at a crucial moment , confederate maj. gen. a. p. hill 's division arrived Arriving from harpers ferry and launched Process_start a surprise counterattack Attack , driving Preventing_or_letting back burnside and ending Process_end the battle Hostile_encounter .

`` stonewall '' jackson surrounded Surrounding , bombarded Attack , and captured Conquering the union garrison at harpers ferry , virginia ( now west virginia ) , a major victory Getting at relatively minor cost Cost .

as lee 's army of northern virginia advanced Motion down the shenandoah valley into maryland , he planned Arranging to capture Conquering the garrison at harpers ferry to secure his line of supply Supply back to virginia .

although he was being pursued Self_motion at a leisurely pace by maj. gen. george b. mcclellan 's army of the potomac , outnumbering Expansion him more than two to one , lee chose Choosing the risky strategy of dividing Cause_to_amalgamate his army and sent Sending one portion to converge Come_together and attack Attack harpers ferry from three directions .

col. dixon s. miles , union commander at harpers ferry , insisted on keeping Temporary_stay most of the troops near the town instead of taking up commanding positions Temporary_stay on the surrounding Surrounding heights .

jackson methodically positioned Placing his artillery around harpers ferry and ordered Request maj. gen. a.p .

john brown 's raid on harpers ferry ( also known as john brown 's raid or the raid on harpers ferry ) was an 1859 effort by abolitionist john brown to initiate an armed slave revolt in southern states by taking over a united states arsenal at harpers ferry , virginia .

john brown 's raid on harpers ferry ( also known as john brown 's raid or the raid on harpers ferry ) was an 1859 effort by abolitionist john brown to initiate an armed slave revolt in southern states by taking over a united states arsenal at harpers ferry , virginia .

john brown 's raid on harpers ferry ( also known as john brown 's raid or the raid on harpers ferry ) was an 1859 effort by abolitionist john brown to initiate an armed slave revolt in southern states by taking over a united states arsenal at harpers ferry , virginia .