The Enemy Among Us, War of 1812

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News Release Date: April 7, 2017
Contact: Melinda Day, 304-535-6063

On Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23, 2017 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park invites the public to experience a living history event at the town’s oldest structure, the Harper House, which was a recruitment station during the War of 1812.  

The structure was run as Williamson Tavern and it was a place where military recruitment was conducted by the 12th Regiment in an attempt to stop the British Invasion. The Tavern, built by Robert Harper in 1782, was run by Basil and his young wife Margaret, a Harper descendant who encouraged sixty thirsty Armory workers to enlist and defend hearth and home. Margaret and her family were politically and financially powerful within the growing industrial town. But with the advance of the British forces, her family lived in fear of slave insurrection and a possible British attack on the federal armory.

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