On September 15, 1862, Confederate forces under Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson captured the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). The surrender of more than 12,000 Federal soldiers was the largest of the Civil War (up to this point) and one of the most complete tactical victories of Jackson’s career.
The operation was a key part of General Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign. After crossing into Maryland, following the Battle of Second Manassas, Lee learned that the sizable Union garrison at Harpers Ferry had not withdrawn. The post sat astride the Shenandoah Valley, threatening Confederate supply and communication lines. In Special Orders 191, Lee divided his army and assigned Jackson the task of taking the town by seizing the three heights which dominated it: Maryland Heights to the north, Loudoun Heights to the east, and Bolivar Heights immediately west of the village.
Jackson divided his command into three columns. Major General Lafayette McLaws’s division fought its way onto Maryland Heights on September 13. Brigadier General John G. Walker’s division occupied Loudoun Heights. Jackson himself led the main body from Frederick, Maryland, crossed the Potomac at Williamsport, captured Martinsburg, and closed in from the west, after a 51-mile march, in less than two days. By September 14, the Federals, commanded by Colonel Dixon S. Miles, were surrounded. Many of Miles’s 12,000–14,000 men were raw recruits.
That night, roughly 1,300 Union cavalry, under Colonel Benjamin F. Davis, escaped across a pontoon bridge and slipped through Confederate lines, later capturing a Rebel ammunition train. The infantry and artillery remaining at Harpers Ferry had no such luck.
At dawn on September 15, Jackson opened a concentrated bombardment from nearly 50 guns posted on Maryland Heights, Loudoun Heights, and positions west of town. Union batteries quickly ran short of long-range ammunition. After a brief council of war, Miles agreed to surrender. Minutes later a Confederate shell exploded near him, mortally wounding the colonel. Brigadier General Julius White completed the formal capitulation about 9 a.m.
Jackson took approximately 12,419 prisoners, 73 cannon, 13,000 small arms, and 200 wagons. Confederate casualties were light—about 39 killed and 247 wounded. The captured Federals were paroled. Jackson immediately marched most of his command to rejoin Lee, near Sharpsburg, arriving in time for the Battle of Antietam, on September 17. Major General Ambrose Powell Hill’s Light Division remained behind only long enough to process the prisoners before following.
The fall of Harpers Ferry allowed Lee to concentrate his scattered army and fight at Antietam, rather than retreat immediately into Virginia. It demonstrated Jackson’s skill at rapid movement, coordination of separated columns, and use of dominating terrain. For the Union it was a humiliating disaster that left McClellan’s Army of the Potomac to face Lee, without the garrison that might have threatened the Confederate rear.
The surrender of Harpers Ferry was a lost opportunity for McClellan. He had already pushed D.H. Hill’s Confederate division from the passes of South Mountain. And while he had sent Major General William B. Franklin’s VI Corps to Pleasant Valley (in an effort to defeat Lee’s scattered forces in detail), the only force remaining there was Lafayette McLaws’s Division – Jackson having already left to rejoin Lee. This created a dilemma for McClellan, as he was already starting to move beyond the passes of South Mountain, towards Boonsboro. Without keeping McLaw’s Division bottled up, he would threaten his left flank. While Franklin had the numbers to defeat McLaws, he, like McClellan, was overly cautious – and SLOW. All these factors would allow Robert E. Lee to have all but one of his divisions (A.P. Hill’s Light Division) reunited behind Antietam Creek – waiting for the deliberate McClellan to offer battle.
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Thank you sharing this. It’s amazing what was accomplished, with little resources. My hubs says men from that era, could easily take today’s men. Interesting.