Daring Escapes

During the Battle of Harpers Ferry, this boat ramp was the scene of two escapes. Under cover of darkness on September 14, 1862, 1,400 Union cavalrymen fled on horseback down the ramp and crossed a pontoon bridge into Maryland. The next day, after Confederates captured the remaining 12,500 Union soldiers, Confederate soldiers began dragging away free black laborers who were working for Union Colonel William Trimble's regiment, falsely claiming the Union was stealing their slaves. Trimble answered, "My men are unarmed - I am not. Unhand them!" then ordered, "Regiment march," and quickly moved both the laborers and the soldiers past the Confederate guards, down the ramp, and across the bridge to safety in the North.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia · United States