Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

125 results found

Harpers Ferry

(Encyclopedia)Harpers Ferry, town (2020 pop. 285), Jefferson co., easternmost W Va., at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers; inc. 1763. The town is a ...

ferry

(Encyclopedia)ferry, vessel providing passage over a river, lake, or other body of water for passengers, vehicles, or freight; the term is also applied to the place where the crossing is made and, by extension, to ...

Dobbs Ferry

(Encyclopedia)Dobbs Ferry, village (2020 pop. 11,541), Westchester co., SE N.Y., on the Hudson River, a suburb of New York City; inc. 1873. It is mostly residential b...

Ferry, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Ferry, Jules zhül fĕrēˈ [key], 1832–93, French statesman. A member of the government of national defense established after the defeat of Emperor Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–7...

Martins Ferry

(Encyclopedia)Martins Ferry, city (1990 pop. 7,990), Belmont co., E Ohio, on the Ohio River opposite Wheeling, W.Va.; settled 1780, inc. as a city 1885. It was formerly an industrial coal-mining and steel-manufactu...

Potomac

(Encyclopedia)Potomac pətōˈmək [key], river, 285 mi (459 km) long, formed SE of Cumberland, Md., by the confluence of its North and South branches and flowing generally SE to Chesapeake Bay. It forms part of th...

Antietam campaign

(Encyclopedia)Antietam campaign ăntēˈtəm [key], Sept., 1862, of the Civil War. After the second battle of Bull Run, Gen. Robert E. Lee crossed the Potomac to invade Maryland and Pennsylvania. At Frederick, Md.,...

Smith, Gerrit

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Gerrit, 1797–1874, American reformer, b. Utica, N.Y. He spent much of his fortune in various reforms, most notably abolition. He was an organizer of the Liberty party and was candidate for go...

Brown, John, American abolitionist

(Encyclopedia)Brown, John, 1800–1859, American abolitionist, b. Torrington, Conn. He spent his boyhood in Ohio. Before he became prominent in the 1850s, his life ha...

Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin, 1831–1917, American journalist, author, and philanthropist, b. Hampton Falls, N.H., grad. Harvard, 1855. An active abolitionist, he was a friend and agent of John Brown, ...

Browse by Subject