away from Patterson.\nGeneral Banks as well as other commanders of the union army were being\nre-organized and prepared for future operations, and Sandy Hook for some\nreason, was assigned as the temporary position of that General. Early in\nthe Fall he moved to Darnestown, twenty miles farther down the river and\nafter a short stay there he moved to Frederick City, where he spent the\nwinter. After the departure of the main army for Darnestown the 13th\nregiment of Massachusetts Volunteers was left at Sandy Hook as a corps\nof observation and a guard for the ford at Harper's Ferry. These men\nwere uncommonly zealous in shooting at rebels as long as they--the\n13th--were on the Maryland side of the river with the broad Potomac\nbetween them and the enemy, or rather between them and Virginia for,\nnow, it rarely happened that a Confederate soldier appeared anywhere\nwithin gun shot of them. Crouching under the buttresses of the ruined\nbridge on the Maryland side of the river in the now dry bed of the\ncanal, or among the thickets and rocks of the Maryland Heights, the\ngallant 13th kept up a constant fire on the few inhabitants of Harper's\nFerry, suspecting or affecting to suspect them of being rebels.\nEverything that moved about the streets they shot at vindictively. The\nappearance of even a mullein leaf swaying in the wind elicited a volley\nfrom these ever vigilant guardians of the nation, and it was lucky for\nthe place that they were indifferent marksmen, else it would have been\nwholly depopulated. They had field glasses through which they watched\nthe motions of the inhabitants and there is no exaggeration in saying\nthat they shot at weeds set in motion by the wind, for it frequently\noccurred that volleys were fired at bushes which in no way could hide an\nenemy and which were noteworthy only because they were set in motion by\nthe breeze. Sometimes the 13th would send detachments in skiffs across\nthe river and on one or two occasions they were encountered by parties\nof Confederates who would occasionally lurk in the cemetery and behind\nthe fences on Camp Hill and keep up a scattering fire on the \"Yankees\"\nin the town. In one of these skirmishes a rebel soldier named Jones was\nkilled near the graveyard, a bullet having penetrated through the palm\nof his hand and then into his stomach. In this affair an officer of the\n13th, whose name need not be given, very much distinguished himself. At\nthe first fire he jumped into the Shenandoah to hide behind a stone wall\nthat protects the Winchester and Potomac railroad from the strong\ncurrent of the river. Although he effectually shielded himself against\nfire, he was not equally successful against the river which at this\nplace is both deep and rapid and he had much difficulty in saving\nhimself from being drowned. As it was, his fine clothes were much\ndamaged and a red sash, which he wore around him, left a stain on his\nuniform which could not be removed by any amount of washing. It would\nappear as if a soldier's uniform eternally blushed for the cowardice of\nthe unworthy wearer. This officer was loaded down with medals and badges\nof merit which he said himself he had gained in the Crimean campaign,\nfighting against the Russian Bear. After this skirmish he lost caste in\nhis regiment and soon after he was sentenced by a court martial to a\nterm in Sing-Sing for embezzlement. It is told that when he entered the\nprison and the principal keeper, with a view of assigning him to some\nsuitable employment, inquired if he had learned a trade of any kind, he\nanswered, that he never had labored any, but that he was a scholar and\ncould talk in seven languages. The keeper on this told him that at\nSing-Sing there was but one language spoken and d-- little of that, and\nhe immediately set the scholar to work in one of the shops. This was\nunkind in the keeper but, no doubt, it would be difficult to please all\npenitentiary prisoners in assigning them employment during their terms\nof servitude. An Irishman, under similar circumstances, was asked what\ntrade he would have and answered that he always had a liking for the\nsea, and that he would choose to be a sailor. History does not record\nwhat success the Irishman met with in the assignment to work.\n\nOur hero was certainly a poor specimen of the men who fought at Alma and\nSebastopol, if, indeed, he ever saw the Crimea, which is very doubtful.\nIn justice it ought to be noted that he was not a Massachusetts man by\nbirth. His men, however, on this occasion showed a good deal of\ngallantry and, under Lieutenant Brown, of the same company--=his= name\nneeds no concealment--they stood their ground like good soldiers until\nthe enemy retired. The writer is not prone to saying harsh things, but\nhe cannot forget the many bullets shot at him by the above regiment and\nthat a whole platoon of them once opened fire on him and a young lady in\nwhose company he was at the time, actually cutting off with their balls\nportions of the lady's headgear. He also remembers a degrading\nproposition made to him by some of them--that he should inform them as\nto what rebels in the neighborhood were in good circumstances, with a\nview of plundering them, the rebels, and dividing the proceeds with the\ninformer. The officer whose conduct in the skirmish was so discreditable\nwould have been left to oblivion, had not his behavior to some ladies of\nthe place been as disgraceful as his cowardice in battle. But,\nnotwithstanding all this, his name is mercifully omitted.\n\nEarly in October Mr. A. H. Herr, proprietor of the Island of Virginius\nand the large flour mill on it, having a large quantity of wheat which\nhe could not grind into flour--his mill having been partially destroyed\nby some federal troops under Lieutenant Colonel Andrews, brother of the\ngovernor of Massachusetts, in order to prevent the confederates from\nusing it--and being a union man at heart, invited the government troops\nto remove the grain to Maryland. There being no bridge across the\nPotomac at the time, a large boat was procured and a company of the 3rd\nWisconsin regiment impressed the few able-bodied men at the place into\nthe service of the government to take the wheat from the mill to the\nboat and ferry it across with the aid of the soldiers. The citizens were\npromised a liberal per diem, but that, like many other good promises and\nintentions, forms a part of the pavement of a certain region where it\nnever freezes. Even the sacred person of the future historian of the\ntown was not spared, and many a heavy sack did he tote during several\ndays, under the eye of a grim Wisconsin sergeant who appeared to enjoy\nimmensely the author's indignation at his being put to this servile\nemployment. Like the recreant soldier at Sing-Sing, the historian\nderived no benefit on this occasion from the smattering of different\nlanguages with which he is credited, while the sergeant was indifferent\nas to the tongue in which the writer chose to swear or to the number of\nanathemas he thought proper to vent against the world in general and\nsoldiers in particular, he took care that the hapless author did his\nfull complement of the work. Suddenly, on the 16th of October--the\nsecond anniversary of the Brown raid--while the citizens and soldiers\nwere busy working at the wheat, a report reached them that Colonel\nAshby, at the head of the Virginia militia, was approaching from\nCharlestown to put a stop to their work. The news turned out to be true\nand Colonel--afterwards General--Geary, at one time governor of the\nterritory of Kansas, and, after the war, chief executive of the State\nof Pennsylvania, at the head of three companies of the 28th\nPennsylvania, three companies of the 13th Massachusetts and the same of\nthe 3rd Wisconsin regiments, crossed the river from Maryland and marched\nthrough Harper's Ferry to Bolivar Heights, where the enemy were posted.\nA very sharp skirmish took place, which is known in history as the\nbattle of Bolivar Heights. Both sides claimed the victory, though both\nretreated--Geary to Maryland and Ashby up the valley towards\nCharlestown. Four or five federal soldiers lost their lives in this\naffair, but the loss of the Confederates is unknown to the writer. It is\ncertain that many of them were wounded severely, but they acknowledged\nonly one death. Many young men of the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry,\nwho were serving in the confederate army, were wounded in this battle,\namong whom were J. W. Rider and John Yates Beall, the latter of whom was\nafterwards executed in New York for being engaged in hostile acts within\nthe limits of that state. Colonel Geary succeeded in capturing and\ntaking to Maryland a large cannon belonging to the confederates, but the\nlatter claimed that they had abandoned it as being unserviceable and\nthat there was no honor attached to the possession of it by the union\ntroops.\n\nThe federal soldiers were very much excited on this occasion, in\nconsequence of a malicious report spread among them that some citizens\nof Bolivar were harboring the enemy in their houses and giving them an\nopportunity to pick off the unionists from the windows. Mr. Patrick\nHagan was arrested on this charge and hurried away to Maryland without\nhis getting time to put on his coat of which he had divested himself for\nwork around his house. This gentleman was one of the most peaceable men\nof the place, and no citizen of either party in Harper's Ferry or\nBolivar believed that he was guilty. Notwithstanding his high character,\nhowever, he was taken away in the condition mentioned and kept in\nconfinement for several months in a government fort. This is one of many\ninstances where private malice got in those unhappy times an opportunity\nfor venting its spite under the cloak of patriotism. In a few days\nafter this skirmish a party of confederate cavalry entered the town and\nburned Mr. Herr's extensive mill, thereby inflicting an irreparable loss\non the people of the place. As before noted, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew\nhad partially destroyed it--that is--he broke up a part of the\nmachinery--just enough to render the mill incapable of being worked.\nThis damage could have been easily repaired and, if no further harm had\nbeen done to it, the mill could have been put into working order in a\nfew days. The confederates, however, destroyed it completely and the\nshattered and toppling walls are still to be seen, a monument of\nvandalism and a reproach to civilized warriors.\n\nFrom this time the town was visited nightly by scouts from both sides\nand the citizens were, as the Irishman says, \"between the devil and the\ndeep sea.\" As the nights grew longer and lights became necessary the\npeople felt the inconveniences of their situation the more keenly. The\nsides of the houses fronting the Maryland Heights were, of necessity,\nkept in total darkness, else the fire of the unionists was sure to be\nattracted. The sides fronting the south stood in equal danger from the\nconfederates and, families were obliged to manage so that no lights\ncould be seen by either of the contending forces.\n\nOn the 11th of November a party of union men determined to cross the\nPotomac and throw themselves on the protection of the United States\ngovernment, as they were threatened with conscription by the Virginians\nas well as exposed to insult for their opinions. They were, moreover,\nmen in humble circumstances and they wanted employment somewhere. Their\ninterest as well as their sympathies were with the north, or rather with\nthe old government, and they resolved to make a break from the danger\nand humiliation of a residence in a debatable territory. Six of them,\nnamely: Alexander Kelly, the same who had so narrow an escape from\nBrown's men; John Kelly, J. Miller Brown, G. S. Collis, Lafayette Davis,\nand the author of these annals, therefore procured a leaky skiff from\n\"Old Tom Hunter,\" the Charon of the Potomac and Shenandoah since the\ndestruction of the bridges. Hunter's son ferried them across, just in\ntime to escape a party of confederates then entering the town, to\nimpress them into their service. Joyfully, the refugees approached the\nMaryland shore after the dangers of their stay at Harper's Ferry and the\nno small risk they had run of being drowned, as the river was then very\nhigh and rapid and the skiff unsound and over-burdened with passengers\nand baggage. Their disappointment and astonishment were great,\ntherefore, on their being informed that they would not be allowed to\nland; that their crossing was in violation of the rules established by\nthe officer in command at the post and that they must return to\nVirginia. This was not to be thought of and, after a long parley, they\nreceived an ungracious permission to disembark, when they were\nimmediately made prisoners by order of Major Hector Tyndale, of the 28th\nPennsylvania regiment, in command at the place. This potentate was not\nto be cajoled by their protestations of loyalty to the United States\ngovernment. In every one of them he saw a rebel spy. He took them\nseparately into a private room, examined their clothes and took\npossession of every paper found on them. Their baggage was searched\nthoroughly and several poetical effusions of the author of these pages,\naddressed to various Dulcineas of Virginia and Maryland on the day of\n\"Good Saint Valentine\" some years before--copies of which he had\nunfortunately retained--excited the wrath of the puritanical Tyndale to\na high pitch and brought down on the hapless poet the heaviest\ndenunciations. Mr. Collis, also, fell in for a share of the Major's\ndispleasure. Being a member in good standing of the Independent Order of\nOdd Fellows, Mr. Collis had obtained a traveling card from Virginia\nLodge, No. 1, of that society at Harper's Ferry, to which he belonged.\nThis card he had, or thought he had, put away safely in his vest pocket\nwhich he had pinned securely for the safety of its contents. Major\nTyndale felt the pocket and demanded to know what was in it. Mr. Collis\nreplied that it was his \"traveling card.\" The major insisted on seeing\nit and, lo, when Mr. Collis showed the package and opened it, instead of\nan Odd Fellow's card, it turned out to be a daguerreotype likeness of\none of that gentleman's lady friends which, through some inadvertence,\nMr. Collis had substituted for what he had intended to guard with so\nmuch care. The Major taking this mistake for a wilful personal insult,\nstormed wildly and remanded the six prisoners for further trial, when\nthey were confined with other captives in Eader's hotel at Sandy Hook.\nIt will be believed that, under the circumstances, they were a gloomy\nparty and, in view of the probability that things would grow worse as\nthe night advanced, the author uttered a pious ejaculation, expressing a\nwish that he had the freedom of Sandy Hook for half an hour to improve\nthe commissariat of the prisoners which was rather scant and entirely\nwanting in that article so indispensable to people in trouble and to\nmany under any circumstances--whiskey. As luck would have it, the prayer\nreached the ear of the sentinel at the prison door, who was a six-foot\nrepresentative of that beautiful island which is so touchingly described\nby one of its inspired sons as:\n\n    \"Poor, dear, ould Ireland, that illigent place\n    Where whiskey's for nothing and a beating for less.\"\n\nThe word \"whiskey\" was the sesame to the sentinel's heart. He looked\naround cautiously to see if the officer of the guard was near and, the\ncoast being clear, he opened the door and, in a confidential way,\nremarked that he supposed the speaker was a =dacent= boy who would do\nthe =clane= thing and that he--the sentinel--would run the risk of\nletting him out =on= parole of honor for half an hour. The offer was\naccepted joyfully and, in an incredibly short time, the author, who in\nthose days, \"knew all the ropes,\" returned with a load of crackers,\ncheese and sausages, pipes and tobacco, and the main desideratum, a very\ncorpulent bottle of \"tangle foot,\" a very appropriate name for the\nparticular brand of Sandy Hook whiskey. With these refreshments and a\ngreasy pack of cards, the night wore away pleasantly and, before\nmorning, the Irish sentinel was the jolliest man of the party for, on\nevery passage of the bottle, his services were gratefully remembered and\nrewarded with a jorum. When the time came for relieving the guard the\nsentinel was too drunk to stand upright and present arms and the\nsergeant who, too, was a good fellow or who was, perhaps, himself drunk,\ndid not change the guard. Anyway, the jolly Irishman was left at the\npost 'till morning and he did not complain of the hardship of losing his\nsleep. The greater number of his prisoners were too top-heavy to make\ntheir escape, even if they were inclined to play false with their\nindulgent keeper. Next day they were examined again and subjected to\nvarious sentences according to their supposed delinquencies or their\nability to do mischief. The hapless author was condemned to banishment\nto a distance of at least ten miles from the lines of the army for his\nunholy poetry and--as Major Tyndale actually expressed it--because the\nexpression of his eye was unprepossessing. Mr. Collis was permitted to\nstay at Sandy Hook, but he was obliged to report every morning at 10\no'clock at the major's office. Many and various were the adventures of\nthis as well as of other parties of Harper's Ferry people who were\nscattered about by the chances of the times. A narrative of them would\nfill a very large volume, if not a fair-sized library, and it may be\nthat some of them will appear in future biographical sketches.\n\nOn the 7th of February, 1862, two parties of hostile scouts encountered\neach other at Harper's Ferry. The federal spies had spent the most of\nthe night of the 6th at the place and about dawn on the 7th had entered\na skiff to return to Maryland, when they were fired on by some\nconfederates who were watching for them, and one of them, named Rohr,\nwas killed. Another, named Rice, threw himself into the river and, by\nhis dexterity in swimming and by keeping under cover of the skiff,\nmanaged to save his life and escape to Maryland. The confederate scouts\nwere of Captain Baylor's company, who kept Harper's Ferry in a state of\nterror all the winter, entering the town every few nights and doing many\nharsh things, without the order or approval of their captain, who,\nhowever, was held responsible for their acts and was treated with a\ngreat deal of unjust severity when in the course of events he became a\nprisoner of war.\n\nThe killing of Rohr was the cause of another calamity to the hapless\ntown. Colonel Geary, who was commanding the federal troops at the Point\nof Rocks, Sandy Hook, and the bank of the Potomac to Harper's Ferry and\nunder whom Major Tyndale was acting at Sandy Hook, became highly\nincensed at the death of Rohr, who was a favorite scout, and he\nimmediately sent a detachment to destroy the part of Harper's Ferry in\nwhich the confederates were accustomed to conceal themselves and watch\nand annoy the federal soldiers on the Maryland shore. This they\naccomplished, ruthlessly destroying with fire Fouke's hotel and all of\nthe town between the armory and the railroad bridge. Certainly, this\nmust be considered a wanton destruction of property as the trestle\nbuttresses or even the ruins of the burnt buildings furnished enough of\nshelter for spies or sharpshooters. The demolition of this property was\naccomplished under the immediate supervision of Major Tyndale, and here\noccur some curious coincidences such as often appear in history and in\nordinary life. It will be remembered that John Brown, on the day of his\ncapture, prophesied the destruction of Harper's Ferry, to take place in\na short time. It will be recollected, too, that his wife came to\nVirginia to get possession of his body after his execution. This same\nHector Tyndale accompanied her from Philadelphia as a protector and\nconducted the transportation of the remains from Virginia to New York.\nIn a little more than two years the town, to all intents and purposes,\nwas destroyed and the finishing stroke was given to it by this very\nTyndale. Who will say that these were merely coincidences and who will\nnot rather suspect that there were in these affairs something like a\ntrue spirit of prophecy and a divine retribution. Major Tyndale is now\ndead and peace to his soul! At the battle of Antietam he was shot\nthrough the head, but he recovered, at least partially, from his wound\nand in some years after he served as mayor of Philadelphia. He was no\nfriend to the author of these pages, but truth compels a rather\nfavorable summing up of his character. Like his great namesake of Troy,\nhe was a sincere patriot and, although he often descended to the\nconsideration of mere trifles and harassed innocent people with\ngroundless suspicions, it is believed that he was thoroughly honest and\nhe certainly had courage enough to do no discredit to his Homeric name.\n\nAll that winter--'61-'62--Harper's Ferry presented a scene of the utmost\ndesolation. All the inhabitants had fled, except a few old people, who\nventured to remain and protect their homes, or who were unable or\nunwilling to leave the place and seek new associations. This ill-boding\nlull continued--excepting the occasional visits of the Confederates and\nthe Rohr tragedy with its consequences--until the night of the 22nd of\nFebruary, 1862, when General Banks made a forward move in conjunction\nwith General Shields, who proceeded up the valley from the neighborhood\nof Paw Paw, on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, between\nMartinsburg and Cumberland. General Banks sent a detachment across the\nPotomac at Harper's Ferry in advance of the main body of his troops.\nThey crossed in skiffs and their object was to lay a pontoon bridge.\nWith them was a man named James Stedman, a native of the place, and\nanother named Rice, who acted as guides. The night was stormy, blowing a\ngale down the river through the gorges of the Blue Ridge. Stedman, Rice\nand five soldiers of the 28th Pennsylvania regiment were in one skiff,\nwhen, through the severity of the gale or mismanagement, the boat was\nupset and all were cast into the icy waters. Rice escaped by swimming to\none of the buttresses of the bridge, but Stedman and the five soldiers\nwere drowned and their bodies were never recovered. This man--Rice--was\nthe same who had so narrow an escape a few nights before at the same\nplace, when Rohr was killed. He lived many years after these two close\ncalls and served as a railroad engineer. One day he fell from his engine\nand was cut to pieces by it. It is supposed that his fall was caused by\nan apoplectic fit and that he was dead when his body reached the ground.\nFrom the time of this crossing until the retreat of Banks from\nWinchester, May 25th, 1862, the town was held by federal troops.\nImmediately after the battle of Kernstown, March 23rd, of that year, the\nBaltimore and Ohio railroad company took possession of the Winchester\nand Potomac railroad and worked it for the government, thus relieving in\nsome measure the strict blockade the place had endured all the winter.\nPerhaps, it would be more correct to say the government seized the road\nand employed the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company to run it for them.\nThe place, of course, now became very important as a base of supplies\nfor the union troops, and the great number of soldiers who were\nstationed there at this time and the many civilian strangers who daily\narrived to visit friends in the army, threw a new life into the town.\nBesides, many of the old citizens returned to their homes, now\ncomparatively safe, and accumulated snug fortunes in providing small\nluxuries for the wearied soldiers and their friends. When General Banks\nwas pursued to the Potomac at Williamsport a portion of the confederate\nforces marched towards Harper's Ferry and the union garrison there, with\nall the citizens who held to the old government, crossed over to\nMaryland. The rebels, however, approached no nearer to the place than\nHalltown, about four miles west, on Charlestown road and, in a day or\ntwo, they returned up the valley. All through the spring and summer,\nexcept the few days noted, the town continued to be a base of supplies\nfor the union forces in that region, and it was notably so while the\narmies of Shields, Banks and Freemont were operating against Jackson in\nthe campaign of Cross-Keys and Port Republic. After the second battle of\nManassas, General Lee decided to invade Maryland, and of course, the\ncapture of Harper's Ferry became very desirable if not absolutely\nnecessary to him. It was then under the command of General Miles, a\nveteran of the regular United States army. He had a force which,\nincluding a large number under Colonel Tom Ford, of Ohio, posted on the\nMaryland Heights, amounted to twelve thousand. While General Lee with\nthe main body of the confederates crossed at the lower fords of the\nPotomac and marched on Frederick City, Generals Jackson and A. P. Hill\nattacked Harper's Ferry with their commands. The siege commenced on\nFriday, September 12th, 1862, by the confederates opening fire from the\nLoudoun Heights with several batteries. The federal guns on the Maryland\nHeights replied, but the position of the latter was soon attacked in the\nrear by a portion of the rebel army that had got a footing in Maryland\nand, of course, the rebels on the Virginia shore profited by the\ndiversion. The extreme right of the confederates in Maryland and the\nleft of the federals who were following them up from Washington under\nMcClellan, approached very near to the northeastern slope of these\nheights and Colonel Ford was attacked by a strong body of troops\ndetached for that purpose. Lee had marched through Frederick City and,\nthence, westward towards Hagerstown and Sharpsburg, where he faced about\nand made a stand against his pursuers. This placed the confederate right\nclose to the Maryland Heights as above stated. A desultory though\ndestructive musketry fire was kept up all through Friday and Saturday,\nSeptember 12th and 13th, and thus Colonel Ford was placed, as he\nthought, in a hopeless situation. The forces fighting him in the rear\nwere probably of South Carolina, as many headboards long standing at\ngraves on the ground they occupied bore the names of soldiers and\nregiments from that state. The bombardment from the Loudoun Heights\ncontinued in the meantime until Colonel Ford abandoned his position and\nshut himself up in Harper's Ferry. His conduct on this occasion has been\nseverely criticised and, indeed, it is understood that he was cashiered\nfor misconduct. His military judges, no doubt, knew more about the\nmerits of the case than any civilian, but it is certain that many\ninstances of what appeared to be greater mismanagement occurred during\nthe war, when little or nothing was said in condemnation of any one and\nnobody was punished. The loss of Harper's Ferry was a severe one, and\nthe popular sentiment demanded a scape-goat. The condemnation of Colonel\nFord was some balm and the unreasoning multitude were appeased. The\nabandonment of the Maryland Heights was, of course, a virtual surrender\nof Harper's Ferry. On Monday, September 15th, therefore, the national\nflag was lowered and the garrison laid down their arms. The\nconfederates, besides capturing some twelve thousand men, got possession\nof a large amount of arms and valuable stores. General Miles was killed\nby a shell immediately after his giving the order to surrender and, in\nall probability, his death saved him from a fate still worse to a\nsoldier. Great indignation was felt through the loyal states and in army\ncircles at what was called his treason or cowardice, and, had he lived,\nhis conduct, no doubt, would have been the subject of a strict\ninvestigation, as in the case of Colonel Ford, if, indeed, the supposed\nmisconduct of the latter was not forgotten when the principal was under\nindictment. If poor Miles had lived to give =his= version of the matter\nthe public verdict might have been different in the course of time.