Under Fire: The Battle of Bolivar Heights, 1862

Date: September 29, 2015
Contact: Melinda Day, 304-535-6063
Contact: John King, 304-535-6064

 On Saturday and Sunday October 10th and 11th, Harpers Ferry Park’s Living History staff and volunteers of the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Artillery Battery D will present federal artillery demonstrations on the battle which led to General Stonewall Jackson’s capture of 12,500 Federal soldiers.  Visitors are invited to witness the power of the Federal artillery that defended the Union garrison during the Siege of 1862. A military camp will be open for visitation on the Bolivar Heights Battlefield from 11am to 4pm.

“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, arriving in time to save Lee’s flank from annihilation during the Battle of Antietam.

Artillery demonstrations are scheduled for 1, 2, and 3pm. Visitors will be shuttled from the Cavalier Heights Visitor Center to the Bolivar Heights Battlefield.

For further information, call Harpers Ferry National Historical Park at [phone].