Tuesday, August 4, 2020

From a hurricane to Harper's Ferry

Vanlog, Hollywood Inn and Casino at Charles Town Races, Charles Town, WV
August 4, 2020

After the passing of Tropical Storm Isaais, which did not hit us too badly, the sun came out and there was a cool breeze. We left Lancaster around 4 PM for the two-hour drive to Harper's Ferry, WV, arriving shortly after six. We parked at the historic train station and walked along the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in this amazingly scenic historic town. The town once harbored an armory and was a strategic rail junction during the Civil War. In 1859, John Brown organized a raid on the town, hoping that his little band of rebels would incite the surrounding slaves to join in an uprising against the town. Making the critical mistake of allowing a train to pass and sound the alarm, Federal troops under the direction of Robert E Lee came to quell the rebellion. John Brown and his men made their last stand in a firehouse at the end of the town. He was captured, tried, and hanged in nearby Charles Town for treason. Stonewall Jackson and John Wilkes Booth were both present at the hanging. 







We cooked a nice meal consisting of shrimp and summer squash in the van and then ate our dinners on the bench overlooking the view above of the old railroad bridge. Then we drove to nearby Charles Town and boondocked in the parking lot of the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. 


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