John Brown (May 9, 1800 December 2, 1859) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abolitionist, and
folk heroA folk hero is type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
who advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to end all
slaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
. He led the
Pottawatomie MassacreThe Pottawatomie Massacre occurred during the night of May 24 and the morning of May 25, 1856. In reaction to the sacking of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces, John Brown and a band of abolitionist settlers killed five pro-slavery settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County, Kansas...
in 1856 in
Bleeding KansasBleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
and made his name in the unsuccessful
raid at Harpers FerryJohn Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an attempt by white abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave revolt by seizing a United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia in 1859...
in 1859.
President
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
said he was a "misguided fanatic" and Brown has been called "the most controversial of all 19th-century Americans." His attempt in 1859 to start a liberation movement among enslaved African Americans in Harpers Ferry, Virginia electrified the nation. He was tried for treason against the state of Virginia, the murder of five proslavery Southerners, and inciting a slave insurrection and was subsequently hanged. Southerners alleged that his rebellion was the tip of the abolitionist iceberg and represented the wishes of the
Republican PartyThe United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States.-Creation:The Republican Party organized in 1854...
. Historians agree that the Harpers Ferry raid in 1859 escalated tensions that a year later led to secession and the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
.
Brown first gained attention when he led small groups of volunteers during the
Bleeding KansasBleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
crisis. Unlike most other Northerners, who still advocated peaceful resistance to the pro-slavery faction, Brown demanded violent action in response to Southern aggression. Dissatisfied with the pacifism encouraged by the organized abolitionist movement, he reportedly said "These men are all talk. What we need is action - action!"
During the Kansas campaign he and his supporters killed five pro-slavery southerners in what became known as the
Pottawatomie MassacreThe Pottawatomie Massacre occurred during the night of May 24 and the morning of May 25, 1856. In reaction to the sacking of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces, John Brown and a band of abolitionist settlers killed five pro-slavery settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County, Kansas...
in May 1856, in response to the
raidIn the summer of 1856, the Sacking of Lawrence helped ratchet up the guerrilla war in Kansas Territory that became known as Bleeding Kansas.-Background:...
of the "free soil" city of
LawrenceLawrence is the 6th largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Area which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. In 1859 he led a raid on the federal
armoryHarpers Ferry Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, was the second federal armory commissioned by the United States government located in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia , the first federal armory being the Springfield Armory located in Springfield,...
at
Harpers FerryHarpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
(in modern-day
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
). During the raid, he seized the armory; seven people (including a free black) were killed, and ten or more were injured. He intended to arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal, but the attack failed. Within 36 hours, Brown's men had fled or been killed or captured by local farmers, militiamen, and U.S. Marines led by
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career United States Army officer, an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history. Lee was the son of Major General Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry" , Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter...
. Brown's subsequent capture by federal forces, his trial for treason to the state of Virginia, and his execution by hanging in
Charles Town, VirginiaCharles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States.Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States....
were an important part of the
origins of the American Civil WarThe main explanation for the origins of the American Civil War is slavery, especially the issue of the expansion of slavery into the territories. States' rights and the tariff issue became entangled in the slavery issue, and were intensified by it...
, which followed sixteen months later.
When Brown was hanged after his attempt to start a slave rebellion in 1859, church bells rang, minute guns were fired, large memorial meetings took place throughout the North, and famous writers such as
EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s...
and Thoreau joined many Northerners in praising Brown.
Historians agree John Brown played a major role in starting the Civil War. His role and actions prior to the Civil War, as an abolitionist, and the tactics he chose still make him a controversial figure today. He is sometimes memorialized as a heroic martyr and a visionary and sometimes vilified as a madman and a terrorist. While some writers, such as Bruce Olds, describe him as a monomaniacal zealot, others, such as
Stephen B. OatesStephen B. Oates is a former professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is an expert in 19th-century United States history....
, regard him as "one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation."
David S. ReynoldsDavid S. Reynolds is an American historian and literary critic, noted for his specialized books on the Civil War period and his expert knowledge of Walt Whitman.-Life and career:...
hails the man who "killed slavery, sparked the civil war, and seeded civil rights" and Richard Owen Boyer emphasizes that Brown was "an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans might be free." For Ken Chowder he is "at certain times, a great man", but also "the father of American terrorism."
Brown's nicknames were Osawatomie Brown, Old Man Brown, Captain Brown and Old Brown of Kansas. His aliases were Nelson Hawkins, Shubel Morgan, and Isaac Smith. Later the song "
John Brown's Body"John Brown's Body" is a famous Union marching song of the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the 1800s. During the American Civil War the lyrics referenced Sergeant John Brown of the Second Battalion, Boston Light Infantry...
" (the original title of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic") became a
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
marching song during the Civil War.
Early years
John Brown was born May 9, 1800, in
Torrington, ConnecticutTorrington is the largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the northwestern Connecticut region. It is also the core city of the largest micropolitan area in the United States. The population was 36,248 at the 2000 census....
. He was the fourth of the eight children of
Owen BrownOwen Brown was a founder and trustee of two Ohio colleges Oberlin College and Western Reserve College. He served as trustee of Oberlin College, from 1835 to 1844. He was also the founder of the abolitionist Oberlin Church . In 1833 he helped to found the Western Reserve Anti-Slavery Society. He...
(February 16, 1771 May 8, 1856) and Ruth Mills (January 25, 1772 December 9, 1808) and grandson of Capt. John Brown (1728–1776).
In 1805, the family moved to
Hudson, OhioHudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,439 at the 2000 census, making it the 389th largest city in the Midwest. This number rose to 23,037 at the 2008 census estimates. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan...
, where Owen Brown opened a
tanneryTanning is the process of making leather, which does not easily decompose, from the skins of animals, which do. Often this uses tannin, an acidic chemical compound. Coloring may occur during tanning....
. Brown's father became a supporter of the Oberlin Institute (original name of
Oberlin CollegeOberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top-ranked liberal arts college with a top-ranked conservatory...
) in its early stage, although he was ultimately critical of the school's "Perfectionist" leanings, especially renowned in the preaching and teaching of Charles Finney and Asa Mahan. Brown withdrew his membership from the Congregational church in the 1840s and never officially joined another church, but both he and his father Owen were fairly conventional evangelicals for the period with its focus on the pursuit of personal righteousness. Brown's personal religion is fairly well documented in the papers of the Rev Clarence Gee, a Brown family expert, now held in the Hudson [Ohio] Library and Historical Society.
As a child, Brown lived briefly in Ohio with Jesse R. Grant, father of future general and U.S. President
Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was general-in-chief of the Union Army from 1864 to 1869 during the American Civil War and the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877....
.
At the age of 16, John Brown left his family and went to
PlainfieldPlainfield is a town on the northwestern edge of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, about 25 miles east of Pittsfield and 30 miles northwest of Northampton. The population was 589 at the 2000 census...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
, where he enrolled in a preparatory program. Shortly afterward, he transferred to the Morris Academy in
LitchfieldLitchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and is known as an affluent summer resort. The population was 8,316 at the 2000 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town...
, Connecticut. He hoped to become a
CongregationalistCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
minister, but money ran out and he suffered from eye inflammations, which forced him to give up the academy and return to Ohio. In Hudson, he worked briefly at his father's tannery before opening a successful tannery of his own outside of town with his adopted brother.
In 1820, Brown married Dianthe Lusk. Their first child, John Jr, was born 13 months later. In 1825, Brown and his family moved to
New RichmondRandolph Township is a township in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,838 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 43.4 square miles , of which, 43.1 square miles of it is land and...
, Pennsylvania, where he bought 200 acres (81 hectares) of land. He cleared an eighth of it and built a cabin, a barn, and a tannery. Within a year the tannery employed 15 men. Brown also made money raising cattle and surveying. He helped to establish a post office and a school. During this period, Brown operated an interstate business involving cattle and leather production along with a kinsman, Seth Thompson, from eastern Ohio.
