Confederate Major General "Stonewall" Jackson, from a lower position on Schoolhouse Ridge one thousand yards upriver, could not see this strategic ground, but he remembered the farm from his time as Confederate commander at Harpers Ferry during the first days of the war. Knowing that seizing it would threaten the rear of the Union army atop Bolivar Heights, his men secured the Chambers (Murphy) Farm and the plateau on Loudoun Heights despite overwhelming odds and after overcoming rivers, cliffs, ravines, poor roads, and narrow shorelines. Their success forced the surrender of Harpers Ferry, and with cannon now in close firing range from these surprise positions, Jackson was ready to launch his final attack on the Union forces.
