Harpers Ferry

The Trust worked to save this 13-acre tract of land on the Harpers Ferry battlefield that holds the historically significant Allstadt's Tavern.

The farm and tavern sit atop 13 acres of land that historian and preservationist Dennis Frye has termed the "geographic epicenter" of the battle, and is only a few moments ride from Stonewall Jackson's battlefield headquarters at Harpers Ferry.

Numerous family members are buried in a small cemetery on the grounds, including John and Mary Allstadt's daughter, Sarah Cromwell. The gravestone reads: "In memory of Sarah E., wife of Henry Cromwell, & daughter of John and Mary Allstadt, who died March 25, 1862, Aged 24 years, 2 Mo. & 3 days."

The vital transportation hub of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and surrounded by three towering heights, became a hotbed for conflict during the Civil War.

Fresh from Bleeding Kansas, in October 1859 abolitionist John Brown staged a raid on the Harpers Ferry arsenal, hoping to distribute weapons to enslaved Virginians and begin a slave revolt.

When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, U.S. forces burned the armory and drowned its machinery. Despite their efforts, much machinery was salvaged and used to supply the Confederate armies.

Jackson carefully placed artillery aimed at Harpers Ferry on the heights surrounding the town. In the face of concentrated Confederate artillery fire, the garrison at Harpers Ferry surrendered.

Today, Harpers Ferry has been preserved by the National Park Service and the Civil War Trust. The Civil War Trust has saved 325 acres of battlefield land at Harpers Ferry.