\nAnyway, he died for his country and let no one belittle his memory.\n\nBefore the surrender a small body of federal cavalry made a gallant\ncharge and succeeded in making their escape, capturing and destroying an\nammunition train belonging to Longstreet's corps of confederates, which\nthey overtook near the Antietam and effecting a junction with\nMcClellan's army, then posted on that river. Full justice has never been\ndone in history to this gallant little body of men--the 8th New York\nCavalry--or to its heroic leader, Colonel B. F. Davis.\n\nAfter the surrender, General Jackson marched towards Shepherdstown and\narrived at General Lee's position in time to take a part in the great\nbattle of the 17th of September. He left General A. P. Hill in command\nat Harper's Ferry, but he, too, departed next day and, like Jackson,\neffected a junction with Lee's main army in time to aid in the great\nconflict that was impending.\n\nThe direction in which Jackson marched from Harper's Ferry to\nAntietam--due north--disposes of a controversy that for years has\nexercised the pens of many people eminent in letters. The poet Whittier\nmakes Jackson march through Frederick City on his way to join Lee, and\nthe fame of Barbara Fritchie rests on her supposed defying of him and\nher shaking the national flag at him, as he passed her house at that\nplace. Whittier's poem is certainly a spirited one and it is too good to\nbe without foundation in fact, but is to be feared that so it is. In all\nprobability General Jackson never set foot in Frederick City. Certainly,\nhe did not do so in the Antietam campaign, and the flag-shaking that has\nimmortalized Barbara--was done by the small children of a Mrs. Quantril,\nwho lived near the Fritchies, and the rebels paid no heed to what was\ndone by the little tots. How many of the heroes and heroines of history\nor song are mythical and how many real deeds of gallantry have been\nconsigned to oblivion can anyone tell?\n\nThe siege and surrender of Harper's Ferry, though important events of\nthe war were not as disastrous to its people as other occurrences of\nless national interest. There was no very hard fighting on the occasion,\nconsidering the numbers engaged and the magnitude of the stake and no\nloss of life or property to the citizens of the place. While the siege\nwas in progress, the battle of South Mountain took place, September\n14th, and on the same month was fought the murderous battle of Antietam.\nBoth fields are near Harper's Ferry and the thunders of the artillery\nand the roll of the musketry could be heard distinctly at that place\nfrom those famous battle grounds. At the former engagement the lines\nwere very long and the left wing of the Federals under General Franklin,\nand the right of the confederates under General Howell Cobb, of Georgia,\nextended to the very foot of the Maryland Heights. These wings met at\n\"Crampton's Gap\" about five miles from Harper's Ferry and a very fierce\nbattle was the consequence. This engagement, though properly a part of\nthat of South Mountain, has been considered a separate affair on account\nof the distance from the main armies at which it was fought, and its\nextreme severity and it is called the \"battle of Crampton's Gap.\" The\nunion troops were victorious and they drove the confederates through\n\"the gap\" and some other wild passes in the Blue Ridge near the place.\nThe battle was fought almost entirely with musketry at close range\nwhich accounts for the great loss of life on both sides. Had General\nMiles held out a little longer, the advantage gained at Crampton's Gap\nwould have enabled General Franklin to come to his relief, and the loss\nand disgrace of the surrender might have been prevented.\n\nBoth sides claimed a victory at Antietam, but Lee retreated and his\ngarrison at Harper's Ferry abandoned that place. McClellan did not\npursue, but he concentrated his whole army around Harper's Ferry, where\nhe remained apparently inactive for nearly two months. The whole\npeninsula formed by the Potomac and the Shenandoah from Smallwood's\nRidge to the junction of the rivers, as well as the surrounding heights,\nsoon became dotted with tents, and at night the two villages and the\nneighboring hills were aglow with hundreds of watchfires. From Camp Hill\nthe ridge that separates the towns of Harper's Ferry and Bolivar the\nspectacle was magnificent, especially at night, and a spectator was\nforcibly reminded of a fine description of a similar scene in the eighth\nbook of the Iliad. A hum of voices like that of an immense city or the\nhoarse murmur of the great deep arose from the valleys on either side\nand filled the air with a confusion of sounds, while to a person of\nsensibility it was sad to contemplate how many of this mighty host may\nhave been fated never to leave the soil of Virginia, but sleep their\nlong, last sleep far from home and kindred and in a hostile land. The\nbands of the various regiments frequently discoursed their martial\nstrains, and nothing that sight or sound could do to stir the\nimagination was wanted. Of course, innumerable instances occurred of\ndrunken rioting among the soldiers and of outrage on the citizens. A\nlist of these would fill many volumes each much larger than this little\nbook, and imagination can picture but faintly the sufferings of a people\nexposed helpless to the mercy of an undisciplined armed rabble, for\ncandor obliges us to thus designate both the armies engaged in this war.\nOfficers and men on both sides were brave as soldiers can be, but,\nexcept the West Pointers and the graduates of a few military academies,\nthey knew nothing about the science of war, and it was impossible for an\nofficer to check the excesses of his command, when many of the privates\nunder him were, perhaps, his superiors socially in the civil life they\nhad all left so lately and where all were volunteers fighting for a\nprinciple and not for a soldier's pay. General McClellan proceeded south\nin November, leaving a strong garrison at Harper's Ferry, and that place\nwas occupied by the federals without interruption until the second\ninvasion of the north by General Lee in June, 1863. All this time, as\nall through the war, the roads leading to Leesburg, Winchester,\nMartinsburg and other places were infested by guerillas in the service\nof the confederates and sometimes by deserters from and camp followers\nof the federals, the latter frequently committing outrages that were\ncharged to the southern men. The most noted of the guerillas was a youth\nnamed John Mobley. He was a son of a woman named Polly Mobley, who lived\non the Loudoun side of the Shenandoah, near Harper's Ferry, and his\nreputed father was a man named Sam. Fine, who at one time lived in the\nneighborhood, but who moved west long before the war. The son took his\nmother's name and it is one that will ever be famous in that region on\naccount of his exploits. He and his mother were poor and, when a mere\nboy, he used to drive a team for a free negro butcher named Joe Hagan,\nwho lived in Loudoun and used to attend the Harper's Ferry market with\nhis meat wagon. Mobley was at this time a lubberly, simple-looking lad,\nand the pert youths of the town used to tease him. He gave no indication\nthen of the desperate spirit which he afterwards exhibited. On the\ncontrary, he appeared to be rather cowardly. When the war broke out,\nhowever, he joined a company of confederate cavalry raised in Loudoun\ncounty, and, although not much above seventeen years of age, he was\ndetailed by his captain as a scout to watch the federal army around his\nnative place. Under the circumstances, this was an important and\ndelicate duty. With this roving commission he, with a few others, ranged\nthe neighborhood of Niersville and Hillsborough and sometimes he came to\nthe bank of the Shenandoah at Harper's Ferry. He is said to have kept,\nlike Dugald Dalgetty, a sharp eye on his private interests, while\nobeying to the letter the commands of his superiors. He was a great\nterror of sutlers and wagonmasters and he is supposed to have captured\nmany rich prizes, displaying the most reckless courage and committing\nsome cold blooded murders. Like many other gentlemen of the road,\nhowever, he had his admirers, and many anecdotes are told of his\nforbearance and generosity. On the 5th of April, 1865--four days before\nLee's surrender--his career ended by his being shot to death by a party\nof three soldiers of the union army, who had set a trap for him with the\nconnivance, perhaps, of some neighbors and pretended friends. His body,\nwith the head perforated in three places by bullets, was thrown, like a\nsack of grain, across a horse's back and conveyed in triumph to Harper's\nFerry where it was exposed to public view in front of the headquarters.\nThe body was almost denuded by relic hunters who, with their jack\nknives, cut pieces off his clothes as souvenirs of the war and of the\nmost noted of the Virginia guerillas.\n\nFor some years before the war there resided in the neighborhood of\nHarper's Ferry a schoolmaster named Law. He claimed to be a brother of\nthe famous George Law, of New York. He was an eccentric man, but he\nappeared to have a good deal of strength of character, for he always\ndenounced slavery and advocated its abolition. For the expression of his\nsentiments on this subject he was driven out of Harper's Ferry, shortly\nafter the Brown raid, and narrowly escaped a coat of tar and feathers.\nOn the breaking out of the war he attached himself to the union army as\na spy, and he was murdered, as it is supposed, by some of Mobley's gang.\nOne of them related to a friend of the author the manner of Law's death\nand it was as follows, according to the confession: Having made him a\nprisoner, they took him to a lonely part of the Loudoun Mountain, laid\nhim flat on his back and fastened him to the ground with withes twisted\n'round his limbs and driven into the earth with mauls, and firmly\nsecured. There he was left to perish of hunger, thirst, cold or any\nmore speedy death from the fangs of wild animals that Heaven might\nmercifully vouchsafe to him. Whether all this is true or not, there is\nno doubt of his having been murdered, and considering all the\ncircumstances, there is reason to believe that the poor fellow was\ntreated as stated.\n\nWhen General Lee a second time invaded the north on his disastrous\nGettysburg campaign, again did Harper's Ferry change masters, and, when\nhe again retreated, the re-occupation of the town by the union army was\na matter of course, and the place then remained in the uninterrupted\npossession of the latter for a year.\n\nOn the 4th of July, 1864, the federal army was driven out again by a\nportion of General Early's forces, who penetrated into Maryland and were\nencountered on the 9th of the same month by General Lew Wallace at\nMonocacy Junction, about twenty-three miles east of Harper's Ferry. Here\na very sharp engagement took place, when the unionists retreated towards\nWashington City and were followed cautiously by Early. On the 4th of\nJuly, while the federal troops were evacuating Harper's Ferry and some\nof them were yet at Sandy Hook preparing to retreat farther into\nMaryland, one of them, partially intoxicated, went into the store of Mr.\nThomas Egan at the place and offered to buy some tobacco. The proprietor\nhanded him a plug. The soldier took it but refused to pay for it and, on\nMr. Egan's attempting to recover the tobacco, a scuffle ensued. Mr. Egan\nsucceeded in ejecting the soldier and he shut the door to keep the\nintruder from re-entering. At this moment the proprietor's only child, a\nvery interesting girl of about thirteen years, noticed that the\nsoldier's cap was on the floor of the storeroom, it having fallen off\nthe owner's head in the struggle. She raised a window, held out the cap\nand called the soldier to take it, when the ruffian shot her dead with\nhis carbine, the bullet entering her mouth and coming out at the back of\nher head. The lamented Colonel Mulligan of the 23rd Illinois regiment\nhappened to be passing the scene of the murder at the time and he\nordered the brute to be arrested and confined for trial, but, in the\nconfusion of the following night, he escaped and was never seen\nafterwards in that region. It is said that he deserted his regiment and\njoined the United States navy. The mother of the child--a most estimable\nlady--soon succumbed to her great sorrow and died broken-hearted. The\nfather became dissipated and a wanderer until he lost his mind, and it\nis supposed that he ended his days in some asylum for the insane. On the\nsame day a lady from North Mountain was killed, while standing on High\nstreet, Harper's Ferry, at a point exposed to the fire which was kept up\nfrom the Maryland Heights by the federal troops. A colored woman, also,\nwas killed on Shenandoah street, of the place, and a child was mortally\nwounded in Bolivar, and a young lady--Miss Fitzsimmons--seriously\ninjured at the same time and place. The child was a daughter of Mr.\nThomas Jenkins and Miss Fitzsimmons was his step-daughter. A shell\nstruck Mr. Jenkins' house, shattering it badly and injuring his family\nas noted. The author of this little volume was seated at the time under\nthe gun that discharged the shell. The cannon was on the fortifications\nof the Maryland Heights and the writer could see Mr. Jenkins' house was\nstruck. He remonstrated in strong language with the gunners for doing\nwanton mischief to inoffensive citizens. They took good-naturedly his\nindignant protests and ceased firing, which, no doubt, prevented much\nharm. The lady killed on High street and the colored woman received\ntheir death wounds from Minnie bullets. A shell from some other battery\npenetrated a government house on High street, Harper's Ferry, occupied\nby Mr. James McGraw, passed directly through it without injuring any\none, and then penetrated the house of Mr. Alexander Kelly, where it fell\non a bed without exploding. Miss Margaret Kelly, daughter of the\nproprietor of the house, was in the room when the unwelcome visitor\nintruded and settled down on the bed, but fortunately, she received no\ninjury beyond a bad fright.\n\nWhile this skirmish was progressing, a confederate officer of high rank\nsauntered into the armory yard, either to watch the enemy on the\nopposite side of the river or to take shelter from the heat which was\nintense that day. He was alone and excited no particular attention. On\nthe next day a young girl who was searching for a cow that had strayed,\nfound his dead body and, as the rebels had retreated on the previous\nnight, the task of burying him devolved on the citizens. The body was\nmuch swollen and decomposition had made great head-way. So nobody knows\nhow he came to his death and, indeed, no examination for wounds was\nmade. He was interred somewhere under the railroad trestling and it\nwould be worth something handsome to discover the exact spot. After the\nwar his family offered a large reward for the discovery of his resting\nplace, but, in the campaign of Sheridan which followed shortly after\nthis fight cavalry horses were picketed under this trestling and they\ntramped the ground so hard and obliterated so completely all traces of\nthe grave that the search for it, which continued some time, was finally\nabandoned. Poor fellow, his fate was a sad one. No doubt, he left a\nhappy home and loving friends and, now, he moulders in an unknown grave\nwithout even the companionship of the dead.\n\n    \"His sword is rust;\n    His bones are dust;\n    His soul is with the saints, we trust.\"\n\nAt no time during the war was there as deep a gloom on Harper's Ferry as\non that anniversary of the birth of our nation. The people had\nentertained the fond hope that the war was nearly over, or, at least,\nthat the theatre of it was to be moved farther south. Therefore, when,\non the 2nd of July, the sound of cannon was heard in the direction of\nMartinsburg, utter despair appeared to take possession of all hearts at\nHarper's Ferry. The battle sounds were from a heavy skirmish between a\npart of Early's troops and Colonel Mulligan's Irish regiment--the 23rd\nIllinois--at Leetown, about midway between Martinsburg and Harper's\nFerry. It may interest the reader to know that Leetown took its name\nfrom the famous General Charles Lee of unenviable reputation in the war\nof our Revolution. Here it was he buried himself in a morose solitude\nafter his quarrel with General Washington and the cabin which he\ninhabited, with only his dogs for company, is still standing and\noccupied by a family. The firing was the first intimation the people of\nHarper's Ferry had of approaching danger. Mulligan, although greatly\noutnumbered by the enemy, succeeded in checking their course for a\nwhile, and he gave the garrison and people of that place time to prepare\nfor defense or retreat. However, as the darkest hour comes immediately\nbefore the dawn, so was this gloomy time the precursor of, at least,\ncomparative tranquility. Although the people were obliged to fly on this\noccasion, as usual, they were not again driven from their homes, and,\nalthough peace was not restored to the whole country for many months\nafter this, Harper's Ferry was happily exempted from any more of its\naccustomed calamitous evacuations.\n\nThe writer has adverted to the want of discipline in both the armies\nthat in this war exhibited so much gallantry and, as an evidence of this\nhe will relate an incident that occurred on Maryland Heights while the\nfederal army was yet defending Harper's Ferry on that memorable Fourth\nof July. It will be remembered that the State of Ohio a short time\nbefore had furnished to the government a force called \"the Hundred-Day\nMen.\" A portion of these were doing duty on the Maryland Heights on this\noccasion. They were brave enough but, as the following will show, they\nhad little or no conception of the military appliances which they were\nexpected to use with some degree of intelligence. A company of them were\npreparing dinner and, not having anything else convenient on which to\nbuild their fire, they procured from an ammunition wagon several large\nshells on which they piled their wood which was soon ablaze. 'Round the\nfire they all squatted, each intent on watching his kettle or saucepan.\nSoon a terrific explosion shook the surrounding hills, sending all the\nculinary utensils flying over the tree tops and, unfortunately, killing\nor wounding nearly every man of the group. This is but one of many\ninstances seen during the war of incredible carelessness produced by the\nexcitement of the times and a lack of military training in the\nsoldiers. While \"the hundred-day men\" were stationed near Harper's Ferry\nmany yarns were spun at their expense, such as the following: One of\nthem, it is said, presented himself on a certain occasion to the\ncommander of the post, a grim old warrior, who had seen a hundred\nbattles, and who had the reputation of being a martinet. On being asked\nwhat he wanted, the soldier said that he had a complaint to make of the\ncommissary who had not yet furnished butter or milk for the company\nmess. The wrath of the old campaigner is said to have been appalling\nwhen he heard this, and it is narrated that about this time a figure was\nseen to retreat with precipitation from the general's tent, with a boot\nin close proximity to its seat of honor.\n\nAnother party of the same corps was stationed at Kearneysville, ten\nmiles west of Harper's Ferry, for the protection of the Baltimore and\nOhio railroad at that point. These hearing of a much superior force of\nthe enemy approaching to destroy the road and kill or capture them,\nwisely resolved to retreat to Harper's Ferry without waiting orders from\ntheir superiors. A freight car happened to be at the time on the\nsidetrack near, and the thought struck them that they could load all\ntheir \"traps\" into this and push it to their destination. Kearneysville\nis situated on the very top of a ridge, halfway between Harper's Ferry\nand Martinsburg, and there is a very steep grade of ten miles in length\neither way from these points--the summit being, as noted, at\nKearneysville. This the Ohio men did not know and it is possible that\nthey had never heard of the existence of grades on surfaces apparently\nso level as railroads. Having procured a switch key, they transferred\nthe car to the main track, and having loaded on it all their\nparaphernalia, they proceeded to push the car towards Harper's Ferry. At\nfirst it was moved with some difficulty, but soon they discovered that\nit gradually attained speed and that, after a little time, it rolled\nalong without the necessity for any exertion in pushing. Supposing,\nperhaps, that some kind fairy had greased the track for them, they felt\noverjoyed and, giving the car a few vigorous pushes, they all jumped\naboard and \"let her slide.\" Soon, however, the rate of travel increased,\nso as to give them some uneasiness and, after their having accomplished\na mile or two, the speed was terrific and increasing every moment.\nKnowing little about railroading they did not understand the use of the\ncar-brake, which would have done something towards reducing their\ndangerous rate of locomotion. On the car shot like a meteor, and the\nlong hair of the western men streamed behind like the tail of a comet,\nas would also their coat tails, if their uniforms had any such\nappendages. The astonished track hands along the road fled in dismay\nfrom the apparition and well might the knowing ones among them feel\nalarm as the westward bound mail train was then due on the same track on\nwhich the car was rushing in an opposite direction at far more than\nlegitimate railroad speed. Onward and faster the Ohio men flew 'round\nthe innumerable curves of the road in that neighborhood until to the\namazement of Mr. Donohoo, the railroad agent at Harper's Ferry, the car\ncame in sight of his station. Fortunately, the mail train had been\ndetained for some reason by order of Mr. Donohoo, and thus the Ohio men\nand the passengers on board the train were saved from the consequences\nof a collision which, under the circumstances, would have been of the\nmost disastrous kind. When the car came to the level a short distance\nabove Harper's Ferry, its rate of travel gradually declined and it\nstopped of itself before reaching the passenger train, the engineer of\nwhich had presence of mind to back his train far enough to the east to\nkeep out of the way until the momentum of the engineless car had\nexpended itself beyond the incline. The soldiers half dead with fright,\njumped off the car with all possible speed, but they were put in irons\nimmediately by order of the commander at Harper's Ferry for disobedience\nof orders with the aggravation of the danger to which they had exposed\nthe passenger train. The Ohio men were very gallant soldiers, however,\nand that more than compensated for their inexperience.\n\nAfter the failure of the confederates in their attempt on Washington\nCity, and their retreat into Virginia again and for the last time did\nthe federal troops get possession of Harper's Ferry. After the battle of\nMonocacy General Sheridan was appointed to command in the Valley of\nVirginia, and his brilliant and successive victories over Early around\nWinchester saved the whole of the lower valley, henceforth from its\naccustomed alternation of masters.\n\nThere was then residing near Harper's Ferry a German known as \"Dutch\nGeorge,\" his real name being George Hartman. He was a bachelor and he\nworked among the farmers of the neighborhood with whom he was deservedly\npopular for his harmless simplicity of character and his efficiency as a\nfarm-help. During the severe conscription George entered the confederate\narmy as a substitute for one of his employers and his achievements in\nthe war are thus summed up. After the last retreat of Early, George and\nmany of the young men of the neighborhood who were serving in the\nconfederate army, and who had taken advantage of the forward movement of\ntheir troops to visit their homes, remained on furlough, trusting for\nconcealment to their knowledge of the locality and the sympathy of all\ntheir neighbors with their cause. One day they got information that a\nforce of their enemies was approaching and, fearing that their houses\nwould be searched for them, they all assembled in a deserted\nblacksmith's shop where the enemy would suspect their being concealed.\nAs an additional precaution, they threw out pickets to watch the motions\nof the enemy, and George was detailed for this duty. He took post in a\nfence corner, but he kept a poor lookout and was surprised and taken\nprisoner by a squad of the enemy that had stolen a march on him. \"By\ndamn,\" said George to his captors, \"you did dat wery vel, but you ain't\nschmart enough to find de boys in de blackschmidt shop.\" Of course, \"a\nnod was as good as a wink\" to the shrewd \"Yankees,\" and they surrounded\nthe shop and made prisoners of the whole party, greatly to the\nastonishment of George, who never could be made to understand by what\nintuition the \"Yankees\" discovered \"de boys in de blackschmidt's shop.\"\nPoor George is now dead, and it is only fair to his memory to say that\nhe was not suspected of cowardice or treachery. He stood well with his\ncomrades in regard to courage and loyalty, and it is possible that the\ntale was invented or greatly exaggerated by the mischievous youngsters\nof the neighborhood to tease the poor fellow.\n\nDuring the winter of 1864-65 several military executions took place at\nHarper's Ferry and, indeed, there is no phase of war that was not\nexperienced at some time by its people. A man known as \"Billy, the\nFrenchman\" was executed by hanging on the 2nd day of December, the fifth\nanniversary of John Brown's death. His proper name was William Loge. He\nwas a native of France and was but a short time in this country. He\nenlisted in a New York regiment and, while he was stationed at\nBerlin--now Brunswick--on the Maryland side of the Potomac, he deserted\nand, crossing over to Virginia, he attached himself to Mobley's gang and\nbecame a terror to the people of Loudoun--rebel as well as loyal. He was\na young man of an attractive appearance and great physical strength, as\nwell as of iron nerve. After marauding successfully for many months he\nwas made prisoner by federal scouts, near Johnson's stillhouse--the\nscene of the pugilistic encounter between Yankee Sullivan and Ben\nCaunt--and taken to Harper's Ferry, where he was executed as soon as the\nformalities of a court martial could be complied with. He displayed the\nutmost courage on the scaffold and many pitied him on this account, as\nwell as for the great brutality with which the execution was conducted.\nThe provost was Major Pratt of the gallant 34th Massachusetts regiment,\na very kindhearted man, but others who acted under him displayed the\ngreatest cruelty and barbarity. On the whole it was the most sickening\naffair witnessed at the place during the war.