Inside History: Protest. Revolt & Reform

For Brown, the continued talk of the abolitionist movement
was getting the cause nowhere. What was needed in his
view, was action. Blood would needed to be shed in order
to free the enslaved. In many respects, Brown would be
proven correct as only a couple of years after his actions at
Harpers Ferry, the United States of America would turn
against each other leading to a bloody Civil War where the
concept of Slavery was high on the agenda.
Not everyone agreed with John Brown’s plan to start an
insurrection against slave owners in 1859. Frederick
Douglass, the former slave turned abolitionist, might have
not have agreed with Brown’s methods but he certainly
admired his passion. Yet, he feared for his friend’s brave
plan to raid the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in order to
arm a slave rebellion against their oppressors. In Douglass
eyes, Brown and his small band of rebels were "going into a
perfect steel trap" warning Brown that he "would never get
out alive". Douglass, like many others declined the invitation
to join the raid at Harpers Ferry.
Harpers Ferry as a target made perfect sense to John
Brown. Inside the federal arsenal were 100,000 rifles and
muskets. Within the six countries of Harpers Ferry there
were approximately 18,000 slaves. If they joined him, it
would be enough to form an army. Twenty-one men would
join Brown for the raid on Harpers Ferry. Five of those men
were freed and fugitive slaves. The plan was simple. To
attack Harpers Ferry, secure the arsenal, hope others join
the insurrection and then flee into the blue ridge
mountains of Virginia using guerrilla tactics to attack
plantations and in doing so, grow his army before taking on
Richmond.
Despite his success the previous year, failure would once
again haunt Brown. Upon entering Harpers Ferry, a train
was approaching. The rebels stopped the train but within a
few hours, Brown let the train go. At the next town, the
conductor contacted Washington saying that “One Man and
Two hundred men are attacking Harpers Ferry!” President
Buchanan immediately ordered Robert E Lee to take care of
the situation and crush the insurrection. Despite the stand
off, Brown would be captured in the engine house along
with five others. Twelve of his men would die at Harpers
Ferry whilst four escaped.
John Brown would face three charges during his trial.
Treason, Murder and inciting slave insurrection. All were
punishable by death. His trial would begin on the 27th
October 1859 and would last only three and half days. It
would take the jury only 45 minutes to find him guilty of all
charges. His execution date was set as December 2, 1859.
For the other men who were captured the charge of
treason was dropped but they would still be found guilty of
the other charges. Shields Green, John Copeland Jr, John
Edwin Cook and Edwin Coppock would all face the
hangman’s noose. Green sent word to Brown that he was
glad to have fought with him, and awaited his death
willingly.
General Robert E. Lee
During his time in prison awaiting execution, the coverage
of John Brown’s raid intensified. From jail, he wrote
approximately 100 letters to newspaper editors around the
country as well as his family. In doing so, he aimed to
establish his own case and begin the process of writing his
own history. Opinions about John Brown and the actions of
his rebels began to take hold on the national conscience. To
those who supported anti-slavery he was seen as a Martyr
yet to others who opposed his actions, he was a traitor. In
polarising the opinions of the country, Brown had
unwittingly succeeded in bringing the question about
slavery to the limelight.
Following his execution, white abolitionist's who had
supported Brown with money and support in order to
bankroll the raid had fled north to Canada. Frederick
Douglass would join them given his close connections to
Brown. A Federal Marshall arrived at Douglass’s home one
day after he fled. It was a narrow escape.
In the aftermath of the raid on Harpers Ferry and Brown’s
execution many have fought for his reputation. American
philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson would call Brown: “The
rarest of heroes, a pure idealist with no by-ends.”
Even today, John Brown and his actions at Harper Ferry
leads historians, educators and even the general public to
ask questions. Was he a revolutional hero? Was he a
terrorist? Were his actions so morally just that it justified
the ends? Was he a fanatical madman who put his own
vanity and glory ahead of what was actually achievable? In
truth, John Brown is all of those things. A complicated
failure that ultimately succeeded through the actions that
were his preferred method of negotiations. That being,
violence, war and brother fighting brother in what would
become the American Civil War. It was only through that
bloodshed that slavery would finally end. A bloodshed that
began at Harpers Ferry.
14 INSIDE HISTORY