Military
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The first large-scale Federal occupation of Harpers Ferry began in February 1862. Despite the destruction of the armory and arsenal the previous year, Harpers Ferry remained important in protecting Union communication and supply lines and in deterring Confederate invasions of the North. When the Confederates invaded the North for the first time in September 1862, Robert E. Lee's army had crossed the Potomac River and encamped outside Frederick, Maryland, by September 7. The large Union force at Harpers Ferry, now behind the invading Confederates, threatened Southern communication and supply lines, so Lee divided his army into four parts and sent three columns to capture or destroy the Union garrison there.
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Bolivar, West Virginia · United States
