The next destination on my Virtual Hike was Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

The previous destination on my virtual hike was Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The virtual hike route went through rural areas south of Gettysburg and then down through Maryland toward Harpers Ferry.

It was interesting to see a lot of monuments along the road where events associated with the Battle of Gettysburg took place.

The split rail fences along some stretches of the route looked pretty cool.

As I got closer to Harpers Ferry the virtual hike started following a hiking trail along the route of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

The trail crossed over the Potomac on an old railroad bridge. This was the spot where the original Harpers Ferry crossed the river.

The virtual hike finally make it to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. There is a lot of history in the area, especially from the mid 1800’s. I spent a lot of time exploring the area through Google Maps while researching this post.

Harpers Ferry has some family significance. My 2nd Great Grandfather Alfred Van Duzor served at Harpers Ferry near the end of the Civil War. He was in the NY 5th Heavy Artillery which was stationed there. He mustered in on September 19, 1864 in New York by which time there were only a few battles left for his regiment. He was mustered out along with the rest of his regiment on July 22, 1865.

My Grandma always had a lithograph by Ward S. Day titled Camp 5th New York heavy artillery Camp Hill, Harper’s Ferry, VA hanging in her living room. The lithograph was created in 1865 when her Grandfather Alfred would have been there.

The next destination on my Virtual Hike is where another historic event took place just prior to the Civil War.

I have been setting shorter distances between destinations for better motivation for my daily walking and so far it has been working. I have been walking more each day and have made good progress on my Virtual Hike. I am still a few stops behind on my posts.

I am now heading west and have some interesting stops planned that are family or history related.

Steven

Images in this post are from Google Maps and Street View