362 HACKLEY, CHAKLES W. 



HARPER'S FERRY. 



Mr. Pierce Butler, who was confined Aug. 20 

 and released Sept. 24, subsequently commenced 

 action against Mr. Simon Cameron, ex-Secre- 

 tary of War, for assault and false imprisonment. 

 Mr. Butler was liberated in five weeks from 

 the time of his incarceration, without reason 

 being given for his discharge any more than for 

 his arrest ; and speaks in his complaint of being 

 locked with nine other gentlemen in a cell 

 twenty-six feet long by fourteen wide, in one 

 of the casemates of Fort Lafayette, where he 

 was allowed egress only at meals, and during 

 one hour in the morning and evening for exer- 

 cise in the quadrangle of the fort. 



The fellow-occupants of Mr. Butler's cell 

 were Charles J. Faulkner, James W. Wall, of 

 Burlington ; Thomas S. Serril, of Philadelphia ; 

 McMasters, of the New York "Freeman's Jour- 

 nal," De Bebin, of Wilmington, N. 0., and 

 others. 



On the 30th ,of October all the prisoners at 

 New York were removed to Fort Warren at 

 Boston, a large and commodious structure. 

 There were one hundred and nine political pris- 

 oners from Fort Lafayette; also six hundred and 

 thirty-three of the prisoners taken at Hatteras 

 Inlet. Others were subsequently added to this 

 number. 



HACKLEY, REV. CHAELES W., professor of 

 mathematics and astronomy in Columbia Col- 

 lege, N. Y., born in Herkimer Co., New York, 

 in 1809, died at his residence in New York, 

 Jan. 10, 1861. He entered West Point Acade- 

 my in 1825, graduated in 1829, and was assist- 

 ant professor of mathematics at West Point 

 until 1832. He then studied law, and subse- 

 quently theology, and was ordained as a cler- 

 gyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 

 1835. He was professor of mathematics in the 

 University of New York until 1838, and after- 

 wards President of Jefferson College, Mississip- 

 pi, and rector of St. Peter's church in Auburn, 

 JS. Y. In 1843 he was elected professor in Co- 

 lumbia College, and from that year until the time 

 of his death filled the chair in mathematics 

 in that college. He was the author of the fol- 

 lowing works : a " Treatise on Algebra," New 

 York, 1856 ; " Elementary Course on Geome- 

 try," New York, 1847 ; " Elements of Trigo- 

 nometry," New York, 1850. He was also a large 

 contributor to scientific periodicals, as well as 

 to the weekly and daily journals, and exerted 

 himself particularly in behalf of the establish- 

 ment of an astronomical observatory in New 

 York City. 



HAMPTON is the capital of Elizabeth City 

 County, Virginia. It is situated on the left 

 bank of the James River, about 2 miles from 

 its entrance into the Chesapeake Bay, and 96 

 miles southeast of Richmond. The part of 

 the estuary of James River situated between 

 this town and Norfolk is called Hampton Roads. 

 It is an old town, possessing much historic in- 

 terest. The distance from Fortress Monroe is 

 two and a half miles. The town contained 

 about 1,400 inhabitants, and early experienced 



the effects of the war. On the 2d of July about 

 thirty inhabitants remained. 



The quaint old church was occupied as a 

 guard-house by Federal troops, and two com- 

 panies were stationed in the graveyard, which 

 was surrounded by a high brick wall. Its 

 tombstones bore date from the IVth century. 

 In the new cemetery four companies of Col. 

 Packard's regiment were posted, while the 

 Federal force occupied the town. 



It was subsequently evacuated by these troops, 

 and then burnt by the Confederate force on 

 the order of Gen. Magruder, to prevent its re- 

 occupation. A few minutes after midnight on 

 the Vth of August the torch was applied. The 

 greater part of the five hundred houses having 

 been built of wood, and being very dry, were 

 soon in flames, and a strong south wind fanned 

 them into a terrible conflagration. The fire 

 raged all night, and on the next day, at noon, 

 only seven or eight buildings remained. Among 

 the buildings were four churches, and about 

 four hundred and seventy houses. Thus was a 

 pleasant town almost deserted and laid in ashes. 

 From the inhabitants of this county six com- 

 panies were furnished to the Confederate army 

 to serve through the war. 



HARPER'S FERRY. The situation of this 

 town is at the confluence of the Shenandoah 

 River with the Potomac, in Jefferson County, 

 Virginia. The united stream at this point 

 breaks through the Blue Ridge. It is 160 miles 

 north of Richmond and 53 miles northwest of 

 Washington. It is on the line of the Baltimore 

 and Ohio Railroad. On the other side of the 

 Potomac passes the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. 

 The village is compactly though irregularly 

 built around the base of a hill. 



A United States Armory and a National Ar- 

 senal were located here. At the armory 10,000 

 muskets were made annually, and the arsenal 

 often contained 80,000 to 90,000 stand of arms. 

 On the 2d of January, orders were received 

 from Washington for the Armory Guard, Flag 

 Guard, and Rifles to go on duty, as a precau- 

 tionary measure. A few days afterwards a 

 detachment of unmounted U. S. Dragoons, 

 numbering sixty-four, under command of Lieut. 

 Jones, arrived there. Affairs remained in a 

 quiet condition until the excitement created 

 through the country by the capture of Fort 

 Sumter. and the issue of the first proclamation 

 by the President calling out troops. A move- 

 ment was immediately made by friends of the 

 Southern Confederacy in Northern Virginia, to 

 take possession of Harper's Ferry Arsenal. As 

 early as the 18th of April, Lieut. Jones was in- 

 formed that between 2,500 and 3,000 State 

 troops would reach the ferry in two hours. 

 Deeming the information positive and reliable, 

 he gave orders to apply the torch to the build- 

 ings. In three minutes or less both the arse- 

 nal buildings, containing nearly 15,000 stand of 

 arms, together with the carpenters' shop, which 

 was at the upper end of a long and connected 

 series of workshops of the armory proper, 



