The Road Approaches The Valley Through Its Rocky Gateway Of Harper's Ferry Where The Potomac, After Breaking Through The Vast Wall Of The Blue Ridge, Is Joined By The Shenandoah.

Here great rocks rise and tower above you and the broad stream is filled with boulders of various sizes, making innumerable cascades, which present a scene of rare beauty.

After climbing by many and various curves you finally reach the top of a towering cliff and look down on the wondrous picture spread before you. The confluence of these two rivers is one of the many beauty spots of the valley.

The Gap was of vast strategic importance during the Civil war. In nearly every instance the Confederates were aided by the contour of the land in the "Valley Campaign." A confederate advance here would lead straight toward Washington, while a Union advance south would lead from a straight course to Richmond. The Potomac flows at right angles to the line of the ridge, therefore a Confederate force crossing the valley mouth would be in the rear of the north. One day's march from Cumberland valley would carry the Southern troops into the farmlands of Pennsylvania. Thus did Nature seem to contribute to the aid of the South.

We soon forgot about the conflict for the valley in all its beauty lay before us, and every day was a holiday. So it was not important just then which way the river flowed or in what direction those glorious mountains led.

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