In 1831, one of his sons died. Brown fell ill, and his businesses began to suffer, which left him in terrible debt. In the summer of 1832, shortly after the death of a newborn son, his wife Dianthe died. On June 14, 1833, Brown married 16-year-old Mary Ann Day (April 15, 1817—May 1, 1884), originally of
MeadvilleMeadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
, Pennsylvania. They eventually had 13 children, in addition to the seven children from his previous marriage.
In 1836, Brown moved his family to
Franklin Mills, OhioKent is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in the northeastern part of Ohio and the western edge of Portage County...
(now known as Kent). There he borrowed money to buy land in the area, building and operating a tannery along the
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
in partnership with Zenas Kent.
http://www.hudsonlibrary.org/hudson%20website/Archives/Archives/john%20brown/jbhome.htmHe suffered great financial losses in the economic crisis of 1839, which struck the western states more severely than had the
Panic of 1837The Panic of 1837 was a panic in the United States built on a speculative fever. The bubble burst on May 10, 1837 in New York City, when every bank stopped payment in specie...
. Following the heavy borrowing trends of Ohio, many businessmen like Brown trusted too heavily in credit and state bonds and paid dearly for it. In one episode of property loss, Brown was even jailed when he attempted to retain ownership of a farm by occupying it against the claims of the new owner. Like other determined men of his time and background, he tried many different business efforts in an attempt to get out of debt. Along with tanning hides and cattle trading, he also undertook horse and sheep breeding, the last of which was to become a notable aspect of his pre-public vocation.
In 1837, in response to the murder of
Elijah P. LovejoyElijah Parish Lovejoy was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, and newspaper editor who was murdered by a mob in Alton, Illinois for his abolitionist views....
, Brown publicly vowed: “Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery!” Brown was declared bankrupt by a federal court on September 28, 1842. In 1843, four of his children died of
dysenteryDysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal....
. As Louis DeCaro Jr shows in his biographical sketch (2007), from the mid-1840s Brown had built a reputation as an expert in fine sheep and wool, and entered into a partnership with Simon Perkins Jr of Akron, Ohio, whose flocks and farms were managed by Brown and sons. Brown eventually moved into a home with his family across the street from the Perkins' Mansion located on Perkins Hill. Both homes still remain and are owned and operated by the Summit County Historical Society. As Brown's associations grew among sheep farmers of the region, his expertise was often discussed in agricultural journals even as he widened the scope of his travels in conjunction with sheep and wool concerns (which often brought him into contact with other fervent anti-slavery people as well). In 1846, Brown and Perkins set up a wool commission operation in
Springfield, Mass.Springfield is the largest city on the Connecticut River and the county seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States.In the 2000 census, the city population was 154,082. It is the third largest city in Massachusetts and fourth largest in New England...
, to represent the interests of wool growers against the dominant interests of New England's manufacturers. Brown naively trusted the manufacturers at first, but soon came to realize they were determined to maintain control of price setting and feared the empowerment of the farmers. To make matters worse, the sheep farmers were largely unorganized and unwilling to improve the quality and production of their wools for market. As shown in the
Ohio Cultivator, Brown and other wool growers had already complained about this problem as something that hurt U.S. wools abroad. Brown made a last-ditch effort to overcome the manufacturers by seeking an alliance with European-based manufacturers, but was ultimately disappointed to learn that they also wanted to buy American wools cheaply. Brown traveled to England to seek a higher price. The trip was a disaster as he incurred a loss of $40,000 (over $980,000 in today's dollars), of which Col. Perkins bore the lion's share.
The Perkins and Brown commission operation closed in 1849; subsequent lawsuits tied up the partners for several more years, though popular narrators have exaggerated the unfortunate demise of the firm with respect to Brown's life and decisions. Perkins absorbed much of the loss, and their partnership continued for several more years, Brown nearly breaking even by 1854. The men remained friends after ending their partnership amicably. Brown was a man of great talent and judgement in farming and sheep raising, but he was not a business administrator. The Perkins and Brown years not only reveal Brown as a man with a widely appreciated specialization (long since forgotten), but reflect his perennial zeal for the underdog which drove him to struggle on behalf of the economically vulnerable farmers of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and western Virginia a decade before his guerrilla activities in Kansas.
Homestead in New York
In 1848, Brown heard of
Gerrit SmithGerrit Smith was a leading United States social reformer, abolitionist, politician, and philanthropist...
's
Adirondack__notoc__Adirondack may refer to:*Adirondack Mountains, *Adirondack County, New York, a proposed county in New York...
land grants to poor black men, and decided to move his family among the new settlers. He bought land near
North Elba, New YorkNorth Elba is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the island of Elba. North Elba is on the western edge of the county and is southwest of Plattsburgh...
(near Lake Placid), for $1 an acre, although he spent little time there. After he was executed, his wife took his body there for burial. Since 1895, the farm has been owned by New York state. The
John Brown Farm and GravesiteThe John Brown Farm and Gravesite was the home and is the final resting place of abolitionist John Brown.It is located on John Brown Road in North Elba near Lake Placid, New York, where John Brown moved in 1849 to lead freed slaves in farming...
is now a
National Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance. All NHLs are listed in the National Register of Historic Places...
.
Actions in Kansas
In 1855, Brown learned from his adult sons in the Kansas territory that pro-slavery forces there were militant and that their families were completely unprepared to face attack. Determined to protect his family and oppose the advances of pro-slavery supporters, Brown left for Kansas, enlisting a son-in-law and making several stops just to collect funds and weapons. As reported by the New York
Tribune, Brown stopped en route to participate in an anti-slavery convention that took place in June 1855 in Albany, New York. Despite the controversy that ensued on the convention floor regarding the support of violent efforts on behalf of the free state cause, several individuals provided Brown some solicited financial support. As he went westward, however, Brown found more militant support in his home state of Ohio, particularly in the strongly anti-slavery Western Reserve section where he had been reared.
Pottawatomie
Brown and the free state settlers were optimistic that they could bring Kansas into the union as a slavery-free state. But in late 1855 and early 1856 it was increasingly clear to Brown that pro-slavery forces were willing to violate the rule of law in order to force Kansas to become a slave state. Brown believed that terrorism, fraud, and eventually deadly attacks became the obvious agenda of the pro-slavery supporters, then known as "Border Ruffians." After the winter snows thawed in 1856, the pro-slavery activists began a campaign to seize Kansas on their own terms. Brown was particularly affected by the
Sacking of LawrenceIn the summer of 1856, the Sacking of Lawrence helped ratchet up the guerrilla war in Kansas Territory that became known as Bleeding Kansas.-Background:...
in May 1856, in which a
sheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
-led posse destroyed newspaper offices and a hotel. Only one man was killed, and it was a Border Ruffian.
Preston BrooksPreston Smith Brooks was a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina, known for physically beating Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate...
's caning of anti-slavery Senator
Charles SumnerCharles Sumner was an American politician and statesman from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and...
also fueled Brown's anger. These violent acts were accompanied by celebrations in the pro-slavery press, with writers such as
Benjamin Franklin StringfellowBenjamin Franklin Stringfellow was a Missouri Attorney General, a high ranking border ruffian and one of the organizers of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.-Early life:He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia...
of the
Squatter Sovereign proclaiming that pro-slavery forces "are determined to repel this Northern invasion, and make Kansas a Slave State; though our rivers should be covered with the blood of their victims, and the carcasses of the Abolitionists should be so numerous in the territory as to breed disease and sickness, we will not be deterred from our purpose" (quoted in Reynolds, p. 162). Brown was outraged by both the violence of the pro-slavery forces, and also by what he saw as a weak and cowardly response by the antislavery partisans and the Free State settlers, who he described as "cowards, or worse" (Reynolds pp. 163–164).
Biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr. further shows that Brown's beloved father, Owen, had died on May 8, 1856 and correspondence indicates that John Brown and his family received word of his death around the same time. The emotional darkness of the hour was intensified by the real concerns that Brown had for the welfare of his sons and the free state settlers in their vicinity, especially since the sacking of Lawrence seems to have signaled an all-out campaign of violence by pro-slavery forces. Brown conducted surveillance on encamped "ruffians" in his vicinity and learned that his family was marked for attack, and furthermore was given reliable information as to pro-slavery neighbors who had aligned and supported these forces. The pro-slavery men did not necessarily own any slaves, although the Doyles (three of the victims) were slave hunters prior to settling in Kansas. According to Salmon Brown, when the Doyles were seized, Mahala Doyle acknowledged that her husband's "devilment" had brought down this attack to their doorstep further signifying that the Browns' attack was probably grounded in real concern for their own survival.
Sometime after 10:00 pm May 24, 1856, it is suspected they took five pro-slavery settlers James Doyle, William Doyle, Drury Doyle, Allen Wilkinson, and William Sherman from their cabins on Pottawatomie Creek and hacked them to death with broadswords. Brown later claimed he did not participate in the killings, however he did say he approved of them.
Palmyra and Osawatomie
A force of Missourians, led by Captain Henry Pate, captured John Jr. and Jason, and destroyed the Brown family homestead, and later participated in the Sack of Lawrence. On June 2, John Brown, nine of his followers, and twenty local men successfully defended a Free State settlement at Palmyra, Kansas against an attack by Pate. (
See Battle of Black JackThe Battle of Black Jack took place on June 2, 1856, when anti-slavery forces, led by the noted abolitionist John Brown, attacked the encampment of Henry C. Pate near Baldwin City, Kansas. The battle is cited as one incident of “Bleeding Kansas” and a contributing factor leading up to the American...
.) Pate and twenty-two of his men were taken prisoner (Reynolds pp. 180–181, 186). After capture, they were taken to Brown's camp, and received all the food that Brown could find. Brown forced Pate to sign a treaty, exchanging the freedom of Pate and his men for the promised release of Brown's two captured sons. Brown released Pate to Colonel Edwin Sumner, but was furious to discover that the release of his sons was delayed until September.
In August, a company of over three hundred Missourians under the command of Major General John W. Reid crossed into Kansas and headed towards
Osawatomie, KansasOsawatomie is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, 61 miles southwest of Kansas City. The population was 4,645 at the 2000 census. It derives its name from two streams near by, the Osage and Potawatomie. In 1900, 4,101 people lived in Osawatomie; in 1910, 4,046. Osawatomie was chartered...
, intending to destroy the Free State settlements there, and then march on
TopekaTopeka is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The population was 122,377 at the 2000 census, and it was estimated...
and
LawrenceLawrence is the 6th largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Area which encompasses all of Douglas County...
.
On the morning of August 30, 1856, they shot and killed Brown's son Frederick and his neighbor David Garrison on the outskirts of Pottawatomie. Brown, outnumbered more than seven to one, arranged his 38 men behind natural defenses along the road. Firing from cover, they managed to kill at least 20 of Reid's men and wounded 40 more. Reid regrouped, ordering his men to dismount and charge into the woods. Brown's small group scattered and fled across the
Marais des Cygnes RiverThe Marais des Cygnes River is a principal tributary of the Osage River, about 140 mi long, in eastern Kansas and western Missouri in the United States. Via the Osage and Missouri Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River...
. One of Brown's men was killed during the retreat and four were captured. While Brown and his surviving men hid in the woods nearby, the Missourians plundered and burned Osawatomie. Despite being defeated, Brown's bravery and military shrewdness in the face of overwhelming odds brought him national attention and made him a hero to many Northern abolitionists, who gave him the nickname "Osawatomie Brown". This incident was dramatized in the play
Osawatomie BrownOsawatomie Brown is a play about John Brown's struggle with pro-slavery forces in Kansas which brought him national attention and made him a hero to many Northern abolitionists. With only two dozen men he successfully defended the free-soil town of Osawatomie, Kansas against an attack of about 400...
.
On September 7, Brown entered Lawrence to meet with Free State leaders and help fortify against a feared assault. At least 2,700 pro-slavery Missourians were once again invading Kansas. On September 14 they skirmished near Lawrence. Brown prepared for battle, but serious violence was averted when the new governor of Kansas,
John W. GearyJohn White Geary was an American lawyer, politician, and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was the final alcalde and first mayor of San Francisco, California, and the governor of the Kansas Territory and Pennsylvania.-Early years:Geary was born in near Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in...
, ordered the warring parties to disarm and disband, and offered clemency to former fighters on both sides. Brown, taking advantage of the fragile peace, left Kansas with three of his sons to raise money from supporters in the north.
Gathering forces
By November 1856, Brown had returned to the East to solicit more funds. He spent the next two years traveling New England raising funds.
Amos Adams LawrenceAmos Adams Lawrence , the son of famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence, was a key figure in the United States abolition movement in the years leading up to the Civil War, and instrumental in the establishment of the University of Kansas and Lawrence University in Appleton,...
, a prominent Boston merchant, contributed a large amount of capital.
Franklin Benjamin SanbornFranklin Benjamin Sanborn was an American journalist, author, and reformer. Sanborn was a social scientist, and a memorialist of American transcendentalism who wrote early biographies of many of the movement's key figures...
, secretary for the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee, introduced Brown to several influential abolitionists in the Boston area in January 1857. They included
William Lloyd GarrisonWilliam Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the radical abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the...
,
Thomas Wentworth HigginsonThomas Wentworth Higginson was an American minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with disunion and militant abolitionism...
,
Theodore ParkerTheodore Parker was an American Transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his own words and quotes he popularized would later influence Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.-Early life:Theodore Parker was born in Lexington, Massachusetts,...
and
George Luther StearnsGeorge Luther Stearns was an American industrialist and merchant, as well as a noted recruiter of blacks for the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, and
Samuel Gridley HoweSamuel Gridley Howe was a prominent 19th century United States physician, abolitionist, and an advocate of education for the blind.-Early Life and Education:...
. A group of six wealthy abolitionists Sanborn, Higginson, Parker, Stearns, Howe, and
Gerrit SmithGerrit Smith was a leading United States social reformer, abolitionist, politician, and philanthropist...
agreed to offer Brown financial support for his antislavery activities; they would eventually provide most of the financial backing for the raid on Harpers Ferry, and would come to be known as the
Secret SixThe Secret Six, or the Secret Committee of Six, were six wealthy and influential men who secretly funded the American abolitionist, John Brown. They were Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Samuel Howe, Theodore Parker, Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, Gerrit Smith, and George Luther Stearns...
and the Committee of Six. Brown often requested help from them with "no questions asked" and it remains unclear of how much of Brown's scheme the Secret Six were aware.
On January 7, 1858, the Massachusetts Committee pledged to 200
Sharps RifleSharps Rifles were those of a series that began with a design by Christian Sharps. Sharps rifles were renowned for long range and high accuracy in their day.-History:...
s and ammunition, which was being stored at
Tabor, IowaTabor is a city in Fremont and Mills counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 993 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tabor is located at ....
. In March, Brown contracted
Charles BlairSir Charles Blair is a former Canadian diplomat. He was Acting Chairman to the United States of America.- External links :*...
of
Collinsville, ConnecticutCollinsville is a village and census-designated place in the town of Canton in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,686 at the 2000 census. The central portion of the village is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Collinsville is...
for 1,000
pikesA pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used two-handed and used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown...
.
In the following months, Brown continued to raise funds, visiting
WorcesterWorcester is a city in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Having a population of 172,648 in the 2000 census, Worcester is ranked the second or third largest city in New England. It is the county seat of Worcester County....
,
SpringfieldSpringfield is the largest city on the Connecticut River and the county seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States.In the 2000 census, the city population was 154,082. It is the third largest city in Massachusetts and fourth largest in New England...
,
New HavenNew Haven is the second-largest municipality in Connecticut, after Bridgeport and just ahead of Hartford, with a core population of about 124,000 people. "New Haven" may also refer to the wider Greater New Haven area, which has nearly 600,000 inhabitants in the immediate area...