\n\nOn another occasion two deserters were taken out for execution by\nshooting. The Reverend Father Fitzgibbon, a Catholic priest, chaplain to\none of the regiments then at the place, took an interest in them and,\nalthough they did not belong to his communion, he volunteered his\nspiritual aid for the occasion. Father Fitzgibbon had officiated in the\nministry years before at Springfield, Illinois, and had become well\nacquainted with Mr. Lincoln, then a practising lawyer at that place. It\noccurred to the good priest, therefore, to use his influence with the\nPresident for the pardon of the condemned men, or a commutation of their\nsentence. He telegraphed his request to Mr. Lincoln. No reply came until\nthe hour appointed for the execution had actually passed. Major Pratt,\nwith his usual kindheartedness, delayed the catastrophe as long as he\ncould do so consistently in view of his duty. At length the condemned\nmen were placed on their knees and a file of soldiers held their guns\nready to fire at the command of the provost, when a horseman was seen\nriding furiously from the direction of the telegraph office and it was\nhoped that he might be the bearer of some message of mercy. True enough,\nthe benevolent Lincoln had pardoned them, and there was not one in the\ncrowd of spectators who did not feel relieved on hearing the good news,\nand many a rough cheek was wet with tears. It will be readily believed\nthat the prisoners participated largely in the joy of the occasion.\nThere is an old fatalistic saying that \"every wight has got his weird,\"\nor that every man's career on earth and the manner of his death are\npredestined. This may or may not be true, but many things occur to give\nat least plausibility to the belief. One of these men thus rescued from\nthe very jaws of death, lost his life some twenty years afterward by\nbeing shot by a woman whom he had grossly insulted with improper\nproposals, and to whom he was about to offer personal violence. The\n\"weird,\" if there is such a thing, missed him at Harper's Ferry, but\novertook him some thirty miles farther up the Potomac. The author will\ngive another instance of apparent fatality. Like the sentimental Sterne,\nhe loves philosophical digressions which, perhaps, the reader may\npardon. Besides, the occurrence took place near enough to Harper's Ferry\nto give it some little claim on the chronicles of that neighborhood. In\nthe confederate army during the civil war was the scion of a very\nrespectable house in the lower valley of Virginia. Like other young men,\nno doubt, he felt that in him was the making of a hero but, in his first\nbattle, he discovered that he had missed his vocation. In his second and\nthird battles his fears were confirmed and, still worse, his comrades\nsuspected the truth. He held on to the colors, however, but, after a few\nmore experiences, he ever sought some excuse for absence from his post\nin time of battle, until his example was considered detrimental to the\nservice, and by a tacit connivance he was allowed to quit the army and\nreturn home. It often happened that scouting parties of the opposite\nsides would encounter one another near his home and so great was his\nfear of death that on these occasions he would hide himself in some\nbullet-proof retreat. Once, a skirmish took place nearly a mile from his\nhome and he thought he could view it safely at that distance. He\nhowever, took the precaution of hiding in some high grass while looking\nat the encounter. All in vain was his care, for a stray bullet found him\nand he received a mortal wound.\n\nAn understanding may be got of the war experience of Harper's Ferry from\nthe fact that the railroad bridge at the place was destroyed and rebuilt\nnine times from June, 1861, to the surrender of General Lee at\nAppomattox in April, 1865. Mr. Thomas N. Heskett, now dead, assistant\nmaster of road for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company, every time\nsuperintended its construction, assisted by Milton and Oliver Kemp, his\nforemen, and it very creditable to these gentlemen that, notwithstanding\nthe many disadvantages under which they labored, and the hurry with\nwhich they were obliged to perform the work of reconstruction, no\naccident occurred to any of the thousands of railroad and wagon trains\nthat passed over it during these years, which could be traced to any\ndefect in the bridge itself, or the track laid on it.\n\nAt every evacuation of the place the wildest excitement pervaded the\ntown, and scenes of terror were frequently presented, mingled with\nludicrous occurrences. Few, however, could at the time command\nequanimity enough to appreciate the laughter-moving side of those\npictures and see where the joke came in. A few days prior to a retreat\na vague rumor of approaching danger could be heard and immediate\npreparations would be put on foot for a \"skedaddle.\" There were in the\ntown many sympathizers with the rebellion, especially among the fair\nsex. These were in constant communication with the insurgents, who kept\nthem informed of what was going on within the confederate lines, in\nreturn for the news with which they were supplied of the doings of the\nunion troops. While, at heart, thoroughly loyal to the rebel cause, the\nwomen of southern proclivities could never keep their information\nconcerning the movements of the confederates entirely secret. The love\nof talk and the pride in knowing more than their neighbors always\nbetrayed them into giving some hints of what was impending and, in\nconsequence, the townspeople were but seldom taken by surprise. As the\nenemy approached, the excitement would increase and, finally, a motley\ncrowd of fugitives of every shade of color could be seen tramping along\nthe turnpike to Frederick City, ankle deep in mud or enveloped in a\ncloud of dust and stewing with heat, according to the season. Ideal\nsocialism existed among them for the time being and a practical\nillustration of the equality of mankind was frequently exhibited when a\ndarkey of the blackest shade of color, with a wallet well supplied with\nhard tack and bologna sausages, or a bottle of whiskey, commanded more\nconsideration than the purest Caucasian, though he could trace his\nlineage to the Crusades or the Norman conquest, if deficient in his\ncommissariat. Uncle Jake Leilic's hotel in Frederick City was the\nheadquarters of the fugitive Harper's Ferry people on these occasions,\nand assembled there, they contrived to receive intelligence about the\nmovements of the rebels, until the danger had passed away, and the\nconfederates had retreated up the valley. Mr. Leilic deserved well of\nmany refugees whose pecuniary resources became exhausted while they were\naway from home, and he is remembered by many with gratitude. He was a\ngood, honest, kindhearted, though blunt German--a native of Hesse\nDarmstadt. He has been dead many years and few there are to fill his\nplace in the estimation of his surviving friends. The retreats were\ncalled \"skedaddles,\" a term invented at the time by some wag. The\noriginator in all probability was not aware that a similar word is used\nby Homer to express the same idea and, if at any time, the inventor\nshould chance to read these pages, or should learn by any other means of\nthe coincidence, the information, no doubt, will afford him the\nliveliest satisfaction. It must be confessed, however, that the\ntermination \"daddle\" is not homeric, as it is lacking in dignity and\nsuch as would not be tolerated for a moment in the grand old language in\nwhich the great bard wrote his sonorous hexameters. A correction in the\nnext edition is, therefore, respectfully suggested.\n\nAfter the surrender of General Lee a garrison was left at Harper's\nFerry, and for more than a year after the restoration of peace were the\near-piercing notes of the fife and the boom of the drum heard on the\nstreets of that place. It may be said with truth that no spot in the\nUnited States experienced more of the horrors of the war than that\nvillage. The first act of the great tragedy--the Brown raid--was enacted\nthere and, at no time until the curtain fell, was Harper's Ferry\nentirely unconnected with the performance. Even the cessation of\nmilitary operations was far from restoring the tranquility that used to\nreign in this once prosperous and happy little community. In the spring\nand summer of 1865 many families that had cast their lots with the\nconfederacy returned to the place to find their homes occupied by\ntenants to whom the national government had rented them as being in a\ncondition of semi-confiscation. Some found their houses occupied by mere\nsquatters who had seized them as so much Treasure Trove, and who\nimpudently asserted their superior right to the property on the score of\nloyalty, although the government had given no sanction to their\noccupancy, and was simply passive with regard to the ownership. General\nEgan, a gallant soldier of the State of New York, was for a short time,\nin the summer of that year, in command of the post and, filled with pity\nfor the forlorn condition of the hapless owners and indignation at the\neffrontery of the intruders, he, regardless of technicalities, cleared\nmany of the houses of the riff-raff that had unjustly settled in them\nand restored them to the former and real proprietors. Unfortunately,\nthis generous, brave and impulsive soldier was moved to some other\ncommand, before his noble work of restoration was completed. We have\nnever been able to fully ascertain the identity of this gallant soldier\nwith the General Egan so prominent in the late war with Spain, but\nassuredly our people at Harper's Ferry owe him a heavy debt of\ngratitude.\n\nThe new State of West Virginia had been created during the war, and\nHarper's Ferry is the eastern extremity of that state. The then dominant\npolitical faction, as usual, persecuted those, who in their day, were so\nintolerant, and harsh election and school laws were enacted for the\npurpose of rendering the defeated party incapable of ever again\nasserting itself. During this state of affairs the writer was elected\nsuperintendent of free schools, and never will he forget the\nperplexities imposed on him by the office. It was his bounden duty to\nestablish schools all over the county, but it was equally incumbent on\nhim by law to see that no teacher was employed for any of the public\nschools who refused to take an iron-clad oath setting forth his or her\nunfaltering love for the union and hatred for its enemies, and also,\nthat the applicant for the place of teacher had never given aid in any\nway to the late rebels. When it is considered that ninety-nine in every\nhundred of the inhabitants of the county had been in active sympathy\nwith the rebellion, it will be evident that the school superintendent's\nonly way to escape a dilemma was to send to the loyal states for\nteachers. Again, the salaries paid were too small to tempt people from\nthe north to reside in a hostile land to train pupils rendered\nrefractory by the bad examples of the war and imbued by their parents\nwith a hatred for \"Yankees\" as all northern people were styled. Finally,\nthe writer, finding it impossible to comply with the letter of an absurd\nand contradictory law, resolved on following the spirit and underlying\nprinciple of all public school legislation, and he took on himself to\ndispense with all test oaths and employ teachers without reference to\ntheir politics. His action in the matter brought him very near to\nimpeachment, but he brazened it out until the expiration of his term.\nAgain, a registration law then enacted, depriving sympathizers with the\nsouth of the right to vote at elections, put into the power of county\nboards to allow or refuse this right at their own sweet wills. Of\ncourse, the boards were composed of \"loyal men\" and it is easy to\nimagine how petty spite or interest in the election of some candidate\nfor office too often swayed the judges. Those whose property had been\ninjured by the rebels sought recompense by suing before the courts the\nofficers whose men had inflicted the damage, and all these causes, with\nmany others, combined to keep the town and neighborhood in a ferment for\nseveral years, so that many thought that they had gained but little by\nthe cessation of actual warfare. Time, however, has happily cured the\nwounds, though the scars will ever remain, and it is confidently hoped\nthat the historic village--the theme of this little book will flourish\nagain some day--the better, perhaps, for the fiery ordeal through which\nit has passed--so mote it be!\n\nThis concludes an imperfect account of Harper's Ferry in the war, and\nthe writer is impelled to comment on a fact which, although it may have\nbeen accidental, appears to have a strange significance for a reflecting\nmind. Of all the government buildings in the armory inclosure before the\nwar, the only one that escaped destruction in that fearful struggle was\nJohn Brown's famous engine-house or fort. Of the occurrence that gave\nfame to that little building there can be but one opinion from a legal\nstandpoint--that it was a violation of law for which the aggressors paid\na just penalty, if we consider obedience to human enactments without\nreference to the moral code as obligatory on man. On the other hand, it\nmust be admitted that slavery was not only an evil that affected\nperniciously every member of any community in which it existed, but an\nanomaly in the model republic of modern times and this civilized\ncentury. Who knows then by what providential interference an\nenthusiastic fanatic may have been selected as an instrument in removing\nthat anomalous stain of slavery from the state that boasts of having\ngiven birth to Washington and of containing his ashes, and from this\nwhole nation that now, at least, can truly call itself the Land of the\nFree! The preservation of this little building was certainly remarkable\nand, although the present owners of the old armory property have\nsold--unfortunately, it is thought by many--this interesting little\nrelic of stirring times, and every brick of it has been conveyed away by\nChicago speculators, the actions of man do not lessen the significance\nof the protection accorded to it by Providence from the day when the\nfirst active protest against the great wrong of slavery was uttered in\nfire from its door, until that sin was finally banished from the land.\nThe writer has no intention to dictate to property owners what they\nought to do with what belongs to them justly, but he cannot help heaving\na sigh for this great sacrifice of sentiment, as well as for the\nmaterial loss of a great attraction that brought hundreds of people\nevery year to the place to see a curiosity, and incidentally and\nnecessarily, to leave some money behind when they departed. But the site\nis there yet and it takes but a slight stretch of imagination to\nprophesy that it will be the Mecca to which many a pilgrim of this land\nand of other lands will journey in future times as to a shrine\nconsecrated to liberty. Some seventy-five miles farther down the Potomac\nis another shrine--the grave of Washington--and it is not his countrymen\nalone who bare their heads in honor of the great man who rests in the\nconsecrated ground. From all civilized lands they come to venerate, and\neven his ancient foes have been known to lower the haughty flag of their\ncountry in his honor. They who come to Mount Vernon do not ask how much\nright the British or the Americans had on their respective sides in the\nwar of the Revolution. They come to honor the heroic man who did so much\nfor humanity in obedience to his conscience and the same motive will\nbring many to the site of the famous engine house--people who will not\ntake the trouble to examine the fine-spun sophistries and subtleties we\nused to hear from politicians before the war, but will honor and revere\nbona-fide honesty and the heroism that upholds the right and combats\nwrong, even to the death, despite of legal quibbles. Many will consider\nit sacrilege to compare George Washington with John Brown, but all must\nadmit that what the former began the latter completed or, at least, put\nin the way of completion by Abraham Lincoln. All three deserve\nimperishable monuments for all of them did the best according to their\nlight for the cause of humanity, and \"Angels could no more.\" In 1859 it\nwas a high crime against the laws of Virginia and, we believe, of other\nstates, to teach a man of color the alphabet. In 1866, within a quarter\nof a mile of John Brown's fort, was established \"Storer College\" for the\neducation of the ex-slaves and their descendants. Mistaken, fanatical,\nor criminal as John Brown may have been, if we judge him by the results\nof his actions at Harper's Ferry, we will not be considered\nunreasonable, we hope, when we point to this flourishing seat of\nlearning to justify a great deal of favorable consideration for him by\nposterity. He is getting it already, even in the life-time of many who\nclamored for his blood, and the heroic old confederate soldiers are not\nbehind in doing honor to his undoubted courage and honesty. Brave men\nwill ever honor the brave.\n\n\"Exegi monumentum aere perennius\" may well be inscribed on the graves or\nmonuments of those three extraordinary men. No one now grudges it to\nWashington or Lincoln, and the day will be when all will concede the\nright to John Brown as well. \"Tempora mutantur, nos et, mutamur in\nillis.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nAFTER THE WAR.\n\n\nIn 1862 Mr. Daniel J. Young, formerly master machinist at the rifle\nfactory, was sent from Washington City to take charge of the ordnance at\nHarper's Ferry, as also, of all the government property at that place.\nHe was the same who, on the morning of the Brown Raid, ventured to\nremonstrate with and warn the invaders. We have already given an account\nof his services to the government and his promotion to the rank of\ncaptain in the regular army, and how he was retained at Harper's Ferry\nfrom the time of his appointment in 1862 until the end of the war, and\nstill farther, until 1869, when the government interests at the place\nwere disposed of at public sale. In the meantime, he was made defendant\nin a suit against the government for possession of the most important\npart of the armory grounds--the plaintiff being Mr. Jacob Brown, of\nCharlestown, West Virginia, who had a long-standing claim for said\nproperty, arising from alleged irregularities in the original purchase.\nThe case was decided in Parkersburg, West Virginia, in August, 1869,\nChief Justice Chase presiding at the trial. The verdict was in favor of\nCaptain Young and the government. Some years before Mr. Brown had\nanother suit with the government for another piece of property. This\nfirst trial took place in the United States Courts, at Staunton,\nVirginia, and the result was adverse to Mr. Brown's claim.\n\nDuring the winter of 1868-69 a bill was introduced into Congress and\npassed, providing for the sale of the government property at Harper's\nFerry. On the 30th of November and the 1st of December, 1869, therefore,\nit was put up at public auction, and the armory grounds and the site of\nthe rifle factory were purchased by Captain F. C. Adams, of Washington,\nD. C., for the sum of two hundred and six thousand dollars, with one and\ntwo years time for the payment. Most of the houses and lots belonging\nto the government in other parts of the town were disposed of to\ncitizens on terms similar as to time, and very high prices were offered.\nCaptain Adams represented, as he said, some northern capitalists, and\ngreat hopes were entertained for the revival of manufactures at the\nplace and the renewal of the old-time prosperity.\n\nNotwithstanding the great depression of the times--since the war--as\nfar, at least, as Harper's Ferry is concerned--a good deal of enterprise\nhas been exhibited by many of the old citizens of the place. In July,\n1867, Mr. A. H. Herr, an extensive manufacturer and the owner of the\nIsland of Virginius, of whom mention has been made in this book several\ntimes heretofore, sold his interest at Harper's Ferry to the firm of\nChild & McCreight, of Springfield, Ohio,--both now deceased. This\nproperty is romantically situated on the Shenandoah which bounds it on\nthe south. On the north and east it is bounded by the canal, constructed\nto facilitate the navigation of the Shenandoah, and on the west by a\nwaste way of the canal communicating with the river. The island contains\nthirteen acres on which were, before the war, twenty-eight neat\ndwellings, one flour mill, one cotton factory, one carriage factory, one\nsaw mill, a machine shop and a foundry. It will be remembered that in\n1861, shortly after the skirmish at Bolivar, a party of confederates\nvisited the town and destroyed the flour mill. From that time there was\nno business conducted on the island until the sale of that property to\nthe above mentioned firm. These gentlemen, having availed themselves of\nthe talents of Mr. William F. Cochran, then so well known for his\nthorough knowledge--theoretical and practical--of machinery, immediately\ncommenced fitting up the cotton factory for a flour mill. A large force\nof men was kept in employment for fifteen months, preparing the building\nand putting up the machinery, under the direction of Mr. Cochran. The\nworks were of the most approved description, set in motion by four\nturbine wheels, the power being that of three hundred horses. There were\nten run of buhrs, which turned out five hundred barrels of flour daily\nand, in the whole, it was said by adepts in that business, to be a\nmarvel of ingenuity, which greatly added to the previous and\nwell-established fame of Mr. Cochran. That gentleman, after varied\nfortunes and many vicissitudes, lost his life in a railroad accident in\nMichigan, in January, 1889. He was a native of Scotland and he served\nsome years in the British navy. Messrs. Child & McCreight, the new\nproprietors of this desirable property, soon won for themselves golden\nopinions among the people of the place for their courteous demeanor, and\nthe success which at first attended them, gave unalloyed pleasure to all\nwith whom they came in contact. They associated with them as a partner,\nMr. Solomon V. Yantis, an old resident and long a merchant of Harper's\nFerry, where his character was of the very best as a business man and a\ngood citizen generally. Of the twenty-eight dwellings on the island\nnearly all were put in repair and the work performed on them, as well as\non the new flour mill, gave employment to many who otherwise must have\nsuffered from extreme destitution. Many other improvements have been\nmade in the town since the close of the war and the traces of that\nfearful struggle were gradually disappearing when the calamity of the\ngreat flood of 1870 befell the place and, not only retarded its\nrecovery, but left a part of it in far worse condition than it was at\nany time in its history. The Presbyterian church had been put, during\nthe rebellion, to the most ignoble uses, the upper part being used for a\nguard house and the basement for a horse stable. The venerable Dr.\nDutton, a gentleman of great piety and deserved popularity, took charge\nof the congregation soon after war, and by great exertions succeeded in\nrestoring the building to its pristine, neat appearance. Dr. Dutton died\nsome years ago and his death was a severe loss, not only to his own\nflock, but to the general society of the town and neighborhood.\n\nThe Catholic church, also, was repaired through the energy of the\nReverend J. J. Kain, a young priest of great promise, who has since\nrisen to the dignity of Archbishop. He established a school, or rather\nrevived one organized in 1854, but, of course, broken up by the war.\nThis school, under several teachers, was singularly successful, and\nmany men now eminent in various professions confess their great\nobligations to this remote and humble seat of learning. Through the\nexertions of Father Kain, a fine bell was purchased and suspended in the\nchurch steeple and at morning, noon and vesper hour, its musical notes\nsound with a sweet solemnity through the romantic glens of the Blue\nRidge, admonishing all who hear them to pause and worship the great\narchitect of the stupendous scenery around them. It may be remarked\nthat, of all the churches in Harper's Ferry proper, this one alone\nescaped destruction or desecration during the war--an exemption due to\nthe courage of the late Reverend Dr. Costello, who was at the time\npastor and who, alone, of all the ministers of the place, remained to\ndefend church property. It was said that on one occasion it was proposed\nby some union soldiers of intolerant opinions to burn down this\nbuilding, but that the project was abandoned on account of the proximity\nof some regiments with views friendly to that church who, it was\nbelieved, would resent any injury or indignity done to it. It may be\nthat there never was any intention of attacking it, and that the rumor\noriginated from the unmeaning threats of some drunken brawler. Anyway,\nthere never was the least injury done to it by either party, except that\nits roof and walls were indented in many places by stray bullets. As\nbefore stated, this church has been torn down and a new one erected on\nits site. The Methodist Episcopal denomination at the place lost their\nchurch in Harper's Ferry proper, and there is not a single trace of it\nremaining, but as there was another church belonging to the same\ndenomination in Bolivar which had escaped destruction in the war, did\nnot deem it necessary to rebuild at Harper's Ferry. The two\ncongregations have united to worship at the Bolivar church.\n\nThe Lutheran church at the place was used for hospital purposes in the\nwar. At the restoration of peace the building was renovated and it now\npresents a very neat appearance.\n\nAbout the time of the termination of the civil war a gentleman named\nStorer, residing in some part of New England, made a bequest of a large\nsum of money for the endowment of a college for the education of the\nfreedmen. Harper's Ferry was chosen as the site and a charter was\nobtained from the legislature of the new state of West Virginia for it,\nunder the title of \"Storer College.\" The board of trustees appointed by\nthe testator were all of the Free-will Baptist persuasion in compliment\nto the marked dislike manifested to slavery by that communion before and\nin the course of the war. The Reverend N. C. Brackett, a minister of\nthat denomination was sent to take charge of the institution, and the\nsuccess which he has met in conducting the difficult duties of his\noffice, fully justifies the choice. The farm of Mr. William Smallwood in\nBolivar was purchased by the board for the location of the college, but,\nthe government having donated to the institution four large houses on\nCamp Hill with lots attached, one of those buildings--the\nsuperintendent's house--with a large frame structure erected soon after,\nis used for college exercises. The principal, Mr. Brackett, is an\naccomplished scholar, a gentleman in every sense and a practical\nChristian. He is, moreover, a man of great firmness and this, coupled\nwith his suavity and well known integrity, insured a triumph over the\nprejudice against the school, which it cannot be denied, existed and\nstill exists through the neighborhood.\n\nMessrs. Matthew Quinn and J. M. Decaulne--both now long deceased--Daniel\nAmes, who died recently, and James Conway erected four fine houses after\nthe war--the last named after the government sale. The lower floors of\nthese buildings are occupied as store rooms and the upper as dwellings.\nMr. Murtha Walsh, who, too, is now dead, erected a similar house on the\nsite of the old and well known Doran store and, later, a fine dwelling\nand store adjoining Mr. Conway's house. A frame building put up about\nthe close of the war, adjoining the old Doran property, supplied for\nmany years the place of Fouke's hotel, destroyed by federal troops in\n1862. The building last mentioned was pulled down a few years ago to\nmake way for a railway depot not, however, before the erection of a new\nhotel near the opposite corner by Mr. George W. Greene, who soon after\nsold out to the Conner Brothers, from whom it now takes its name of\n\"Hotel Conner.\" Mr. Theodore Conner now conducts it. Messrs. Thomas N.