Six Years of Hell

by Hearn, Chester G.

• ISBN13: 9780807124406
• ISBN10: 0807124400
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr

Summary

Most written accounts of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, during the Civil War era begin and end with John Brown's raid in 1859 and his subsequent hanging. In Six Years of Hell, Chester G. Hearn recounts. in colorful. style the harrowing story of Harpers Ferry's tumultuous war years -- during which it changed hands more often than any town but Winchester, Virginia, and was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Relying heavily or records left by the citizens who weathered the war and the soldiers who garrisoned the town, Hearn treats the civilian experience as fully as he does military activities. He introduces the people who attempted to stay in their homes, protect their possessions, and accommodate the soldiers during the for those stouthearted individuals, the Civil War was truly six years of hell.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	xi
Abbreviations Used in Notes	xiii
Prologue	1	(6)
A Shadow over the Valley	7	(22)
Sowing the Wind	29	(15)
War Clouds Rising	44	(16)
Professor Jackson Comes to Town	60	(19)
The Owls' Mournful Hoots	79	(12)
Frightful Days in the Valley	91	(18)
Colonel Miles Takes Command	109	(17)
Girding for Battle	126	(13)
Jackson Springs the Trap	139	(9)
Mayhem on Maryland Heights	148	(21)
Day of Decision	169	(14)
Changing of the Guard	183	(17)
Springtime in the Valley	200	(20)
Ripples from Gettysburg	220	(11)
Mr. Lincoln's Germans	231	(20)
The Smoky Days of Autumn	251	(10)
Sheridan in the Valley	261	(12)
The Last of the Partisans	273	(14)
Epilogue	287	(6)
Appendix: Chronology of Harpers Ferry, 1859 -- 1865	293	(4)
Bibilography	297	(12)
Index	309