,
SyracuseSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2000 census, the city population was 147,306, and its metropolitan area had a population of 732,117. It is the economic and educational hub of Central New...
and Boston. In Boston he met
Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist...
and
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s...
. He received many pledges but little cash. In March, while in New York City, he was introduced to Hugh Forbes, an English mercenary, who had experience as a military tactician gained while fighting with
Giuseppe GaribaldiGiuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and had to flee Italy after a failed insurrection...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
in 1848. Brown hired him to be the drillmaster for his men and to write their tactical handbook. They agreed to meet in Tabor that summer.
Using the alias Nelson Hawkins, Brown traveled through the Northeast and then went to visit his family in
Hudson, OhioHudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,439 at the 2000 census, making it the 389th largest city in the Midwest. This number rose to 23,037 at the 2008 census estimates. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan...
. On August 7, he arrived in Tabor. Forbes arrived two days later. Over several weeks, the two men put together a "Well-Matured Plan" for fighting slavery in the South. The men quarreled over many of the details. In November, their troops left for Kansas. Forbes had not received his salary and was still feuding with Brown, so he returned to the East instead of venturing into Kansas. He would soon threaten to expose the plot to the government.
Because the October elections saw a free-state victory, Kansas was quiet. Brown made his men return to Iowa, where he fed them tidbits of his Virginia scheme. In January 1858, Brown left his men in
Springdale, IowaSpringdale is a small unincorporated community in Cedar County, Iowa, United States. Historically, the town was predominantly settled by Quakers, and was a way-station in the Underground Railroad...
, and set off to visit Frederick Douglass in
Rochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City metropolitan area. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and...
. There he discussed his plans with Douglass, and reconsidered Forbes' criticisms. Brown wrote a
Provisional ConstitutionJohn Brown's Provisional Constitution was created for the new states in the region he was planning to invade....
that would create a government for a new state in the region of his invasion. Brown then traveled to
Peterboro, New YorkPeterboro, located about twenty-five miles southeast of Syracuse, New York, is a historic hamlet situated in the Town of Smithfield, Madison County, New York....
and Boston to discuss matters with the Secret Six. In letters to them, he indicated that, along with recruits, he would go into the South equipped with weapons to do "Kansas work".
Brown and twelve of his followers, including his son Owen, traveled to
ChathamThe Municipality of Chatham-Kent is a city-status single-tier municipal government in Southern Ontario, Canada. The municipality is mainly rural and agricultural, with industry in the larger urban areas.-History:...
,
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
where he convened on May 8 a
Constitutional ConventionA constitutional convention is a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
. The convention was put together with the help of Dr.
Martin DelanyMartin Robison Delany was an African-American abolitionist and arguably the first proponent of American black nationalism. He became the first African American field officer in the United States Army during the Civil War...
. One-third of Chatham's 6,000 residents were fugitive slaves, and it was here that Brown was introduced to
Harriet TubmanHarriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue over seventy slaves using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the...
. The convention assembled 34 blacks and 12 whites to adopt Brown's Provisional Constitution. According to Delany, during the convention, Brown illuminated his plans to make Kansas rather than Canada the end of the
Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists who aided the...
. This would be the Subterranean Pass Way. He never mentioned or hinted at the idea of Harpers Ferry. But Delany's reflections are not entirely trustworthy. By 1858, Brown was no longer looking toward Kansas and was entirely focused on Virginia. Other testimony from the Chatham meeting suggests Brown did speak of going South. Brown had long used the terminology of the Subterranean Pass Way from the late 1840s, so it is possible that Delany conflated Brown's statements over the years. Regardless, Brown was elected
commander-in-chiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the...
and he named John Henrie Kagi as
Secretary of WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
.
Richard RealfRichard Realf was a poet who lived in many places throughout the United States, and whose work was informed by these travels.-Early success:...
was named
Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The current Secretary of...
. Elder Monroe, a black minister, was to act as
presidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
until another was chosen. A.M. Chapman was the acting
vice presidentA vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
; Delany, the corresponding secretary. Either during this time or shortly after, the Declaration of the Slave Population of the U.S.A. was written.
Although nearly all of the delegates signed the Constitution, very few delegates volunteered to join Brown's forces, although it will never be clear how many Canadian expatriates actually intended to join Brown because of a subsequent "security leak" that threw off plans for the raid, creating a hiatus in which Brown lost contact with many of the Canadian leaders. This crisis occurred when Hugh Forbes, Brown's mercenary, tried to expose the plans to Massachusetts
SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
Henry WilsonHenry Wilson was a Senator from Massachusetts and the 18th Vice President of the United States. He was a leading Republican who devoted his enormous energies to the destruction of what he called the Slave Power, that is the conspiracy of slave owners to seize control of the federal government and...
and others. The Secret Six feared their names would be made public. Howe and Higginson wanted no delays in Brown's progress, while Parker, Stearns, Smith and Sanborn insisted on postponement. Stearn and Smith were the major sources of funds, and their words carried more weight.
To throw Forbes off the trail and to invalidate his assertions, Brown returned to Kansas in June, and he remained in that vicinity for six months. There he joined forces with
James MontgomeryJames Montgomery was a Jayhawker during the Bleeding Kansas Affair and a controversial Union colonel during the American Civil War...
, who was leading raids into Missouri. On December 20, Brown led his own raid, in which he liberated eleven slaves, took captive two white men, and stole horses and wagons. On January 20, 1859, he embarked on a lengthy journey to take the eleven liberated slaves to
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
and then on a ferry to
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Over the course of the next few months he traveled again through Ohio, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts to draw up more support for the cause. On May 9, he delivered a lecture in
Concord, MassachusettsConcord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2000 Census, the town population was about 17,000. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature...
. In attendance were Bronson Alcott, Rockwell Hoar,
EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s...
and Thoreau. Brown also reconnoitered with the Secret Six. In June he paid his last visit to his family in North Elba, before he departed for Harpers Ferry.
Raid
Brown arrived in
Harpers FerryHarpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
on July 3, 1859. A few days later, under the name Isaac Smith, he rented a
farmhouseThe Kennedy Farm is an American landmark where John Brown planned and began his raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in 1859. Also known as John Brown's Headquarters and Kennedy Farmhouse, the log, stone and brick building has retained its historical integrity and is essentially the same as it was...
in nearby
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
. He awaited the arrival of his recruits. They never materialized in the numbers he expected. In late August he met with Douglass in
Chambersburg, PennsylvaniaChambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
, where he revealed the Harpers Ferry plan. Douglass expressed severe reservations, rebuffing Brown's pleas to join the mission. Douglass had actually known about Brown's plans from early in 1859 and had made a number of efforts to discourage blacks from enlisting.
In late September, the 950 pikes arrived from Charles Blair. Kagi's draft plan called for a brigade of 4,500 men, but Brown had only 21 men (16 white and 5 black: three free blacks, one freed slave, and a fugitive slave). They ranged in age from 21 to 49. Twelve of them had been with Brown in Kansas raids.
On October 16, 1859, Brown (leaving three men behind as a rear guard) led 19 men in an attack on the
Harpers Ferry ArmoryHarpers Ferry Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, was the second federal armory commissioned by the United States government located in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia , the first federal armory being the Springfield Armory located in Springfield,...
. He had received 200
Beecher's Bibles"Beecher's Bibles" was the name given to the breech loading Sharps rifles that were supplied to the anti-slavery immigrants in Kansas.The Sharps rifle was a big innovation in firearms during the 1850s. It was highly sought after by men looking to gain political advantage in territorial Kansas...
-- breechloading .52 caliber Sharps
carbineA carbine is a firearm similar to a rifle or musket. Many carbines, especially modern designs, were developed from rifles, being essentially shortened versions of full rifles firing the same ammunition, although often at a lower velocity...
s -- and pikes from northern abolitionist societies in preparation for the raid. The armory was a large complex of buildings that contained 100,000 muskets and rifles, which Brown planned to seize and use to arm local slaves. They would then head south, drawing off more and more slaves from plantations, and fighting only in self-defense. As Frederick Douglass and Brown's family testified, his strategy was essentially to deplete Virginia of its slaves, causing the institution to collapse in one county after another, until the movement spread into the South, essentially wreaking havoc on the economic viability of the pro-slavery states. Thus, while violence was essential to self-defense and advancement of the movement, Brown's hope was to limit and minimize bloodshed, not ignite a slave insurrection as many have charged. From the Southern point of view, of course, any effort to arm the enslaved was perceived as a definitive threat.
