Black Jack Battlefield traveling exhibit in Harpers Ferry

October, 2009

Temperatures were in the 40s, and intermittent rain was falling from the night sky, exactly the same weather John Brown had to contend with. Walking from the Kennedy Farmhouse, following the same route John Brown and his men took as they marched to the engine house at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal, and doing it at the exact same time and in the same conditions 150 years after the October 1859 raid, the whole experience was surreal. Hearing the clatter of horse’s hoofs and the creaking and groaning of the wagon leading our march added an indescribable feeling to the whole affair.

I was in Harpers Ferry to shepherd the new traveling exhibit on the Battle of Black Jack that, thanks to generous support from the Kansas Humanities Council, we were able to produce and ship to the October 2009 commemoration. Our exhibit was set up in the traveling exhibits tent in the heart of the activities, less than 50 yards from the Shenandoah River. One of the rangers at the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, who shared hosting of the events, told me that people were referring to the traveling exhibits tent as the “Kansas Tent,” telling their friends to “Make sure you visit the Kansas Tent.”

The rangers in the Park were overjoyed by the presence of the traveling exhibit, and acted as if they felt it an honor for us to have brought it to their celebration, exactly the same feeling I had about them allowing us to come. They could not have been more helpful and kind, bending over backwards to accommodate me and the exhibit. One ranger, upon finding out that I was looking for a ticket to the sold-out walk from the Kennedy Farm to Harpers Ferry, gave me his own ticket.

Though the less than perfect weather kept the attendance down, those who came out were truly interested in history and John Brown’s story. I was surprised and pleased to find out how many visitors had heard of the Battle of Black Jack, and that those who had not were interested in learning about it. Most understood and agreed when I quoted Karl Gridley, member of the Black Jack Board of Trustees and tireless volunteer, when he said that “the Battle of Black Jack and the raid on Harpers Ferry are the bookends of John Brown’s war on slavery.”

It was a wonderful experience and I am truly grateful to have been able to be there and represent such an important part of our shared history at another important site in that same history. What will be the results of our having the exhibit in Harpers Ferry? Who can tell? But, at the time, no one knew what would be the results of the Battle of Black Jack or the raid on Harpers Ferry, and they both have had a profound effect on the course of American history and on our lives today.

Submitted by Kerry Altenbernd

Take a "virtual" tour of the exhibit here