Harper's Ferry

Harper's Ferry is the site of John Brown's ill-fated stand-off with federal troops in 1859. An abolitionist in the pre-Civil War years, Brown and his men seized the Armory to provoke an uprising of sympathizers and wage a war against slavery. In an episode that would foreshadow battles to come, Brown and his men were overtaken by a U.S. marine force led by Colonel Robert E. Lee. Weeks later, Brown was convicted of treason and hanged in nearby Charles Town.