3704198 View of Harpers Ferry, Virginia (colour lithograph) by Currier, N. (1813-88) and Ives, J.M. (1824-95); Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, USA; (add.info.: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is strategically located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. John Brown (1800-60) a white American abolitionist was hung for leading a raid on the town in 1859 intended to encourage a slave revolt. In June 1863, Robert E. Lee lead the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from Richmond into Maryland. Union soldiers, camped above Harper\'s Ferry, anticipated an attack and fortified Maryland Heights so Lee did not attack. During the Civil War the town changed hands several times. ); American, out of copyright.