Bolivar Heights Battlefield

Bolivar Heights witnessed more battle action than any other location at Harpers Ferry. The first battle of the Civil War at Harpers Ferry occurred at Bolivar Heights on October 16, 1861, exactly two years after the commencement of the John Brown Raid. Alarmed by Union forces in the new Confederacy, especially along the Potomac River, a Confederate force under Col. Thomas Ashby struck Union Col. John Geary's men at Bolivar Heights. Many Confederates were angry over the Union seizure of a local flour mill, which provoke some of the fighting but soon after the Confederate attack, Geary held the location and forced a Confederate retreat. Confederate Commander Stonewall Jackson's arrival produced the second battle at Bolivar Heights on May 30, 1862 during Jackson's famous Valley Campaign. Jackson had routed all Union soldiers in the Shenandoah Valley, except those at Harpers Ferry. Alarmed at Jackson's successes, Washington reinforced the Union forces at Harpers Ferry by sending Brig. Gen. Rufus B. Saxton to Bolivar Heights to defend the Union position. Jackson attacked Bolivar Heights during a ferocious thunderstorm, but Saxton's position on Camp Hill was held and Jackson retired under the cover of darkness. Siege cannon from the Naval Battery on Maryland Heights plummeted Jackson's men as they advanced across the heights through the town of Bolivar, damaging numerous homes.