National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

PO Box 65
Harpers Ferry WV 25425

304 535-6748 phone
304 535-6244 fax

Harpers Ferry NHP News Release

Release Date: Immediately
Contact: Marsha B. Wassel
Phone: 304 535-6748

A Soldier’s City: Harpers Ferry 1864

On Saturday and Sunday, July 8-9, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park will present A Soldier’s City: Harpers Ferry 1864. Members of the 142nd Pennsylvania living history group will portray Union soldiers and civilians as they present the story of military occupation of Harpers Ferry in 1864. Union General Philip Sheridan controls the town as he prepares his army for fighting in the Shenandoah Valley. 1864, the last year of war, brought tremendous hardships to the citizens caught between the North and the South. Visit the Provost Marshal’s Office, Dry Goods Store, Stipes Boarding House, the Guard House, Soldier’s Rest, Quarter Master’s Depot and Roeder’s Confectionery. Join the military as they post a guard mount, question prisoners and look for disloyal citizens. Ranger-guided tours will be offered at 12:00 noon, 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Special programming will be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Harpers Ferry, important militarily, suffered constant occupation and action throughout the American Civil War. In August of 1864, this town became the launching point for Union General Philip Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, whose primary objective was to seek and destroy Confederate forces under the command of Confederate General Jubal Early. A secondary objective was to destroy the food supplies in the Valley that provided sustenance to the Army of Northern Virginia. Sheridan successfully completed both objectives. His work was so thorough that one soldier remarked, “a crow would be well advised to take its own provisions if it intended to fly across the valley.”

For additional information, call the park’s Information Center at 304-535-6029.

-NPS-

Updated: Wednesday, 05-Jul-2006 14:00:31 Eastern Daylight Time
www.nps.gov /archive/hafe/new/nr-soldiers-city-2006.htm
Author: Marsha B. Wassel

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