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THE STRANGE STORY OF
HARPER'S FERRY
WITH LEGENDS OF
THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY
BY
JOSEPH BARRY
A resident of the place for half a century
PRINTING HISTORY
1st Printing By Thompson Brothers, Martinsburg, W. Va. 1903
2nd Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District
(Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,
Shepherdstown, W. Va.) 1958
3rd Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District
(Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,
Shepherdstown, W. Va.) 1959
4th Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District
(Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,
Shepherdstown, W. Va.) 1964
5th Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District
(Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,
Shepherdstown, W. Va.) 1967
6th Printing Published By The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry District
(Printed By The Shepherdstown Register, Inc.,
Shepherdstown, W. Va.) 1969
Copyright, 1903, by
JOSEPH BARRY
PREFACE
The =real story= of Harper's Ferry is sad, and but little less wild and
romantic than the old-time legends that abound in the long settled
country around. The =facts= of the story we give with scrupulous
=exactness=. We, ourselves, have witnessed many of the most important
incidents narrated and, for what happened before our time, we have the
evidence of old settlers of the highest character and veracity.
The =legends= are =consistent=, even though they may have no other claim on
our consideration. They never have more than one version, although one
narrator may give more facts than another. The narratives never
=contradict= one another in any material way, which goes to show that
there was a time when everybody around believed the main facts.
THE AUTHOR.
[Illustration: JOHN BROWN'S FORT]
THE STRANGE STORY OF HARPER'S FERRY
CHAPTER I.
Harper's Ferry, including Bolivar, is a town which, before the war of
the late rebellion, contained a population of about three
thousand--nine-tenths of whom were whites. At the breaking out of
hostilities nearly all the inhabitants left their homes--some casting
their lots with "the confederacy" and about an equal number with the old
government. On the restoration of peace, comparatively few of them
returned. A great many colored people, however, who came at various
times with the armies from southern Virginia, have remained, so that the
proportion of the races at the place is materially changed. Also, many
soldiers of the national army who married Virginia ladies, during the
war, have settled there and, consequently, the town yet contains a
considerable number of inhabitants. The present population may be set
down at sixteen hundred whites and seven hundred blacks. The village is
situated in Jefferson county, now West Virginia, at the confluence of
the Potomac and the Shenandoah, at the base and in the very shadow of
the Blue Ridge Mountain. The distance from Washington City is fifty-five
miles, and from Baltimore eighty-one miles. The Baltimore and Ohio
railroad crosses the Potomac, at the place, on a magnificent bridge and
the Winchester and Potomac railroad, now absorbed by the Baltimore and
Ohio, has its northern terminus in the town. The Chesapeake and Ohio
canal, also, is in the immediate neighborhood. Within the last twelve
years, the place has become a favorite summer resort for the people of
Washington City and, from about the first of June to the last of
October, it is visited by tourists from every part of the northern
states and Europe.
The scenery around the place is celebrated for its grandeur, and Thomas
Jefferson has immortalized it in a fine description composed, it is
said, on a remarkable rock that commands a magnificent view of both
rivers and their junction. The rock itself is a wonderful freak of
Nature and it is regarded by the inhabitants with pride for its being a
great natural curiosity, and with veneration on account of the tradition
among them that, seated on it, Jefferson wrote his "Notes on Virginia."
It is, therefore, called "Jefferson's Rock." It is composed of several
huge masses of stone, piled on one another (although the whole is
regarded as one rock) the upper piece resting on a foundation, some
years ago, so narrow that it might easily be made to sway back and forth
by a child's hand. It is supported now, however, by pillars placed under
it, by order of one of the old armory superintendents, the original
foundation having dwindled to very unsafe dimensions by the action of
the weather, and still more, by the devastations of tourists and
curiosity-hunters. It is situated on the south side of "Cemetery Hill,"
behind the Catholic church, the lofty and glittering spire of which can
be seen at a great distance, as you approach from the East, adding much
beauty to the scene. The first church building there was erected in 1833
by Father Gildea. In 1896 the old edifice was torn down and a beautiful
one substituted, under the supervision of the Rev. Laurence Kelley.
There can be no doubt that =this= church, at least, is "built on a
rock," for there is not soil enough anywhere near it to plant a few
flowers around the House of Worship or the parsonage, and the worthy
Fathers have been obliged to haul a scanty supply from a considerable
distance to nourish two or three rosebushes. If "The Gates of Hell" try
to prevail against =this= institution they had better assault from
above. There will be no chance for attacking the foundation, for it is
solid rock, extending, no one knows how far, into the bowels of the
earth or through them, perhaps, all the way to the supposed location of
those terrible gates themselves.