\nBeal, James McGraw, John Fitzpatrick, George Breedy, Edward Colgate,\nWilliam Luke and many others have built new houses or renovated old\nones. The author of these pages, too, has contrived to scrape together\nenough to invest in a new cottage, and he will say for his house that,\nif it has no other merit, it commands a view unsurpassed anywhere for\nbeauty or sublimity. Tourists who admire its situation have christened\nit \"Sunset Cottage\" on account of the magnificent spectacle to be seen\nfrom it, when the Day God descends to rest, but the owner, while fully\nappreciating the poetic name which enthusiastic travelers have given to\nhis modest home, prefers in the interest of truth, as well as of poetry,\nto name it \"Moonshine Cottage,\" and the reasons are as follows:\nHeretofore, he has recommended to his readers who may be desirous to get\nthe best view of Harper's Ferry, to choose a moonlight night and the\ncemetery, for the time and place to enjoy the sight. Like Melrose Abbey,\nit does better in \"the pale moonbeams\" than in the garish light of day,\nand, next to the cemetery, the author's new cottage is the best\nstandpoint from which to survey the moonlit scenery of the place. Again,\nthe house itself, though substantial enough, may be said, in one sense\nat least, to be composed of moonshine, when the methods whereby the\nowner acquired the means to erect it are considered. His youth and early\nmanhood were spent in hard toil, much to the benefit of his fellow men,\nbut not a bit to his own. At the age of nearly half a century he found\nhimself as poor as when he began life, although, as before said, his\nlabors had helped materially to enrich others. At length he made the\ndiscovery, which he ought to have made thirty years before, that mankind\nlove nothing so well as being humbugged, and the happy thought struck\nhim that a history of Harper's Ferry would tickle the fancy of the\ntraveling public and, sure enough, the idea proved to be an inspiration.\nThis is the third edition of a nonsensical rigmarole that has no merit\nin the world, except absolute truth, which is something in its favor,\nand the happy result that its author, from the proceeds of the sale, was\nenabled to build \"Sunset\" or \"Moonshine Cottage\"--call it as you\nwill--for either name is logical and appropriate enough.\n\nFrom the foregoing pages it will be seen that Nature has done much for\nHarper's Ferry and that industry and art improved its natural\nadvantages, until the frenzy of war was permitted to mar the beneficent\ndesigns of Providence, and the labors of three-quarters of a century. It\nwill soon appear as if Heaven, in its anger at the folly and ingratitude\nof man, had marked the place for total destruction when, in addition to\nthe ravages of war, the power of the elements was invoked to overwhelm\nthe town, as will be seen in the following account of the great flood of\n1870:\n\nIn closing the eventful history of Harper's Ferry we must not omit the\ngreatest, perhaps, of the series of calamities which, commencing on the\nday of John Brown's raid, culminated in the destruction of the most\nflourishing part of the town by a great flood in the Shenandoah on\nFriday, September 30th, and Saturday, October 1st, 1870. On the Tuesday\nbefore the inundation it rained heavily at intervals, as also, on\nWednesday, Thursday and the morning of Friday. No extraordinary rise of\neither river was anticipated, however, as from the long drought of the\nprevious months, the streams were greatly reduced and the most that was\nanticipated was a moderate increase in the volume of water, such as is\nusual in equinoctial storms. On Friday morning, however, many persons\nnoticed the rapidity with which the Shenandoah rose, and something in\nthe fierce dash of its tawny waves against the rocks near its mouth\nattracted unusual attention. All that day this river rose very fast, and\nabout 4 o'clock, p.m., its banks were crowded with people watching the\nfurious rush of the water and the drift which, in great quantities and\nof a miscellaneous character, was tossed on its angry waves. About this\ntime a vague rumor was circulated that a telegraphic dispatch had\narrived from Front Royal, about fifty miles farther up the\nShenandoah--on the south fork--stating that a water spout had burst on\nthe Blue Ridge at a point still farther up the valley, that a deluge was\npouring down and that the people of Harper's Ferry, especially, were in\nimminent peril. While people were yet speculating on the probability of\nthe truth of this report and, before the lapse of half an hour from the\ntime of the arrival of the dispatch, several citizens came rushing from\nthe Island of Virginius, who stated that they had had just time enough\nto escape to the main land before bridges connecting it with the island\nwere swept away, and that many people were left behind whose houses were\nalready partially submerged. Even then, few people in the lower part of\nthe town could realize this state of affairs, but before many minutes a\ncolumn of water rushed along the streets and around the houses, which\nimmediately convinced everyone that saw it of the dreadful truth. Of\nthis body of water marvelous accounts are given. It is said that it rose\nat the rate of six feet in four minutes and, although it is probable\nthat the terrors of the people exaggerated the swell of the waters, the\nfact that this extraordinary tale was readily believed will give an idea\nof the reality. Up to 8 o'clock, p.m., however, it was hoped that all\nwho had not escaped from their houses on Virginius and Overton's islands\nand on Shenandoah street would be safe, and that the inconvenience of\nbeing separated from their friends for a few hours and that of cleaning\nup for some days after, would be the extent of the damage. Between 8 and\n9 o'clock, however, the water had risen to such a height as to cause\nserious apprehension for the safety of the families so cut off, and the\nextraordinary rapidity and fury of the river made it impossible for\ntheir more fortunate friends to render them the smallest assistance.\nAbout this time an excited crowd had gathered at the foot of Union\nstreet, watching with intense anxiety for the fate of some families on\nOverton's island, directly opposite, and about sixty yards distant.\nBetween them and the island rushed an impetuous torrent to attempt to\ncross which, in a boat, would be madness and the distance was too great\nto allow a rope of sufficient strength to be thrown to the assistance of\nthe helpless people. The scene was truly terrible. The screams of men,\nwomen and children in imminent peril of drowning or being crushed by\nfalling houses, and the sympathetic cries and sobs of the pitying\nspectators were partially lost in the thunders of the furious tide and\nthe spectral light of a young moon wading through heavy masses of cloud\ngave a weird coloring to the fearful picture, which added greatly to its\nhorrors. Five families resided on this island. One house, a large brick\nbuilding, was rented and occupied by Mr. Sidney Murphy. A small frame\ntenement was occupied by the widow Overton, her daughter, the widow\nMills--and a young child of the latter. Samuel Hoff and his wife lived\nin a third house, James Shipe and his wife in a fourth and Jerry Harris,\na very worthy old colored man, with his wife, daughter and two\ngrandchildren, in a fifth. Mr. Murphy and his family, as well as Mrs.\nHoff, had fortunately taken alarm at an early hour in the evening and\nescaped a few minutes before the destruction of the footbridge on which\nthey had passed over. This being light and not firmly secured to the\nbank on either side, was soon swept away by the rising waters. The other\nresidents, thinking, no doubt, that, as their houses had stood many\nassaults from the river in former floods, they might venture to remain,\nunhappily concluded to take chances. About 9 o'clock a crash from a\nfalling house was heard and piteous appeals from a drowning man for aid\nrose above the noise of the waters and were conveyed to the ears of the\nspectators on the main land. It appeared as if he had been washed from\nthe falling house and had drifted to a tree some yards below, to which\nhe was clinging with the proverbial tenacity of a drowning man's grip.\nThis was supposed to be Samuel Hoff. James Shipe, who escaped almost\nmiraculously, afterwards explained the situation, and the surmises of\nthe people proved to be correct, as it was Hoff who, carried from his\nown door by the current, grasped a small tree and appealed for\nassistance. Of course, no aid could be given to him, and the poor\nfellow's voice was soon hushed in death. Shipe said that his own house\nwas the first to give way and that before its collapse he stripped and\nprepared for swimming. He then put an arm 'round his wife and as the\nhouse fell in he jumped with her into the river. Opposite to his house\nwas a water station of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company, and as\nthis was the most substantial building near him, he swam towards it and\nendeavored to clutch the wall with one hand while the other was\nsupporting his wife. Several times he caught some projection of the\nbuilding, but as often was beaten off by the powerful waves that surged\naround it. At length, his wife requested of him to let her go and to\nsave himself, saying that she was prepared to die, but that he was not.\nHe would not consent, but a large and furious wave soon decided the\nloving controversy by lifting them up and dashing them against\nsomething, thereby loosening his hold on her, when she immediately sank\nand disappeared forever from his view. A covered bridge of the railroad\nwhich had been washed away a few minutes before and had lodged on some\nobstruction, now presented itself to him and held out some hope of\nsafety. He was drifting rapidly and although the water was cold, he had\nnot much difficulty in reaching the bridge. When he gained it, however,\nhe found the water so rapid that it was impossible for him to retain any\nhold on the sides. He tried to get on top of the roof, but he was caught\nin the current which rushed through the bridge and which he was unable\nto resist. Onward, he was hurried and in his passage he was dreadfully\nlacerated by nails and salient angles of the timbers, besides being\nstunned and confused to such a degree that he could not get a hold on\nthe wreck, but drifted below it. Of course, there was no hope of\nreturning against the tide, and he swam for the lower island. Here he\nsucceeded in clutching a tree that grew near the house of a man named\nHood. He succeeded in climbing into the forks of the tree and, for the\nfirst time since his immersion, a strong ray of hope was presented to\nhim. The house was not many feet from the tree and he succeeded in\njumping to a window. He found no one in the house, the family having\nabandoned it early in the evening. The water had reached the second\nstory and the house was tottering. Fearing that he would be crushed by\nthe falling building he returned to the tree just as the house gave way\nand fell into the seething flood. He then swam to another house in which\nhe found a pair of pantaloons--the only article of clothing he had to\nprotect him from the cold, which he now felt benumbing. He was rescued\nlate on Saturday evening, when the water had partially subsided, and it\nwill be readily believed that by this time his condition was pitiable.\nThis is his account and, certainly, at least, a =part= of it is true, as\nhis story is corroborated in many particulars by the testimony of others\nwho saw him at various stages of his strange adventure. After the\ndisappearance of Hoff great excitement was noticed in the houses of Mrs.\nOverton and Mr. Murphy, into the latter of which it appears that Jerry\nHarris and his family had rushed from their own as to a place of greater\nsafety. Lights were seen carried rapidly from place to place at Mrs.\nOverton's, and, from Mr. Murphy's the sound of Harris' voice was heard\napparently in earnest appeal to Heaven for assistance. A light was seen\nfor an instant on Mrs. Overton's porch, and, but for an instant, when it\ndisappeared and the porch was seen to drift with the current. It is\nsupposed that either Mrs. Overton or Mrs. Mills had taken the light to\nsee how the water stood around the house, and that just as she stepped\non the porch it was torn loose and she was overturned into the water.\nThus was the sudden disappearance of the light accounted for by the\nspectators. In a minute or two the building was heard to fall with a\ncrash and none of the occupants was seen again or, if the bodies were\nfound, it was by strangers on the lower Potomac, who knew not whose\nremains they were. In a short time Murphy's house also disappeared and\nwith it Harris and his family, making a total of ten deaths in this one\ngroup of buildings.\n\nIn the meantime, the greatest consternation prevailed in the lower part\nof the town. Many families that had remained in their houses on\nShenandoah street, expecting every moment the flood to attain its\ngreatest height and then subside as suddenly as it had risen, finding\nthat it increased with great rapidity and persistency, made efforts to\nescape about 7 o'clock, p.m. A family named Kane living between the\nWinchester and Potomac railroad and the Shenandoah river were rescued\nwith great difficulty by passing a basket to them on a rope thrown\nacross the abyss and transporting them, one by one, to dry land in this\nnovel aerial carriage. Charles King, at one time proprietor of the\nShenandoah House, a man of great physical strength and activity as well\nas courage, directed the operations of the rescuing party and, in\nseveral other instances, rendered valuable assistance in saving life and\nproperty. The Widow Furtney and family, living at the upper end of\nShenandoah street, were rescued in the same manner as were the Kanes,\nand, in the latter case, the Reverend Daniel Ames, another citizen,\nexhibited a great deal of courage and tact.\n\nMr. William B. Fitzpatrick, supervisor of track on the Winchester and\nPotomac railroad, while attending to his duties some hours before, near\nStrasburg, Virginia, learned that the river was swelling to an unusual\nheight and, fearing for the safety of his family at Harper's Ferry, he\nhastened home on his engine and had just crossed the bridges on the\nislands when they were swept away. As the engine proceeded along the\ntrestling through Harper's Ferry, the track swayed in such a manner that\nit was with the utmost difficulty the engineer could direct his course\nand, just as they left the trestling and landed on terra firma at the\nmarket house, the uprights that supported the track above the solid\nground gave way before the force of the waters, and at the same time,\nthe houses from which the Kane and Furtney families had been saved, as\nwell as others from which the inmates had fled or had been rescued, fell\nwith a horrible crash, and so completely were they demolished that in\nsome cases there was a doubt afterwards as to their exact site, the very\nfoundations having disappeared. Mr. Fitzpatrick found it impossible to\nreach his family, but having climbed the hill on which the Catholic\nchurch is built and descended it on the other side to the water's edge,\nhe stood opposite his house and called to his wife inquiring how it\nfared with her and their children. She replied that the house was giving\nway--that the walls were cracking and that she expected to be swept away\nat any moment, but at the same time she appeared to be more concerned\nfor the safety of her aged and feeble mother, who was at the time lying\nsick in bed in the house, than for her own. Mr. Fitzpatrick, who was a\nman of the most acute sensibility, and who was thoroughly devoted to his\nfamily, became completely frantic, offering all that he possessed to any\none who would venture to help him across the raging torrent to their\naid. The utmost sympathy was felt for him, but nothing could be done to\nassist him in a rescue. The poor fellow sat all night on a rock opposite\nhis house and, between the paroxysms of his grief, sent words of\nencouragement across to his dear ones. The behavior of Mrs. Fitzpatrick\nunder the circumstances was very remarkable. She evidenced the most\nextraordinary coolness and courage and was heard to express her\nwillingness to abide by the decrees of Providence, manifesting a\ncomposure in the face of death, which could arise only from a\nconsciousness of her having lived a good life and from a well founded\nhope of happiness hereafter.\n\nInterminable appeared that autumn night to the anxious watchers in the\ntown and few, even of those who had nothing at stake, thought of sleep.\nAt length the dawn appeared and, from marks left by the water it was\nseen that the river had fallen a few inches. Joyful news this was to\nall, but people of experience in such matters were far from being\nrelieved from all anxiety, as it is well known that the turn of a flood\nis the most critical time for a building that has been exposed to the\naction of the current. As soon as it was clear daylight the attention of\nmany people was directed to the house of Mr. Samuel Williams--the same\ngentleman that was taken prisoner by John Brown's men at the rifle\nfactory--situated on the very bank of the river, near the ferry crossing\nto Loudoun, in which it was known that not only the Williams family but\nthose of Messrs. John Greaves and James Anderson were imprisoned. The\nlast two resided in small buildings near the house of Mrs. Williams and\nthey and their families had barely time to escape to his more\nsubstantial residence, when their own houses were swept away. As soon as\nthere was light enough the endangered people were seen crowding to the\nwindows and gesticulating wildly, but their voices were lost in the roar\nof the rushing waters and the reason for their great excitement at this\nparticular time was not fully understood until they were rescued in the\nafternoon, as will be narrated hereafter. At that moment nearly the\nwhole side of the house fronting the river fell in, and very naturally\ncaused the hapless prisoners to give up all hope. Of course, nothing\ncould be done for them then, as the water had fallen but a few inches,\nand, as the other people in the town were not aware of the catastrophe\nto the river side of the house, there was not as much anxiety felt for\nthem as their situation really demanded. Besides, two trees that grew\nnear the end of the house, looking up stream, had gathered a vast pile\nof drift, and the sleepers and other timbers of the railroad that had\nbeen wrecked on the previous evening, still connected by the rails, had\nswung about and surrounded the house, collecting a great deal of\nmiscellaneous rubbish which broke the force of the current and\nmaterially protected the building. Still great uneasiness was felt and\nhundreds of eyes eagerly watched the watermark, but for many hours there\nwas but little fall and, indeed, it was 4 o'clock, p.m., on Saturday\nbefore there was any marked diminution in the volume of water.\n\nAbout 10 o'clock, a.m., on Saturday, the crowd of spectators that\ncovered the hill near Jefferson's Rock, heard a crash on Virginius\nIsland and soon it was known that the noise was caused by the falling in\nof a portion of the building occupied by Mr. John Wernwag as a dwelling\nand a machine shop. Mr. Wernwag was the same that has been noticed in\nthis book as a man of great mechanical genius, but very retiring habits.\nHe resided alone in this house and, surrounded by strange tools and\ndevices of his own planning and construction, and entirely devoted to\nthose creatures of his brain and hand, he lived in a world of his own,\nvoluntarily cut off from association with his kind. In a few minutes the\nsound was repeated, when the remainder of the building crumbled and fell\ninto the tide. The roof floated down the stream, but at first nothing\nwas seen of Mr. Wernwag himself. Many a loud and earnest prayer was sent\nto Heaven from the throng of spectators for the soul of the poor recluse\nand the hoarse murmur of many voices in supplication, mingled with\nhysterical screams from women and the more sensitive of the other sex,\nthe wild rush of the river and all the awful surrounding presented a\ncombination of horrors happily of rare occurrence. Two large trees grew\non the river bank about a hundred yards below the island, and, as the\nroof floated down the stream, it fortunately dashed against one of them\nand was broken in two. Through the space made between the portions of\nthe roof Wernwag's head was seen to emerge from the water and soon the\nbrave old man had succeeded in climbing nimbly to one of the pieces. He\nhad sunk under the roof and would have been suffocated in a few minutes\nhad not the tree broken the incubus that was preventing him from making\nany exertion to save himself by swimming. As he secured his seat on the\nfragment he was seen to motion with his hand as if bidding adieu to his\nlife-long friends. It is probable that he merely wiped his brow and put\nback his dripping hair, but the belief got abroad that he motioned a\nfarewell and the excitement of the people was greatly intensified. Past\nthe town he was hurried by the remorseless flood, until he was lost to\nsight amid the waves of \"the Bull Ring,\" a rocky ledge that runs across\nthe Potomac a little below the mouth of the Shenandoah. Over this\nbarrier in time of high water, the waves of the united rivers plunge\nwith a fury equalled only by the ocean tides bursting on an iron-bound\ncoast, and the most sanguine of those who took heart on seeing Mr.\nWernwag emerge from under the incubus and climb to the fragment of roof,\nnow gave up all hope of him, but in an hour or two a report reached\nHarper's Ferry that he had been rescued at Berlin--now Brunswick--about\nsix miles below. After a little more time the news was confirmed,\nqualified, however, by the intelligence that he was likely to die from\nthe effects of the exposure. Shortly after, another rumor was spread\nthat he had died, but, about 8 o'clock, p.m., the old hero made his\nappearance in the flesh, having been rescued, sure enough, and having\nrevived from a fainting fit into which he had dropped on being landed\nfrom his perilous voyage. He had waited at Berlin for the passenger\ntrain due at Harper's Ferry at the above hour, and having taken passage\non it he was restored to his anxious friends. He was received with the\ngreatest enthusiasm and conveyed by an exultant crowd to the residence\nof his niece, Mrs. Julia Johnson. It was the seventy-sixth anniversary\nof Mr. Wernwag's birthday and, taking into account his age, as well as\nthe circumstances of the adventure itself, it is one of the most\nextraordinary instances on record of providential preservation from what\nappeared to be inevitable destruction.\n\nSoon after Mr. Wernwag's hasty passage down the river, a ludicrous\nmistake was near causing trouble between some of his friends. At that\ntime there lived at Harper's Ferry two men of hasty tempers, but of\ngenerous impulses--one an Englishman and the other an Irishman. They\nwere inseparable companions and proverbial for their attachment to one\nanother. Both were great admirers of Mr. Wernwag and with moist eyes\nthey both stood close together on the river bank, when their old friend\nwas swept off to his death, as all supposed. Mr. Wernwag had an only son\nwho was named Edward. The young man happened to be away from the place\nat the time, which was a great aggravation of the calamity supposed to\nhave been consummated. The boy's acquaintances used to call him\n\"Wernwag's Ed.\" and this familiar appellation was the cause of a\nmisunderstanding, which was near ending in a fist-fight, between the\nfriends referred to. About the time when the old man reached the \"Bull\nRing\" the Englishman turned to his Irish friend and asked him where he\nthought Wernwag's Hed could be found--of course meaning the boy. As\nusual with his countrymen, he used the aspirate \"=H=\" before the vowel.\nThe Irishman understanding the inquiry to refer to the poor old\ngentleman's cranium, and thinking that the question savored of untimely\nlevity, replied that he supposed it would be found with the rest of the\nbody, and he added some comments to show his opinion of his friend's\nheartlessness. The Briton feeling innocent of any wrong, and being a man\nof pluck, put in a sharp rejoinder which was met by another from the\npeppery Irishman. The quarrel was intensified by the laughter of the\nby-standers who took in the situation accurately. The interference of\nfriends alone prevented a set-to and the belligerents were alienated\nfrom one another for many weeks after. The matter dropped when the\nmistake was explained and they became fully reconciled.\n\nAbout 4 o'clock, p.m., on Saturday, Mr. Williams and his fellow\nprisoners were rescued by the same process that was used in saving the\nKane and Furtney families. Great difficulty was experienced in passing\nto them a rope, as the distance was very great from the house of Mr.\nMatthew Quinn, but through the ingenuity of a Mr. Crosby, of Ashtabula\ncounty, Ohio, who was temporarily residing at the place, constructing\nagricultural machines, a rope was cast after many trials to Williams'\nhouse and the inmates were taken out, one by one, in a basket. Charles\nKing, before mentioned, was very active on this occasion, as was also\nthe Reverend Daniel Ames, who on the previous evening had distinguished\nhimself in rescuing the Furtney family. Mr. Ames ventured across in the\nbasket on its first trip to Williams' house, remained there encouraging\nthe women and children and securing the passengers with ropes in their\nfrail and unsteady carriage, and was the last to leave the tottering\nbuilding. When he arrived back he was received with rounds of applause\nfrom the spectators, and the surrounding hills echoed with the cheers\nsent up for his brave and self-sacrificing man. Mr. Ames was a man of\nvery mild and unassuming manners and the great courage manifested by him\non this terrible occasion was a matter of surprise to many who regarded\nbluster as the only indication of bravery. Too much credit cannot be\ngiven to him or Mr. King for their conduct at this time. They were both\nNew Englanders who came to reside at Harper's Ferry during the war,\nwhere their upright and courteous behavior had gained for them many\nfriends long before this trying period, and where their heroic courage\non this occasion covered them with glory. Mr. Ames, as before stated, is\nnow dead, but Mr. King moved to New Haven, Connecticut, many years ago\nand his subsequent career is unknown to us.\n\nMrs. Fitzpatrick and family were rescued on Saturday about 9 o'clock,\na.m., by some young men who floated to their house on pieces of drift\nand succeeded in bridging the gulf between the Fitzpatrick house and\nthat of Mr. Matthew Quinn. They did so by stopping and securing in some\nway floating fragments of timber--enough to allow of walking from the\none house to the other.\n\nEarly on Saturday morning a colored woman was found clinging to a tree\nnear the site of her house on Shenandoah street. She hung by the hands\nto the tree, the water being too deep to allow her to touch bottom. Back\nand forward she swayed with the current that eddied round the ruins of\nher house, but she held on with a death grip. A youth named William\nGallaher went in a skiff to her rescue and, with the utmost difficulty,\nsucceeded in saving her life. At that time there was no injunction on\nthe name of Gallaher to \"let her go,\" and, if there had been ten\nthousand orders to that effect, Will was not the boy to obey any command\nthat militated against humanity. He was one of the author's pupils in\nschool, when the writer wielded the birch and this notice of the gallant\nboy is given with a great deal of pleasure by his old taskmaster. Mr.