Series 4. Harpers Ferry, Boxes 92-93

This series documents historical events such as John Brown's raid, Civil War battles and skirmishes, and the harassment and arrests of local citizens by occupying armies. There are also items regarding the striking geographical setting of the Harpers Ferry area and its culture. The materials in the series include: narratives, letters, eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, poems, and research reports collected and prepared by the Writers' program staff.

There are several narratives written by Jennie Chambers (ca. 1845-1907) recording events involving Jennie and her family, who lived on Bolivar Heights above Harpers Ferry. These include Jennie's firsthand accounts of:

1. John Brown's raid (located in box 92, folders 5a and 5c, including photocopies of Jennie Chamber's full account as printed in Harper's Monthly, 1902; folders 6a-photocopy and 6c-original newspaper clipping relating an excerpt of Jennie's story);

2. the seizing of the United States Armory by the Virginia militia after the State's secession, and her father's arrest for refusing to yield the armory to the rebels (located in box 92, folders 9a-photocopy, 9b-transcript, 9c-original document);

3. a heroic episode in 1861 when Jennie, running before the enemy, warned Union pickets of approaching Confederate cavalry (located in box 92, folders 9a-photocopy, 9b-transcript, and 9c-original document);

4. Jennie's description of the frightening experience of hiding with her family in their cellar in the midst of the shelling by Stonewall Jackson's artillery during the September 15, 1862 attack, and her amazement of the soldiers' conduct after the Federal surrender (located in box 92, folders 9a-photocopy, 9b-transcript, and 9c-original document).

There are also records documenting events before and after the Civil War, such as a transcript of an 1847 letter from William Shipman of Jefferson County, a United States Army soldier fighting in the Mexican War, regarding the orders from Washington to split up Zachary Taylor's Army (located in box 92, folders 2a-photocopy, and 2b-transcript).

Other notable items in the Harpers Ferry series include:

a transcript of a 1914 interview with John Thomas Allstadt, who was taken hostage by John Brown's raiders in 1859 (Allstadt, 18 years old at the time, was held with his father and others as hostages in the engine house at Harpers Ferry. His eyewitness account of the two day ordeal includes descriptions of the Marines charging the engine house and the capture of John Brown.) (located in box 92, folders 6a-photocopies, 6b-transcripts, and 6c-original clipping);

an original 1895 letter from Kate Field to Mrs. Lightner regarding Miss Field's choice of the property on Bolivar Heights for the relocation of John Brown's Fort (The fort had been targeted for demolition after being on exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and Kate Field raised both public awareness and funds to rescue the fort.) (located in box 92, folders 8a- photocopy and transcript, 8b-original);

a narrative relating the last minute reprieve of three Union deserters as they faced a firing squad on Camp Hill, Harpers Ferry (located in box 92, folders 10a-photocopy, 10b-transcript, 10c-original document);

original and transcripts of letters regarding three brothers, Samuel, Collin and Charles Noland, all Confederate soldiers (Two brothers were POWs at Fort Delaware and one brother was mortally wounded soon after writing to his mother from camp on 20 September 1863.) (located in box 92, folders 11a-photocopies, 11b-transcripts, and 11c-original).