On one side, the Maryland Heights, now so famous in history and, on the
other, the Loudoun Heights rise majestically, and imagination might
easily picture them as guardian giants defending the portals of the
noble Valley of Virginia. The Maryland Heights ascend in successive
plateaus to an altitude of thirteen hundred feet above the surrounding
country, and two thousand feet above the level of the sea. The Loudoun
Heights are not so lofty, but the ascent to them is difficult and,
consequently, as the foot of man seldom treads them, they present the
appearance of a more marked primeval wildness than the Maryland
mountain--a circumstance which compensates the tourist for their
inferiority in height. Between these two ramparts, in a gorge of savage
grandeur, the lordly Potomac takes to his embrace the beautiful
Shenandoah--"The Daughter of the Stars," as the Indians poetically
styled this lovely stream. It will be seen, hereafter, however, that
this usually serene and amiable damsel, like the daughters of men, is
subject to occasional "spells" of perversity, and that, when she =does=
take a tantrum she makes things lively around her. The former river
rises in western Virginia and, tumbling from the Alleghany Mountains in
an impetuous volume, traverses the northern extremity of the Valley of
Virginia, forming the boundary between "The Old Dominion" and the State
of Maryland. At Harper's Ferry it encounters the Blue Ridge, at right
angles, and receives the tributary Shenandoah which, rising in the upper
part of the great valley, flows in a northerly course, at the base of
the same mountain, and unites its strength with the Potomac to cut a
passage to the Ocean. This is the scenery of which Jefferson said that a
sight of it was worth a voyage across the Atlantic, and no person with
the least poetry in his soul will consider the praise extravagant. It
is, truly, a sublime spectacle and imagination, when allowed to do so,
lends its aid to the really wonderful sublimity of the scene. On the
rugged cliffs, on both the Maryland and Loudoun sides are supposed to be
seen, sculptured by the hand of Nature, various shapes and faces, the
appearance of which changes with the seasons and as they are concealed
more or less by the verdure of the trees. The giant, dwarf, centaur and
almost every other animal of Nature or of Fable are here portrayed to
the eye of Faith. On one rock, on the Maryland side, is a tolerably well
defined face with an expression of gravity which, with some other points
of resemblance, will remind one of George Washington, and, at almost any
hour of any day, may be seen strangers gazing intently on the mountain
in search of this likeness. Frequently, the Bald Eagle wheels in
majestic circles immediately above this rock and, then, indeed, the
illusion is too agreeable to be rejected by the most prosaic spectator.
George Washington, chiseled by the hand of Nature in the living rock, on
the summit of the Blue Ridge, with the Bird of Victory fanning his brow,
is too much poetry to be thrown away and common sense matter of fact is
out of the question. Of late years, a new feature has been added to the
scene which gives it quite an alpine appearance. Shortly after our civil
war, a man named Reid, who then lived at the foot of the Maryland
Heights, procured a few goats for the amusement of his children. The
goats multiplied rapidly and gradually spread up the side of the
mountain, where their opportunities for mischief in gnawing the bark of
trees and for avoiding the attacks of dogs were practically unlimited.
Their number is now Legion and they frequently gather in great crowds on
the overhanging rocks, always in charge of a dignified old buck, with a
patriarchal beard, and look down placidly and, may be, with contempt on
the busy hive of men below. Perhaps, the old buck often thinks, "'What
fools those two legged mortals be.' They call themselves Lords of the
creation and claim to own us, free sons of the mountain, and even our
neighbor, the eagle, but I would like to see one of them climb up the
face of this cliff and jump from crag to crag as the feeblest of =my=
clan can do. There they go crawling along, and when one of them wants to
travel a few miles he must purchase a railroad ticket for a point to
which my friend, the eagle, could arrive in a few dozen flaps of his
wings without the care and trouble of baggage or the fear of a run-in or
a collision." Such may be and such, it is to be feared, =ought= to be,
the reflections of that old buck.
Before the war, the Loudoun Heights used to be the favorite roosting
place of immense numbers of crows that, during the autumn and winter
foraged all over the Shenandoah Valley and all the rich grain lands east
of the Blue Ridge, as, also, Middletown Valley and the proverbially
fertile region between the Catoctin and the Patapsco. About an hour
before sunset, advance bodies of the vast army would appear from every
direction and, before daylight had died out, it is no exaggeration to
say, the whole sky was obliterated from view by myriads upon myriads of
the sable freebooters. For some reason best known to themselves, these
birds do not, at once, settle down to rest, on arriving at their
encampments, but wheel and circle 'round, as if none of them had a fixed
perch, and, from their deafening and angry cawing, it may be inferred
that, every night, they have to contend for a convenient sleeping place.
Sometimes, it would appear as if they were holding a court, for, bodies
of them are seen, frequently, to separate themselves from the main crowd
and, after conferring, as it were, beat and banish a member--presumably
a criminal--and then return to the rookery. During the war, they
disappeared and, no doubt, sought a more peaceful home. Besides, in
those sad years agriculture was neglected in this region and it may be
supposed that these sagacious birds sought for plenty as well as peace.
Even after the war, they no longer frequented the Loudoun Mountain, but
took to the Maryland Heights, where they may be seen every morning and
evening in the autumn and winter, starting out on their forays or
returning to their inaccessible resting place. Their numbers vary very
much, however, for, during several consecutive years, they will be
comparatively few, while for another period, they will appear in
countless thousands. They always disappear in the spring to fulfill the
great law of increase and multiplication, but, strange to say, a crow's
nest is a comparatively rare sight in the Virginia or Maryland woods,
and as far as the writer is advised, it is the same in the neighboring
states. The farmers are unrelenting enemies of the crows, and they never
neglect an opportunity for their destruction, and the sagacious birds,
knowing this by instinct and experience, no doubt, take special pains to
protect their young by rearing them in the least accessible places. Some
day, perhaps, we will know what useful part the crow takes in the
economy of Mother Nature. That he does something to compensate for the
corn he consumes, no reflecting man will be disposed to deny but what
that service is, certainly, no Virginia or Maryland grain producer
appears to have discovered, if we are to judge from the amount of
profanity heard from those hard-fisted tillers of the soil, when the
subject of crows is mentioned.
At a point unapproachable from any quarter by man and not far from
Washington's profile, is a crevice in the rock which has been ever the
home of a family of hawks that, like the robber knights of old, issue
from their impregnable fortress and levy tribute from all that are too
weak to resist them. They prey on the beautiful and useful little birds
that are indigenous, often extending their ravages to poultry yards. The
only way to destroy them is by shooting them with single bullets, while
they are on the wing, for they fly too high for shot. Their screams are
peculiarly harsh and cruel, and they often mar the peaceful serenity of
a summer evening. The people would compromise with them gladly, if they
would war on the English sparrows, but as far as the author knows they
never do =that=, recognizing, no doubt, and respecting a kindred
depravity. May the shadows of both nuisances grow rapidly less! But,
hold; not so fast. =They= too, perhaps, have their uses in the nice
balance of Nature, and their annihilation might cause an injurious
excess somewhere. How inconsistent, even a philosopher can sometimes
be!
