Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) - Naval Cruise Book

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CDR andy W. Clark Commanding Officer

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SHUT ' S ]Vi ]in!:Si ia!: 1 Harpers Ferry is a small, residential li)v n (pi)pLilalion 423) and tourist center in the northeastern corner of West Virginia. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains at the conlluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Ri ers. Harpers Ferry is known for its scenic beauty and historic significance. Harpers Ferry has foreverentrenched itself in the American .Story as a place where brave men and women lived, fought, and died lor their ideals. Settled in 17. 2. Harpers Ferry is named for Robert Harper, who in 1747 began to operate a ferry across the Potomac River there. In 1 796 President George Washington selected Harpers Ferry as the site for a new United States Arsenal and .Armory. Many i)f the rifles used in the War of 1S12 and American Ci il War were manutactured at this armory. The armory also made the tow n of Harpers Ferry a logistically strategic location during the Ci il N ' ar: coveted by both the North and South. During the Ci il War. Harpers Ferr changed hands between the L ' nion and Ci nfederac se eral times, spilling much American blood on its rocky soil. In September 1862. Harpers Ferry ' s capture by the South provided General Robert E. Lee with a launching point for the Confederate invasion ol Maryland, uhich ended in the bloods battle o ' Antietam. et. what the town is probably most famous for is John Browns failed raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory. John Brown, called Old Brown of Osawatomie ( 18{K)- 18. 9). was one of .America ' s most famed abolitionists. Brown ' s attempts to forcibly end sla ery greatly increased tension IxMween the North and South in the period before the .American Civ il War. Brown was hovu on May 9, ISOO. in Torrington. Connecticut but ino cd to Ohio at the age of five. It was in those early cliiidluHHl years that John Bimsn acquired a contempt for slavery that marked his subsequent career, with his father having been actively hostile to the institution. Following a move to Pennsylvania. John Brown mitiated a project among sympathetic abolitionists to educate young blacks. The next 20 years of his life were largely dedicated to this and similar abolitionist ventures. By 1857. Brown had gained increased financial support from abiilitionists in the northeastern states. It was at this time that Brow n began to formulate a plan, w hich he had long entertained, to free the slaves by armed force. He secretly recruited a small band of supporters for this project, which included the establishment of a refuge for fugitive slaves in the mountains of X ' irginia. .After several setbacks, he finally launched the v enture on October 1 6. 1 859. w ith a force of 1 8 men (including several of his sons). He seized the L ' .S. .Arsenal at Harpers Ferry and won control of the tow n. .After his initial success he made no attempt at offensive action, but instead occupied defensive pi ' isitions within the arsenal. His force was soon surrounded by the Kval militia, which was reinforced on October 17 by a company of L ' .S. Marines under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee. Ten of Brown ' s men. including twoof his sons, were killed in the ensuing battle, and Brown was wounded and forced to capitulate. He w as arrested and charged w ith v anous crimes. including treason and murder. Conv icted. he was hanged on December 2. 1859 at Charlestown. West N ' irginia. TiKiay Harpers Ferry is hardly the torrid site of turmoil and stniggle it was in the 19th century . Harpers Ferry is now a National Histoncal Park, v isited by thousands of tt urisLs ev ery year. The low n includes many old structures restt red as museums and shops. Harpers Ferry is also honK to several buildings of Stoner College, a Freedman ' s Bureau School opened in 1 867 to educate fomKr slaves. WESTPAC !«« »

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ComiiuiiKlci K.iiidN a iic C ' kiik, tlic son ol Ma inolia and l.ddic (lark, was bom in Montgomery. Alabama. A 1975 graduate «»f Jt ' llcrson l)a is llij. ' li School.Cotnniandcr Clark received his Bachelor ol Arts Degree Irorn Huiiliiigdoii College in IMXO and uas eoinrnissioned in ihe liniled Slates Navy as an linsign through Ollicer Candidates Selmol Commander Clark ' s tours ol duty at sea include: CSS IRhSNO (I.S I I IH2) as Communications Otfieer, USS BUCHANAN (I)DG 14) as Main Propulsion Assistant. U.S.S SCHHNHCTADY (l,.ST 11X5) as Operations Officer. I ' S.S (iliRMAN lOWN (LSI) 42) as First Lieutenant, and USS R)R T IISHIK (LSI) 401 as lAcvuli e Ollicer. Additionally, he served on the stall ol Commander, Amphibious Sciuadrt)n Seven. Ashore, Commander Clark served at the Surface Warfare Officer ' s School Pacific as both Steam Engineering Instructor and as Officer-in- Charge ol Boats ( YP). lie also ser ed as a student at the Air War College at Maxwell Air li rce Base and as Operations Ad isor at the United .States Training Mission Riyadh. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Commander Clark has been awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), the Military Outstanding Volunteer Ser ice Medal, and various service and campaign ribbons. Kiiir Aditural Smith. Coinimtnder Amphibious Group Three. . ».jrjrr,.r .■ iisinilui. t i 1 photo at w l iiht iii III . t,uk,. '