HARPER'S FERRY.
For some weeks the Thirty-Fourth had remained in Washington, D. C.,
furnishing daily heavy details of neatly equipped men for guard duty;
principally to be employed in guarding the Carroll and Old Capitol
Prisons. During this time the general soldierly deportment of the rank and
file, together with the fine appearance of the regiment on dress parade,
attracted much attention and called forth many complimentary expressions
from the residents of Washington.
But "marching orders" do not stop to take counsel of their subjects, and
on a well-remembered evening in July, 1863, they turned our quiet barracks
into a scene of bustle and confusion. A ride of a few hours over the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad brought us into the immediate vicinity of
Harper's Ferry.
The activity which prevailed throughout our force on the morning of July
14th made it evident to all that a movement across the Potomac was
intended. All needful preparations having been made, a lively cannonade
was opened from the heights above, under cover of which our force embarked
in pontoon boats that were near at hand, and crossing, passed through the
deserted streets up to the higher ground beyond; dislodging a small body
of the enemy which had been holding possession. As the afternoon advanced
a considerable force of cavalry passed through the place, file following
file in a seemingly endless succession, till the eye was wearied with
attempting to take in the living current. Our occupation of Harper's
Ferry, begun under these circumstances, was destined to continue for many
months, with the exception of an occasional brief visit to Martinsburg
towards the close of winter.
Perhaps the most notable incident of our service during these months was a
trip to Harrisonburg, about one hundred miles into Virginian territory,
over that noble production of the road-maker's art, the "Shenandoah Valley
turnpike." This demonstration, which was successfully and safely
accomplished, was doubtless intended as a diversion in favor of the raid
at that time being executed by Gen. Averill, with his much larger force.
Although we were closely followed by a brigade of the enemy, in our rapid
and forced march homewards; yet by the intervention of favorable events,
the friendly shadow of the Maryland heights was reached with no loss from
our hazardous attempt at "bearding the lion in his den," as our adventure
was described by the Richmond _Examiner_.
Our long stay in this town gave many opportunities for examining its
objects of interest, including the Engine House, worthy of note as the
fortress occupied by John Brown while he held possession, during the brief
campaign destined to end so disastrously for those engaged in it. The
ruins of Armory and other buildings made it very evident that an immense
amount of property had been destroyed in the two years in which the spirit
of war had held carnival there.
The climate, through the winter months we spent in this place, seemed to
suggest some New England locality rather than a part of the "sunny South."
Snow storms and bleak, cold winds, find as congenial a home around those
rocky heights as Massachusetts could offer them; at least, such was the
impression made upon the mind of the writer. The sublimity and grandeur of
Nature's works here well repay any effort required to reach an eligible
point of view; but it requires no effort to enable the mind nurtured
"beneath New England's sky" to dwell again, in thought, among its native
hills.
"Once more, O Mountains of the North, unveil
Your brows, and lay your cloudy mantles by!
And once more, ere the eyes that seek ye fail,
Uplift against the blue walls of the sky
Your mighty shapes, and let the sunshine weave
Its golden net-work in your belting woods,
Smile down in rainbows from your falling floods
And on your kingly brows at morn and eve
Set crowns of fire! So shall my soul receive
Haply the secret of your calm and strength,
Your unforgotten beauty interfuse
My common life, your glorious shapes and hues
And sun-dropped splendors at my bidding come,
Loom vast through dreams, and stretch in billowy length
From the sea-level of my lowland home!"
_Whittier._