Focus of Action

Focus of Action. Jefferson County in the Civil War. , Jefferson County’s association with significant events in Civil War history began in October 1859, when abolitionist John Brown raided the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Quickly captured, Brown and his followers were brought here to Charles Town and then tried, convicted, and executed. On December 2, 1859, Brown rode by here in a light freight wagon on the way to his execution. George W. Sadler, local undertaker and cabinet-maker who also made Brown’s coffin, owned the wagon., During the war, the county’s position at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley – the “Breadbasket of the Confederacy” – and the proximity of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made it strategically important to both sides. Confederate troops trained in Harpers Ferry in 1861 under Col. Thomas J. Jackson, who returned in September 1862 to capture the Federal garrison just before the Battle of Antietam. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army retreated through the county after the battle, and his wounded filled buildings in Shepherdstown. In July 1864, part of Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early’s army passed through on his Washington Raid. In September, Union Gen. Philip H. Sheridan launched his Valley Campaign from Charles Town., Two notable Charles Town natives served in the war. R. Preston Chew, barely eighteen in 1861, raised an artillery battery and then led horse artillery under Gens. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart. Martin R. Delany (1812-1885), a free black, became a writer, physician, black nationalist, and one of a few black officers in the U.S. Army in 1865; commissioned a major, he held the highest rank., [Sidebar:] , The Jefferson County Museum was founded in 1965 to preserve the local history for future generations. The collection has gradually expanded; today, fully one-third is devoted to the Civil War. Among the historic artifacts displayed are the wagon in which John Brown rode to his execution on December 2, 1859; the flag carried by Stuart’s Horse Artillery under Charles Town native Col. R. Preston Chew; and uniforms and other memorabilia of county residents who served in the war.