Near the hawks' fortress there is a traditional beehive of immense
proportions. No one has seen it, for, like the hawks' nest, it is
inaccessible to man, but wild bees are seen, in the season of flowers,
flying to and from the place where the hive is supposed to be, and it is
believed that there is a very great stock of honey stored away,
somewhere near, by many generations of these industrious and sagacious
creatures. =They=, too, and the hawks and crows, as well as the goats
and eagles, may have their own opinion of the would-be Lords of
creation, and it may be well for us of the genus homo that we do not
know what that opinion is.
It is supposed by many that the whole Valley of Virginia was, at one
time, the bed of a vast sea and that, during some convulsion of Nature,
the imprisoned waters found an outlet at this place. There are many
circumstances to give an appearance of truth to this theory, especially
the fact that complete sea shells, or exact likenesses of them, are
found at various points in the Alleghany and Blue Ridge Mountains. Be
this as it may, the passage of the rivers through the mighty barrier is
a spectacle of awful sublimity and it well deserves the many panegyrics
it has received from orator and poet. A good deal depends on the point
from which, and the time when, the scene is viewed. The writer would
recommend the old cemetery and 10 o'clock, on a moonlight night,
especially if the moon should happen to be directly over the gorge where
the rivers meet. Then the savage wildness of the prospect is tempered
agreeably by the mild moonbeams, and the prevailing silence adds to the
impression of mingled sublimity, and weird loveliness. Let no one fear
the companionship of the still inhabitants of "the City of the Dead."
They are quiet, inoffensive neighbors and they, no doubt, many a time in
their lives, admired the same scene and, like the men of to-day,
wondered what this whole thing of creation and human existence means.
Perhaps they know it all now and, perhaps, they do =not=. Any way, their
tongues will not disturb one's meditations, and it may be that their
silence will furnish a wholesome homily on the nothingness of this life
and the vanity of all earthly pursuits.
Robert Harper, from whom the place gets its name, was a native of Oxford
in England. He was born about the year 1703 and, at the age of twenty
years, he emigrated to Philadelphia where he prosecuted the business of
architecture and millwrighting. He erected a church for the Protestant
Episcopalians in Frankfort, which edifice, however, through some defect
of title, was afterwards lost to the congregation for which it was
built. In 1747 he was engaged by some members of the Society of
"Friends" to erect a meeting-house for that denomination on the Opequon
river, near the site of the present city of Winchester, Virginia, and,
while on his way through the then unbroken wilderness to fulfill his
contract, he lodged, one night, at a lonely inn on the site of what is
now the city of Frederick, Maryland. While staying at this hostelry, he
met a German named Hoffman to whom, in the course of conversation, he
communicated the business that took him on his journey and, also, his
intention to proceed to his destination by way of Antietam, a name now
so famous in our national history, for the terrible battle fought there
during the late rebellion. Hoffman informed him that there was a shorter
route, by way of what he called "The Hole," and, as an additional
inducement, he promised him a sight of some wonderful scenery. Harper
agreed to go by the way of "The Hole" and, next night, he arrived at
that point and made the acquaintance of a man named Peter Stevens who
had squatted at the place which was included in the great Fairfax
estate. Harper was so much pleased with the scenery that he bought out
Stevens for the sum of fifty British guineas. As, however, he could only
buy Stevens' good will, the real ownership being vested in Lord Fairfax,
he, next year, paid a visit to Greenway, the residence of that nobleman,
and from him or his agent he obtained a patent for the lands formerly
occupied by Stevens on the precarious tenure of squatter sovereignty.
Stevens had held the place for thirteen years and the agents of Lord
Fairfax had experienced great trouble from him. They were, therefore,
very glad to be rid of him. Harper settled down there and established a
ferry, when the place lost the undignified name of "The Hole" and
acquired the more euphonious title of "Harper's Ferry" by which it has,
ever since, been known and by which, no doubt, it will be designated by
the remotest posterity. At that time, there was but one dwelling
there--the Stevens cabin--which was situated on what is now called
Shenandoah street, on the site of the house at present owned by Mr.
William Erwin and used as a drug store, liquor saloon, and a boarding
house. Harper lived in this house, many years, until about the year
1775, when he built one about half a mile farther up the Shenandoah,
where he died in 1782.
Mr. Harper was a man of medium height and considerable physical
strength. He was very energetic and well suited for pioneer life. He
left no children, and his property descended, by will, to Sarah, only
child of his brother Joseph, and to some nephews of his wife, named
Griffith. Sarah Harper was married to a gentleman of Philadelphia, named
Wager. He was a grandson of a German of the same name who, many years
before, had emigrated from the city of Worms in Hesse Darmstadt. Neither
Mr. Wager nor his wife ever saw their Harper's Ferry property, but many
of their descendants were born there and some of them are now living in
the neighboring cities, owning still a considerable estate at their old
home. Of this family was the late venerable Robert Harper Williamson, of
Washington city, the first person having the name of Harper who was born
in the town. The wife of Judge Swaim, a few years ago of the Supreme
Court of the United States, was one of the Wager family and their son
was General Wager Swaim, much distinguished in the Union army during the
late rebellion. Just as this goes to press we learn of his death.
Mr. Harper was interred on his own property and his moss-grown grave is
yet to be seen in the romantically situated cemetery that overlooks the
town--the same heretofore mentioned, as affording the best point from
which to view the scenery. By a provision of his will, several acres of
land were bequeathed to the place, as a burial ground--his own grave to
be in the centre--and now, a very large number sleep their dreamless
sleep in a beautiful though until lately a sadly neglected cemetery
around the founder of the village.
