Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

A Perfect Heap of Ruins

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —

A Perfect Heap of Ruins Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Henry T. McLin, July 1, 2009

1. A Perfect Heap of Ruins Marker

Inscription. Standing here on the night of April 18, 1861, you would have seen billowing smoke as fire raged in the armory workshops upstream. Virginia had just seceded from the United States and Virginia militiamen were advancing on the armory. Vastly outnumbered and unable to defend the armory, U.S. soldiers "set fire to the Carpenter shop & grinding mill, Stocking shop, & the 2 arsenals" leaving the buildings in a "perfect heap of ruins," wrote a local resident. Arriving after the Federals retreated and the fire had consumed most of the 15,000 rifles stored in the arsenal, the Virginia Militia later stripped the armory of its valuable machinery. An Armory worker lamented the destruction of the armory "Our armory is burnt and we have no money and no nothing else."

The armory never operated again.

Civil War-era artifacts excavated here reveal heavy use of the armory site by U.S. soldiers throughout the war. They left behind many items like (clockwise above): eagle breast plate, bullets, uniform insignia, U.S. buckle, bugle mouthpiece.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Military • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is April 18, 1755.

Location. 39°

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19.429′ N, 77° 43.779′ W. Marker is in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in Jefferson County. It can be reached from Potomac Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Harpers Ferry WV 25425, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in the Eastern Panhandle.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Daring Escapes (a few steps from this marker); My Favorite Boat (a few steps from this marker); Home of Joseph Perkins (within shouting distance of this marker); Six Acres That Changed the World (within shouting distance of this marker); Smith and Forging Shop (within shouting distance of this marker); Short-lived Sanctuary (within shouting distance of this marker); John Brown's Last Stand (within shouting distance of this marker); Armory Grounds (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Harpers Ferry.

A Perfect Heap of Ruins Marker in foreground. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Henry T. McLin, July 1, 2009

2. A Perfect Heap of Ruins Marker in foreground.

<i> The Burning of the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, 10 P.M. April 18, 1861 </i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by David Hunter Strother, May 11, 1861

3. The Burning of the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, 10 P.M. April 18, 1861

Image of the burning of the arsenal, as it appeared in Harper's Weekly, v. 5, no. 228 (1861 May 11), p. 293. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 14, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 4, 2009, by Henry T. McLin of Hanover, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 1,485 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 4, 2009, by Henry T. McLin of Hanover, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on December 20, 2014. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.