\nGallaher died lately in Cumberland, Maryland. The woman told an almost\nincredible tale; that she had thus hung on all night; that her cabin had\nbeen washed away about 8 o'clock, p.m., and that her daughter had been\ndrowned, but that she had caught the tree and had retained her hold till\nmorning. It is probable that at first she got into the forks of the tree\nand there remained 'till within a short time of her discovery, when she\nfell into the water from exhaustion but, yet, retaining the instinct of\nself-preservation, had clutched the tree and held on with the grip of a\ndrowning person until she was rescued.\n\nMessrs. Child, McCreight and Hathaway, of the mill firm, as well as many\nothers living on the island of Virginius, had not yet been heard from,\nwhen Mr. Williams and his companions were saved. These gentlemen and the\nReverend Dr. Dutton of the Presbyterian congregation who, also, resided\non that island, were among the very best and most respected citizens of\nthe place. Their houses could be seen yet standing, but, as the island\nwas entirely submerged, it was plain that each family was isolated and\nthat no communication could easily be held from one to another in case\nof special emergency, and it was feared that some casualties might have\noccurred which, as in the case of the river front of Mr. Williams'\nhouse, could not be perceived from the shore. Each family had its own\nadventures and experiences to relate afterwards. All the houses on the\nisland, except that occupied by Mr. Child, were badly injured and the\nlives of the inmates hung by a hair. The Reverend Dr. Dutton was\nseverely wounded by a brick that fell on his head from a partition in\nhis house which tumbled down suddenly while he was standing near it. He\nwas stunned and for a while rendered entirely helpless and unconscious.\nHe and his wife lived alone and, as there was no one to render her\nassistance, Mrs. Dutton, as soon as her husband had partially recovered,\ncontrived to communicate with a neighbor who threw her a rope by means\nof which, strongly bound by her delicate hands around her husband, he\nwas dragged through the water across to the neighbor's house, where his\nwound was dressed and his wants supplied. The venerable sufferer lay for\na long time sick from the effects of his injuries and the excitement and\nexposure of the occasion. He recovered, however, and for some years\nafter continued to serve his divine Master with his accustomed zeal and\ndevotion. He with Messrs. Child, McCreight and Williams is now dead, and\nthe survivors of their families are scattered far and wide. Soon after\nthe flood Mr. Hathaway, connected with the firm of Child and McCreight\nand also a resident of the island, returned to his old home in Ohio.\n\nAbout 7 o'clock on Saturday evening the water had subsided enough to\nallow communication by boat with the island of Virginius, and Harper's\nFerry was left to present an indescribable appearance of ruin,\ndesolation and filth. The very streets were in many places ploughed up,\nas it were, and chasms many feet in depth were made in the road bed.\nEvery house on the south side of the street, from the market house to\nthe Island of Virginius was either entirely destroyed or badly injured,\nexcept that of Mr. Matthew Quinn, which was saved by the accident of the\nfalling of some heavily laden house-cars with the railroad trestling,\ninto the street near it and their lodging against it, which broke and\ndiverted the force of the current. Some seventy houses in all were\neither entirely demolished or rendered uninhabitable and, as before\nstated, in many instances, the very foundations were obliterated. All\nimaginable floating things were represented in the huge piles of debris\nheaped up at corners or wherever the torrent met a check. Trees nearly\ntwo feet in diameter were to be encountered frequently, lodged the\nstreets and the vast amount of rails, planks and various kinds of timber\ngathered up for use, formed a very important item of fuel for the\ncitizens during the severe winter that followed. Sadder than all, some\nforty-two lives were lost. Three families named Bateman, numbering over\ntwenty souls, disappeared, with a large brick building at Shenandoah\nCity--a suburb--into which they had fled from their own houses for\ngreater protection. Of these families only one body was recovered for\ninterment. The Batemans were humble, hard-working people, supposed to\nhave in their veins the blood of the Indians that in former times\npossessed the land, tinctured with that of the African, but they were a\ngood deal respected for their industry and unobtrusive manners. It has\nbeen related before that ten were lost on Overton's Island. Mrs.\nMargaret Carrol, widow of Eli Carroll, formerly proprietor of the Wager\nhouse--afterwards called Fouke's hotel--and, at one time owner of\n\"Hannah\" who saved the author's life at the Brown raid, was drowned at\nthe boarding house of Mrs. Nancy Evans on Virginius Island. She was very\nold and feeble and, when the family were retreating from the house on\nFriday evening, they tried to induce her to accompany them, but in vain.\nEither not considering the flood dangerous or being from age and\ninfirmities, apathetic about the result, she refused to leave the house\nand there was no time to be lost in arguing the case with her, as the\nother inmates had barely a few minutes in which to make their own\nescape. Soon after the house was swept away and with it, of course, the\nhapless old lady. Strangely enough, her body was found some weeks\nafterward about thirty miles down the Potomac, near the mouth of Seneca\ncreek, and within a few paces of the residence of one of her relations.\nThe corpse was recognized by means of a ring with Mrs. Carrol's name\nengraved on it which was on one of the fingers, and the remains were\nforwarded to Harper's Ferry for interment. Several persons were drowned\nwhose names cannot be gathered now, and, indeed, it is probable that the\nloss of life was much more extensive than is generally supposed, as it\nis known that the upper islands are always occupied by stragglers and\nobscure people, of whom little note is taken in the neighborhood, and\nthe chances are that many of such temporary residents were lost of whom\nno account was given and about whom no questions were asked.\n\nA remarkable occurrence took place in connection with this flood which,\nthough, of course, accidental, was a very strange coincidence. The\nReverend N. C. Brackett, county superintendent of free schools, had\nconvened the teachers' association and had secured the services of\nProfessor Kidd, a well known itinerant lecturer on elocution, to give\ninstruction to them on this important branch of education. On Friday\nevening, before any apprehension was felt from the river, he was holding\nforth in the public school house, on Shenandoah street. He remarked on\nthe faulty construction of school houses in general through that region\nas being a serious drawback on the comfort and advancement of pupils,\nand he turned the attention of his audience to the building in which\nthey were, as being about the worst-planned of any he had seen. Warming\nwith his subject, he expressed a wish that some convulsion of the\nelements would take place for the special purpose of destroying this\nhouse, so that another might be erected on a better plan. This wish,\nthoughtlessly or playfully uttered, was, strangely enough, gratified\nthat very night. The river rose beyond all usual bounds and before 9\no'clock, not a vestige of the obnoxious school house remained. Professor\nKidd, with his own eyes, witnessed the consummation of his desires, but\nwhether Heaven was moved by the Professor's eloquence or the thing would\nhave happened anyway, is a question which the writer will not undertake\nto decide.\n\nAnother strange occurrence used to be related by the late Mr. Edmond H.\nChambers, one of the oldest and most respectable citizens of the place.\nMr. Chambers was a class leader in the Methodist Episcopal church, and\nMrs. Overton, whose tragic death in the flood has been narrated, was a\nmember of his class. On the Sunday before the awful visitation, she\nattended the class meeting and seemed to be excited to a high degree\nduring the exercises. Her unusual demeanor was noticed by all present,\nand it could not be accounted for, as she was not generally very\ndemonstrative in her devotions. She went 'round among the members of the\nclass and shook hands with them all, bidding them farewell and saying\nthat, in all probability, she would never again meet them on this side\nof the grave. Her words were prophetic for, sure enough, on Friday night\nof the same week, she passed \"the bourne from which no traveler\nreturns.\" Who can tell what message she may have received from that\nmysterious world towards which we are all traveling--that her weary\npilgrimage on earth was nearing its end and that in a few days she would\nrejoin the loved ones who had gone before her. It is useless for the\nmost practical and so called hard-headed of the world to deny that many\nsuch presentments are felt, and that events often prove their\ncorrectness. When people of nervous and susceptible natures take up the\nbelief that they are doomed to a speedy demise, it may be said with\nplausibility, that their imaginations contribute to bring on some\ndisease to fulfill the prophecy, but when the catastrophe occurs through\naccident or any means that did not or could not before affect the mental\nor bodily health of the subject, we are bound to confess the probability\nof some communication between the incarnate spirit and one of clearer\nvision and superior knowledge. But, patience! We will know more about it\nsome day, perhaps.\n\nOn Sunday, October 2nd, a meeting of the citizens was convened to adopt\nmeasures for the relief of the sufferers and a subscription list was\nimmediately opened. All the people of the place who could afford to do\nso, subscribed to the fund and, soon, meetings were held at Charlestown\nand other places and large contributions of money, food, raiment and\nfuel poured in from the neighboring country and many cities of other\nstates, so that in a few days provision was made for the support of the\ndestitute sufferers during the coming winter, and a committee composed\nof the most prominent of the citizens regulated the distribution of the\nfunds, &c., subscribed by the charitable all over the country. Those\nwhose houses were destroyed or badly injured were kindly entertained by\ntheir more fortunate neighbors until arrangements could be made for\nrebuilding or repairing their own homes, and the sympathy evinced toward\nthose luckless people by their fellow citizens and kind hearted people\nin other places was creditable to our common humanity. Had not the flood\nbeen confined to the Shenandoah and, had the Potomac risen like its\ntributary, it is possible to imagine the amount of damage that would\nhave been done. The rivers, it is true, would have checked one another\nand lessened each other's current, but the water would have covered the\nwhole peninsula and that part at least of the beautiful Shenandoah\nValley would have been for a time what antiquarians and geologists\nassert it formerly was--the bed of a considerable sea.\n\nIt may be well to dissipate the gloom which it is probable the reader\nfeels after perusing this chapter of human suffering, and to give\ncheerful finale to a history more than sufficiently melancholy. It is,\ntherefore, proposed that the author relate a joke on himself in\nconnection with the great flood and tell\n\n    \"How he was 'sold.'\"\n\nIf his book will meet with half as successful a \"sell\" as he met with\nthe writer will be perfectly satisfied. Immediately after the flood\nthere was a great demand among newspaper men for accounts of it from eye\nwitnesses, and the author \"spread himself\" as the saying is, in the\ncolumns of a \"daily\" in a neighboring city. The main facts given in\nthese pages were narrated and some which the writer afterwards had good\nreason to believe were apocryphal. There resides in Pleasant Valley,\nMaryland, a jolly farmer and shrewd business man, whose name it is not\nnecessary to mention. He is much respected for many good qualities of\nhead and heart, and his company is much sought and enjoyed by lovers of\nfun, for he is always ready to give and take a good joke. Hearing that\nthe author was collecting items for an extensive account of the\ninundation, our wag determined to contribute his share of experiences,\nand he related to the writer how, on the Saturday of the flood, he had\nrescued, near his place, from the river, a colored woman who had floated\ndown stream, on the roof of a house, from Page county, Virginia, fully\nseventy miles. He represented her as being a very large woman, so big,\nindeed, that it was wonderful that the roof could float and carry her\nweight. He also mentioned that when rescued she was composedly smoking a\nshort pipe. The historian who, like all men of great genius, is\nremarkable for a child-like simplicity and an unsuspecting nature,\neagerly noted the remarkable voyage and the singular incident of the\npipe smoking, and next day the newspapers above referred to whose\neditor, too, must have been a man of genius, came out with the\nreport--pipe story and all--and not until a skeptical friend of the\ncorrespondent, and one who is of an investigating turn of mind, ventured\nto ask how the woman got fire to light her pipe, did the possibility of\nhis being deceived occur to the writer. In defense of his narrative and\nof his feelings, the author suggested that she might have had matches on\nher person, but as the chances were overwhelmingly against the\nprobability of there being any thing dry about her, he was obliged to\n\"confess the corn,\" as the phrase goes, and admit that he had been\nduped. It was some consolation, however, to reflect that the shrewd\nnewspaper man had shared the same fate at the hands of the Pleasant\nValley Munchausen. The latter further related that the woman was staying\nat his house, recruiting after her voyage and, this getting abroad, many\ncontributions of money and creature comforts came pouring into his care,\nfor the relief of his protege. There is a town not far from his house,\nthe inhabitants of which were Abolitionists before the war, and are\nRepublicans now. On hearing of the sad condition of the mythical black\nwoman and her miraculous escape, the citizens of that place assembled in\ntown meeting and subscribed liberally for her benefit. They were\nhowever, and are very cautious, prudent people and they determined to\nsend a committee to inquire into the matter before remitting. Our friend\nwas equal to the occasion and, when the committee arrived at his house,\nhe showed them a strapping black woman who had been for many years in\nhis family, and pointed to her as a living witness to the truth of his\nstory. As the committee were not acquainted with domestics, they felt\nperfectly satisfied and, on their return home, they reported favorably\nof the affair, and the funds were sent. All he received for the use of\nthe black myth, Munchausen immediately transferred to the Harper's Ferry\nrelief association and the money and the joke contributed to the comfort\nand merriment of the real sufferers.\n\nOn the 25th of November, 1877, there was a big and disastrous flood in\nthe Potomac, caused by heavy rains in the valleys of both branches of\nthat river. There was no corresponding rise in the Shenandoah, however,\nas the rains did not extend to any great degree to the regions drained\nby the latter. Harper's Ferry did not suffer much from this flood,\nexcept that the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, with which its interests are\nto some degree identified, was almost entirely demolished. That\nimportant channel of business has never fully recovered from the loss it\nsustained on that occasion, and, of course, the whole country bordering\non it has been more or less affected by the depressed condition of that\nuseful thoroughfare.\n\nOn the last day of May, 1889, both rivers rose to an unprecedented\nheight, but as the currents acted as mutual checks on one another, there\nwas comparatively little damage done to property at the place, except\nfrom the filthy deposits left by the waters. This was the day of the\nfamous Johnstown disaster and, while the people of that place were being\nhurried to destruction, the author of these pages was enjoying a swim in\nthe basement of his own house at Harper's Ferry--not \"Moonshine\nCottage,\" however--the site of which will never be inundated until the\ngap in the Blue Ridge is stopped up in some convulsion of Nature that\nwill topple over the Maryland and Loudoun Heights. He and his had\nretreated to the upper part of the house, as soon as the lower floor was\nflooded, but having forgotten to secure some important papers which he\nusually kept in the apartment now under water, he was obliged to strip\nand strike out to their rescue.\n\nGreat as were the hopes excited by the sale of the government property\nin November, 1869, and the promise of a renewal of business activity, it\nsoon appeared that those expectations were illusory. Captain Adams and\nothers interested in the purchase became incorporated under the title of\n\"The Harper's Ferry Manufacturing and Water Power Company\" and the\ncaptain more than hinted that Senator Sprague and other wealthy\nmanufacturers of the north were concerned as partners in the new firm.\nOn one occasion, soon after the purchase, a telegraphic dispatch from\nCaptain Adams reached the place stating that Senator Sprague would visit\nthe town on a particular day and address the people on \"The Future of\nHarper's Ferry.\" This looked like business and hand-bills were\nimmediately struck off and circulated through the surrounding country,\ninviting all to assist the citizens of the place in showing honor to the\ngreat man. A committee was appointed to present him with an elaborate\naddress, and preparations were made to receive him in a manner suitable\nto the occasion. On the appointed day, however, the senator was \"non\nest\" and it is said that he afterwards expressed great astonishment and\nindignation at the unauthorized use of his name in the business. Then,\nindeed, for the first time, did the people of Harper's Ferry begin to\nsuspect a fraud of some kind and future developments went to confirm\ntheir unpleasant surmises. Though Captain Adams hired a watchman to take\ncare of the property, and he himself continued to visit the place at\nintervals, it soon became apparent that his company were in no hurry to\nbegin manufactures or the preparations for them. After the flood of 1870\nsome influence was brought to bear on the government to delay the\ncollection of the first installment of the purchase money, and a bill\nwas introduced into Congress to extend the time for payment to five\nyears. The grounds for this stay of collection and the bill were the\ndamage done by the high water to a considerable part of the property\npurchased, and the great distress caused to the whole place by that\ncalamity. About the same time it became known that a claim was set up by\nCaptain Adams and his firm against the Baltimore and Ohio railroad\ncompany for possession of the ground over which the road passes between\nHarper's Ferry and Peacher's Mill. The railroad company had, many years\nbefore, got the right of way through the armory grounds from the\ngovernment on certain conditions, and no one dreamed of their being\ndisturbed about it until the thought struck some Washington City\nspeculators that there was something to be made off the road by the\npurchase of the armory property and the institution of a suit of\nejectment. In this way the people of Harper's Ferry were sacrificed to\nthe greed of a set of heartless speculators, and the injury was\naggravated by the absolute certainty that if Captain Adams had not made\nhis ill-omened appearance on the day of the sale the Baltimore and Ohio\nrailroad company would have purchased the property and erected on it a\nrolling mill.\n\nThe courts were now appealed to, but a recital of the many suits and\ncounter-suits between the government, the railroad company and the Adams\ncompany would be uninteresting and tiresome. The latter first tried to\neject the railroad company and, failing in this, and finding that, as\nthey never intended to establish manufacturing at the place, their\nenterprise was futile, they tried to return the property into the hands\nof the government on the pretense that they could not get possession of\nall they had bargained for. After a great deal of litigation the\ngovernment, no doubt, thinking that the game was not worth the candle,\nas the saying is, finally cried \"quits\" and received back the property,\nwithout enforcing any pecuniary claim arising from the sale. All this\ntime the people of Harper's Ferry were suffering from hope deferred and\ntruly sick were their hearts. The magnificent water power was lying\nidle, as far as any general utilization of it was concerned, and so\nmatters rested until the year 1886, when the property was purchased by\nSavery and Company, of Wilmington, Delaware, who, in the spring of 1887,\nproceeded to render the water power available for the purpose of pulp\nmills. These gentlemen encountered many difficulties arising from the\nindefinite wording of old deeds made to the government at various times\nand the conflicting claims of various property holders at the place.\nTheir most serious difficulty was with the firm of Child, McCreight and\nCompany, or rather with a new firm composed of some members of the\noriginal one and others taken from time to time into the company. In the\nsummer of 1887 the United States Court at Parkersburg, West Virginia,\ndecided in favor of Savery and Company, standing on the rights supposed\nto have been enjoyed by the government when the sale was made to these\ngentlemen. In the meantime, a pulp mill was erected on the Shenandoah,\nand, in some time after another on the Potomac. Savery and Company\nexperienced difficulties with the Chesapeake and Ohio canal company\nalso. The State of Maryland has always laid claim to jurisdiction over\nthe Potomac, as far as the ordinary water mark on the Virginia shore\nand, as in times of drought, the volume of water in that river is but\nlittle more than is required for the supply of the canal, the State of\nMaryland, which owns a large interest in that work, when appealed to by\nthe canal company, used all its power to hinder the water from being\ndiverted to other industries than that of the canal which is under their\ndirect patronage and protection. The author is not advised as to the\nresult of this controversy, but both the pulp mills are in operation and\nthat on the Potomac--the one to be affected by any victory for the canal\ncompany--is worked at present without any apparent interruption. The new\nfirm--Savery and Company--are evidently good business men, and it would\nappear as if they had come to stay, and give a start to a new Harper's\nFerry. It is, perhaps, a good sign of their business qualifications that\nthey are not bothered with sentiment as is shown in their sale of John\nBrown's fort. Everybody at the place wishes them well and hopes that\nthey realize a good price for this interesting relic, but many regret\nthat they did not retain it, as age but added to its value to the owners\nand, indeed, to the whole town, for many a tourist has tarried a day at\nthe place expressly to get a good sight of it, and the older it grew,\nthe more interest was attached to it.\n\nWhen the author of this book had about finished his labors, he became\naware of something very interesting in connection with the site of\nHarper's Ferry. Had he known it when he began, he certainly would have\ngiven his readers the benefit of it at the start, for there it belongs\nas, if it happened at all, it occurred away back in the misty ages of\nhistory or, at least, of Christianity. It is true that he could have\nremodeled his manuscript and penned it over again, but, as the Fatalists\nsay, \"what is written is written\" and the undoing of what has been done\nmight bring bad luck to him by putting him in conflict with Fate,\nbesides imposing much labor on him for nothing, perhaps. From his\nearliest years the writer has been familiar with the legend of Saint\nBrandan or Borandan, a pious though enterprising Irish monk of the 6th\ncentury, who embarked, it is said, on the Atlantic in quest of the\n\"Isles of Paradise,\" as they were called. At that time and, indeed, at a\nmuch later period, there was a firm belief that there was, at least, one\nisland of exquisite beauty in the western Ocean, which appeared at\nintervals, but always eluded those who tried to take possession of it.\nThere is reason to believe that some vision of the kind, the effect of\nmirage was sometimes presented to the unsophisticated sailors and\nfishermen of the olden time and as in those days science had scarcely\nbeen born, it is no wonder that a belief in the actual existence of this\nland was firmly fixed in the minds of a people imaginative and poetic as\nthe Irish, ancient or modern. Be this as it may, there is a well\nauthenticated tradition of the voyage of Saint Brandan in quest of this\nevanescent land, and manuscripts of hoary antiquity preserved in\nmonasteries until the Reformation, and, since, in old families that\ntrace their lineage even to the times of the Druids, corroborate the\noral tradition. Grave historians of late times give respectful mention\nto the voyage of Saint Brandan and many prefer a claim to his having\nbeen the first European discoverer of America. Some time this\nwinter--1901-1902--the author saw in some newspaper a statement\npurporting to be from some correspondent in Great Britain or Ireland,\nthat a manuscript had been discovered a little before, giving a\ncircumstantial account of this voyage--of the discovery by Brandan of a\nland of apparently great extent and surpassing beauty--of the entrance\nby the voyagers into a large bay, their ascent of a wide river that\nemptied into it, and their final resting at the mouth of another river\nin a chasm of awful sublimity. The correspondent concludes that Saint\nBrandan had discovered America--that the bay was the Chesapeake and that\nthe river ascended was the Potomac. If we grant all this, we may\nconclude, as the correspondent does, that the Saint rested at the mouth\nof the Shenandoah, on the site of Harper's Ferry. As before noted,\nthere appears to be little doubt of the voyage or of the discovery of\nsome land by Brandan, for the most cautious writers of even the present\nday refuse to treat the story with contempt, but whether we can\nconfidently follow him all the way from Ireland to our very door at\nHarper's Ferry or not, is a matter for some consideration and future\ndevelopments. There is not a man in that town who does not wish the tale\nto be true, for, besides the poetry of the matter, it would be a feather\nin the cap of Harper's Ferry that it was presumably under the protection\nof a saint and an Irish one at that. An Irishman, in the flesh, does not\nstand on trifles when the interests of his friends are at stake and,\nwhen he is translated to Heaven and invested with the dignity of a\nsaint, he may be relied on to put in some heavy licks for any cause or\nperson he loved while on earth. If the tale of the correspondent is true\nin every respect, Harper's Ferry may be regarded as Saint Brandan's own\nchild--the heir to his fame on earth and the best entitled to all the\ninfluence which he may command in Heaven. We must not inquire too\nclosely as to how he got past \"The Great Falls\" or what induced him to\nundertake the great labor of the portage.