Few of the events that transpired in Mr. Harper's time are recorded.
Shortly after building the house on Shenandoah street he erected a large
stone dwelling on what is now called High street. This house yet stands
and occasionally it is occupied by some of his heirs. He experienced
great difficulty in finishing this building, owing to a scarcity of
mechanics, nearly all the able-bodied men of the place and neighborhood
having gone to join the army of Washington. It is recorded that an
intimate friend of Mr. Harper, named Hamilton, lost his life in this
house, by an accidental fall and this tradition, coupled with the age of
the house, gives a sombre character to the building. At the time of Mr.
Harper's death, therefore, there were but three houses at "The Ferry."
In 1748, there was a great flood in the Potomac, which, according to
some memoranda left by the founder of the place, drove him from the
house he then occupied--the Stevens cabin--and another, through a less
freshet, called "The Pumpkin Flood," is recorded as having occurred in
1753. The latter derived its name from the great numbers of pumpkins
which it washed away from the gardens of the Indians who, then, resided
in scattered lodges along the two rivers.
It is said that, at the commencement of the Revolution Mr. Harper's
sympathies were Tory, but that, soon, he espoused the cause of his
adopted country.
In 1794, during the administration of =General Washington=, Harper's
Ferry was chosen as the site of a national armory. It is said that the
great Father of his Country, himself, suggested it as the best location
then known for the purpose, having visited the place in person. This is
a tradition among the people and, if it is true, it is characteristic of
the most sagacious of men. The water-power at the place is immense, some
people supposing it to be the finest in the world. The Valley of
Virginia and that of Middletown, as well as the fertile plains of
Loudoun, gave promise of an abundance of the necessaries of life and,
perhaps, with the eye of prophecy, he saw railroads penetrating the
wilderness of the Allegheny regions and transporting its then hidden
mineral treasures to aid in the proposed manufacture of arms. In the
year above mentioned Congress applied to the General Assembly of
Virginia for permission to purchase the site and, by a vote of the
latter, leave was granted to buy a tract, not exceeding six hundred and
forty acres. Accordingly a body of land containing one hundred and
twenty-five acres was bought from the heirs of Mr. Harper. This tract is
contained in a triangle formed by the two rivers and a line running from
the Potomac to the Shenandoah along what is now called Union Street.
Another purchase was made of three hundred and ten acres from a Mr.
Rutherford. The latter tract is that on which the village of Bolivar now
stands. In some time after, Congress desiring to obtain the benefit of
the fine timber growing on the Loudoun Heights and not deeming it proper
to ask for any further concessions from the State of Virginia, leased in
perpetuity of Lord Fairfax, proprietor of "The Northern Neck," the right
to all the timber growing and to grow on a tract of thirteen hundred and
ninety-five acres on the Loudoun Heights immediately adjoining Harper's
Ferry.
Thus prepared, the government commenced the erection of shops, and in
1796, a Mr. Perkins, an English Moravian, was appointed to superintend
the works. He is represented as having been an amiable, unsophisticated
man, and tradition still tells of his simplicity of dress and
deportment. During his time, nothing of moment occurred at the place.
The town was yet in its infancy, with very few denizens, and, as the
period antedates the time of that venerable personage--the oldest
inhabitant--very little is known of what took place during Mr. Perkins'
administration. One or two centenarians, now a few years deceased,
however retained some faint remembrance of him and another Englishman,
named Cox, who had been for many years employed under him as a man of
all work, and who had followed him to Harper's Ferry from southern
Virginia, where Mr. Perkins had formerly resided. On one occasion, Cox
was required by his employer to attend to his--Perkins'--garden which
was overrun with weeds. For some reason, Cox did not relish the job, but
gave, however, a grumbling consent. Next morning, Cox commenced weeding
and, towards evening, he presented himself to Mr. Perkins with the
information that "he had made a clean sweep of it." The master was much
gratified and he told Mrs. Perkins to give Cox a dram of whiskey for
which the latter had a good relish. On visiting his garden next day, Mr.
Perkins discovered that, sure enough, Cox had made a clean sweep. The
weeds were all gone, but so were cabbages, turnips, carrots and
everything else of the vegetable kind. In great wrath, he sent for Cox,
charged him with every crime in the calendar and, with a kick on the
seat of honor, ejected him from the house, at the same time forbidding
him to show his face again around the works. Cox retreated hastily,
muttering "the devil a step will I go--the devil a step will I go." He
made his way to the shop where he was usually employed and, the
good-natured Perkins, soon forgetting his anger towards his old
follower, "the devil a step," sure enough, did Cox go from Harper's
Ferry. Sir Walter Scott relates that a Scotch nobleman once addressed
him in the following words an old and spoiled servant of his family who
had given him mortal offense. "John, you can no longer serve me.
Tomorrow morning either you or I must leave this house." "Aweel,
master," replied John, "if y're determined on ganging awa, we would like
to ken what direction ye'll be takin." No doubt, the same relations
existed between Mr. Perkins and Cox as between the nobleman and his
servant.
In 1799, during the administration of John Adams, in anticipation of a
war with France, the government organized a considerable army for
defense. A part of the forces was sent, under General Pinkney, into
camp at Harper's Ferry, and the ridge on which they were stationed has
ever since been called, "Camp Hill." It runs north and south between
Harper's Ferry and Bolivar. When the war cloud disappeared many of the
soldiers settled down at the place. A good many had died while in the
service, and their bodies are buried on the western slope of Camp Hill.