Initially, the raid went well, and they met no resistance entering the town. They cut the telegraph wires and easily captured the armory, which was being defended by a single watchman. They next rounded up hostages from nearby farms, including Colonel Lewis Washington, great-grandnephew of
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
. They also spread the news to the local slaves that their liberation was at hand. Things started to go wrong when an eastbound Baltimore & Ohio train approached the town. The train's baggage master tried to warn the passengers. Brown's men yelled for him to halt and then opened fire. The baggage master, Hayward Shepherd, became the first casualty of John Brown's war against slavery. Ironically, Shepherd was a free black man. Two of the hostages' slaves also died in the raid. For some reason, after the shooting of Shepherd, Brown allowed the train to continue on its way.
A. J. Phelps, the Through Express passenger train conductor, sent a telegram to W. P. Smith, Master of Transportation of the B. & O. R. R., Baltimore:
Monocacy, 7.05 A. M., October 17, 1859.
Express train bound east, under my charge, was stopped this morning at Harper's Ferry by armed abolitionists. They have possession of the bridge and the arms and armory of the United States. Myself and Baggage Master have been fired at, and Hayward, the colored porter, is wounded very severely, being shot through the body, the ball entering the body below the left shoulder blade and coming out under the left side.
News of the raid reached Baltimore early that morning and then on to Washington by late morning.
In the meantime, local farmers, shopkeepers, and militia pinned down the raiders in the armory by firing from the heights behind the town. Some of the local men were shot by Brown's men. At noon, a company of militia seized the bridge, blocking the only escape route. Brown then moved his prisoners and remaining raiders into the engine house, a small brick building at the entrance to the armory. He had the doors and windows barred and loopholes were cut through the brick walls. The surrounding forces barraged the engine house, and the men inside fired back with occasional fury. Brown sent his son Watson and another supporter out under a white flag, but the angry crowd shot them. Intermittent shooting then broke out, and Brown's son Oliver was wounded. His son begged his father to kill him and end his suffering, but Brown said "If you must die, die like a man." A few minutes later he was dead. The exchanges lasted throughout the day.
By the morning of October 18 the engine house, later known as
John Brown's FortJohn Brown's Fort was the building built in 1848 that was originally constructed for use as a guard and fire engine house for the federal Harpers Ferry Armory in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, then a part of Virginia....
, was surrounded by a company of
U.S. MarinesThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
under the command of
ColonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career United States Army officer, an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history. Lee was the son of Major General Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry" , Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter...
of the United States Army. A young Army lieutenant,
J.E.B. StuartJames Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
, approached under a white flag and told the raiders that their lives would be spared if they surrendered. Brown refused, saying, "No, I prefer to die here." Stuart then gave a signal. The Marines used sledge hammers and a make-shift battering-ram to break down the engine room door. Lieutenant Israel Greene cornered Brown and struck him several times, wounding his head. In three minutes Brown and the survivors were captives. Altogether Brown's men killed four people, and wounded nine. Ten of Brown's men were killed (including his sons Watson and Oliver). Five of Brown's men escaped (including his son Owen), and seven were captured along with Brown. Among the killed raiders were
John Henry KagiJohn Henry Kagi was an American abolitionist and second in command to John Brown in Brown's failed raid on Harper's Ferry...
;
Lewis Sheridan LearyLewis Sheridan Leary , an African American harnessmaker from Oberlin, Ohio, joined John Brown's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry, where he was killed. He was the first husband of Mary Leary Langston, the maternal grandmother of poet Langston Hughes.-Life:Leary's father, a freeborn African...
and
Dangerfield NewbyDangerfield Newby was the oldest of John Brown's raiders and the first of his men to die at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He was born a slave in Fauquier County, Virginia. His father, a Scotsman, freed his children....
; those hanged besides Brown were
John Anthony Copeland, Jr.John Anthony Copeland, Jr. was born a free black in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1842, he moved north to Oberlin, Ohio, where he later attended Oberlin College and became involved in antislavery activities...
and
Shields GreenShields Green , also known as "Emperor," was an ex-slave who escaped from Charleston, South Carolina and participated in John Brown's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry. Though he had a chance to escape capture, he returned to the fighting and was captured with Brown. For their part in the raid,...
John Brown raiders
http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/jbrown/people.html:
Killed
Hanged in 1859 following the raid
Hanged in 1860
Albert Hazlett
Aaron D. Stevens
Died during US Civil War
Barclay CoppockBarclay Coppock was a follower of John Brown and Union Army soldier in the American Civil War. Along with his brother Edwin, he participated in the raid on Harpers Ferry. In historic documents their last name was variously spelled "Coppock" or "Coppoc"...
Charles Plummer Tidd
Survived
Osborn Perry Anderson
Owen Brown
Francis Jackson Meriam
Imprisonment and trial
Brown and the others captured were held in the office of the armory. On October 18, 1859, Virginia Governor
Henry A. WiseHenry Alexander Wise was an American statesman from Virginia.-Early life:Wise was born in Drummondtown, Accomack County, Virginia, to Major John Wise and his second wife Sarah Corbin Cropper, whose families had been long settled there...
, Virginia Senator
James M. MasonJames Murray Mason was a United States Representative and United States Senator from Virginia. He was a grandson of George Mason and represented the Confederate States of America as appointed commissioner of the Confederacy to the United Kingdom and France between 1861 and 1865 during the American...
, and Representative
Clement VallandighamClement Laird Vallandigham was an Ohio unionist of the Copperhead faction of anti-war, pro-Confederate Democrats during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
of Ohio arrived in Harpers Ferry. Mason led the three-hour questioning session of Brown.
Although the attack had taken place on Federal property, Wise ordered that Brown and his men would be tried in Virginia (perhaps to avert Northern political pressure on the Federal government, or in the unlikely event of a presidential
pardonA pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by a head of state, such as a monarch or president, or by a competent church authority. Clemency is an associated term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. The...
). The trial began October 27, after a doctor pronounced Brown fit for trial. Brown was charged with
murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ing four whites and a black, with
conspiringIn the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
with slaves to rebel, and with
treasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife...
against Virginia. A series of lawyers were assigned to Brown, who included Lawson Botts, Thomas C. Green, Samuel Chilton, a lawyer from Washington D.C., and George Hoyt, but it was Hiram Griswold, a lawyer from Cleveland, Ohio who concluded the defense on October 31. In his closing statement, Griswold argued that Brown could not be guilty of treason against a state to which he owed no loyalty, that Brown had not killed anyone himself, and that the failure of the raid indicated that Brown had not conspired with slaves.
Andrew HunterAndrew Hunter was the District Attorney for Charles Town, Virginia, who prosecuted John Brown for the raid on Harpers Ferry....
, the local district attorney, presented the closing arguments for the prosecution.
On November 2, after a week-long trial and 45 minutes of deliberation, the
Charles TownCharles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States.Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States....
jury found Brown guilty on all three counts. Brown was sentenced to be hanged in public on December 2. In response to the sentence,
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the early 19th century. His teachings directly influenced the growing New Thought movement of the mid 1800s...
remarked that "[John Brown] will make the gallows glorious like the Cross." Cadets from the
Virginia Military InstituteThe Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other state military college in the United States, all VMI students are military cadets. VMI offers cadets a...
under the leadership of General Francis H. Smith and Major
Thomas J. JacksonThomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee. His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern...
(who would earn the nickname "Stonewall" less than two years later) were called into service as a security detail in the event Brown's supporters attempted a rescue.