\n\nWithin a few years the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company have made\ngreat changes at Harper's Ferry, enough to alter its appearance very\nmaterially. In the summer of 1892 they commenced the cutting of a tunnel\nof over eight hundred feet in length through the spur of the Maryland\nHeights that projects over the old track near the railroad bridge. They\nalso commenced at the same time the erection of stone piers to support a\nnew bridge a little northwest of the old one. The course of the road bed\nin the town has also been changed, for the old trestling has been\nabandoned and the track has been laid across the eastern end of the old\narmory grounds and over a part of the site of John Brown's fort. The\nprincipal object of this change was to straighten the road and avoid the\ndangerous curves at the old bridge and also to do away with the\nperpetual expense of keeping the trestle work in repair. In\nconsequence, the appearance of the place is greatly changed and not for\nthe better, but, happen what may, the eternal mountains will remain,\nclothed with the verdure of spring and summer, the purple and gold of\nautumn, or the snowy mantle of winter, according to the season. The\nnoble and historic rivers, too, will pour their allied waters through\nthe awe inspiring chasm which, in the course of bygone ages, their\nunited strength has cut through the gigantic barrier of the Blue Ridge.\nThe Bald Eagle--king of the birds--will sweep in majestic curves around\nthe turret pinnacles of the Alpine Heights or, poised on outspread\nwings, will survey his unassailable ancestral domain and, if in the\ngarish light of day, the utter loneliness and wildness of the mountains\noppress the imagination, the gloaming and the tender moonbeams will\nmellow the savage grandeur of the scene and invest it with a dreamy and\nmystical beauty to soften and enhance its sublimity. Besides, whatever\nmay occur in the future, Harper's Ferry has in the past attained a fame\nof which even Fate itself cannot deprive it and, as long as poetry,\nromance and a love of the sublime and beautiful in Nature find a home in\nthe human heart, tourists from all the continents and the isles of the\nsea will visit it, and the day will never come when there will be no\nenthusiastic lover of freedom to doff his hat at the shrine of John\nBrown. He was, anyway, a man of honest convictions who fought\ndesperately and died fearlessly for the faith that was in him, and what\nhero has done more?\n\nHaving spent a long and a very long winter's night in a haunted house\nwith a corpse for his only companion, and having been treated with\nmarked consideration by their ghostships in their not bothering him in\nany way, the writer feels under obligations to give the spirits a puff\nand keep alive their memory in an age of skepticism. He, therefore,\ncraves the reader's patience while he relates the history of an\ninvisible but exceedingly potent sprite that kept the neighborhood of\nHarper's Ferry in a terrible ferment for a long time and that to this\nday gives a name to a thriving village within a short distance of that\ntown. Tourists who come to historic Harper's Ferry never fail to gather\nall the stories they can, not only of the town itself, but of the\nsurrounding country, and it is partly for their benefit and partly to\nhonor the spirits that treated him so cleverly, that the author gives\nthe following legend. There are but few, indeed, in northern Virginia,\nwho have not heard the tale a thousand times, with endless variations,\nall accounts, however, agreeing as to the main facts. The author has\nheard many versions of it, but he will give it as he got it from a\ngentleman now deceased--an ex-member of Congress and an ex-minister to\none of the most important nations of Europe. This gentleman spent much\nof his youth in the immediate neighborhood of the village where the\ngreat mystery occurred and he was on the most intimate terms with one of\nthe families that were conspicuous in the occurrence. Of course, he gave\nit as he received it himself. He was born when the spirit was rampant,\nbut he got the story fresh from those who were witnesses to the mystery.\nHe was an eminent man and deeply learned--a graduate of Georgetown\nCollege--and the writer would give a great deal to be able to relate the\nstory with the inimitable grace of his informant. Of course, he did not\nbelieve the legend himself, but he cherished it as a memory of his\nchildhood and as a choice morsel of folklore.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LEGEND OF WIZARD CLIP.\n\n\nIn the southwest part of Jefferson county, West Virginia, within less\nthan a mile of the Opequon river so famous in the late war, is a drowsy\nthough well-to-do village that rejoices in three names--Middleway,\nSmithfield and Wizard Clip. The first of these names it got from its\nbeing exactly the same distance from Winchester, Martinsburg and\nHarper's Ferry, and this is the name acknowledged in the postal service.\nThe second name--Smithfield--is derived from a very respectable family\nof the far extended Smith clan that has resided there a great many\nyears. The last--Wizard Clip--it got from a singular legend, connected\nwith a house that once stood in the outskirts of the village. This\nbuilding, except a part of the foundation, has long since succumbed to\ntime. Not far from the site of the house is a tract of land known as\n\"The Priest's Field\" which at one time belonged to a resident of the\naforesaid mansion--a man named Livingstone--but now forms a part of the\nlands of Mr. Joseph Minghini. In the old burying ground of the village\nis, or at least was shown a few years ago, a mound known as \"The\nStranger's Grave\" and these singular names will be explained by the\nstory.\n\nSome time about the commencement of the 19th century a Pennsylvanian,\nnamed Livingstone, moved from his native state and purchased the farm on\nwhich was the residence above referred to. He and his family took\npossession of the house, and for several years they prospered.\nLivingstone used to say that he had been unfortunate in life before his\nmoving to Virginia, and he was fond of contrasting his former failures\nwith his success in his new home. He is said to have been a man of a\nmild and genial disposition, but tradition has it that his better half\nwas of a different temper and that, figuratively, she wore the garment\nwhich is supposed to be the 'special prerogative and attribute of the\nmale sex. The facts of our tale, if indeed, they are bona fide facts at\nall, appear to bear out the popular estimate of the family, with the\naddition, perhaps, that Mr. Livingstone was of a credulous turn of mind,\nwhich exposed him to the machinations of some designing neighbors, who\ntook advantage of his unsophisticated nature and who, perhaps, were not\nsorry to punish the wife for her lack of amiability. It should be noted\nthat the period of our tale long antedates railroads and steamboats.\nGoods were then conveyed entirely by horse power and the principal road\nfrom Baltimore and Alexandria to southwest Virginia, Kentucky and\nTennessee passed through Middleway. In consequence, long convoys of\nwagons were constantly passing along this road which was within a few\nyards of Livingstone's house. About three miles east of this residence,\nalso on this road, lived an Irish family, named McSherry, from whom are\nsprung the many highly respectable people of that name who now adorn\nnearly every learned profession in West Virginia, Maryland and\nPennsylvania, especially that of medicine. Between these two residences\nlived Joseph Minghini--an Italian--the grandfather of the gentleman\nreferred to as now owning the tract of land called \"The Priest's Field.\"\nThe Minghini of our tale had accompanied the famous general Charles Lee\nfrom Italy when that eccentric character was obliged to fly from the\nland of Caesars, but finding himself disappointed in his patron had set\nup for himself in the neighborhood of Middleway. So much for a preface\nand now for our story.\n\nOne evening a stranger called at Livingstone's house and asked for a\nnight's lodging. This was accorded to him cheerfully by Livingstone and,\nin justice to the lady of the house, it must be recorded that tradition\nis silent on the subject of what she thought of her husband's\nhospitality and, being an impartial chronicler, the writer will give her\nthe benefit of any doubt on the subject, especially as it turned out\nafterwards that she had good reason to regret her having \"taken in the\nstranger.\" The family and their guest conversed for a good part of the\nnight, as is customary in Virginia on such occasions, and the new\nacquaintances separated about 10 o'clock, Mr. Livingstone conducting\nthe stranger to a sleeping apartment and then betaking himself to his\nown. After having slept some time, the master of the house awoke and\nbecame aware of queer noises coming from the direction of his guest's\napartment. He arose, knocked at the stranger's door and inquired what\nwas the matter. The occupant replied that he was very sick and that he\nhad a presentment that he could not live 'till daylight. At the same\ntime he entreated that a Catholic priest should be sent for to shrive\nhim--that he had been brought up in the Catholic faith, but that he had\nneglected religion when in health. Now he would gladly accept its\nconsolations, for he felt himself to be in extremis. Livingstone replied\nthat he knew of no priest of that faith anywhere near, and that he could\nnot hope to find one closer than in Maryland. He remarked, however, that\nhe had neighbors who were Catholics--meaning the McSherrys and the\nMinghinis--and that they might set him on the track make inquiries of\nthose people. On this, the wife who, too, had been aroused, and\nwoman-like, was listening to the conversation became very angry and told\nher husband that, if he was fool enough to start out on such a\nwild-goose chase, she would take good care to thwart him, even if he\nsucceeded in finding the clergyman, which was unlikely enough. She was\ndetermined, she said, to hinder any Romish priest from entering her\nhouse, and that the best thing Livingstone could do was to return to his\nbed and leave the stranger to his fate. The good-natured and\nwell-disciplined husband submitted and again retired to slumber. Next\nmorning the guest did not appear for breakfast and Livingstone, a good\ndeal alarmed, went to the stranger's room and found him dead. The\nneighbors of the family knew nothing of these occurrences, and the\nLivingstones would not be likely to say much about them, unless they\nwere driven to a disclosure by the pangs of terror and remorse. They,\nhowever, had the corpse on their hands, and, of course, the fact of the\ndeath could not be concealed. A few neighbors were notified, and the\nunknown was committed to nameless grave.\n\nNo other designation can be given to him than \"the unknown\" because the\nstranger had not revealed to the family his name or anything connected\nwith his history, except in the few remorseful words to Livingstone,\nwhen he confessed to the sinfulness of his life. No clue was ever found\nto his name, family or nationality, but, as the Livingstones did not\nreport any peculiarity in his accent, it is to be inferred that he was\nan American by birth or very long residence.\n\nOn the return of the family from the funeral late in the evening they\nbuilt a good fire and took their seats around it, discussing, no doubt,\nthe untoward occurrences of the previous night, when, suddenly the logs\njumped, all ablaze, from the fireplace and whirled around the floor in a\nweird dance, sputtering sparks all about the room and seeming to be\nendowed with demoniacal power and intelligence. Poor Livingstone, too,\ndanced around, trying to put out the fire, but it took him a long time\nto do so, and no sooner had he thrown the smoldering sticks back into\nthe fireplace than they jumped out again and went through the same\nperformance as before, and Livingstone was again obliged to hustle for\nthe safety of his house. This was repeated at short intervals until\ndaylight, and the family did not get a moment's rest during that\nmemorable night. How the amiable lady of the house managed to cook\nbreakfast, tradition does not say, but from the fact that nothing is\nrelated of suffering by the Livingstones from hunger, it is to be\npresumed that the \"spook\" let up on them for a little while and allowed\nthem to get something to eat.\n\nWorn out, scared and disconsolate, the hapless Livingstone walked down\nto the road that passed his house, the highway before referred to, and\nwas immediately greeted by a rough wagoner, who had stopped his team and\nwho wanted to know why the devil Livingstone had stretched a rope across\nthe highway and fastened it to a tree on either side, so as to impede\ntravel. Livingstone knew that there were trees, as the wagoner said, on\nboth sides of the road, but he saw no rope and wondered what the\napparently drunken teamster meant by accusing him of such an absurd\nthing. The driver angrily demanded that the obstruction be removed at\nonce and Livingstone disdained to make any reply, the infuriated\nteamster drew a knife and slashed at the rope, but the blade met with no\nresistance and, while the obstruction was palpable to his eye, it was\nbut an airy nothing to his touch. It was now the wagoner's turn to be\namazed. He knew not whether to offer an apology or not and, while he was\nstill pondering the matter, another team arrived and its driver went\nthrough the same performance as the other, with the same result. At\nlength, Livingstone mildly suggested that they should drive on,\nregardless of the intangible rope and so they did and passed along\nwithout difficulty, attributing their delusion, no doubt, to the bad\nwhiskey of the neighborhood. Soon, however, other teams arrived and\nagain the spectre rope was in the way and again were repeated the\nperplexity and the profanity of the first encounter. Every new arrival\nbrought the luckless Livingstone a fresh cursing, and so it was kept up\nfor several weeks. In the course of time, the demon, now acknowledged to\nbe around the place, adopted a new method of annoyance. A sharp,\nclipping noise, as if from a pair of invisible shears, was heard all\nthrough and around the house and, worse yet, all the clothes of the\nfamily, their table cloths and bed coverings were cut and gashed, the\nslits being all in the shape of a crescent. Of course, the news of these\nunearthly doings soon spread, and people from all directions crowded to\nsee and hear what was going on. There are still preserved in some\nfamilies pocket-handkerchiefs that were folded in the pockets of their\nowners when they visited the place, but, yet, were cut and marked in his\npeculiar way by the demon of the scissors that kept up his \"clip-clip\"\naround them while they were condoling with the afflicted family. One\nlady visitor was complimenting Mrs. Livingstone on a fine flock of ducks\nthat were waddling through her yard on their way, perhaps, to the\nneighboring Opequon, when \"clip-clip\" went the uncanny and invisible\nshears and one after another the ducks were all cleanly decapitated in\nbroad daylight before the very eyes of the ladies and many other\nwitnesses.\n\nAt that time there lived in Middleway a German tailor, who, though fully\nimbued with the mysticism of his native country, yet regarded with\ncontempt all vulgar superstitions, or what he considered to be such. He\nboasted that he would stay all night alone in the house supposed to be\nhaunted and that, if he had time enough to spare for the purpose, he\ncould expose the imposture of the wizard clipping. He had just finished\na suit of broad cloth for a neighboring planter and had made up the\nclothes in a neat package, when on his way to deliver them he passed\nLivingstone's house, grinning at the folly of his neighbors in believing\nthat the place was tenanted by an evil spirit. \"Clip-clip\" went the\nterrible scissors around the ears of the German who, in the plenitude of\nhis incredulity, invited the author of the sounds to \"go for damn.\" He\nproceeded to the house of his employer, opened his bundle with\nprofessional confidence and pride, to exhibit his model suit, when, lo!\nand behold! he found the clothes full of the crescent shaped slits and\nutterly ruined.\n\nThe excitement continued to spread and far and near extended the fame of\n\"Wizard Clip.\" One night a party of youngsters of both sexes assembled\nat the house for a frolic, got up by the young men of the neighborhood,\nwho desired to show to the world and especially to their sweethearts\nthat =they= were not afraid, whoever else might be so, and curiosity led\nmany young ladies to the scene, in spite of the terrors of the place.\nThey were, perhaps, desirous to test the courage of their lovers, and\ntrusted for protection to the big crowd in attendance. One rough,\nblustering fellow came all the way from Winchester, carrying his rifle.\nHe was courting a girl of the neighborhood of Livingstone's place, and\nhe determined to show off to the best possible advantage. Things\nproceeded smoothly for awhile, and the young people were engaged in a\ndance when, suddenly, \"clip-clip\" went the goblin shears, and the\nWinchester hero felt something flap against the calves of his legs. He\nreached down to investigate and found, to his consternation, that the\nmost important part of his nether garment had been cut loose from the\nwaist band and that there was nothing left for him to do but sit down\nand keep on sitting 'till the festivities were over. His condition soon\nbecame known to the others and, great as the terrors of the situation\nwere, nothing could prevent the company from tittering, until the\nhapless hero found his plight so painful that he resolved to leave the\nhouse, which, for the sake of delicacy, he was obliged to do by backing\nto the door, while the ladies coyly looked in another direction.\nNumberless are the tales related of the queer doings of the demon with\nhis invisible and diabolical scissors. Poor Livingstone lost heart and\neven his wife's masculine courage gave way. The whole neighboring\ncountry was, of course, intensely excited. One night Livingstone had a\ndream. He thought he was at the foot of a hill on the top of which was a\nman dressed in sacerdotal garments and appearing to be engaged in some\nreligious ceremony. While looking towards this strange man, the\nafflicted dreamer became aware of the presence with him of some\ndisembodied spirit that whispered to him that the man in the priestly\ngarb could relieve him from his great trouble. He awoke and immediately\nformed the resolution to appeal to some minister of the gospel to\nexorcise his tormentor--the fiend of the \"clip.\" He applied to his own\npastor, a Lutheran preacher who, of course, had heard of the affair, as\nhad everybody in the state. To please Livingstone, the reverend\ngentleman visited the haunted house, but he experienced a reception so\nhot that he concluded not to try issues any more with so potent a\nspirit, and he left without accomplishing anything. Livingstone now\nremembered that the minister of his vision wore priestly vestments and,\non the failure of his own pastor, he concluded that the party to help\nhim must be one who was usually arrayed with such adjuncts in the\nperformance of his rites. The Catholic, or perhaps the Protestant\nEpiscopal must, therefore, be the denomination for him to seek aid from,\nand he found out from the Minghinis and the McSherrys that a certain\nFather Cahill, who used robes such as he had seen in the dream, would,\non a certain day, be at Shepherdstown, about ten miles away, to hold\nCatholic service. They promised Livingstone an introduction to the\npriest, and on the day specified they accompanied their unhappy neighbor\nto the church meeting. At the first sight, Livingstone recognized in\nFather Cahill the minister he had seen in the dream, and falling on his\nknees and with tears streaming down his cheeks, begged to be relieved\nfrom the thralldom of the evil one. Having been questioned by the\npriest, he gave the whole history, including the unkindness to the\nstranger guest. Father Cahill, who was a jovial, big-fisted Irishman,\nalive as the Lutheran minister had been, to the absurdity of the whole\naffair, tried to convince the sufferer that he was merely the victim of\nsome malicious practical jokers of his neighborhood. It was all in vain,\nhowever, to try to dispel Livingstone's fears, and for sheer pity and,\nperhaps, Irishman-like, not being averse to a shindy even with the devil\nhimself, the good father consented to accompany Livingstone home, and do\nall he could to relieve him. At that time a Catholic priest was\nsomething heard of with awe and superstitious dread in Virginia, but\nvery rarely seen there, and it is likely that the perpetrators of the\noutrage on the hapless family were themselves victims of an unreasonable\nfear of something that was formidable only from its rarity and from\nattributes that existed only in their own ignorant and untrained\nimaginations. Anyway, it is recorded that never after the visit of\nFather Cahill were the diabolical scissors heard, and from that time\npeace again reigned in the Livingstone household, but the name of\n\"Wizard Clip\" still clings to the village and, it is to be hoped, that\nthe legend will not be allowed to die out for, laugh as we may at those\nold time tales, they have a charm for even the most prosaic and\nskeptical. John Brown's fort is lost, forever, to Virginia, but it is a\nmatter for thankfulness that, while brick and mortar can be disposed of\nto satisfy the love of gain, the traditions of a people cannot be\nconverted into money and that sentiment cannot be sold by the square\nfoot. Land-marks are more easily destroyed than folklore.\n\nIn gratitude to Father Cahill, Livingstone before his death deeded to\nthe Catholic church thirty-four acres of land, and this tract is what\nhas ever since been named \"The Priest's Field.\" The clergy of that\nfaith, however, renounce all claim to the place because, no doubt, they\nfelt that nothing in the spiritual ministration of Father Cahill\ncontributed or was intended by him to contribute towards the object\nLivingstone had in view--the expulsion of a veritable demon. Father\nCahill, like the Lutheran minister, went to the house merely as a friend\nand not in the character of an exorciser of a real spirit and, if the\nrascals who so cruelly tormented their harmless neighbor were more\nafraid of the priest than of the other minister, with whom they were no\ndoubt familiar, it was no reason why a claim should be set up by the\nformer of superior influence with Heaven. Mr. McSherry and Mr. Minghini\nwere made trustees of the property, but by common consent, the land was\nleft with the Minghinis and it is now theirs by prescription, perhaps.\nIn the county clerk's office in Charlestown, Jefferson county, West\nVirginia, can be seen the deed made by Livingstone and wife to Denis\nCahill, the supposed exorciser of the fiend. It will be found in Book\nNo. 1 of the County Records, and it conveys the title to thirty-four\nacres of land--\"The Priest's Field\"--to Father Cahill and his\nsuccessors. Our esteemed friend Clerk Alexander will be glad to show it\nto anyone curious to see it. The deed is dated February 21st, 1802.\n\nWithin about eight miles of Harper's Ferry is a sleepy hamlet which has\nquite a history in connection with several prominent men of the\nRevolution. It is called Leetown, and it has been heretofore mentioned\nin this history as the scene of a brisk skirmish in the war of the\nrebellion. As before noted in this book, it got its name from General\nCharles Lee who, after the censures incurred by him for his conduct at\nthe battle of Monmouth, buried himself here in gloomy seclusion. Very\nnear this village is also a house occupied by General Horatio Gates, of\nmore honorable fame in our war for independence, and still another\nrevolutionary general--Darke--lived in the immediate neighborhood of\nthe place. So, then, a sauntering tourist might spend a little time\npleasantly enough in visiting the neighborhood. It is but a few minutes'\ndrive from \"Wizard Clip\" and a curiosity seeker might easily take in\nmany noteworthy sights in the course of a day's jaunt from Harper's\nFerry. About five miles north of Leetown and in the immediate\nneighborhood of the battlefield of Antietam, is Shepherdstown, which is,\nor at least ought to be known to fame, as the home of James Rumsey who,\nit has been pretty clearly proven, was the first to apply steam power to\npurposes of navigation. On the Potomac, at Shepherdstown or Mecklenburg,\nas it was then called, was the first experiment made of propelling a\nboat by steam power, and the trial was made with success by Rumsey. In\nhis life-time he was regarded by his acquaintances as a visionary, if\nnot a decided maniac, but time has vindicated him, although the honor of\nthe invention has been generally assumed to belong to others. There can\nbe but little doubt that Rumsey anticipated all the other claimants for\nthe fame of the invention, although with them, too, it may be said to be\noriginal, as they probably knew nothing of Rumsey or what he had\naccomplished. Shepherdstown has a war record, also, for in a day or two\nafter the battle of Antietam, a detachment of federal troops having\ncrossed the Potomac into Virginia at the ford near the town, they were\nbadly defeated by a force of the rebel army that attacked them\nunexpectedly.\n\nSome ten or twelve years ago, a stranger arrived at Harper's Ferry and,\nwithout letting any one know what his business was, he purchased a pick\nand shovel, hired a horse and buggy, and drove up the Potomac taking the\nimplements with him. He proceeded towards Shepherdstown, appearing to be\nvery familiar with the road. When he arrived within a mile of the latter\nplace, he halted, tied his horse to something available and looked\naround inquiringly. It took him but a short time to find what he wanted,\nfor in a few minutes he approached a large tree and plied vigorously his\npick and then his shovel around the roots. His labor was not in vain,\nfor soon he exposed to view a fair sized box which he immediately\ntransferred to the buggy, and at once returned to Harper's Ferry,\nwithout deigning to satisfy the curiosity of some parties who were\nattracted to the spot by the sight of him at work. It is generally\nsupposed that he himself had buried a considerable treasure at the place\nwhile he was hard pressed by enemies at some time while the late war was\nin progress, and that, deeming it safe, and not being much in want of\nmoney, he had left it in its concealment for nearly thirty years. Some\nadvanced the dream theory--that, in his sleep he had a vision of the\nburied treasure, but the stranger kept his own counsel and departed on\nthe next railroad train for parts unknown.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ENCHANTER'S WHEEL.\n\n\nStarting from the railroad bridge at Harper's Ferry and running\nnorthwest, with the railroad track for six miles to Duffield's Station,\nis a region that has ever been the home of wizards, witches and all\nkinds of adepts in occult lore, besides being a favorite resting place\nfor gypsy caravans. The construction of the railroad many years ago was\nthe first interruption to the dreams of magic, and, then, the civil war,\nwith its very practical ideas and, above all, perhaps, the subsequent\nintroduction of free schools have completed the delivery of the worthy\ninhabitants from the very galling yoke of many professors of the black\nart--African and Caucasian--who profited in money and reputation by the\nfears they excited and the fees they received for cures or immunity. In\njustice, it must be stated that the whites, mostly of German origin,\nwere generally of a benevolent character and that the practice of their\nart was always directed to counteract the malevolence of the negroes who\nseldom devoted their mystic knowledge to any good purpose, especially\nwhere any member of their own race was concerned. They always appeared\nto have an instinctive dread of the superior race and were shy of\npractising on the white man, unless under very strong temptation. The\ngypsies alone keep alive the old order of things, appearing to have\nnobody to punish and every one to reward with a rich wife or a gallant\nhusband for the trifle of crossing the sibyl's palm with a piece of\nsilver. Indeed, they are not charged with molesting the person or\nproperty of any one. On the contrary, they are ever invoking the\nblessings of Venus, on the conditions above mentioned. Time has in no\nway changed their habits.