Although the mortal portion of them has mingled, long since, with Mother
earth, their spirits are said to hover still around the scene of their
earthly campaign and "oft in the stilly night" are the weird notes of
their fifes and the clatter of their drums heard by belated Harper's
Ferryans. The colored people who appear to be especially favored with
spirit manifestations, bear unanimous testimony to these facts, and it
is well known that some fine houses in the neighborhood were, for many
years, without tenants in consequence of their being supposed to be
places of rendezvous for these errant spirits. Once, over forty years
ago, the writer spent a winter's night in one of these houses, in
company with a corpse and the recollection of the feelings he
experienced, on that occasion, still causes the few hairs he has
retained to stick up "like the quills of the fretful porcupine." The
deceased was a stranger who had taken temporary possession of the house
and had died there very suddenly. He had been keeping bachelor's hall
there and, as he had no relatives at the place, a committee of
charitable citizens undertook the care of the remains, and the writer,
then a young man, affecting some courage, was detailed to watch the
corpse for one night. The house had an uncanny reputation, any way, and
a corpse was not exactly the companion a man would choose to stay with,
in a haunted house, but the writer was then courting and desired to rise
in the estimation of his girl, and this nerved him to the task. He held
to it, but, gentle reader, that was a very long night, indeed, and even
such fame as he acquired on that occasion and the approval of his loved
one would, never again, be inducement enough for him to undergo a
similar ordeal. But the spirits of the soldiers behaved with commendable
decency on the occasion and "not a drum was heard" or fife either. The
corpse, too, conducted itself discreetly but, dear reader, that night
was a very long one notwithstanding, and the daylight, when at last it
did appear, was enthusiastically welcomed by the quaking watcher.
At that time--1799--a bitter war existed between the Federalists and
Republicans, and a certain Captain Henry, in General Pinkney's army is
said to have taken his company, one day, to Jefferson's Rock and ordered
them to overthrow the favorite seat of Jefferson, his political enemy.
They succeeded in detaching a large boulder from the top which rolled
down hill to Shenandoah street, where it lay for many years, a monument
of stupid bigotry. This action was the occasion for a challenge to
mortal combat for Captain Henry from an equally foolish Republican in
the same corps, but the affair having come to the ears of General
Pinkney, he had both of the champions arrested before a duel could come
off, very much to the regret of all the sensible people in the town who
expected that, if the meeting was allowed to take place, there would be,
probably at least, one fool the less at Harper's Ferry.
Opposite to Jefferson's Rock and on the Loudoun side of the Shenandoah,
there grew, at that time a gigantic oak which had been, from time
immemorial, the eyrie of a family of eagles. Jefferson, while at the
place, had been much interested in these birds and after his election to
the presidency, he sent a request to Mr. Perkins that he would try to
secure for him some of their young. At Mr. Perkins' instance, therefore,
three young men named Perkins--the superintendent's son--Dowler and Hume
ascended the tree by means of strips nailed to it, and, after a terrible
fight with the parent birds, they succeeded in securing three eaglets.
They were forwarded to the president and, by him, one of them was sent
as a present to the King of Spain who, in return, sent a noble
Andalusian ram to Mr. Jefferson. Being forbidden by law to receive
presents from foreign potentates, the president kept the animal in the
grounds around the White House, as a curiosity, but the ram being very
vicious, and the boys of the city delighting to tease him, he, one day,
rushed into the streets in pursuit of some of his tormentors and killed
a young man, named Carr, whom he unfortunately encountered. Mr.
Jefferson, therefore, advertised him for sale, and thus was the first of
that breed of sheep introduced into America.
Some time during Mr. Perkins' administration, a singular character came
to reside at Harper's Ferry. His name was Brown and he was supposed to
be a native of Scotland. He had served as a surgeon in the American
army, during the Revolution. He was a bachelor and as, in addition to
the profits of his profession, he drew a pension from the government, he
was in good circumstances and able to indulge in many costly
eccentricities. He lived alone on what is now called High street, and
his cabin was situated on the lot opposite to the present residence of
Mrs. Ellen O'Bryne. A cave, partly natural and partly artificial, near
his cabin, was used as his store-house and dispensary. His
eccentricities were numerous, but the principal one was an inordinate
love for the canine and feline races. No less than fifty dogs followed
him in his daily rambles and made the night hideous in the town with
their howlings. His cats were as numerous as his dogs and they mingled
their melodies with those of their canine companions to the delectation
of his neighbors. A favorite amusement with the young men of the place,
was to watch for the doctor, when he walked abroad, and shoot some of
his dogs--an offense that was sure to earn his bitter hatred. He had
many good qualities and he made it a point never to charge an armorer
for medical advice. He died about the year 1824, and on his death-bed,
he ordered that his coffin should be made with a window in the lid and
that it should be placed in an erect position, in a brick vault which he
had erected in the cemetery, and that it should be left so for nine days
after his burial, when, he said, he would return to life. A person was
employed to visit the vault every day, until the promised resurrection
which did not take place, however, and probably will not, until the
Archangel's trump wakes him up like other people. In time the vault
crumbled to pieces, and, for years, a skull, supposed to be that of the
doctor, lay exposed on the hillside near the site of the vault and
children used it for a play-thing. Alas! poor Yorick!
With Mr. Perkins came, from eastern Virginia, the ancestors of the
Stipes and Mallory families, as well as others who were regarded as
being among the best citizens at the place. In Mr. Perkins' time a
shocking accident occurred in the armory. Michael McCabe, an employe was
caught in the machinery of one of the shops and, as he was drawn through
a space not exceeding eight inches in breadth, of course, he was crushed
to a jelly.
