Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA Slaves’ exile.

At the frontier of West Virginia and Maryland, a tiny hamlet located at less than an hour from Washington, takes you into the middle of the nineteenth century: Harpers Ferry, so called in the honour of Robert Harper, who in 1760, built a ferry that linked the tiny community to civilisation. The three hundred citizens of Harpers Ferry, live in a breathtaking environment at the confluence of the mythical Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, a paradise for hikers, cyclists and climbers. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which runs from Maine to Georgia, is headquartered in Harpers Ferry.



The old part of the village is part of Harpers Ferry Historic Park where about ten buildings accommodate interpretation centers that relate important parts of the Civil War, 1861 to 1865. During this conflict, thousands of Afro-American slaves, having chosen to break their chains, transited Harpers Ferry to get out of the south, to the northern United States, Canadian Maritimes Provinces, mostly in Halifax, and Southern Ontario, in the region of Chatham-Kent. Since 2003, Harpers Ferry is twinned with Chatham, the hometown of my husband Brian.

You must be familiar with the book Uncle Tom’s cabin. This story is true, to a certain extent. You can visit the small museum in Dresden, a village near Chatham, Ontario, where “Uncle Tom” the Reverend Henson lived. The museum will enlighten as to the epic voyage of black slaves arriving from Harpers Ferry and the story of Uncle Tom. You will be thrilled by your visit.



I was born and raised in a 175 year old country inn called Manoir Bellevue, in the village of Les Escoumins, on the north shore of the St-Laurence River, in Quebec, Canada. While writing this chronicle a commemorative plaque that hung at the entrance of Manoir came to mind. I got in touch with Léna, the new owner, to ask her to send me a copy of the text on the plaque: it reads “… the Manoir was a refuge for four Southerners during the American Civil War.” My birth place has a miniscule connection to the fringes of the the Civil War!!!



The famous film «Gone With The Wind» also relates the story of this important chapter of the United States history and its over 600,000 victims. That war was the preamble for the thirteenth amendment (January 31st 1865) abolishing slavery in the U.S. Between 1866 and 1869, the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments gave access to black people to equity and banning of discrimination. President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated in April 1865, did not die in.



Harpers Ferry Civil War Battlefields Koa
343 Campground Road, Harpers Ferry
1-800-562-9497
www.harpersferrykoa.com

Manoir Bellevue
27 rue de l’Eglise
Les Escoumins, P.Q.
G0T 1K0
418-233-3325
www.manoirbellevue.com
auberge@manoirbellevue.com
Prop. Léna St-Pierre
My room (the smallest) is called PIMBINA....sweet dreams!!!