Late 1859 – John Brown’s Raid at Harper’s Ferry

John Brown believed he could free the slaves, and he selected Harpers Ferry as his starting point. Determined to seize the 100,000 weapons at the Arsenal and to use the Blue Ridge Mountains for guerrilla warfare, abolitionist Brown launched his raid on Sunday evening, October 16, 1859. His 21-man "army of liberation" seized the Armory and several other strategic points. Thirty-six hours after the raid begun, with most of his men killed or wounded, Brown was captured in the Armory fire enginehouse (now known as "John Brown's Fort") when U.S. Marines stormed the building.

Brought to trial at nearby Charles Town, Brown was found guilty of treason, of conspiring with slaves to rebel, and murder. He was hanged on December 2, 1859. John Brown's short-lived raid failed, but his trial and execution focused the nation's attention on the moral issue of slavery and headed the country toward civil war.

John Brown's fort, Harper's Ferry from Md. Hts. [Stereograph]Chase, W. M., 1818/1819-1905

Contraband camp -- Harper's Ferry, Va. [Stereograph]

Engine house in which John Brown was captured. [Stereograph]

[Harper's Ferry, W. Va. Ruins of arsenal]. Holmes, S. A. 1819 or 20-1886, (Silas A.), photographer. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwar:3:./temp/~ammem_VDrf::

John Brown’s address to the court – November 2, 1859

The court acknowledges, as I suppose, the validity of the law of God. I see a book kissed here which I suppose to be the Bible, or at least the New Testament. That teaches me that all things whatsoever I would that men should do to me, I should do even so to them. It teaches me further to "remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them." I endeavored to act up to that instruction. I say, I am too young to understand that God is any respecter of persons. I believe that to have interfered as I have done -- as I have always freely admitted I have done -- in behalf of His despied poor, was not wrong, but right. Now if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments. -- I submit; so let it be done!

Address of John Brown to the Virginia Court, when about to receive the sentence of death, for his heroic attempt at Harper's Ferry to give deliverance to the captives, and to let the oppressed go free ... Boston. Printed by C. C. Mead, 91 Washington Street [1859].

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=rbpe&fileName=rbpe06/rbpe065/06500500/rbpe06500500page.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?rbpebib:2:./temp/~ammem_QfZu::&linkText=0

http://memory.loc.gov/rbc/rbpe/rbpe06/rbpe065/06500500/001dr.jpg

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2943t.html

To the outward eye of men, John Brown was a criminal, but to their inward eye he was a just man and true. His deeds might be disowned, but the spirit which made those deeds possible was worthy highest honor. It has been often asked, why did not Virginia spare the life of this man? why did she not avail herself of this grand opportunity to add to her other glory that of a lofty magnanimity? Had they spared the good old man's life--had they said to him, "you see we have you in our power, and could easily take your life, but we have no desire to hurt you in any way; you have committed a terrible crime against society; you have invaded us at midnight and attacked a sleeping community, but we recognize you as a fanatic, and in some sense instigated by others; and on this ground and others, we release you. Go about your business, and tell those who sent you that we can afford to be magnanimous to our enemies." I say, had Virginia held some such language as this to John Brown, she would have inflicted a heavy blow on the whole Northern abolition movement, one which only the omnipotence of truth and the force of truth could have overcome. I have no doubt Gov. Wise would have done so gladly, but, alas, he was the executive of a State which thought she could not afford such magnanimity. She had that within her bosom which could more safely tolerate the presence of a criminal than a saint, a highway robber than a moral hero. All her hills and valleys were studded with material for a disastrous conflagration, and one spark of the dauntless spirit of Brown might set the whole State in flames. A sense of this appalling liability put an end to every noble consideration. His death was a foregone conclusion, and his trial was simply one of form.

John Brown. : An address by Frederick Douglass, at the fourteenth anniversary of Storer college, Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, May 30, 1881.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/murray:@field(FLD001+07012896+):@@@$REF$

John Brown's Bodyby Anonymous

John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,

But his soul goes marching on.

(Chorus)Glory, glory, hallelujah,Glory, glory, hallelujah,Glory, glory, hallelujah,

His soul goes marching on.

He's gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord,He's gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord,He's gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord,

His soul goes marching on.(Chorus)

John Brown's knapsack is strapped upon his back,John Brown's knapsack is strapped upon his back,John Brown's knapsack is strapped upon his back,

His soul goes marching on.(Chorus)

John Brown died that the slaves might be free,John Brown died that the slaves might be free,John Brown died that the slaves might be free,

But his soul goes marching on.(Chorus)

The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,

On the grave of old John Brown.(Chorus)

John Brown's a-Hanging on a Sour Apple TreeThe title appeared in the field notes as "John Brown's a-Hangin' on a Sour Apple Tree.“ Play it -

Henry Reed's air is evidence of the folksongs in circulation about John Brown that became the basis for Julia Ward Howe's patriotic hymn "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." His version implies a verse and refrain using essentially the same melodic material, as is the case with "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Harper's Ferry. Air: Blow ye, winds of morning. H. De Marsan, Publisher, &c., 60 Chatham St. N. Y.“Composed and sung by Harry Fox, the celebrated Banjoist, at Hitchcock's National Concert-Hall."

Albany, New York Evening Journal [Republican], (18 October 1859)

The telegraph during the past twenty-four hours has brought startling accounts of an "insurrection" at Harper's Ferry.

Charleston, South Carolina Mercury [Democratic], (18 October 1859)

Our despatches this morning give us some particulars of a serious outbreak among the employees on the government works at Harper's Ferry, Virginia

More

http://history.furman.edu/~benson/docs/jbmenu.htm

HARPERS FERRY NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in the states of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, John Brown, "Stonewall" Jackson, and Frederick Douglass are just a few of the prominent individuals who left their mark on this place.http://www.nps.gov/hafe/home.htm

John Brown and the Valley of the Shadowhttp://www.iath.virginia.edu/jbrown/master.html

Panoramic Imageshttp://www.jatruck.com/stonewall/harpers.html

http://memory.loc.gov/

Web sites related to John Brown and Harper’s Ferry

John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry (Cornerstones of Freedom)by Brendan January Reading level: Ages 9-12 Children's Press; ISBN: 0516211447;

Books related to John Brown and Harper’s Ferry

John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry in American History (In American History)by R. Conrad Stein Reading level: Ages 9-12 Enslow Publishers, Inc.; ISBN: 0766011232; (July 1999)

On the Trail of John Brown's Body (Young Heroes of History, Book 2)by Alan N. Kay Reading level: Ages 9-12 White Mane Publishing Co.; ISBN: 1572492392;