Mr. Perkins died at Harper's Ferry and was interred in Maryland. He was
succeeded, in 1810, by James Stubblefield, a Virginian, and a gentleman
of the true Virginia stamp. At that time, it was deemed absolutely
necessary that the superintendent of a national armory should be,
himself, a practical gun-maker. Mr. Stubblefield, therefore, in order to
satisfy the ordnance department of his fitness for the position, was
obliged to manufacture a gun, he, himself, making all the component
parts. The specimen giving satisfaction, he got his appointment, after a
considerable interregnum. His superintendency was the longest of any in
the history of the armory. It continued from 1810 to 1829, a period of
nineteen years. In 1824, some discontented spirits among the armorers
brought charges against Mr. Stubblefield which occasioned the convening
of a court martial for their investigation. The court acquitted Mr.
Stubblefield and, as he was generally popular, his friends among the
employes gave him a public dinner which was served in the arsenal yard,
in honor of his victory. While the trial was yet pending, a Mr. Lee was
appointed to the superintendency, pro tem, but, on the termination of
the court martial, Mr. Stubblefield was reinstated. During this
superintendency--August 29th, 1821, an armorer named Jacob Carman lost
his life by the bursting of a grinding-stone in one of the shops. A
fragment struck him and, such was the force of the blow, that he was
driven through the brick wall of the shop and his mangled remains were
found several steps from the building.
While Mr. Stubblefield was superintendent, about the year 1818, a
gentleman named John H. Hall, of the State of Maine, invented a
breech-loading gun--probably the first of the kind manufactured. He
obtained a patent for his invention and, the government having concluded
to adopt the gun into its service, Mr. Hall was sent to Harper's Ferry
to superintend its manufacture. Two buildings on "The Island" were set
apart for him, and he continued to make his guns in those shops until
1840, when he moved to Missouri. After this period, other buildings were
erected on the same island, for the manufacture of the minie rifle, but
the place retained the name of "Hall's Works" by which it was known in
Mr. Hall's time. It was, sometimes, called "the Rifle Factory." The
reader will understand by the term "armory," used in this book, the main
buildings on the Potomac. Although both ranges of shops were used for
the manufacture of arms, custom designated the one, "The Armory" and the
other--the less important--"the Rifle Factory" or "Hall's Works." Mr.
Hall was the father of the Hon. Willard Hall, at one time a member of
Congress from Missouri and, during the war, Governor of that state. He
was a high-toned gentleman and a man of great ability. His daughter,
Lydia, was married to Dr. Nicholas Marion, an eminent physician who
resided at Harper's Ferry from 1827 until his death in 1882. Their sons,
William V., and George H., are physicians of Washington, D. C., and are
ranked among the first, as specialists, in diseases of the eye and ear.
Another son, Robert, is a surgeon in the United States Navy. It may be
remarked here, that Harper's Ferry has contributed more than any other
place of the same size to the prosperity of other parts of our country,
especially the West and Southwest, by sending them many distinguished
people. Here, some eighty-five years ago was born, in an old house, now
in ruins, on the bank of the Shenandoah, General Jeff Thompson. "Jeff"
was but a nickname, his proper name being Merriweather Thompson. His
father was, at one time, paymaster's clerk in the armory and was very
highly respected.
Besides the parties above named, Harper's Ferry has furnished many other
eminent men to the West. Some sixty-five years ago, Captain Jacamiah
Seaman, who had resigned his position as captain in the company
stationed at Harper's Ferry, moved to Sullivan county, Missouri. He took
with him a youth to whom he had taken a fancy. The young man was named
Robert W. Daugherty and he had been left by his dying parents in care of
Mr. Martin Grace and his wife, nee O'Byrne. This lady's brother, Mr.
Terence O'Byrne, will figure further on in this history as one of John
Brown's prisoners at the time of that fanatic's famous raid. Young
Daugherty had the consent of his guardians to accompany Captain Seaman,
who was a man of very high standing at the place, and whose
family--originally of Welsh descent--were always held in the greatest
esteem in Virginia. Young Daugherty was a scion of the very warlike and
singularly successful clan of O'Daugherty, who, from time immemorial,
dwelt in the valleys of romantic Inishowen, in the county of Donegal,
Ireland, and who distinguished themselves particularly, in the
sanguinary battles of Benburb and Yellow Ford, fought in the 16th
century, to the utter destruction, by the Irish clans of two powerful
English armies. The name still flourishes in their native country, but
alas, like many others, they =will= drop the O before their name,
regardless of the loss of euphony, and the memory of the many glories
their fathers achieved under the venerable old name. Robert's father was
James Daugherty, a man of great force of character and executive
ability. He was born in Donegal about the end of the 18th century and
died young, of the cholera epidemic at Harper's Ferry, in 1831-1832,
leaving several children. He and his wife who, also died young, are
buried, side by side, in the cemetery attached to Saint John's Catholic
church, Frederick, Maryland, of which they were devoted members. Their
children were put under strict Christian guardianship, and those of them
who lived to maturity married into some of the best families of Virginia
and Maryland. Mary Jane, a highly educated lady, married Hugh Gifford,
of Baltimore. John died, we believe, unmarried, at Memphis, Tennessee,
aged 22 years. Catherine Anne, the third child, died in the Orphans'
House of the Catholic church in Baltimore aged 14 years. Elizabeth
Ellen, the youngest child, married James Wall Keenan, of Winchester,
Virginia, a brave confederate soldier, whose sister, Catherine, married
Charles B. Rouse, the Merchant Prince and gallant soldier of New York.
