This walking tour came out of our youngest son’s history class last week. They were studying the history of John Brown in West Virginia. So I decided we would go for a walk and visit historical sites in person to learn more deeply. Alistaire loves these walks and happily came along.
While John Brown’s acts predate the Civil War, his actions were directly tied to it a few years later. As an abolitionist, he was known for violent acts, hoping that a revolt against the system would erupt. What you make of that, that is up to you – and to studying history. He did get his revolt, in some ways, within a few short years.
He had already killed 5 men 3 years earlier, when in October of 1859, he led the raid on the Federal Armory at Harper’s Ferry. 7 men died in this, and eventually 15 were dead from the event. He was arrested (captured) by Robert E. Lee, who was then in charge of the US Marines. He was put on trial for treason against the US Federal government and found guilty.
Our day started at the courthouse in Charles Town, WV – the seat of Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle. In 1859, this was still part of Virginia.
The town was named after Charles Washington, George’s brother. (For historical reference, the Bee Line is the march the men did in the Revolutionary War in 1776, starting at Morgan’s Grove, 2 miles from my house)
Charles Town is a historic delight of Colonial era buildings, but also Victorian era. It is a very walkable town; the only really busy road is Washington Street, the main commercial thoroughfare.
Around the courthouse, a number of signs and interpretive plaques are available for reading.
A sign in desperate need to be replaced, about Charles Washington and the town. The Washington family was big and a huge influence in the area, long after they all died. George Washington came to the area as a young man after he began working for Lord Fairfax (the only peer of the British nobility to come to the colonies and live there permanently). Fairfax inherited a gift from the crown of England and actually ran with it, and George rode with him doing the surveys when he was a young man.
But to come back to the trial, it was held in the courthouse. They were found guilty of treason.
The second trial mentioned on the board? That is a whole other topic for later exploring…..one we have studied at home (which involved Mother Jones).
As I have mentioned, Charles Town is great for walking. Park the car. Get out and go. There is SO much history to see – most of which is reachable by sidewalks.
The Washington Heritage Trail goes through Charles Town. It is a beautiful drive through Berkeley Springs. The Jefferson County Courthouse is on the trail. If you really want to learn more about how the Washington clan and Fairfax formed the future of Jefferson County, it is worth the time to drive, stop, and get out at various places. I have a tag for places we have visited on it.
After studying the plaques, we started walking on Washington, a block away, to Charles Street.
The Charles Town mosaic was done in 2018, on Charles Street. The artist, Isaiah Zagar, recently passed away on the 19th.
Joh Brown has a feature on the mosaic.
We turned back, walked the block, crossed Washington, headed up a block on George, then a block down Congress, and a right onto Samuel. 3½ blocks lead you to the Gibson House.
This is where the US government built the scaffold to hang the men on.
More history to read.
West Virginia Civil War Trails has a sign in the house’s side yard. It’s interesting to note who was here for the hangings – Stonewall Jackson was here, as was John Wilkes Booth. That one shocked me; I had no idea he had been there.
The home was built in 1891, a Victorian masterpiece. Gibson was the Virginia militia leader at the time of the hanging.
In 1859, this area would have been less populated, with homes spread far apart. When you look back, you can see the town below you and even the Allegheny Mountains far across the Shenandoah Valley. Supposedly, from the top of the house, you can see Harper’s Ferry.
After reading all the signs, we walked up to the next block and cut through on what would have been an alleyway long ago, now Mason Street.
Sitting on the corner of Mason and George Streets is Confederate Obelisk #18. These markers are nearly always hard to reach because of their locations. This one is right on the sidewalk, so easy to visit.
In 1910, for the 50th anniversary of the Civil War, 25 obelisks were installed across Jefferson County by Confederate veterans. I’ve also visited #9.
Its history is “The UCV marked this obelisk as representing Charles Town during the entire war, but the accompanying pamphlet highlights engagements of May 16, 1863, October 18, 1863, and November 29, 1864. All three engagements were successful raids by Confederates against Union troops in Charles Town. ”
What you take away from these events is the deep history of a dark time. Time has healed a lot, but maybe not enough.
~Sarah