Six Years of Hell: Harpers Ferry During the Civil War

by Chester G. Hearn

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 on 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 conflict. As Hearn clearly demonstrates, for those stouthearted individuals, the Civil War was truly six years of hell.

Genres: History, Civil War

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

A 1954 graduate of Allegheny College, Chester Hearn served in the U.S. Army and worked in industrial management before becoming an author of books on the American Civil War in his retirement.

Reviews

[W Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. It does have a few errors.

[Reader]

This book was fascinating in the details about what happened in Harpers Ferry before and during the civil war.

[Curmudgeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book on Harpers Ferry from the time of John Brown's raid to shortly after the Civil War. The prose is rather workmanlike, and much of the text seems to simply detail what battalions were where when, and who led them, which is pretty dull when divorced from the context of the surrounding narrative. One finds a new appreciation of Gen. McClellan after seeing how startlingly incompetent other Union officers were--Dixon Miles is a whole horror story unto himself. Various famous figures like Stonewall Jackson, Mosby, & Sheridan flit in and out of the narrative, but never stay for long. Nobody seemed to stay long at Harpers Ferry, including both armies, most of the residents, and the bridges, which seemed to be getting perpetually destroyed the second they had been rebuilt.

A personal peeve of mine about the writing is when the author would introduce a ton of figures in succession, some of whom shared a last name, and would then refer to them in subsequent text by their last names alone, forcing me to go back to the preceding page to try and keep my Sullivans straight.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book on a topic close to home. Despite its importance leading up to the Civil War, its role in the war is largely neglectd by standard texts, and this book gives it its due. Though it does periodically mention it throughout and has one chapter devoted to it, I wish there was more on partisan warfare along the Potomac, which undoubtedly was centered about Harpers Ferry. Still the book is a good overall history and an enjoyable read.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

read in 2008