The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his army under Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson surrounded, bombarded, and captured the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).
As Lee's Army of Northern Virginia advanced down the Shenandoah Valley into Maryland, he planned to capture the garrison at Harpers Ferry to secure his line of supply back to Virginia. Although he was being pursued at a leisurely pace by Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, outnumbering him more than two to one, Lee chose the risky strategy of dividing his army and sent one portion to converge and attack Harpers Ferry from three directions. Colonel Dixon S. Miles, Union commander at Harpers Ferry, insisted on keeping most of the troops near the town instead of taking up commanding positions on the surrounding heights. The slim defenses of the most important position, Maryland Heights, first encountered the approaching Confederates on September 12, but only brief skirmishing ensued. Strong attacks by two Confederate brigades on September 13 drove the Union troops from the heights.
During the fighting on Maryland Heights, the other Confederate columns arrived and were astonished to see that critical positions to the west and south of town were not defended. Jackson methodically positioned his artillery around Harpers Ferry and ordered Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill to move down the west bank of the Shenandoah River in preparation for a flank attack on the Federal left the next morning. By the morning of September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly 50 guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights. He began a fierce artillery barrage from all sides and ordered an infantry assault. Miles realized that the situation was hopeless and agreed with his subordinates to raise the white flag of surrender. Before he could surrender personally, he was mortally wounded by an artillery shell and died the next day. After processing more than 12,000 Union prisoners, Jackson's men then rushed to Sharpsburg, Maryland, to rejoin Lee for the Battle of Antietam.[5]
Inquiry[edit]
The War Department appointed a special commission under Major General David Hunter to determine the reasons for the loss at Harpers Ferry. During 15 days of testimony, resulting in over 900 pages of evidence, the commission focused on Miles' competence and loyalty, his defense of the garrison, the action of his subordinate officers, and missed opportunities for escape and rescue.[44]
The commission found that a primary cause of the defeat lay in the actions of Colonel Thomas H. Ford in his defense of Maryland Heights, which it found to be "without ability". Ford's abandonment of his post was seen to be without sufficient cause, and his general military capacity was determined to be of nature as to disqualify him from further military command. General John E. Wool, who as commander of the Middle Department in Baltimore was Miles' superior until he was placed under McClellan's orders, and who had ordered Miles to defend "at all hazards" the indefensible position, received censure for putting Miles in command at Harpers Ferry. General McClellan also came in for criticism for failing to relieve and protect the garrison.[44][45]
Finally, although Colonel Miles was dead, and the commission expressed some reluctance to criticize an officer who could not speak on his own behalf, he was nevertheless described as having "incapacity, amounting to almost imbecility [for] the shameful surrender of this important post." The commission opined that if McClellan's forces had been faster to reach Harpers Ferry, or if Miles had managed to hold on without surrendering so quickly, "the enemy would have been forced to raise the siege, or have been taken in detail."[44]
General Henry Halleck — who, as General-in-Chief had refused McClellan's request to attach the Harpers Ferry garrison to the Army of the Potomac, thus denying him an additional 11,000 troops, and leaving Miles in an untenable situation — was not mentioned in the commission's criticism.[46]
Battlefield preservation[edit]
The Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved 542 acres (2.19 km2) of the battlefield in nine acquisitions since 2002, much of which has been incorporated into the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, which also preserves portions of the battlefield.[47][48][49] Additional areas are preserved within the Harpers Ferry Historic District and the National Register of Historic Places listed B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing.[50]