During his month in jail, Brown was allowed to send and receive correspondence. He refused to be rescued by
Silas SouleSilas Stillman Soule was a Massachusetts abolitionist, Kansas Territory Jayhawker, and a soldier in the Colorado infantry and cavalry during the American Civil War. Captain Soule, as commander of Company D, 1st Colorado Cavalry, was present at the Sand Creek Massacre on November 29, 1864...
, a friend from Kansas who had somehow infiltrated the prison. Brown said that he was ready to die as a
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, and Silas left him to be executed. More importantly, many of Brown's letters exuded high tones of spirituality and conviction and, when picked up by the northern press, won increasing numbers of supporters in the North as they simultaneously infuriated many white people in the South. On December 1, his wife joined him for his last meal. She was denied permission to stay for the night, prompting Brown to lose his composure for the only time through the ordeal.
Victor Hugo's reaction
Victor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, from exile on
GuernseyThe Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.As well as the island of Guernsey itself, it also includes Alderney, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, Burhou, Lihou, Sark and other islets. Although the defence of all these islands is the...
, tried to obtain pardon for John Brown: he sent an
open letterAn open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
that was published by the press on both sides of the Atlantic (cf.
Actes et parolesActes et Paroles is a book by Victor Hugo that recounts his life story and his dreams of the future. He speaks of universal education and a United States of Europe. He is very hostile to the military and church....
). This text, written at Hauteville-House on December 2, 1859, warned of a possible
civil warA civil war is a war between organized groups within a single nation state, or, less commonly, between two nations created from a formerly-united nation state. The aim of one side may be to take control of the nation or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies...
:
Death and aftermath
On the morning of December 2, Brown read his Bible and wrote a final letter to his wife, which included his will. At 11:00 he was escorted through a crowd of 2,000 soldiers. Among them were future Confederate general
Stonewall JacksonThomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee. His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern...
and
John Wilkes BoothJohn Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a popular actor, well known in both the...
, who borrowed a militia uniform to gain admission to the execution.
Brown was accompanied by the sheriff and his assistants, but no minister since he had consistently rejected the ministrations of pro-slavery clergy. Since the region was in the grips of virtual hysteria, most northerners, including journalists, were run out, and it is unlikely any anti-slavery clergyman would have been safe, even if one were to have sought to visit Brown. Likely drawing strength from correspondence from northern clergy, he elected to receive no religious services in the jail or at the scaffold. He was hanged at 11:15 a.m. and pronounced dead at 11:50 a.m., and his body was placed in a wooden coffin with the noose still around his neck.
On the day of his death he wrote "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done."
In 1864, his wife Mary Ann and some of Brown's remaining children moved to
Red Bluff, CaliforniaRed Bluff is the county seat of Tehama County, California. As of the 2000 census, the incorporated city had a total population of 13,147, but it is currently estimated at 26,000 due to recent annexations....
. At some point during their westward journey, Southern militants heard of their presence on the trail and sought to attack them, but the Browns were able to evade them.
John Brown is buried on the
John Brown FarmThe John Brown Farm and Gravesite was the home and is the final resting place of abolitionist John Brown.It is located on John Brown Road in North Elba near Lake Placid, New York, where John Brown moved in 1849 to lead freed slaves in farming...
in
North Elba, New YorkNorth Elba is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the island of Elba. North Elba is on the western edge of the county and is southwest of Plattsburgh...
, on the outskirts of
Lake PlacidLake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638. Lake Placid is named after nearby Lake Placid....
. The farm and grave are located near Old Military Road. Also buried near Brown are his sons
Oliver Brown and
Watson Brown. The
tombstone of Captain John Brown (1728-1776){See Note # 6 below} is on the grave of his grandson John Brown.
Senate investigation
On December 14, 1859, the U.S. Senate appointed a bipartisan committee to investigate the Harpers Ferry raid and to determine whether any citizens contributed arms, ammunition or money. The Democrats attempted to implicate the Republicans in the raid; the Republicans tried to disassociate themselves from Brown and his acts.
The Senate committee heard testimony from 32 witnesses, including Liam Dodson, one of the surviving abolitionists. The report, authored by chairman James M. Mason, a pro-slavery politician from Virginia, was published in June, 1860. It found no direct evidence of a conspiracy, but implied that the raid was a result of Republican doctrines. The two committee Republicans published a minority report, but were apparently more concerned about denying Northern culpability than clarifying the nature of Brown's efforts. Certainly the 1860 Republican Presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, echoed his party's view when he called Brown a delusional fanatic who was justly hanged.
Aftermath of the raid
The raid on Harpers Ferry is generally thought to have done much to set the nation on a course toward civil war. Southern slaveowners, hearing initial reports that hundreds of abolitionists were involved, were relieved the effort was so small. Yet they feared other abolitionists would emulate Brown and attempt to lead slave rebellions. Therefore the South reorganized the decrepit militia system. These militias, well-established by 1861, became a ready-made Confederate army, making the South better prepared for war.
Southern Democrats charged that Brown's raid was an inevitable consequence of the Republican Party's political platform, which they associated with Abolitionism. In light of the upcoming elections in November 1860, the Republican political and editorial response to John Brown tried to distance themselves as much as possible from Brown, condemning the raid and dismissing Brown as an insane fanatic. As one historian explains, Brown was successful in polarizing politics:
- "Brown's raid succeeded brilliantly. It drove a wedge through the already tentative and fragile Opposition-Republican coalition and helped to intensify the sectional polarization that soon tore the Democratic party and the Union apart."
Many abolitionists in the North viewed John Brown as a martyr who had been sacrificed for the sins of the nation. Immediately after the raid,
William Lloyd GarrisonWilliam Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the radical abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the...
published a column in
The LiberatorThe Liberator was an abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison in 1831. Garrison published weekly issues of The Liberator from Boston continuously for 35 years, from January 1, 1831, to the final issue of January 1, 1866...
, judging Brown's raid as "well-intended but sadly misguided" and "an enterprise so wild and futile as this". However, he defended Brown's character from detractors in the Northern and Southern press, and argued that those who supported the principles of the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
could not consistently oppose Brown's raid. (Garrison reiterated the point, adding that "whenever commenced, I cannot but wish success to all slave insurrections", in a speech in Boston on the day Brown was hanged).
On December 22, 1859,
John Greenleaf WhittierJohn Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
published a poem praising him, "Brown of Ossawatomie".
After the Civil War, Black leader
Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, (born circa 1818 February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer...
wrote, "Did John Brown fail? John Brown began the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic. His zeal in the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine. Mine was as the taper light; his was as the burning sun. I could live for the slave; John Brown could die for him."
Posthumous view of Brown's character
As the U.S. distanced itself from the cause of slavery and "bayonet rule" in the South, the historical view of Brown declined in a manner parallel with the demise of Reconstruction. In the 1880s, Brown's detractors some of them contemporaries embarrassed by their fervent abolitionism began to produce virulent exposés, particularly emphasizing the Pottawatomie killings of 1856.
Although
Oswald Garrison VillardOswald Garrison Villard was an American journalist. He provided a rare direct link between the classical liberal anti-imperialism of the late 19th century and the conservative "Old Right" of the 1930s and 1940s....
's 1910 biography of Brown was thought to be friendly, Villard being the grandson of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, he also added fuel to the anti-Brown fire by criticizing him as a murderer de facto. Villard himself was a pacifist and admired Brown in many respects, but his interpretation of the facts provided a paradigm for later anti-Brown writers. By the mid-20th century, some scholars were fairly convinced that John Brown was a fanatic and killer, while some African Americans sustained a positive view of the man. Even as late as the mid 20th century, some Southerners used his name as a substitute for profanity and used the eponym as a curse.
Recent biographers accounts vary, although several works that have been published on Brown since the opening of the 21st century have marked a significant shift away from the hostility of writers on Brown. Toledo (2002), Peterson (2002), DeCaro (2002, 2007), Reynolds (2005), and Carton (2006) are critically appreciative of Brown's history, far from the opinions of earlier writers. A division of opinion is evident in two recent works of historical fiction: Bruce Olds's 1995 "Raising Holy Hell", which portrays Brown as a religious zealot tortured by delusions of godly violence; and the more unapologetically sympathetic fictional portrayal of Brown found in Russell Banks's 1998 "Cloudsplitter". The shift to an appreciative perspective on Brown moves many white historians toward the view long held by black scholars such as W. E. B. DuBois, Benjamin Quarles, and Lerone Bennett Jr.
