John E.P. Daingerfield

Drawing by Jack Riggins of the Fayetteville Arsenal during Captain Daingerfield's tenure

Dangerfield's account of being held prisoner at Harper's Ferry, published 1885

John E.P. Daingerfield served as a clerk at the Harpers Ferry Armory in 1859 during John Brown’s raid.^[1] Daingerfield received his rank of captain on June 10, 1861^[2] and transferred to Fayetteville as munitions and equipment were moved to the Fayetteville Arsenal from Harpers Ferry that same year.

Maj. John C. Booth, commanding officer at the Fayetteville Arsenal, appointed him military paymaster and storekeeper, prestigious jobs in the Army.^[3] Daingerfield served in the 2nd Battalion Local Defense Troops, commonly referred to as the Arsenal Guard.

In June 1885, The Century published Captain Daingerfield's article "John Brown at Harper's Ferry" giving an account of the incident from a prisoner's standpoint.

In 1873, Daingerfield moved into a home currently maintained at its original location in Heritage Square with his wife Matilda and their four children. Their son, Elliot Daingerfield became a celebrated painter of North Carolina.^[4]

References

1. Capt. John E. P. Daingerfield, "John Brown at Harper's Ferry," The Century (June 1885), p.265-268. Online at Cornell University Library: Making of America.
2. Civil War Days and Those Surnames
3. Regulations for the Army of the Confederate States, by Confederate States of America War Department, S.P. Moore, Ira M. Rutkow; Norman Publishing
4. Civil War Trails marker in front of Heritage Square