"Worth visiting Harpers Ferry?" Topic

I'll be flying into BWI on Tuesday before Historicon so I can visit Antietam on Wednesday. I was wondering for those in the know if it's worth visiting Harpers Ferry on the same day or is there little of historical interest left there?

Thanks much!

It is an interesting site now largely devoted to John Brown. My choice would be to spend more time at Sharpsburg rather than split time. Harpers Ferry is a bit awkward to get to from Sharpsburg.

Haven't been to Harper's Ferry, but Antietam battlefield is very nice and there is a lot to see. You could definitely spend the whole day (or two!) there.

I've been to every major ACW battlefield and most of the minor ones. Antietam is my favorite. By far. I agree with others; I'd spend the time at Sharpsburg.

Thomas Jefferson on the view from above Harper's Ferry: "This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic."

Besides the spectacular scenery, there is a very good NPS bookstore in the Old Town of Harper's Ferry, the John Brown sites, and good interpretation of the fighting and surrender in 1862. If you're interested in the whole campaign of Antietam, not just the battle, don't miss Harper's Ferry.

Harpers Ferry is worth a look, but as the others noted, if you are pressed for time, I'd give Antietam first priority.

Ditto

I agree with the others here. If you are physically capable of walking areas of the battlefield, there are a few very good walking tours on part of the Sharpsburg battlefield that really help you understand the action and especially the terrain and how it impacted the fighting and decisions. These include the Millers Cornfield walk (ominous to see Nicodemous Hill over your right shoulder walking the yankee advance), and there is another great one above Burnsides Bridge which takes in the fighting following the 9th Corps capture of the bridge. This one will really help you understand the effectiveness of AP Hills counterattack.

On your way to Antietam, if you've got an extra hour or two, consider stopping off at the small National Battlefield park at Monocacy. nps.gov/mono/index.htm

Not only do you have that famous little battle that saved Washington in 1864…you can also see the field where Lee's orders were "lost" allowing McClellan to concentrate rapidly on Antietam.

Harper's Ferry is a nice diversion as well.

And Gettysburg is only 43 miles (an hour's drive) north of Sharpsburg.

All that said, you can definitely spend a whole day at Antietam.

Been to both on the same trip but I had a months worth of vacation, so time was not an issue. If short on time spend it at Antietam. I spent three days there and could have stayed longer.

I assume that you will have a car. If that is the case, I think that it very much depends on whether you plan on doing some of the walks at Antietam. If you are going to do some walks, then you probably won't have time for Harper's Ferry. If you are just going to do the driving tour and visitor centre, then you would have time to go to HP. HP is spectacularly beautiful. It is also one of those places that you really need to see to understand it. That being said, you don't need that much time there. A couple of hours would be plenty. If you don't think that you will get the opportunity again, I'd go to HP.

Don't know why I put "HP". I meant "HF".

Harper's ferry very good indeed. The re-enactors are informative. Saw a good demonstration of carbine shooting. Some of the buildings have been moved about but overall excellent. Include a nice walk across the railway bridge too.

Antietam is very nice too. A good walk around and pop up the tower. They do carriage rides around the battlefield as well.

Also Monocacy is excellent. Including a good museum. There is a another big late war battlefield down the road from Monocacy too. Maybe somene can remind me of it's name.

Do take plenty to drink and maybe a snack too. Do watch the films, as they make a nice cool break,

I second Antietam, it takes a while to wrap your head around the terrain, but once the map and what you see in the field finally alligns it's almost a delight to trace every bit of the battle in detail.

Went there as a kid so early 70's, visited many a Civil war site as a kid, remember lots from there so must have been a good destination.

I went to Harpers Ferry several times between the 1970s and the 1990s. During that time they consistently were playing up the connection with the John Brown raid and downplaying the Siege of 1862. As the Park Service acquired more of the land in town they imposed rules which to me made it a less desirable place to visit. The last time there I skipped going into town entirely and just hiked Maryland Heights.