Robert W. Daugherty, the second son, accompanied Captain Seaman to the
West, as before stated, and, afterwards, married Lydia E. Seaman, sister
of Captain Jacamiah Seaman and Richard S. Seaman who, in the civil war,
served prominently under General T. J. Jackson. Robert W. Daugherty was
the first man in Sullivan county, Missouri, to answer the call of
Governor Jackson for volunteers, when the civil war broke out. He
entered as a private and was elected captain, but refused further
promotion. He served with distinction in the 3rd Missouri Infantry of
the Confederate army. At the close of the war, he surrendered at
Hempstead, Arkansas, and engaged in planting on Red River, Bosier
Parish, Louisiana. He died there on his plantation, June 2nd, 1877,
leaving a son, Jacamiah Seaman Daugherty, now of Houston, Texas, who
married Maggie C. Bryan, of Lexington, Kentucky, daughter of Daniel
Bryan and sister of Joseph Bryan, M. D., who, while in charge of some
hospital in New York, first applied plaster of paris in the treatment of
sprains and fractures. The Bryans are of the old family who accompanied
Boone to Kentucky. A daughter of Robert W. Daugherty--Miss May
Ellen--married Col. Caleb J. Perkins, who distinguished himself as a
fearless fighter under General Sterling Price of the Confederate army.
Col. Perkins is now dead. His widow survives him in Carroll county,
Missouri, with an only son, a young man of great promise, as befits his
gallant father's son and one with the mingled blood of the Seamans of
Virginia and the O'Daughertys of Inishowen, so many whom fought and bled
for their beloved native land on the gory fields of Benburb, Yellow Ford
and many other famous battles.
Nancy Augusta Jane Daugherty married Wesley Arnold, of Bosier Parish,
Louisiana. He was a member of the old Arnold family of Georgia. Her
husband is now dead and she lives with her two promising children--Hugh
and Genevieve Arnold in Terrel, Kaufman county, Texas. Robert Richard
Daugherty disappeared from Daugherty, Kaufman county, Texas, in the fall
of 1889. He left his store locked and his safe had a considerable amount
of cash in it. That was the last thing known of him, except that his hat
was found in a creek bottom, a mile from his store. It is supposed that
he was murdered by a band of thieves, because of his having aided in the
arrest of some of their companions. John Edward, the youngest child of
Robert W. Daugherty, married a Miss Scott in Kaufman county, Texas. He
is now a prominent farmer of Denton county, in that state.
The parties who were instrumental in bringing charges against Mr.
Stubblefield were not yet satisfied and, in 1829, he was subjected to
another trial by court martial. He was again acquitted, after a
protracted hearing and the general sympathy of the community was more
than ever before in his favor. While the second trial was progressing,
his accusers were very active in hunting up evidence against him. They
learned that Mr. Stubblefield had obligingly given to a man named
McNulty the temporary use of some tools belonging to the government.
They sought this man and they were much gratified to find that he spoke
very disparagingly of the superintendent. Expecting great things from
his evidence, they had him summoned, next day, before the court martial.
On his being questioned by the prosecuting lawyer, however, he gave the
most glowing account of Mr. Stubblefield's goodness and efficiency. Much
disappointed, the counsel for the complainants exclaimed: "Sir, this is
not what you said last night." "No," replied McNulty, "but what I said
then was nothing but street talk. I am now on my oath and I am
determined to tell the truth." The court and a great majority of the
people were satisfied, before, of Mr. Stubblefield's innocence and his
acquittal was long deemed certain, but McNulty's testimony tended to
throw contempt on the whole prosecution and ridicule is often a more
powerful weapon than reason or logic.
During the second trial, Lieutenant Symington was appointed to the
temporary superintendency, but, as in the case of Lee, at the first
trial, he was immediately withdrawn on the second acquittal of Mr.
Stubblefield, and the latter was again reinstated. The proud Virginian,
however, refused to continue in the office. He had been a benefactor to
the people and had been treated with ingratitude by many. Twice he had
been honorably acquitted by a military tribunal--always the most rigorous
of courts--and, his honor being satisfied, he voluntarily vacated the
superintendency.
In Mr. Stubblefield's time--1824--the "bell shop" of the armory was
destroyed by fire. It got its name from its having the armory bell
suspended in a turret which overtopped the roof. The origin of the fire
was unknown, but it was supposed that some sparks from a fire made in
the yard for culinary purposes, occasioned the accident.
Mr. Stubblefield was succeeded, in 1829, by Colonel Dunn. This gentleman
had been connected with a manufacturing establishment, at the mouth of
Antietam Creek. His was a melancholy history. He was a strict
disciplinarian and, indeed, he is represented as having been a martinet.
