Battle of Harpers Ferry

| Battle of Harpers Ferry

| Began:|

September 12, 1862

|

| Ended:|

September 15, 1862

|

| Location:|

Jefferson County, Virginia (now West Virginia)

|

| Theater:|

Eastern Theater

|

| Campaign:|

Maryland Campaign

|

| Outcome:|

Confederate victory

|

Combatants

Federal arsenal garrison

Jackson's Corps,
Army of Northern Virginia

Commanders

Dixon S. Miles
Colonel, USA

Thomas J. Jackson
Major General, CSA

Strength

14,000

| |

71,699 [1]

|

Casualties

217
Killed: 44
Wounded: 173
Captured: 12,419

287
Killed: 39
Wounded: 248

Learning that the garrison at Harpers Ferry had not retreated after his incursion into Maryland, Lee decided to surround the force and capture it. He divided his army into four columns, three of which converged upon and invested Harpers Ferry. On September 15, after Confederate artillery was placed on the heights overlooking the town, Union commander Col. Miles surrendered the garrison of more than 12,000. Miles was mortally wounded by a last salvo fired from a battery on Loudoun Heights. Jackson took possession of Harpers Ferry, then led most of his soldiers to join with Lee at Sharpsburg. After paroling the prisoners at Harpers Ferry, A.P. Hill’s division arrived in time to save Lee’s army from near-defeat at Sharpsburg. (NPS summary)

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Busey and Martin, p. 260. "Engaged strength" at the battle was 71,699. McPherson, p. 648, lists the strength at the start of the campaign as 75,000.

v • d • e

Maryland Campaign, September 1862

Harpers Ferry \-- South Mountain \-- Antietam \-- Shepherdstown

v • d • e

Battles of the American Civil War: 1862

Eastern Theater|

Cockpit Point \-- Hancock \-- Roanoke Island \-- Elizabeth City \-- New Bern \-- Fort Macon \-- 1st Kernstown \-- Hampton Roads \-- Yorktown \-- South Mills \-- Williamsburg \-- Eltham's Landing \-- McDowell \-- Princeton Court House \-- Drewry’s Bluff \-- Front Royal \-- 1st Winchester \-- Hanover Court House \-- Seven Pines \-- Tranter's Creek \-- Cross Keys \-- Port Republic \-- Oak Grove \-- Beaver Dam Creek \-- Gaines' Mill \-- Garnett's and Golding's Farms \-- Savage's Station \-- Glendale \-- White Oak Swamp \-- Malvern Hill \-- Cedar Mountain \-- 1st Rappahannock Station \-- Manassas Station Operations \-- Thoroughfare Gap \-- 2nd Bull Run \-- Chantilly \-- Harpers Ferry \-- South Mountain \-- Antietam \-- Shepherdstown \-- Fredericksburg \-- Kinston \-- White Hall \-- Goldsborough Bridge

Western Theater|

Middle Creek \-- Mill Springs \-- Fort Henry \-- Fort Donelson \-- Island Number Ten \-- 1st Memphis \-- Shiloh \-- Siege of Corinth \-- 1st Chattanooga \-- 1st Murfreesboro \-- Richmond, KY \-- Munfordville \-- Iuka \-- Corinth \-- Hatchie's Bridge \-- Perryville \-- Hartsville \-- Jackson, TN \-- Chickasaw Bayou \-- Parker's Cross Roads \-- Stones River

Trans-Mississippi Theater|

Roan's Tan Yard \-- Valverde \-- Pea Ridge \-- Glorieta Pass \-- Stanwix Station \-- Albuquerque \-- Peralta \-- Picacho Pass \-- Dragoon Springs \-- Saint Charles \-- Cotton Plant \-- Apache Pass \-- Moore’s Mill \-- Kirksville \-- Compton's Ferry \-- 1st Independence, MO \-- 1st Sabine Pass \-- 1st Galveston \-- Lone Jack \-- 1st Newtonia \-- Old Fort Wayne \-- Island Mound \-- Clark's Mill \-- Cane Hill \-- Prairie Grove

Lower Seaboard Theater|

Fort Pulaski \-- Forts Jackson and St. Philip \-- New Orleans \-- Secessionville \-- Simmon's Bluff \-- Tampa \-- Baton Rouge \-- 1st Donaldsonville \-- Saint John's Bluff \-- Georgia Landing