Union artillery units shell Harpers Ferry in response to the reported abuse of a flag of truce

Retaliatory Union artillery fire destroyed a large block of the Confederate-occupied town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia.  In the early morning, a boat from the Union side, responding to a flag of truce shown from the town's riverside, was reportedly fired on and one person killed.  Union commanders immediately ordered an artillery response that destroyed, among other buildings, the Wager Hotel and the Railroad Depot.  (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Frank Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc. (New York: G.P.Putnam, 1862), IV: 26.
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Type
    Battles/Soldiers
    How to Cite This Page: "Union artillery units shell Harpers Ferry in response to the reported abuse of a flag of truce," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/38749.