Today is the anniversary of one of the most significant days in Civil War history and West Virginia’s role in it.
On this date in 1862, at the Battle of Harpers Ferry, Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson forced the surrender of a 12,500-man Union garrison. It was the largest single surrender of U.S. Army troops during the Civil War. The victory allowed Jackson to secure a massive stockpile of military supplies before rejoining Robert E. Lee’s forces at the Battle of Antietam.
Military historians still hold Lee and Jackson in high regard for their battlefield tactics, but public perception has generally shifted away from viewing them as chivalrous tragic heroes.
But, however you feel about them, Jackson’s role at the Battle of Harpers Ferry remains a masterclass of military tactics.
Jackson devised a brilliant three-way converging attack on Union forces. Three columns of 26 thousand men simultaneously seized the high ground surrounding Harpers Ferry. The Rebels peered down from the Maryland Heights, Loudoun Heights, and Bolivar Heights and once the Confederate artillery was in place, Union troops below were hopelessly trapped in the crossfire.
Ole’ Stonewall knew this area well, it was his very first field assignment in 1861. Jackson understood Harpers Ferry was in a basin surrounded by dominant high ground and he exploited that Union weakness with spectacular results.
Considering that Jackson’s artillery-driven siege captured more than 12 thousand Union troops, 73 artillery pieces, and more than 13 thousand small arms, Stonewall’s losses were relatively small. Only 39 Rebels were killed at the Battle of Harpers Ferry.
When Union Colonel Dixon S. Miles surrendered his garrison of troops on this date in 1862, it remained the single largest surrender of U.S. forces until the fall of Bataan in 1942.
Stonewall didn’t have much time to celebrate his victory, but history tells us that wasn’t his style anyway.
As soon as the surrender was finalized, Jackson left another colorful Confederate character in his own right, Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill behind to process prisoners, while he led his remaining troops on a night march to rejoin Lee at Sharpsburg, arriving just in time to reinforce the Rebel army for the Battle of Antietam two days later.
What Stonewall Jackson may have lacked in the social graces, he had earned the respect of his opponents on the battlefield. After accepting the surrender at Harpers Ferry, Union soldiers expecting to see a well-groomed stately commander, were surprised to seem a grim figure, in a dusty uniform and worn cadet cap.
One captured Union soldier reportedly said of Stonewall’s appearance,”Boys, he’s not much for looks, but if we’d had him, we wouldn’t have been caught in this trap!”