A Land Divided

A Land Divided. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. , The struggle of today is not altogether for today - , it is for a vast future also. , Abraham Lincoln, You are standing near what was once an international border. During the Civil War, the peak to your left lay within the Union state of Maryland. Loudon Heights to your right was claimed by the Confederate state of Virginia. Slavery divided the nation, and here at Harpers Ferry the two sides clashed over the meaning of freedom., [Aerial photo caption reads] , Virginia's secession from the Union divided North from South along the Potomac River. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Harpers Ferry was home to the national armory and passageway for major railroad lines. These assets made it an important prize of war to both sides., [Inset photo captions read] , The noise of army camp life once disturbed the quiet field before you. Both the Union and Confederate armies used this clearing as a campground and training field at different times throughout the course of the war., Refugees from slavery flocked to the Union encampments in Harpers Ferry. Thousands of formerly enslaved people sought the protection of the Union army. Classified by the army as contraband, they faced an uncertain future.