The End of the Beginning — John Brown Raids Harpers Ferry

To prepare for the Raid on Harpers Ferry, we know John Brown had rented out a cabin on the edge of town at the Kennedy Farm. For almost a month, around twenty men covertly lived here. John Brown, a 15-year-old daughter, Annie, also joined the men there as part of the cover story. She was also joined by her brother Oliver’s wife, Martha. They would often run interference with nosey neighbors and cook for the men staying at the cabin. The men had to hide from the neighbors and could only come out at night to not raise suspicion amongst the townsmen. This was proved difficult as people become curious about their neighbors when they live in a small town. However, they were able to evade suspicion.

The raid officially started on October 16th, 1859. The plan was first to kidnap prominent figures of the community and to use them as a bargaining chip in case. One of these people was Colonel Lewis Washington, who happened to be George Washington’s great-grand-nephew. They took the hostages to the federal armory, where all the weapons were stored. At the same time, another group went to cut the telegraph lines, and a train came through the station. However, this is where one of Brown’s men made a grave mistake. They shot and killed Heyward Sheppard, a black freeman who was the train conductor. He was the first causality of the raid. But then they let proceed to let the train continue, with all the passengers, and as soon as the train made their next stop the story of old John Brown with hundreds of men were sacking a federal armory began to spread. The townspeople learned what was happening later that night and started to fight back against Brown, but he had already taken the armory.

John Brown's Fort
John Brown’s Fort at Harpers Ferry

The next day, the townspeople created a local militia and surrounded the armory. They also cut off the bridge across the Potomac River, so there was no way Brown and his men could escape. Four townspeople died while they were exchanging gunfire with Brown and his men. Brown eventually moved from the armory to the engine house, which is now known as the John Brown fort. Some of Brown’s men were also killed, including two of his sons Watson and Oliver. Allegedly, when Watson was dying from a gunshot to the stomach, he was asking Brown to put him out of his misery, and Brown responded with some harsh words, to say the least. He said to Watson that he should basically “die like a man.” Now, I doubt the veracity of the story, but I think it is interesting how people wanted to portray Brown.

The raid ended on October 18th, when Robert E. Lee arrived from texas with Marines. They were able to barge down the doors and capture the rest of Brown’s men that were still alive. Brown was wounded in his capture, but he would live for a few more months before being sentenced to die by hanging.

The raid itself was not successful, they did not succeed in stealing weapons or destroying them, but what was more important is what happened after the Raid on Harpers Ferry and the response to it.

5 thoughts on “The End of the Beginning — John Brown Raids Harpers Ferry

  1. I was very upset when I visited because the museum and information about him were next to horrible in my opinion about the displays of the museums. It was way too dark and the information was vague. I wish it was better because the information is so interesting.

  2. It’s very nice to see Brown getting something more than a bad reputation and the brand of “failed proto-abolitionist” for his actions at Harper’s Ferry. Though it may have been unnecessarily violent (though in today’s day and age, far from the events of this past, who’s to say how necessary it really was?), Brown’s actions were a hugely galvanizing moment in the anti-slavery movement and should be respected as such.

  3. It‘s a shame that many failed military attempts throughout history are the result of “suspicion” and onlookers getting in the way as opposed to issues with general strategy. However, I think the depth you go into with each of these posts about the events is really refreshing, and I always learn something new.

  4. I wonder if John Brown really thought that he would be successful in his raid. The odds where stacked against him from the beginning, and while he made a noble effort, he was still unsuccessful. I wonder if his intentions was trying harder for a more moral victory that would inspire others to act versus his raid being successful in supporting his own agenda.

  5. It still shocks me that so much of American history, including all of this information about John Brown, is left out of many education systems. I think the necessary preparation you described was interesting since everyone had to get used to their surroundings before the raid. I wonder what would have happened if Brown’s raid had been successful and what else that would have affected. Looking forward to reading the your info about the response next week.

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