If you are visiting Harpers Ferry for the Siege it isn't something you can do in an hour or two on foot alone. It is just too spread out.

I enjoyed Monocacy. It is also a drive and walk battlefield but can be done in a couple of hours, and they are more car friendly than Harpers Ferry. The visitors center when I went was a throwback to what you would have found in the 1960s.

If you only have a day, the that is not enough time to do Antietam properly, as to understand the battle and the terrain impact,one needs to hit the trails, and there are many. If you are going for a cursory view, then do the driving tour and get out and walk around some of the stops. Then you could spend time at Harper's Ferry, which is very much worth it, and has far more than a John Brown focus. There are (as mentioned) some great areas for the 1862 battle, some connections with Lewis and Clark, a great bookstore, and very cool vibe from walking around the old town. I would suggest walking the AT from the old town up to Storer College to get a wonderful view of the area.

When I was 12 years old (early "60s) my parents bought me a cap gun replica (to use the term very loosely) of a rifle musket. It fired cork balls. That is what I remember from the Harpers Ferry visit.

I went there once several years ago. Glad I went, it was well worth the visit, but no need to return.

Thanks all! We will be walking Antietam so I will take your collective advice and just concentrate on that battlefield.

Do some reading prior to the the trip to Antietam. Watch documentaries and if you can game some of the Antietam regimental scenarios. I had been studying the battle since High School. When I was there I didn't need a guide. My Wife was astonished that I knew where everything was. Get a copy of the Army War College Guide to Antietam. Read it and take it with you. We stayed at the Jacob Rohrbach Inn B&B in Sharpsburg. Sharpsburg is interesting to see on foot too.

Another vote for sticking to Antietam. Harpers Ferry is well worth a visit, but not at the expense of Antietam, and Antietam takes all day minimum. I spent 9 hours there and it was not enough.

I've visited Harpers Ferry because I was wargaming John Brown's raid. It was very interesting to see the area in three dimensions, compared to a flat map. If you're not interested in the John Brown aspect, I agree with all the others that you should spend more time at the bigger battlefields.

One further bit of advice. Unless the dining scene in Sharpsburg has improved in the last few years, don't eat dinner there. I ate at a bar because I was too tired to drive over to the Bavarian place in WV. Big mistake, unless you enjoy under-cooked, rotten potatoes.

I like Harpers Ferry. The lower town is largely preserved and run by the NPS. Several of the buildings are open and have displays. The video that shows how rifled muskets were made during that period is very interesting. Modern trains often run through the area as you can wait beside the station, or walk out onto the bridge over the Potomac.

The battlefield areas are beyond the town. Parking is hard, so I'd recommend you park at the Visitor's Center and take the shuttle bus down. NPS runs a pretty good gift shop that has some very good ACW books and books about this very historic town (Lewis and Clark, John Brown's Raid, ACW battles, etc.)

There are hiking trails in the area, or rafting trips down the Potomac river. Find Jefferson's rock where that founding father walked.

I think worth the stop. Yes, Antietam is awesome too.

Hi
I did Antietam last year after Historicon. We stayed in Hagerstown, next day popped into the South Mountain battle visitor center on the way to Antietam, then stayed near Harpers Ferry that night.
We just had a drink in a bar in HF in the evening, then came back the next morning for Breakfast and walked around the old town. But I'm really glad we did it, so yes, try and fit a quick visit into HF.

Two things. One is that HF looked familiar, and then I realised it'd stood in for Fredericksburg in the film Gods and Generals, which I hadn't known before.
Two is, no where in HF Old Town was open for breakfast. There was only one place that did a breakfast sandwich, and when we walked in one of our party said 'OMG, this is the place that featured on TV's 'Hotel Hell' for being so dirty, and that's the eccentric woman that was on the show'

Nick

PS You could drive up from HF to Antietam, just to get a feel of what a feat AP Hills force march was.

Just passing through and noted the title. Curiosity made me "walk" around HF on Google Earth. It looks quite fascinating and well preserved overall. Long way from North Yorkshire, but if I was back in the area once more……