Harpers Ferry NPS -

Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in the lower Shenandoah Valley, where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet. 

1859-Oct-16, the abolitionist John Brown led a group of 22 men in a raid on the armory. Brown attacked and captured several buildings, hoping to secure the weapons depot and arm the slaves, starting a revolt across the South. Brown failed to rally the slaves to revolt. The first shot of the raid mortally wounded Heyward Shepherd, a free black man who was a baggage porter for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. US Marines stormed the armory, capturing most of the raiders. Brown was hanged in Charles Town on Dec 2

The American Civil War was disastrous for Harpers Ferry, where five battles took place; it changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865.