Follow along as we take a hike and climb the Civil War era hill of the "Upper Town" section of Harper's Ferry, WV. Here we see the current church, St. Peter's Catholic Church, built around 1833. 

Legend suggests that it survived artillery damage during the Civil War because its leader, Father Costello, would fly the Union Jack to dissuade either the Northern or Southern army from bombing the church.   

The following images will continue our hike up the mountainside and show the remains of the St. John Episcopal Church. Built in 1845, then altered in 1852, the church operated for a short time as a barracks and a hospital before being destroyed by the Civil War. Rebuilt again in 1882, membership could not support the building or the body of the church and so it was sold in 1895.

This view from the interior of the church looking towards the front and what is believed to be the remains of the pulpit and bell tower shows an amazingly preserved example of craftsmanship from the mid-late 1800s.  

Here is the view of the confluence from one of the window openings in the front of the church. One can see where the Potomac river as it curves from the left and northern waters meet western as they turn east towards the Atlantic ocean.

Creeping vines and weeds now coat the walls of one of the rear corners of the church as park visitors can sneak through the glass-less window openings and former doorways to get a look at life from over 150 years ago. Still visible from under the brush and foliage are the header stones that supported the stones above the fragile glass inserts.

The exterior view of the church as hikers and tourists make their way up the trail. Likely the same path parishioners took each Sunday for worship.    

Past St. Peter's and St. John's Churches, further up the incline, is "Jefferson's Rock". This is the cliff where the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, stood on October 25, 1783 (18 years before his presidency) and described the grandeur of the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers as "worth the voyage across the Atlantic".

"...you stand on a very high point of land; on your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountains a hundred miles to find a vent; on your left approaches the Potomac, in quest of a passage also. In the moment of their junction, they push together against the Atlantic."   

-Thomas Jefferson, describing his view from this very point.

A major stop on a tourist's list when visiting Harper's Ferry today, this spot was also used to view the confluence by other historically prominent names such as John Quincy Adams in 1834 and Bill Clinton in 1998!

Here is the view of the confluence thousands of people get to see every year since Thomas Jefferson! The spire of St. Peter's Church peeks out from the mountainside as the Sandy Hook Bridge of US-340 spans the Potomac, giving modern day travelers easier access between Maryland and Virginia.

Almost to the apex of the mountainside is just above Jefferson's Rock is Harper Cemetery. Here is Robert Harper's 1782 burial plot. Harper founded the town when he was sent to survey and construct a meeting house in the Shenandoah Valley near what is present day Winchester, VA. 

This image shows how the town was built with the surrounding landscape. Boulders, cliffs, and outcroppings were utilized in the construction of buildings and access points such as the "Appalachian Trail Staircase", a series of steps cut into the hillside from "Lower Town" starting at the corner of Shenandoah and High Streets and ending in front of Robert Harper's home and St. Peter's Catholic Church.