The severity of his rules offended several of the workmen, and he paid
with his life a heavy penalty for his harshness. A young man named
Ebenezer Cox, an armorer, had given offense to Lieutenant Symington,
while the latter temporarily filled the office of superintendent, during
the second court martial on Mr. Stubblefield, and, therefore, he was
dismissed by that officer. When Colonel Dunn succeeded to the office,
Cox applied to him for a reinstatement. It is said that the latter
expressed contrition and made submission to Colonel Dunn who, with
violent language, refused to be appeased and displayed great
vindictiveness by threatening with expulsion from the armory works any
employe who should shelter the offender in his house. Cox's
brother-in-law, with whom he boarded, was obliged to refuse him
entertainment, and it appeared as if Colonel Dunn was determined by all
means to force Cox to leave his native town. Thus "driven to the wall"
the desperate man armed himself with a carbine and presented himself at
the office of the superintendent, about noon, on the 30th day of
January, 1830. What conversation took place is unknown, but in a few
minutes, a report of fire arms was heard. People rushed to Colonel
Dunn's office and were met by his wife who, with loud lamentations,
informed them that her husband was murdered. The colonel was found with
a ghastly wound in the stomach, through which protruded portions of the
dinner he had eaten a few minutes before. Being a very delicate,
dyspeptic man, he generally used rice at his meals and a considerable
quantity of this food was found on the floor near him, having been
ejected through the wound, but, strange to say, it was unstained with
blood. When found the Colonel was expiring and no information could be
got from him. Mrs. Dunn was in her own house, opposite to the office,
within the armory enclosure, when the crime was committed, and knew
nothing, except the fact of the murder. She had heard the shot and,
suspecting something wrong, had entered the office and found her husband
as above described, but the murderer had escaped. Suspicion, however, at
once rested on Cox and diligent search was made for him. He was
discovered in the "wheelhouse" and taken prisoner. The arrest was made
by Reuben Stipes. Cox made no resistance and he was immediately
committed to Charlestown jail. The body of Colonel Dunn was buried in
Sharpsburg, Maryland, near the spot where, many years afterwards,
General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate army, stood while directing the
movements of his troops at the battle of Antietam. There is a tradition
that the day of his funeral was the coldest ever experienced in this
latitude. So severe, indeed, was the weather that the fact is thought
to be of sufficient interest to be mentioned in the chronicles of the
place. In the course of the following summer--August 27th--Cox was
executed publicly, near Charlestown, confessing his guilt and hinting
strongly at complicity in the crime, on the part of some others. His
words, however, were not considered to be of sufficient importance to
form grounds for indictment against those to whom he alluded, and there
were no more prosecutions. This murder marks an era in the history of
Harper's Ferry and, although many more important and thrilling events
have occurred there, since that time, this unfortunate tragedy still
furnishes material for many a fireside tale, and the site of the
building in which the murder was perpetrated is yet pointed out, as
unhallowed ground.
Cox is said to have been a remarkably handsome young man of about
twenty-four years of age. He was a grandson of Cox who, in Mr. Perkins'
time, figured in various capacities around the armory and who
particularly distinguished himself at gardening, as before related.
General George Rust succeeded Colonel Dunn in 1830. For the seven years
during which he superintended the armory, nothing of any interest is
recorded. He was rather popular with the employes, and survivors of his
time speak well of his administration. It may be that the melancholy
death of his immediate predecessor had cast a gloom on the place which
operated to prevent the occurrence of any stirring events. It is said
that General Rust spent very little of his time at Harper's Ferry. He
was a wealthy man, owning a good deal of property in Loudoun county,
Virginia, where he lived much of his time, delegating the duties of his
office in the armory to trusty assistants who managed his affairs so as
to give satisfaction to the government. Had he been a poor man his long
stays at home, no doubt, would have excited comment and some busy-body
would have reported the facts to his detriment. As it was, the General
was independent and he enjoyed his otium cum dignitate without any
attempt at interruption or annoyance from tale-bearers.
General Rust was succeeded, in 1837, by Colonel Edward Lucas, a
Virginian of Jefferson county. He was an exceedingly amiable and
generous man, although fiery and pugnacious when he deemed himself
insulted. He was extremely popular and the writer well remembers his
bent form, while he walked or rode his mule along the streets of
Harper's Ferry, lavishing kind expressions on old and young and
receiving in return the hearty good wishes of every one he met. The name
of "Colonel Ed" was familiar as a household word at the place, and, as
he was honored and respected in life, so was he lamented at his death,
which occurred in 1858, while he occupied the position of paymaster at
the armory. While Colonel Lucas was superintendent, the armory canal was
much improved by the building of a permanent rock forebay. A stone wall
also was built, extending from the front gate of the armory to the "tilt
hammer shop"--the whole river front of the grounds--protecting the yard
and shops from high waters and, indeed reclaiming from the Potomac,
several feet of land and adding that much to the government property.
Twelve good dwellings, also, were built for the use of the families of
the employes, and the place was much improved in every respect. During
the exciting presidential contest in 1840, Colonel Lucas was a strong
Van Buren man but, to his honor, he never oppressed any of the men under
him, on account of politics nor was he charged with having done so. In
1847, he was appointed paymaster, an office which he filled until his
death, eleven years afterwards.
It is said of Colonel Lucas that, if any of the mechanics or laborers
employed under him did wrong, he was not inclined to discharge them,
preferring to punish them by administering a sound thrashing. He had
several fist-fights with his men and, although he was a small man, it is
said that he always deported himself well in his combats and generally
came off winner. In any case, he was never known to use his authority as
superintendent to punish any one who had spirit enough to stand up for
what he considered his rights, even if it involved a personal quarrel
with himself. The Colonel owned a good many slaves, nearly all of whom
were of the most worthless description. It was said, indeed, with some
show of reason, that he was virtually owned by his servants. Whenever a
negro, anywhere near Harper's Ferry, had become so unprofitable that his
master determined to sell him to a trader, the slave would appeal to
Colonel Lucas to save him from the slave-drivers and servitude in
"Georgia," which was regarded, justly perhaps, by the negroes as a fate
worse than death. With them "Georgia" was a synonym for all the South.
The good-natured Colonel would purchase the slave, if possible, and,
consequently, he always had the most useless lot of servants in
Virginia. His favorite slave was a diminutive old negro named "Tanner,"
who hardly weighed one hundred pounds, but who, nevertheless, prided
himself on his muscle and was as fiery as his master. One day, Tanner
had a fight with another negro and, while they were belaboring one
another, the Colonel happened to come up, and, seeing his servant in a
tight place, he called out, "Pitch in, Tanner! Pitch in, Tanner!" The
street arabs took up the cry, and it has been used ever since, at
Harper's Ferry, in cases where great exertion of muscle or energy is
recommended. Colonel Lucas was truly a chivalrous man and we will not
see his "like again," very soon.
It is to be noted that Colonel Lucas and his predecessors, with military
titles, were, in reality, civilians, being merely militia officers or
getting the prefix to their names by courtesy. This explanation is
necessary for an understanding of the following:
THE MILITARY SYSTEM.