Writing in the 1970s, Albert Fried, a biographer and historiographer of Brown, concluded that historians who portrayed Brown as a dysfunctional figure are "really informing me of their predilections, their judgment of the historical event, their identification with the moderates and opposition to the 'extremists.'" Unfortunately it is this less studied, highly interpretive view of Brown that has prevailed in academic writing as well as in journalism; as biographer Louis DeCaro Jr. has recently written, "there is no consensus of fairness with respect to Brown in either the academy or the media." The current trend among some writers to portray Brown as another Timothy Mc Veigh or Osama bin Laden may still reflect the same bias that Fried discussed a generation ago. DeCaro likewise complains of writers taking "unstudied liberties" and concludes that in the 20th century alone, "poisonous portrayals [of Brown were] so prevalent as virtually to have formed one long screed of hyperbole and sarcasm in the name of historical narrative."
- Biographer Richard Owen Boyer has called him "an American who gave his life that millions of other Americans might be free";
- Biographer Stephen B. Oates
Stephen B. Oates is a former professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is an expert in 19th-century United States history....
has described him as "maligned as a demented dreamer... (but) in fact one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation";
- Biographer David S. Reynolds
David S. Reynolds is an American historian and literary critic, noted for his specialized books on the Civil War period and his expert knowledge of Walt Whitman.-Life and career:...
gives Brown credit for starting the civil war and "killing slavery", and cautions others against identifying Brown with terrorism. Reynolds sees him as the inspiration for the Civil Rights MovementThe Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or...
a century later, arguing "it is misleading to identify Brown with modern terrorists."
- Historian and Brown researcher Paul Finkelman
Paul Finkelman is an American historian and legal scholar. He is the President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy, and Senior Fellow in the Government Law Center at Albany Law School in Albany, NY...
calls him "simply part of a very violent world" and states that Brown "is a bad tactician, a bad strategist, he's a bad planner, he's not a very good general-but he's not crazy"
- Biographer Louis A. DeCaro Jr., who has debunked many historical allegations about Brown's early life and public career, concludes that although he "was hardly the only abolitionist to equate slavery with sin, his struggle against slavery was far more personal and religious than it was for many abolitionists, just as his respect and affection for black people was far more personal and religious than it was for most enemies of slavery."
- Historian and Brown documentary scholar Louis Ruchames wrote: "Brown's action was one of great idealism and placed him in the company of the great liberators of mankind.";
- Biographer Otto Scott introduces his work on Brown by writing: "In the late 1850s a new type of political assassin appeared in the United States. He did not murder the mighty--but the obscure. . . . his purposes were the same as those of his classic predecessors: to force the nation into a new political pattern by creating terror."
- Criminologist James N. Gilbert writes: "Brown's deeds conform to contemporary definitions of terrorism, and his psychological predispositions are consistent with the terrorist model."
- Novelist Bruce Olds calls him "fanatical, ... monomaniacal, ... a zealot, and ... psychologically unbalanced"; and finally
- Journalist Ken Chowder states he is "stubborn ... egoistical, self-righteous, and sometimes deceitful; yet ... at certain times, a great man"; Chowder argues that Brown has been adopted by both left and right wing, and his actions "spun" to fit the world view of the spinner at various times in American history. "
- According to his autobiography, when he was asked if white people could join his black nationalist
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of black national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different black nationalist philosophies but the principles of all black nationalist ideologies are 1) black unity, and 2) black self-determination/political, social and economic...
Organization of Afro-American UnityThe Organization of Afro-American Unity was an organization formed by Malcolm X to promote cooperation between African-Americans.On June 28, 1964, six weeks after Malcolm X's return to New York from Africa, he announced the formation of the Organization of Afro-American Unity . “It was formed in my...
, Malcolm XMalcolm X , also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against...
replied "maybe John Brown".
- There was also the John Brown Revolutionary League organized in 1969 in Houston, Texas and worked along The People's Party II and MAYO as the Rainbow Coalition. Radical young groups from black, white and Chicano backgrounds working to better their communities. Both the People's Party II and John Brown Revolutionary League participated in an armed stand off against abusive Houston police on July 26, 1970. Carl Hampton, Chairman of the People's Party II (later Black Panther Party) was killed in the battle. Bartee Haile, leader of the JBRL was also wounded. 400 mostly black supporters were arrested moments after the battle ended.
Screen portrayals
The two most noted screen portrayals of Brown have both been given by actor
Raymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian-born American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company...
. The 1940 film
Santa Fe TrailSanta Fe Trail is a 1940 western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Despite glaring historical inaccuracies and racist overtones, the film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the seventh Flynn-de Havilland collaboration...
, starring
Errol FlynnErrol Leslie Flynn was an Australian film actor, known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Background and early life:...
and
Olivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is an actress. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. De Havilland is one of the last surviving female stars from 1930s Hollywood. She is also the last living lead from Gone with the Wind....
, depicted Brown completely unsympathetically as an out-and-out villainous madman, and Massey added to that impression by playing him with a constant, wild-eyed stare. The film gave the impression that it did not oppose African-American slavery, even to the point of having a black "mammy" character say, after an especially fierce battle, "Mr. Brown done promised us freedom, but... if this is freedom, I don't want no part of it".
Massey portrayed Brown again in the little-known, low-budget Seven Angry Men
, in which he was not only unquestionably the main character, but was depicted and acted in a much more restrained, sympathetic way.
Raymond Massey would also portray Brown on the BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
stage, one of three characters he played in the acclaimed 1953 dramatic reading of Stephen Vincent BenetStephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
's epic poem John Brown's BodyJohn Brown's Body is an epic American poem written by Stephen Vincent Benet. Its title references the radical abolitionist John Brown, who raided Harpers Ferry in West Virginia in the fall of 1859. He was captured and hanged later that year, and his name and rebellion inspired the civil war song...
.
Tyrone PowerTyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as "Ty Power", was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black...
and
Judith AndersonDame Judith Anderson, AC, DBE was an Australian actress of stage and screen, who was also nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar...
also starred in the production. In Book I of his epic poem, Benet called him a stone, "to batter into bits an actual wall and change the actual scheme of things."
Brown was also portrayed on film by John Cromwell in the 1940
Abe Lincoln in IllinoisAbe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of the United States....
. Cromwell was the director of the film and was not credited in the role. Somewhat ironically, Lincoln was played by Raymond Massey, who also played Brown in the other films and productions cited in this article.
Singer
Johnny CashJohnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
portrayed John Brown in Book I, Episode Five of the 1985 TV
miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
North and SouthNorth and South is an American television miniseries set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War. It was based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes and follows its general storyline, despite some deviations...
. He is revered by character Virgilia Hazard (Kirstie AlleyKirsten Louise "Kirstie" Alley is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987–1993, winning an Emmy as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 1991....
). During the Harpers Ferry episode, he exchanges brief words with character Orry Main (Patrick SwayzePatrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best-known for his roles as romantic leading men in the films Dirty Dancing and Ghost and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries...
) and appears noble in his aims, but unrealistic.
Royal DanoRoyal Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary J. and Caleb Dano. He left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas and California...
portrayed John Brown in the 1971 western comedy Skin GameSkin Game is a 1971 movie comedy starring James Garner and Louis Gossett, Jr.- Plot :Quincy Drew and Jason O'Rourke travel from town to town in the south of the United States during the slavery era. Quincy Drew claims to be a down-on-his-luck slave owner who is selling Jason O'Rourke as a slave...
.
