Today’s walk had a distinct Civil War theme to it. Harpers Ferry is steeped in that history; the house where Stonewall Jackson was headquartered there was just a few houses away from where I slept. It was a very appealing target, positioned at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in the hotly-contested mid-Atlantic.
I should note that Harpers Ferry is a great treat, a wonderfully preserved historical playground, with whole streets of authentic shops looping along the edge of the river intersection, and then climbing sharply upward to a hilltop with sweeping views of the surrounding area. The Appalachian Trail passes through here–and its headquarters are based here–and additional footpaths spool outward in all directions. And there’s a vegan restaurant in town.
Indeed, it’s so appealing that John Brown made the town his target in an infamous/famous raid in 1859. (In fairness, it was probably the US armory, not the vegan restaurant, that drew his attention.) Brown, a strident abolitionist, sought to set in motion an armed slave insurrection that he hoped would spread throughout the south. Despite a promising start, things quickly went awry for Brown, and he was soundly thumped two days later. Two of Brown’s sons were killed in the raid, while he was subsequently executed for treason.
As I followed the C&O away from Harpers Ferry, after receiving a ride back to the trail by the AT’s “Trail Boss,” I listened to two historians discussing the longer-term consequences of Brown’s raid. They argued that Brown’s raid can rightly be viewed as the event that made the Civil War inevitable. Once southerners’ worst fear–of armed black insurrection, sparked by white northerners–became realized, even in this thoroughly ineffectual manifestation, it ensured the status quo’s permanent disruption.
Despite an obvious, objective failure, John Brown would create the world he wanted. (Well, part of it–there’s a whole lot of uncomfortable stuff bound up in that complex man, too.)
After eight miles on the C&O, I broke with both it and the ADT to veer inland. After so many days of flat terrain, my body was shocked by the sudden climb; I could actually feel it switching gears as I picked up steam. In mere minutes, I had left the quiet woods of the canal and the world opened up widely around me, with close-cropped fields unfolding across the undulating hills.
My destination was the town of Sharpsburg and the adjacent Civil War battlefield of Antietam. As I approached, I encountered the strongest base of support for Trump that I’ve yet seen while walking; indeed, the pairing of Trump and confederate flags were a recurring feature as I moved through Sharpsburg, showing up on a handful of separate occasions. The Battlefield Market, where I stopped for a drink, was also well-stocked with confederate flags.
Meanwhile, the cemeteries were also well-stocked, albeit with something very different. Antietam remains the bloodiest day in the history of the US military, with more than 22,000 casualties. Standing on the hilltop, with the expansive battleground all around me, it’s hard to imagine the maelstrom that engulfed this peaceful farmland on that day. It’s also difficult to grasp how the Union army blew yet another golden opportunity.
As I walked around, I listened to a historian excoriate General George McClellan for his skittishness and lack of a killer instinct. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was as vulnerable as it had ever been in this battle, with the Potomac at its back and little hope of an escape. McClellan had nearly every advantage, including double the troops and far superior intelligence, and even after Lee enjoyed some in-battle successes, he remained at risk. At the critical moment, when McClellan might have finished off Lee, he backed off, allowing the southern forces to (very slowly) retreat.
And yet, historians also note that, for as great a missed opportunity as it was, it may have been the turning point in the war. It triggered Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. That, in turn, kept Britain out of the conflict, when it might have allied with the south. It also finally brought about the end of McClellan’s leadership, bringing Lincoln one step closer to finding a competent general to lead his forces.
Despite an obvious, objective failure, Antietam moved Lincoln closer toward the world he wanted to create.
Leaving Antietam, I passed one last Trump flag, and descended back toward the C&O, which would carry me on to Williamsport.
