Introduction
John Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut, to Owen Brown and Ruth Mills. His father was a Calvinist who believed that slavery was morally wrong. When Brown was young, he had witnessed a slave being beaten by his master. This event, along with his strong family values greatly influenced his hatred toward slavery very early in his life.
When John Brown was young, he wanted to become a minister, but because of financial troubles, Brown was forced to become a tanner. In 1837, a pro-slavery mob murdered an abolitionist named Elijah Parish Lovejoy. After the murder, Brown vowed: "Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery!" With his goal of abolishing slavery in mind, he moved to Springfield, Massachusetts where he took part in the Underground Railroad and created the League of Gileadites, a group that prevented slaves from being recaptured. Later, Brown moved to Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. In response to pro-slavery activists sacking the city of Lawrence, Brown along with his five sons took part in the Pottawatomie Massacre, which resulted in five deaths. A couple later in 1859, Brown led another group on the infamous raid of Harper's Ferry. Because of his leadership of the attack, he was hung on December 2, 1859. |
The Raid on Harpers Ferry
The Plot
In 1857, Brown along with his sons moved back to the East in hopes of starting a slave rebellion. They believed that to end slavery, they would have to lead the slave rebellion through the south and break the south's moral. To receive funding, Brown received support from six influential abolitionists who called themselves as the "Secret Six."
Searching for other strong abolitionist leaders to help him with his mission, Brown tried to recruit Frederick Douglass, who declined and warned that the idea was suicidal and the plan would never work. He also contacted Harriet Tubman, who was forced to reject as she was ill at the time and was unable to fight. Despite this, Brown ended up recruiting an army of 18 men including 3 of his sons and five African Americans. He planned to take over the area with his men and then wait for further reinforcements from the slaves of the nearby area. The group rented the Kennedy Farmhouse in Maryland near Harper's Ferry just ahead of the attack.
Searching for other strong abolitionist leaders to help him with his mission, Brown tried to recruit Frederick Douglass, who declined and warned that the idea was suicidal and the plan would never work. He also contacted Harriet Tubman, who was forced to reject as she was ill at the time and was unable to fight. Despite this, Brown ended up recruiting an army of 18 men including 3 of his sons and five African Americans. He planned to take over the area with his men and then wait for further reinforcements from the slaves of the nearby area. The group rented the Kennedy Farmhouse in Maryland near Harper's Ferry just ahead of the attack.
The Raid
On October 16, 1859, Brown and his company marched into Harpers Ferry and took control of the federal buildings there with little resistance. Along with the arsenal, he took over an armory and an engine house. Within a few moments, there were several wrong moves made. A train came by, and a black railroad worker named Hayward Sheward confronted them. Brown's men were scared that they would be overrun before reinforcements arrived and ended up killing him. The fatal mistake they made was that they then let the train continue on its way up north. This move was foolish because the conductor ended up carrying news of the uprising to Washington and Baltimore, where an army would rush down South to confront them.
Later, Brown also sent a patrol into the surrounding towns to fetch slaves for reinforcements and to collect hostages, including Colonel Lewis W. Washington, who was George Washington's great-great-nephew along with two George Washington's relics. The relics were a sword from Frederick the Great and two pistols given by the Marquis de Lafayette. The slaves whom he contacted did not come to his assistance (afraid that their masters would hurt them and that the plan would never work), and because the kidnapping angered many Virginians, the armory was surrounded by local militia and enraged farmers. In the encounter and skirmish, two townspeople and eight of Brown's men died.
Brown, forced to retreat, barricaded with his men in a smaller engine house, now known by the name John Brown's Fort, along with several hostages. On October 17, the U.S. Marines arrived from Washington, led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee. Two days later, the men charged the engine house and captured Brown and his men. They were turned over to the authorities in Virginia and tried and sentenced for treason.
Later, Brown also sent a patrol into the surrounding towns to fetch slaves for reinforcements and to collect hostages, including Colonel Lewis W. Washington, who was George Washington's great-great-nephew along with two George Washington's relics. The relics were a sword from Frederick the Great and two pistols given by the Marquis de Lafayette. The slaves whom he contacted did not come to his assistance (afraid that their masters would hurt them and that the plan would never work), and because the kidnapping angered many Virginians, the armory was surrounded by local militia and enraged farmers. In the encounter and skirmish, two townspeople and eight of Brown's men died.
Brown, forced to retreat, barricaded with his men in a smaller engine house, now known by the name John Brown's Fort, along with several hostages. On October 17, the U.S. Marines arrived from Washington, led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee. Two days later, the men charged the engine house and captured Brown and his men. They were turned over to the authorities in Virginia and tried and sentenced for treason.