Under Fire!: Hold the High Ground, 1862

Date: June 9, 2017
Contact: Melinda Day, 304-535-6063

On Saturday and Sunday, June 24-25, the public is invited to witness the power of field artillery that defended the Union garrison during the Siege of 1862. Harpers Ferry NHP's Living History staff will present artillery demonstrations at 1, 2, and 3 p.m., about the battle which led to General Stonewall Jackson’s capture of 12,500 Federal soldiers.  A military camp will be open for visitation on the Bolivar Heights Battlefield from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Shuttle buses will transport people from the park's Visitor Center to the Bolivar Heights Battlefield.

“We are surrounded by enemy batteries,” wrote a Union officer garrisoned at Harpers Ferry on September 15, 1862.  On that day, the 12,500-man Union garrison surrendered to Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.  This military action at Harpers Ferry was the largest surrender of Union troops during the American Civil War.  Following the surrender of Federal troops, Jackson’s men marched northward to join Confederate General Robert E. Lee near Sharpsburg, Maryland and arrived in time to save Lee’s flank from annihilation during the Battle of Antietam.