Sterling HaydenSterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
also portrayed John Brown in the 1982 miniseries The Blue and the GrayThe Blue and the Gray is a television miniseries that first aired on CBS in three installments on November 14, November 16, and November 17, 1982. Set during the American Civil War, the series starred John Hammond, Stacy Keach, Lloyd Bridges, and Gregory Peck as President Abraham Lincoln...
.
Secondary sources
- Ken Chowder, "The Father of American Terrorism."
American Heritage
(2000) 51(1): pp 81+; online version
DeCaro, Louis A. Jr. "Fire from the Midst of You": A Religious Life of John Brown
(2002)
W. E. B. Du Bois John Brown
(ISBN 0-679-78353-9) (1909).
Finkelman, Paul ed. His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid
(1995)
Goodrich, Thomas War to the Knife: Bleeding Kansas, 1854-1861
(1998).
Malin, James. John Brown & the Legend of Fifty-Six
(1942), the most influential scholarly attack on Brown (ISBN 0838310214)
Nevins, AllanAllan Nevins was an American historian and journalist, renowned for his extensive work on the history of the Civil War and his biographies of such figures as President Grover Cleveland, Hamilton Fish, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller.Born in Camp Point, Illinois, Nevins was educated at the...
. Ordeal of the Union
. 2 vols. (1947), in depth scholarly history.
Nichols, Roy F. “The Kansas-Nebraska Act: A Century of Historiography.” Mississippi Valley Historical Review
43 (September 1956): 187-212. Online at JSTOR (also paper) at most academic libraries.
Nudelman, Franny, John Brown's Body: Slavery, Violence, and the Culture of War
(2004).
Oates, Stephen B. To Purge This Land With Blood: A Biography of John Brown
(1970).
Oates, Stephen B. Our Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, and the Civil War Era (1979)
Peterson, Merrill D. (2002): John Brown: The Legend Revisited (ISBN 0-8139-2132-5), how history has treated Brown
Potter, David M. The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861 (1976), prize winning scholarly history of the era
Renehan, Edward J. The Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown. 1995.
Reynolds, David S. (2005): John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights (2005) a favorable biography; says (p. 8): "My stand on some key issues is: (a) Brown was not insane; instead, he was a deeply religious, flawed, yet ultimately noble reformer; (b) the Pottawatomie affair was indeed a crime, but it was a war crime committed against proslavery settlers by a man who saw slavery as an unprovoked war of one race against another; and (c) neither Brown's provisional constitution nor the Harpers Ferry raid were wild-eyed, erratic schemes doomed to failure; instead, they reflect Brown's overconfidence in whites' ability to rise above racism and in blacks' willingness to rise up in armed insurrection against their masters."
Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2006.
Otto ScottOtto Scott was a journalist and author of corporate histories who also wrote biographies on notable figures such as John Brown , James I of England and Robespierre.-Early life:...
, The Secret Six: John Brown and The Abolitionist Movement (1979).
SenGupta, Gunja. “Bleeding Kansas: A Review Essay.” Kansas History 24 (Winter 2001/2002): 318-341.
Villard, Oswald Garrison, John Brown 1800-1859: A Biography Fifty Years After (1910). full text online
Primary sources
- Louis Ruchames, ed. A John Brown Reader: The Story of John Brown in His Own Words, in the Words of Those who Knew Him (1959)
- Franklin Sanborn
Franklin Benjamin Sanborn was an American journalist, author, and reformer. Sanborn was a social scientist, and a memorialist of American transcendentalism who wrote early biographies of many of the movement's key figures...
(ed.) (1891): The Life and Letters of John Brown
- DeCaro, Louis A. Jr. John Brown—The Cost of Freedom: Selections from His Life & Letters (New York: International Publishers, 2007)
- Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist...
(1859): A Plea for Captain John Brown
- Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson , the 17th President of the United States , was the first U.S. President to be impeached, as well as the first U.S. president to succeed to the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor.At the time of the secession of the Southern states, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from...
(1859): What John Brown Did in Kansas (December 12, 1859): a speech to the United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, December 12, 1859. Originally published in The Congressional Globe, The Official Proceedings of Congress, Published by John C. Rives, Washington, D. C. Thirty-Sixth Congress, 1st Session, New Series...No. 7, Tuesday, December 13, 1859, pages 105-106. Retrieved May 16, 2005.
On-line
- "John Brown's body and blood" by Ari Kelman: a review in the TLS, February 14, 2007.
- John Brown Museum State Historic Site Osawatomie
Osawatomie is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, 61 miles southwest of Kansas City. The population was 4,645 at the 2000 census. It derives its name from two streams near by, the Osage and Potawatomie. In 1900, 4,101 people lived in Osawatomie; in 1910, 4,046. Osawatomie was chartered...
, KansasKansas is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was...
- What John Brown Did In Kansas Battle of Osawatomie, 1856
- John Brown, Abolitionist, by David Reynolds, 2005
- West Virginia Archives and History
- Project Gutenberg: John Brown's Body (1928) (full text)
Historical fiction
- Olds, Bruce. Raising Holy Hell (1995).
- Banks, Russell
Russell Banks is an American writer of fiction and poetry.-Life:Banks lives in upstate New York, and has been named a New York State Author. He is presently also Artist-in-Residence at the University of Maryland...
. CloudsplitterCloudsplitter is a 1998 historical novel by Russell Banks relating the story of abolitionist John Brown.The novel is narrated as a retrospective by John Brown's son, Owen Brown, from his hermitage in the San Gabriel Mountains of California...
(1998).
- Ehrlich, Leonard. God's Angry Man (1932).
- Bisson,Terry Fire on the Mountain (1988)
- George Macdonald Fraser "Flashman and the Angel of the Lord
Flashman and the Angel of the Lord is a 1994 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the tenth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:...
" (1994)
- Rinaldi, Ann. Mine Eyes Have Seen. (1997)
- Cliff, Michelle. Free Enterprise. (1993)
- Brooks, Geraldine. March: A Love Story in a Time of War (2006)
- Flint, Eric
| influenced =| website = http://www.ericflint.net/}}Eric Flint is an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also writes humorous fantasy adventures....
. "1824: The Arkansas War1824: The Arkansas War is a 2006 alternate history novel by American writer Eric Flint.-Plot summary :The story, takes place in 1824–25, ten years after 1812: The Rivers of War...
" (2006)
- Santa Fe Trail (film)
Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Despite glaring historical inaccuracies and racist overtones, the film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the seventh Flynn-de Havilland collaboration...
. (1940)
- Summers, Kevin G. "His Soul Goes Marching On" in Tales of Moreauvia, Issue One (2008).
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
, 1929Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Little Review, edited by Margaret Caroline Anderson and Jane Heap, ceases publication* The Dial ceases publication...
: Stephen Vincent BenetStephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
, John Brown's BodyJohn Brown's Body is an epic American poem written by Stephen Vincent Benet. Its title references the radical abolitionist John Brown, who raided Harpers Ferry in West Virginia in the fall of 1859. He was captured and hanged later that year, and his name and rebellion inspired the civil war song...
- John Brown's Body
"John Brown's Body" is a famous Union marching song of the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition of the American camp meeting movement of the 1800s. During the American Civil War the lyrics referenced Sergeant John Brown of the Second Battalion, Boston Light Infantry...
(originally known as "John Brown's Song"), UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
marchingA march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
songA song is a metrical composition intended or adapted for singing, especially one in rhymed stanzas; a lyric; a ballad....
of the American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
.
External links
- Find-A-Grave profile for John Brown
- New York History Net, John Brown's Farm
- John Brown's pike, Kansas Museum of History
- John Brown's surveying compass, Kansas Museum of History
- Collection of John Brown's Letters
- Interview with David S. Reynolds author of John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Lindenhurst Memorial Library BookTalk
- John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery by David S. Reynolds excerpt
- John Brown's pedigree
- John Brown's Gravesite - North Elba, NY
- 150 Years Ago Today: Abolitionist John Brown Raided Arsenal at Harpers Ferry - video report by Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! is a syndicated program of news, analysis, and opinion aired by more than 700 radio and television, satellite and cable TV networks in North America...
- The Ghost of John Brown by Windy Cooler