\n\nTwo generations ago great was the fame of the professors--white and\nblack--but now it is difficult to get any one of either color, unless\nsome octogenarian, to relate what used to occur in the olden times. They\nappear to be afraid of the imputation of superstition. In this way many\ninteresting and even poetic legends are likely to be lost.\n\nOf the white seers the most renowned was the miller--John Peacher--a\nPennsylvania Dutchman. He was a man of excellent reputation, and the\nonly people who had any complaint to make of him were the evil doers,\nespecially the thieves. It was useless for a thief to steal anything\nfrom John Peacher, for it had to be returned, and by the culprit\nhimself, in broad daylight. Peacher's friends, too, if they reported to\nhim any loss were merely told to wait a little for the stolen article.\nSo, neither Peacher nor his friends ever complained to a law officer of\nany losses, feeling very certain that the missing would return. In\nconsequence, it was no unusual sight to see seated on a fence near\nPeacher's mill, or the house of one of the miller's neighbors, a man,\nnearly always a negro, with a bundle of some kind tied up to suit the\ncontents. There the visitor sat until late evening, if not asked to get\noff the fence and tell his business. Even then, it was with extreme\ndifficulty that he could get off his perch, and some were known to\ninvoke the assistance of the proprietor to =unfasten them=. The man was\nsure to be a thief, and the bundle always contained the stolen article,\nwhich was laid at the feet of the lawful owner--the proprietor of the\nplace--Peacher or some one of his friends who had reported to him a\nrobbery. On one occasion a wagoner on his way to Georgetown drove his\nteam past Peacher's place and abstracted from a wagon that belonged to\nPeacher some part of the gearing, with which he proceeded to Georgetown,\nfifty-seven miles distant. Peacher soon discovered the loss but, as\nusual, he \"lay low\" and waited for the certain issue. In a few days a\nman was seen to approach Peacher's place early in the morning afoot and\ncarrying an apparently heavy load. When he reached Peacher's gate, he\nclimbed one of the posts and rested his load on the fence nearby. No one\nquestioned him, for Peacher and his domestics recognized the articles,\nthe loss of which was known to them from the time of the theft, and the\npresumption was that the man was the guilty one. There the culprit sat\nwithout a word until the benevolent Peacher thought that the penitent\nmight be hungry and sufficiently humbled. Peacher invited the stranger\nto get off and come into the house to get something to eat, but the\nhapless thief was glued, as it were, to the seat and not 'till Peacher\nchose to break the spell could the crestfallen victim get off his perch.\nHe then confessed his guilt and told how his conscience did not trouble\nhim a bit until he reached Georgetown with his plunder, when some\nimpulse forced him to leave his team in the city and walk back, carrying\nthe stolen articles, instead of waiting for his regular return trip to\nmake restitution. After his meal he commenced his journey back, afoot,\nto the city for his team and in some time after rode past Peacher's\nplace on his home trip, but did not stop. How Peacher worked his charms\nhe never revealed, except that he said he had a wheel by the turning of\nwhich, as the case demanded, he effected his wonderful exploits at\nthief-catching. The wheel he never exhibited. For many years after his\ndeath there was a common phrase in the neighborhood, \"I'll introduce you\nto Peacher's wheel,\" whenever any one was suspected of knavish\npractices--especially a child or a superstitious person. It would take\nmore space than we have allotted to ourselves to relate a tenth of the\nexploits of Peacher with his magic wheel.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WITCH'S OVERSIGHT.\n\n\nOf an entirely different type as to nationality, color and moral\nstanding, was Jesse Short, a disreputable negro scamp who enjoyed an\nimmense reputation for powers of mischief, and who got credit for nearly\nevery mysterious thing that occurred in the neighborhood, if only it was\nof a disreputable kind. Nearly all of the houses had low porches at\ntheir front doors, and the very narrow spaces underneath were enclosed\nwith lattice work, so close that a robin could scarcely force himself\ninside and, if he could, he had very scant room to hop for a little\nexercise. It often happened, however, that in the early morning the ears\nof the family were greeted with the bleats or grunts of a well grown\nsheep or porker belonging to some neighbor that had found its way or for\nwhich a way had been found, in some uncannie manner to enter, and which\nhad to crouch very low to find room for itself. But although an entrance\nhad been found for it, there was no exit until the porch was torn down.\nAll this and many other such pranks were put to the credit of Jesse\nuntil he enjoyed a fame equal to that of Michael Scott, and was the\ngreat terror of the country all 'round. Like John Peacher of better\ncharacter, he performed too many feats for recital in this modest-sized\nbook, but we will relate one that was witnessed, and is vouched for by\nat least two parties of unexceptionable character, who are still living,\none of them being the victim of Jesse's unholy practices, who can still\nexhibit marks left on her person by the wizard's touch.\n\nJesse was a slave on the Miller estate, about four miles northwest of\nHarper's Ferry. Near this plantation was another owned and occupied by\nJohn Engle, a pious, God-fearing man, some of whose children are yet\nalive. As far as we know there are two--Mr. James Engle and his sister,\nMrs. Margaret Moler. When these were very young children, their father\nowned or hired a colored girl to whom our hero, Jesse, desired to pay\nattentions and with this view, often visited Mr. Engle's house. Mr.\nEngle, however, positively forbade those visits on account of Jesse's\nvery bad reputation. It was supposed that our hero was deeply offended\nat this exclusion from the company of his lady-love, and secretly vowed\nvengeance, although his countenance and general bearing towards the\nEngle family did not betray his real feeling. One day he visited the\nhouse, ostensibly to convey some message from his master. While he was\nwaiting for a return message, Margaret, the five year old daughter of\nMr. Engle, who is now the widow of a Mr. John Moler, passed close to\nhim. The negro patted the child and appeared to have a desire to\ningratiate himself with her, but the little girl screamed wildly as soon\nas his hand touched her, and she showed the utmost horror of him. Her\nscreams continued until she got into fits and the greatest difficulty\nwas experienced in restoring her temporarily to her normal condition.\nBut the little one was not the same from that time. Day by day she\nfailed, lost appetite and could not get natural sleep. In a month she\nwas reduced from a hale, hearty and lively child to a mere spiritless\nskeleton, and hope of her recovery was almost abandoned. At that time\nregular physicians were not as plentiful as they are now, and old\nmammies of either color were mostly depended on, especially in cases of\nailing children. The Engle family were then, as they are now, among the\nmost respectable in Jefferson county, and, from regard for them as well\nas for natural sympathy, every mother in the neighborhood and every\nskillful woman aided in trying to restore the poor child, but in vain.\nWhen the little tot was almost exhausted somebody remembered that across\nthe Potomac, in Maple swamp, a place inhabited in a great measure by\nhalf-breeds descended from the Indians, lived a certain Mrs. Mullin,\nwhose fame for occult knowledge was wide-spread. Indeed, she was a power\neven among the professors themselves. To her as a last resort the\nparents of the child appealed. The benevolent old lady responded at\nonce, and crossed the Potomac on her mission of charity. She took the\nchild on her knee, without the least repugnance on the part of the\nlittle girl. What mystic words or rites the old lady used, tradition\ndoes not say, but she took from her pocket a pair of scissors and with\ndeliberation clipped the nails from the fingers of the child--from all\nbut one finger--and herein lies the wonder, for the child at once began\nto improve and, as we have before mentioned, is still alive and hearty\nat an advanced age, with the full use of all her limbs, except that one\nfinger, the nail of which Mrs. Mullin failed to clip. That finger is\ncrooked and that one alone. It has never been straight since that day,\nabout seventy-five years ago, when Mrs. Mullin, either by accident or\ndesign, failed to treat it as she treated its fellows. It never pains\nher, however, and merely gives a sign of something designed to be a\nmystery. Mrs. Mullin, as far as we know, never tried to rectify the\nomission or make any explanation.\n\n\n\n\nTHE REMORSEFUL DOG.\n\n\nAbout half way between Duffield's and Shenandoah Junction, on the south\nside of the B. & O. railroad, and very close to it, is to be seen the\ngrave of General Darke, heretofore mentioned as one of the famous men of\nthe Revolution, who once lived in that region which is embraced in the\npresent county of Jefferson, and whose homes were very close to Harper's\nFerry. General Darke is the hero of the neighborhood, and many of the\nbest people of Jefferson county, are proud of the kinship to him, which\nthey claim. His personal history would, indeed, read like a romance, but\nour proposed limits forbid us the pleasure of giving it in detail. We\nwill merely relate one of his adventures and a curious tale told of a\ndog belonging to him that figured in connection with his master's story.\nWe have but the general's own words to prove the truth of most of the\ntale, but he was a man of undoubted veracity and, besides, he had no\nmotive for inventing the story. We have heretofore given an account of\ngreat sagacity manifested by a dog owned by Colonel Lewis Washington\nand, as the farms on which the dogs were born are but a short distance\napart, it is probable that General Darke's dog was a remote ancestor of\nthat of Colonel Washington, and that the extraordinary intelligence they\nboth displayed was a family trait. The exact period of our legend is\nunknown, but it probably was a few years after the Revolution.\n\nGeneral Darke then lived near the spot where he now rests from his\nlife's work, surrounded by many of his veterans and relatives, by whom\nhe was much revered. The general, like the great majority of men, was\nfond of a good dog, and was very jealous of the fame as well as careful\nof the bodies of his dumb favorites of that species, which he kept\naround him. One dog was his 'special pet. Tradition does not tell what\nbreed he belonged to or his name, as it does in the case of Colonel\nWashington's \"Bob\"--neither does it inform us of his caudal advantages\nor deficiencies. Indeed, in the case of \"Bob\" there is no need, yet\nawhile, to question tradition, for we all, whose hair is gray, knew him,\nthat is all of us who in 1859 were acquainted with the hospitable home\nof the colonel.\n\nOne day one of the general's neighbors complained to him that his--the\nneighbor's--meat house had frequently of late been robbed and that,\nhaving watched many nights for the thief, he had at last got ocular\ndemonstration that the general's favorite dog was the culprit. The\ngeneral would not deny the fact of the robbery, but he plainly denied\nthe guilt of his dog and, although the complainant was a man of the\nutmost respectability, the general still stood up for his humble friend.\nAn agreement was finally made that the general himself should\nwatch--which he did and, besides, every night he barricaded the room in\nwhich the dog used to sleep, and left the animal not the least chance,\nas he thought, to leave the house without permission. The master kept\nlistening, too, for any sound from the dog's room that would indicate an\neffort to escape, and for some nights he heard just enough noise to\nprove that the dog was in his proper place. One night, however, he\nthought the stillness unnatural, and his suspicion was aroused. He\nentered the dog's room and found it vacant. He also found a hole either\nin the wall of the room or at the foundation, through which it was easy\nto make a noiseless escape. The general at once started in pursuit and\nencountered the dog on the way from the neighbor's meat house whither\nthe master's suspicions led him. The dog had a large piece of meat in\nhis mouth, which he at once dropped on recognizing his owner, and then\nmade a hasty retreat out of sight. Of course, the general made all the\napologies due from him to his wronged friend, and the trouble between\nthem was forever ended. The dog, however, was never again seen in that\nneighborhood.\n\nIn some years after General Darke had occasion to travel to Ohio. He\nmade the journey on horseback, the only method at that time. One night\nhe took lodging at a lonely inn among the wilds of the Alleghany\nMountains. On alighting he noticed several suspicious-looking men\nlounging around, but the general was a brave man and, besides, he had no\nchoice, so he remained at the house. He kept awake all night, however,\nbut he was not molested. Next morning he started to continue his\njourney, but he had not advanced far before a very rough-looking man\njumped from behind a fence and ordered him to halt. At the same time a\ndog bounded from the same direction to the road, and at once caught the\nassailant by the throat and dragged him to the ground, holding on with a\ndeath grip to that peculiarly dangerous part of the human anatomy to be\nseized by. Whether the man was killed or not tradition does not say, but\nhe was rendered hors de combat. The general recognized in the dog his\nown former pet, but the dog again fled from before the face of his old\nmaster, by whom he was never again seen. The general returned to the\ninn, reported the affair to the landlord and made special inquiries\nabout the dog. All he could learn was that the animal had appeared at\nthe inn a long time before, and that, the family having taken a liking\nto the stray, it was allowed to remain. The dog was not to be seen at\nthe inn at least, until the general departed finally, nor is it known\nthat he ever did return and, as far as we know, he was never again seen\nby any of his old acquaintances.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHarper's Ferry has always been noted for the number of ministers of\nreligion it has produced. It would be impossible to name all of them in\nview of the limit we have set for ourselves. A few, however, whom we\nourselves have taught and prepared for learned professions, we feel\njustified in mentioning. They are Fathers Edward Tearney, James T.\nO'Farrell and John Bowler, of the Catholic church; the Reverend McFadden\nbrothers--John, Harry and Frank; the Reverend C. B. Price and the\nReverend A. S. Yantis--the last five of various Protestant\ndenominations. We are proud of those boys, their genuine piety, their\nlearning and the great good they are reported as doing. No bigots are\nthey who can see no good in anybody that differs from them, but they\nfound their belief and their life-practise on the glorious \"Sermon on\nthe Mount\" and have a good word for everybody. This is the way to win\nsouls to God, and they have found it.\n\nVarious eminent men, not natives of the place, however, have served in\nthe ministry at Harper's Ferry. The Rt. Rev. J. J. Kain, the present\nArch-Bishop of St. Louis, and the Rt. Rev. A. Vandevyver, Bishop of\nRichmond, were formerly priests in charge of the Catholic church there.\nThe venerable Dr. Dutton of the Presbyterian church also served there\nand was the hero of a remarkable adventure in the great flood of 1870,\nwhich we have noted elsewhere. The last mentioned there were held in\nextraordinary honor. Many believe that the coming great man of the\nCatholic church in America is Bishop Vandevyver, of Richmond. He is\ncertainly one of God's noblemen.\n\nThere are now serving in the ministry at Harper's Ferry the Reverend\nMessrs. Marsh of the M. E. Church, and Sullivan and Farring of the M. P.\nChurch, also, the Reverend Father Collins, Catholic priest. We have not\nthe pleasure of much acquaintance with any of those gentlemen, but they\nare, we know, men of very high character. Father Collins' father we knew\nwell--a better man never lived and we take him for a guarantee for his\nson's excellence. We have been thrown a good deal into company with the\nReverend J. D. Miller of the Protestant Episcopal church, and in our\njudgment, he is a gentleman of profound learning and a high degree of\npolish and amiability. We always listen with high pleasure to his\nconversation, the more so because he never tries to convince his hearers\nthat he \"knows it all,\" although it is plain that he knows a great deal,\nand that the day is not far off when he will make a very distinguished\nmark. He is making it now.\n\nIn giving the names of Harper's Ferry-born clergymen we might have\nmentioned Father William Lynch, pastor of the Catholic church at\nRoanoke, Virginia, who, if not quite a native of Harper's Ferry came\nvery near having that claim on us. He was born and brought up at\nHalltown, within four miles of Harper's Ferry, and those four miles\ndeprived the ancient village of the honor of being his birthplace, and\nus of the credit his education would have conferred on us. He is,\nhowever, regarded by us as one of our own, and the author is as glad of\nthe great success the good father has met and is meeting with as if he\nhimself had made him as he made the others. From this rather extended\nnotice of the ministers of religion to the credit of Harper's Ferry it\nmust not be inferred that the place is not entitled to the honor of\nhaving produced other men of marked ability who adorn other professions.\nSome sixty years ago was born in Bolivar, a suburb of the place, the\nHon. E. Willis Wilson, an eminent lawyer of Charleston-on-the-Kanawha.\nThe civil war broke out just at the time when he had got a fair\neducation and his studies were, of course, interrupted for a time. His\nnative energy, however, was too much for any obstacle and as soon as the\nreverberation of the cannons ceased around his native place, he went to\nwork at the study of law, entered politics, and was chosen to fill\nvarious places of honor and trust until he was elected governor of West\nVirginia, and was inaugurated on the same day that saw the same ceremony\nfor President Cleveland. The election of Governor Wilson was the more\nremarkable for the violent opposition to him on the part of all the\nmonopolies in the state and his was a triumph for the right as well as\nfor himself. His administration was a model one and as he is young\nenough for further usefulness, the people of West Virginia will not lose\nsight of him.\n\nAnother native of the place has risen to eminence in the law. The Hon.\nJames D. Butt was brought up under some disadvantages in the matter of\neducation, caused by the civil war but, as he was young enough at the\ncessation of hostilities to resume his interrupted studies, he made up\nfor lost time. He is now Referee in the Bankruptcy Court of his native\ndistrict.\n\nIn medicine, too, Harper's Ferry has many sons to be proud of. William,\nGeorge and Robert Marmion, three sons of Dr. Nicholas Marmion, were\nthemselves famous physicians and surgeons, especially in diseases of\nthe eye and ear. The second--George--died some two years ago, but the\noldest--William--is still practising in Washington City, and ranks among\nthe very highest in the profession. The youngest--Robert--is in the U.\nS. Navy. They were all our pupils in the long past.\n\nAnother pupil of ours is Dr. Joseph Tearney, now employed by the B. & O.\nrailroad. He has practised a good deal at this, his native place, and,\nalthough he is yet a young man, he has, and justly has the reputation of\npossessing wonderful skill in his profession. Personally, he is\nemphatically a \"good fellow\" with a big, generous heart, as is well\nknown to many a needy patient. So, with his acknowledged ability, the\nconfidence he inspires, and the magnetism that draws every one to him,\nhe cannot fail to become a veritable celebrity. And he, too, was a pupil\nof ours. He never forgets the old tie and the \"old man\" is very much the\nbetter for the remembrance.\n\nWe would be ungrateful indeed if we forgot Drs. Howard and Claude\nKoonce, young physicians, natives of Harper's Ferry and two of our old\npupils. They are sons of Mr. George Koonce, prominent in the politics of\nWest Virginia. They stand very highly in their profession and are\nwhole-hearted young men.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\n    1871-1903\n\n    ESTABLISHED 32 YEARS\n\n    JOHN W.\n    BISHOP\n\n    WHOLESALE GROCER\n    AND\n    MERCHANT MILLER\n\n    MARTINSBURG,--WEST VA.\n\n    ASK\n    YOUR\n    GROCER\n\n    [Illustration]\n\n    BEST FOR\n    EVERY\n    PURPOSE\n\n    PRIDE OF BERKELEY\n    CREAM OF WHEAT\n    GOLD DUST\n\n    [Illustration]\n\n    FLOUR\n\n\n\n\n    Dime Museum\n\n    [Illustration]\n\n    If you fail to see SPENCER'S DIME MUSEUM when\n    visiting Historical Harper's Ferry, you will have\n    missed an opportunity that you will ever regret.\n    Having had a mania for\n\n    RELICS\n\n    at a very early age much valuable time in fifty years\n    has been spent in collecting the largest private collection\n    in the United States.\n\n    Traveling Salesmen, Tourists, and Strangers generally have\n    expressed their surprise upon viewing such\n\n    =An Immense Aggregation=\n\n    A. SPENCER\n\n\n\n\n    T. M. CONNER, Prop.      A. A. LAMON, Clerk\n\n    =HOTEL\n    CONNER=\n\n    $2.00 Per Day and Upward\n\n    Steam Heat\n    Artesian Water\n    Electric Lights\n    Electric Call Bells\n    Hot and Cold Baths\n    Good Meals\n    AMERICAN PLAN\n\n    _HEADQUARTERS FOR TRAVELING MEN, FOR\n    WHOM A LARGE SAMPLE ROOM IS PROVIDED\n    ON FIRST FLOOR. FISHERMEN PROVIDED\n    WITH GUIDES AND BAIT AT SHORT NOTICE_\n\n_=THIS HOTEL=_ Has just been completely renovated throughout, is located\nin the business part of the town and convenient to trains :: :: ::\n\n    =HARPER'S FERRY=\n    WEST VIRGINIA\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nBALTIMORE AND OHIO'S MAIN LINE THROUGH HARPERS FERRY WAS A MUCH\nFOUGHT-OVER PRIZE IN CIVIL WAR DAYS\n\n\nOn October 17, 1859, John Brown and his small band of followers, swooped\ndown on Harpers Ferry. The B & O right-of-way was the scene of the first\nfighting and two railroad employees were among the first casualties.\nUpon arrival of the eastbound night passenger express at Harpers Ferry\nthe train was surrounded by a cordon of riflemen. In the darkness a shot\nwas fired and Station Porter Haywood Sheppard fell, dying. During the\nwild firing Station Master Beckham also was killed.\n\nWhen word of this incident reached the B & O President, John W. Garrett,\nhe immediately notified the Secretary of War. To quell the uprising, a\ndetachment of ninety Marines, under Colonel Robert E. Lee, was sent to\nthe scene. The Abolitionist leader, and his followers, were captured\nafter a pitched battle, and Brown was tried and hanged on December 2,\n1859.\n\nBecause the Baltimore & Ohio was the main east-west link available to\nthe Government for the movement of its soldiers, the B & O carried much\nmilitary freight and many troops during the Civil War years. At the\nstart of the war the railroad operated almost normally, running through\nareas held by both armies. But, as the battles progressed, there were\nfrequent interruptions to rail service and repeated damage to B & O\ntracks and equipment.\n\nThe record of the Civil War disaster, from 1861 to 1865, was unequaled\nby the history of any other private industry in America. That the\nrailroad's engineers and workmen rebuilt the road in the face of enemy\ngunfire is a memorable tribute to their skill and courage.\n\nAfter the end of hostilities, thousands of troops traveled over the full\nlength of the B & O main line, from Washington, D. C. to Parkersburg, W.\nVa., where they boarded steamers for Cincinnati, Louisville and other\nriver cities.\n\n\n\n\n1958 Patrons\n\n\n    Mrs. S. Hawpe Adams                                  Leesburg, Va.\n    Geraldine (Kern) Basore                             Frederick, Md.\n    Mrs. Irene McFaden Benjamin                      Lewisburg, W. Va.\n    Anne Hobbs Betts                                   Alexandria, Va.\n    Raymond Bresnahan\n      (grandson Capt. Chas. Briggs)                     Hinsdale, Ill.\n    Capt. Charles Briggs                                Hinsdale, Ill.\n    Roy Spencer Butts\n      (nephew Fannie Baden Loman)                      Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mrs. James F. Cassell                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Chas. Joshua Cavalier, Sr.                        Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Chas. Joshua Cavalier, Jr.                   Shepherdstown, W. Va.\n    Cyrus Wakefield Cavalier                     Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    David Taylor Cavalier                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Frank Schilling Cavalier                     Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Kenneth Kemp Cavalier                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Kenneth Kemp Cavalier, Jr.                   Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Mary Ann Ridenour Cavalier                        Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Mary Kemp Cavalier                                Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Sarah E. Cavalier                                 Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Miss Alvernon Cross                         Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Col. Cutshaw                                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mary Cavalier Dalgarn                            Washington, D. C.\n    Dorothy Nunnamaker Davis                             Richmond, Va.\n    *Atty. Raymond C. Dickey                     Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Cassandra C. Dittmeyer                             Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *C. Victor Dittmeyer                               Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *George Dittmeyer                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Walter E. Dittmeyer                               Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mrs. C. E. Dudrow                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Castilinia Allstadt Elder               Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Will Erwin                                  Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Aileen O'Boyle Evans                              Mt. Lebanon, Pa.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Paul W. Fishbaugh                   Washington, D. C.\n    Isabel (Kern) Flannagan                           Bakerton, W. Va.