Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Harper's Ferry is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in West Virginia. Directly across the Potomac is state of Maryland, and across the Shenandoah is the state of Virginia.

Harper's Ferry is most famous for John Brown's raid in 1859. Since a Federal arsenal was located here, Brown and his men (including Harry Flashman) hoped to seize the arsenal weapons and ultimately arm slaves for a rebellion to obtain their freedom. They held the town for 36 hours until they were either killed or captured by U.S. Marines commanded by Robert E. Lee.

Over the course of the Civil War, the town changed hands several times, and the armory was destroyed. Now the lower part of the town by the rivers is part of the National Park while the upper area is privately owned and features shops that cater mostly to tourists.

While working there, our quarters were the entire second floor of the Master Armorer's House (shorter building facing the street in the left hand photo below) which was built in the 1850's. The first floor was a museum displaying the firearms produced at Harper's Ferry while it was a Federal armory.