D26 NE History Tour

It is amazing what was engineered in the early 1800’s. I thought at first there wasn’t any civil engineers in that day but in fact the first degrees were awarded in 1835. The dams along are amazing and created long lakes through which some of the boats floated after being taken through locks off the canal. And the locks are equally amazing.

We are presently at about lock 25 having passed about 50 of them – most looking almost as good as this one despite them being almost 200 years old. BTW, we did find a few lock keeper homes that are for rent by the US National Park service – which is encouraging although I still wouldn’t invest in the canal renewal project just yet.

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The towpath continued to be incredible and actually prettier with the Potomac getting bigger. At one point the trail was basically attached to the cliff which was the edge of the Potomac. We followed that section for over a mile at the water’s edge or 20 feet or more above it. There was no railing to keep us from killing ourselves going over the edge. Surprising, since we keep everything “safe” in our society today.

The history we passed through involved more than the canal. The Potomac was essentially the line between the North and South in the Civil War. There were multiple campaigns launched by General Lee into Maryland – the North. The South also tried to destroy some of the dams and canal to disrupt the movement of Union goods along the canal. We passed one of the river fords across which one of the campaigns was launched from the South. Obviously, there were battlefields along the way like Antietam. And we are staying tonight in Harper’s Ferry.

The happy history of Harper’s Ferry relates to the Appalachian trail which passes through here at about its halfway point. The AT Conservancy is also headquartered here. The not so happy part is the history of John Brown and his attempt in 1859 to start a slave uprising by arming them with weapons from the federal armory he attacked. It was a failure but it likely set things in motion for war as the way to “resolve” the differences between the North and the South. One of the 14 times the town changed hands in Civil War battles, resulted in the largest surrender of Union troops – something like 12,000. Famous Stonewall Jackson, a confederate general, took possession that time.

The areas we have traveled in on this trip are so rich with history. For us in the west, it is history that predates pretty much everything in the west except some trappers. The Civil War was over before Colorado even became a state. It’s been amazing and wonderful. I’m already feeling miserable that the trip is over tomorrow:).