\n    *Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Dowden Furtney          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Thomas William Geary                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Sergeant-Major William Joseph Geary\n      (1st. W.W. U.S.M.C.)                       Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Claudia Furtney Geary                   Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Miss Elizabeth Geary                         Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Marie Bresnahan Gillingham                       Washington, D. C.\n    *Miss Jessie Graham                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Laura Chambers Griffin                     Clarksburg, W. Va.\n    James Karl Grubb                                   Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Capt. James W. Grubb                              Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Frank M. Harrison                              Baltimore, Md.\n    Thomas Grove Henkle                               Halltown, W. Va.\n    *Edward Higgins, Confederate Veteran         Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Cora Rockenbaugh Icenhower                       Washington, D. C.\n    Mrs. Walter Jenkins                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Eleanor Knott Johnson                              Alexandria, Va.\n    *Clifford C. Johnson, M.D.                   Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Clifford C. Johnson                     Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Samuel Linden Johnson                              Alexandria, Va.\n    Mrs. Cornelia Marquette Jones                        Bethesda, Md.\n    *O. T. Kemp                                        Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Charles Eugene Kern                         Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Edna Lee (Keyser) Kern                       Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Harry Eugene Kern                                Washington, D. C.\n    Robert M. Knott                              Shepherdstown, W. Va.\n    Marine Krepps                                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Louise Rau Lawson                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Leonard               Harpers Perry, W. Va.\n    Horace Chambers Littlejohn                           Leesburg, Va.\n    Daisy E. Marks\n      (granddaughter Richard Heafer)                   Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Lillie Wentzell Marquette                      Silver Springs, Md.\n    William V. Marmion, Jr.                      Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Mayme Burleigh Marquette                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Fred H. Mauzy                                     Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Dr. Henry T. McDonald                       Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Henry T. McDonald                       Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *George Leferve Marten                       Shepherdstown, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. J. Allan Millar                     Washington, D. C.\n    Miss Frances L. Millard                              Orange, N. J.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Preston S. Millard              Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Preston S. Millard, Jr.               Alexandria, Va.\n    Miss Beatrice Miskimmon\n      (Sponseller and Beale)                           Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Moler                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Miss Mary V. Moler                               Washington, D. C.\n    Miss Nina E. Moler                               Washington, D. C.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Evan A. Nason                          Andover, Mass.\n    Lewis Duke Nichols (great-nephew Todd Duke,\n      Supt. of Arsenal)                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Louise Allstadt Watson Nichols (great-granddaughter\n      John Allstadt, one of Brown's hostages)    Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Harold Nunnamaker\n      (grandson \"Yank\" Nunnamaker)                       Richmond, Va.\n    *J. Walter O'Boyle                                 Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Daniel O'Boyle                                    Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Margaret Schilling Parlon                        Philadelphia, Pa.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert E. Perry                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. John L. Perry\n      (Hildred Marlatt)                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Dr. and Mrs. John L. Perry, Jr.                     Houston, Texas\n    Nancy Cavalier Perry                          Charles Town, W. Va.\n    Thorton Tayloe Perry                          Charles Town, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Lucas Phillips                                  Leesburg, Va.\n    Edna May (Kern) Ramey                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Grace Sponseller Littleton Ramsdell                Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Briscoe Baldwin Ranson, nee Yantis      Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Mrs. Mary Conway Rau                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *W. O. Rau                                   Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mina Krepps Rau                                    Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Mrs. William Reed, nee Dorothy Jones         Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Elinor Virginia Rider                             Halltown, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Mary Brackett Robertson                     Washington, D. C.\n    Mrs. Norman C. Rogers, nee Ranson                  Alexandria, Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Ross                             Tazewell, Va.\n    *J. Frank Schilling                                Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Carrie Gertrude Schilling                         Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Oliver Raymond Schilling                          Pittsburgh, Pa.\n    Margaret Rodgers Schilling                         Pittsburgh, Pa.\n    Robert Rodgers Schilling                           Pittsburgh, Pa.\n    Amos Beaty Sharps                               Lumberport, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. John T. Shirley\n      (Gladys Marlatt)                                 Cumberland, Md.\n    Mrs. Frank Eugene Shugart                    Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Edward Lee Smallwood                         Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Briscoe Smith                                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Dorothy (Kern) Strouse                              Ranson, W. Va.\n    *Mrs. Mary O'Bierne Sullivan                 Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Catharine Beck Tatten                              Pittsburgh, Pa.\n    *Norman T. Thayer                            Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Strother Watson, nee Eackles                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    George L. Weber                                    Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Gov. Willis Wilson                                Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Father William Winston                      Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Hugh A. Winters                                    St. Davids, Pa.\n    *Paul Eugene Winters                         Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Sue K. Winters                                   Falls Church, Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur A. Winters                     Alexandria, Va.\n    DeWitt Wentzell Zook                           Silver Springs, Md.\n    Mrs. Everett K. Clark\n      (Nellie Marlatt)                                   Chicago, Ill.\n    Clarence E. Marlatt                         North Mountain, W. Va.\n    *Charles E. Marlatt                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *William H. Marlatt                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mrs. Monroe B. Hallman\n      (Ruth Marlatt)                           Ogden Dunes, Gary, Ind.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Hough                     Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Dr. W. E. Perry                             Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Lt. Gilbert E. Perry, Jr., U.S.A.F.\n      U.S.M.A. 1946. 1924-1946                   Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Kate Strider Stanley                         Charles Town, W. Va.\n    Loretta (Kern) Thompson                       Charles Town, W. Va.\n    Leon Edwards                                 Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Charles W. Powers                                  Cabin John, Md.\n    Charles Lee Kern                                   Alexandria, Va.\n    John Louis Beck                                    Cleveland, Ohio\n    *Mrs. Julia D. Littlejohn                    Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Clifton W. Littlejohn                       Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Chambers                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Miss Kate Chambers                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Miss Jennie Chambers                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Miss Martha Chambers                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Forrest C. Littlejohn                 Shenandoah Junction, W. Va.\n    *Mary Sites Littlejohn                 Shenandoah Junction, W. Va.\n    *Forrest C. Littlejohn, Jr.            Shenandoah Junction, W. Va.\n    *Paul V. Littlejohn                                   Roanoke, Va.\n    Betty Lou Cavalier\n\n    * Deceased\n\n\nPatrons and Advertisers\n\nAdded in 1959\n\n    *Mrs. Charles E. Marlatt (Wilmoth Headley)        Heathsville, Va.\n    *Mrs. R. Booth Eubank                              Dunnsville, Va.\n    *Walter W. Winters                           Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Edwin G. Winters                             Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *C. Edgar Dudrow                                   Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Mary Emma Dudrow                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Joseph H. Renner                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Prudence Williams Renner                          Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Rezin Shirley Rockenbaugh                   Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Laura Renner Rockenbaugh                    Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Wanda R. Young                                    Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Joseph J. Young                                   Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *William P. Grove                            Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Edna W. Grove                               Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Charles Marvin Smith                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *J. Lyle Eackles                                   Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Alfred and Sarah Burton (Fair)                    Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Gus and Hattie Burton Stewart                     Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Hallie Edna Stewart                               Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Ethel T. Stewart                                Washington, D. C.\n    Chauncey Burton Stewart                          Washington, D. C.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Walter Burton Stewart                Takoma Park, Md.\n    Lt. and Mrs. Robert A. Stewart                    Kansas City, Mo.\n    Howard H. Stewart                                Washington, D. C.\n    Cadet Donald E. Stewart                          West Point, N. Y.\n    *Mary Elizabeth Wilson (Kirby)                     Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *William Fitzgerald Wilson (One of John Brown's prisoners)\n    Agnes Burleigh                               Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Louise Burleigh Thompson                      Charles Town, W. Va.\n    Katheryn Burleigh Pope                       Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    John Burleigh                                    Washington, D. C.\n    *Thomas Burleigh, Jr.\n      (son of Thomas Burleigh, Sr.)              Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Harwood Cauffman\n      (Adelaide Naill)                           Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Cornelius M. Marquette                      Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Daisy Marquette Show                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Catherine Johns Myers                       Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    Mr. and Mrs. W. Clifton Butts\n      (Anna M. Mauzy)                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Wilma Wentzell Zook                               Chevy Chase, Md.\n    *Mr. and Mrs. John Buckey Wentzell\n      (Clara V. Rau)                                   Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Alice Merrick Zook                          Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Blanche (Keyser) Wiseman                          Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Rau                          Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Charles R. Rau                                    Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *William Frederick Stuart                          Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Fannie Decker Stuart                            Washington, D. C.\n    Edna Stuart Aubright                             Washington, D. C.\n    *John A. Stuart                                    Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *James W. Marlatt                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    E. R. (Dolph) Sponsellar                           Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Clara Burton Sponsellar                           Bolivar, W. Va.\n    L. Marie Sponsellar Martin                        Chevy Chase, Md.\n    *Levi Winbert Decker (Confederate Soldier)         Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Frances Ardella Decker                            Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Fitzhugh Lee (Tobe) Decker                               York, Pa.\n    Beulah Glenn Decker Kight                           Arlington, Va.\n    Langdon Backus                                        Armory House\n    *Daniel Henry Nichols                        Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Lucy Shirley McFaden Nichols                Harpers Ferry, W. Va.\n    *Daniel Shirley Nichols                       Charles Town, W. Va.\n    Rita Gaver-Nichols                            Charles Town, W. Va.\n    Frances Minge Nichols Liddell                     New Orleans, La.\n    Joseph McFadden Nichols                            Cumberland, Md.\n    Mr. and Mrs. Eugene P. Andes                      West Newton, Pa.\n    Rev. Alfred P. Collins                             Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Catherine Butts Collins                            Bolivar, W. Va.\n    Nina Filler Butts                                  Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Mr. and Mrs. Kirby L. Frye                        Bolivar, W. Va.\n    H. L. Jones                                        Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Capt. George W. Chambers                          Bolivar, W. Va.\n    *Frances Cutshaw Chambers                          Bolivar, W. Va.\n\n\n\n\n=STORER COLLEGE=\n\n    =The oldest school for colored students in W. Va.\n    Established 1867. Coeducational, Academic,\n    State Normal, Music and Industrial Departments=\n\nBeautiful site, ample buildings, fine libraries, a healthful atmosphere\nand strong faculty make this college an excellent educational\ninstitution for colored youth.\n\nWrite for catalogue\n\n    =HENRY T. McDONALD, A. M., President=\n    =N. C. BRACKETT, Ph. D., Treasurer=\n\n\n\n\nAdded in 1959\n\n\n    =BOLIVAR METHODIST CHURCH=\n\n    =A Century of Christian Science=\n\n    =Dedicated Sept. 26th, 1849=\n\nThe final resting place of an unknown Union Soldier, who, wounded and\nalone, found shelter under the walls of this Church during the bitter\nfighting of the Civil War.\n\n\n    =SAINT JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH=\n\n    =Harpers Ferry, West Virginia=\n\n    =Organized 1848=\n\n    =Pastor I. P. Smeltzer--1850=\n\n    =Pastor L. B. Williamson--1959=\n\n    =Basement of Church used as\n    hospital during Civil War=\n\n\n=CAMP HILL METHODIST CHURCH=\n\nHistoric Camp Hill Methodist Church was organized in 1830, and received\nits name from many camps situated on hill under command of General\nPinkney in 1799. Services have been held continuously, except 1861-65\nbecause of the Civil War. 1867 work started on the present building by\nRev. Jeremiah Clay. Mr. Derrett Coates, loyal member, lost his life\nwhile trying to obtain brick from the armory yard. 1948 the late Mr.\nCharles Smith financed the remodeling to the present building.\n\n\n=ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, HARPERS FERRY=\n\nBegan with five communicants, with Rev. Dr. Andrews, Rector of\nShepherdstown, holding service twice a month, first in the old\nTemperance Hall, and later in the Armory Office. Admitted into the\nDiocese in 1850. In 1853, 26 persons were confirmed. The old church,\nlooking down upon the flowing waters of the two rivers was begun in\n1851--completed and furnished in 1852. During the Civil War the Church\nwas so badly wrecked only walls and roof remained. To Rev. Wm. T.\nLeavell, belongs the credit of gathering the scattered congregation. He\nsecured from the Government, the lot, on which the rectory built in 1899\nnow stands. Old Church was re-built in 1882. A new site was obtained in\nthe western part of town, a new church was erected. Cornerstone of new\nSt. John's laid Nov. 1895. Consecrated by Bishop W. L. Gravatt, March\n19, 1899. Rectory completed 1899.\n\n\n=ST. PETER'S CATHOLIC CHURCH=\n\nEstablished as a mission by Father Dubois about 1792. Church built in\n1830 and rebuilt in 1896. Only church in town to remain open for\nservices throughout the Civil War.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes.\n\n\n=Text= denotes bold in the original. _Text_ indicates italics in the\noriginal.\n\nVariations in spacing, capitalization and hyphenation; variation in\nspellings of names between the main part of the text vs. the lists of\npatrons; variable spelling of \"Alleghany\" vs. \"Allegheny\"; missing towns\nin the lists of patrons; the ordering of the chapter title before the\nchapter number in Chapter II; and lack of chapter title in Chapter I are\nas per the original.\n\nErrors in punctuation have been corrected without note. The following\ntypographic errors have been corrected:\n\n  p. 8   contempt on the busy hive of men below (changed from \"bleow\")\n  p. 9   to see one of them climb (changed from \"clmb\")\n  p. 10  a crow's nest is a comparatively (changed from \"compartively\")\n  p. 12  then unbroken wilderness to fulfill (changed from \"fullfill\")\n  p. 14  that transpired in Mr. Harper's time (changed from \"itme\")\n  p. 14  and another, though a less freshet (changed from \"through\")\n  p. 15  and ninety-five acres on the Loudoun (changed from \"Loudon\")\n  p. 19  into the streets in pursuit of some of (changed from \"some or\")\n  p. 19  pursuit of some of his tormentors (changed from \"tormenters\")\n  p. 19  charge an armorer for medical advice (changed from \"advise\")\n  p. 20  from eastern Virginia, the ancestors (changed from \"ancesters\")\n  p. 20  in 1810, by James Stubblefield (changed from \"Stublefield\")\n  p. 22  man was named Robert W. Daugherty (changed from \"Daughtery\")\n  p. 22  Young Daugherty was a scion of the (changed from \"Daughtery\")\n  p. 25  Twice he had been honorably acquitted (changed from \"acquited\")\n  p. 28  under him, on account of politics (changed from \"poliics\")\n  p. 30  These restrictions were (changed from \"restriction were\")\n  p. 31  do them justice. The octogenarian participants (changed from\n           \"octogenarians participants\")\n  p. 40  succeeded in lifting Chamberlain (changed from \"Chamblain\")\n  p. 41  Chamberlain on the subject, but it is (changed from \"is is\")\n  p. 44  Mr. Beckham was always much opposed (changed from \"Beckman\")\n  p. 47  boarded at the house of Mr. Ormond (changed from \"0rmond\")\n  p. 51  Mr. Thomas Boerly approached (changed from \"approched\")\n  p. 52  passed on strongly impressed (changed from \"impresssed\")\n  p. 53  history, like that of Pocahontas (changed from \"Pocohontas\")\n  p. 53  gratefully remembered than that (changed from \"that that\")\n  p. 58  holes kept up a brisk fusillade (changed from \"fusilade\")\n  p. 58  Martinsburg; Mr. Young, of Charlestown (changed from\n           \"Charestown\")\n  p. 58  Shenandoah streets, where Mr. Boerly (changed from \"Boerley\")\n  p. 59  enemy. He crept along the railroad (changed from \"ralroad\")\n  p. 61  be none by them on the besiegers (changed from \"beseigers\")\n  p. 63  Brown himself was wounded severely (changed from \"severly\")\n  p. 63  This removal and reinterment accomplished (changed from\n           \"reinterrment accomplish-\")\n  p. 65  penknife or even with a minie (changed from \"minnie\")\n  p. 65  he had, all along, communicated (changed from \"communcated\")\n  p. 66  women and children rushed wildly (changed from \"wildy\")\n  p. 67  not molest them. Sandy Hook (changed from \"Hok\")\n  p. 70  succeeded in eluding the vigilance (changed from \"viligance\")\n  p. 73  hoped that honest convictions (changed from \"convections\")\n  p. 74  railroad passengers who, every day (changed from \"everyday\")\n  p. 74  Henrie Kagi, Charles P. Tydd, Oliver (changed from \"Oiver\")\n  p. 75  and helped to give to his aquiline (changed from \"acquiline\")\n  p. 79  William Lehman, who (changed from \"wh\")\n  p. 81  did not see the latter occurrence (changed from \"occurence\")\n  p. 83  it was he that killed Mr. Boerly (changed from \"Boerley\")\n  p. 85  Elsie Kreglow, of the District (changed from \"Distict\")\n  p. 89  over him. Brown coolly (changed from \"cooly\")\n  p. 93  dwelt on his extraordinary (changed from \"extraodinary\")\n  p. 93  The sheriff--Campbell--who officiated (changed from \"Cambell\")\n  p. 93  himself and the gallant nation of (changed from \"of of\")\n  p. 94  ugly scars remained as mementos (changed from \"mementoes\")\n  p. 94  without a scratch and succeeded (changed from \"succeded\")\n  p. 95  and the following gentlemen (changed from \"gentlement\")\n  p. 96  avoid disagreeable repetitions (changed from \"repititions\")\n  p. 97  perhaps, by his consciousness (changed from \"conciousness\")\n  p. 99  hands of the United States troops (changed from \"State\n           stroops\")\n  p. 100 many of those who participated (changed from \"patricipated\")\n  p. 100 Kentucky and other southern (changed from \"souther\")\n  p. 100 mostly of rough, Ohio boatmen (changed from \"boastmen\")\n  p. 102 crowds of soldiers on the platform (changed from \"plaform\")\n  p. 103 signal example of vengeance (changed from \"vengence\")\n  p. 107 Henderson--wounding him severely (changed from \"severly\")\n  p. 109 see the rapid demoralization (changed from \"demorilization\")\n  p. 109 certain parties pursuing the thieves (changed from \"theives\")\n  p. 110 learning this accomplishment so necessary or at least (\"so\n           necessary or at least\" repeated in original)\n  p. 111 day aiding Beauregard at Manassas (changed from \"Manasas\")\n  p. 119 major's office. Many and various (changed from \"varius\")\n  p. 120 property as the trestle buttresses (changed from \"butresses\")\n  p. 121 suspicions, it is believed (changed from \"belived\")\n  p. 123 Friday and Saturday, September (changed from \"Septemeber\")\n  p. 125 foundation in fact, but is (changed from \"is is\")\n  p. 127 spirit which he afterwards exhibited (changed from \"exhibted\")\n  p. 128 superiors. He was a great (changed from \"geat\")\n  p. 128 terror of sutlers (changed from \"suttlers\")\n  p. 130 injuring any one, and then (changed from \"the\")\n  p. 132 the State of Ohio a (changed from \"as\")\n  p. 133 the protection of the Baltimore (changed from \"Balitmore\")\n  p. 133 switch key, they transferred the (changed from \"the the\")\n  p. 134 orders with the aggravation (changed from \"aggravaton\")\n  p. 136 was surprised and taken prisoner (changed from \"prsoner\")\n  p. 137 claim on the chronicles (changed from \"chonicles\")\n  p. 138 hide himself in some bullet-proof (changed from \"bullet-poof\")\n  p. 138 of General Lee at Appomattox (changed from \"Appomatox\")\n  p. 139 would increase and, finally, a motley (changed from \"motly\")\n  p. 140 a native of Hesse Darmstadt (changed from \"Darmstdat\")\n  p. 142 theme of this little book will flourish (changed from \"fourish\")\n  p. 144 of those three extraordinary (changed from \"extraodinary\")\n  p. 145 Chief Justice Chase presiding at the (changed from \"a tthe\")\n  p. 148 necessary to rebuild at Harper's (changed from \"Haper's\")\n  p. 150 has no other merit, it commands (changed from \"command\")\n  p. 150 best view of Harper's Ferry, to choose (changed from \"chose\")\n  p. 153 to which he was clinging with (changed from \"wth\")\n  p. 153 clinging with the proverbial (changed from \"proverbal\")\n  p. 154 around it. At length, his (changed from \"His\")\n  p. 159 mingled with hysterical screams from (changed from \"form\")\n  p. 159 any exertion to save himself (changed from \"hmself\")\n  p. 161 put in a sharp rejoinder (changed from \"rejoiner\")\n  p. 163 when Mr. Williams and his (changed from \"an dhis\")\n  p. 164 instances, the very foundations (changed from \"foundatons\")\n  p. 164 their industry and unobtrusive (changed from \"unobstrusive\")\n  p. 165 and the remains were forwarded (changed from \"forwaded\")\n  p. 169 Munchausen immediately transferred (changed from \"transfered\")\n  p. 170 did not suffer much from this flood (changed from \"food\")\n  p. 173 by any victory for the canal company (changed from \"comjany\")\n  p. 179 profession in West Virginia, Maryland (changed from \"Marylang\")\n  p. 179 stranger called at Livingstone's (changed from \"Livingtone's\")\n  p. 180 was listening to the conversation (changed from \"conversaton\")\n  p. 187 and looked around inquiringly (changed from \"inquriingly\")\n  p. 202 Dime Museum (changed from \"Musuem\")\n  p. 202 If you fail to see SPENCER'S DIME MUSEUM (changed from \"MUSUEM\")\n  p. 206 Louise Allstadt Watson Nichols (great-granddaughter) (changed\n           from \"great-grandaughter\")\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"The Strange Story of Harper's Ferry, with Legends of the Surrounding Country","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":75477}