NPS commemorating John Brown's raid
A century and a half later, we still don't know quite what to think of John Brown.
Brown, historians agree, aimed to be a hero. He believed his plan was the necessary means to a righteous end: Storm a federal arsenal, seize thousands of weapons, arm a guerrilla force and start the revolution that would end slavery.
Yet the first casualty of his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry was a free black man, a baggage handler who bled to death on the street while Brown's raiders grabbed hostages and holed up at a fire engine house. Within 48 hours, Brown's rebellion was dead, along with at least four civilians, 10 raiders and a U.S. Marine who helped retake the building.
Brown's methods have been debated since, and the grandiosity of his plot and his willingness to kill or be killed have become a timeless fascination.
This year, the National Park Service has declared that his raid was the opening salvo in the War Between the States, with sesquicentennial commemorations beginning in West Virginia.
Read entire article at AP
Brown, historians agree, aimed to be a hero. He believed his plan was the necessary means to a righteous end: Storm a federal arsenal, seize thousands of weapons, arm a guerrilla force and start the revolution that would end slavery.
Yet the first casualty of his 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry was a free black man, a baggage handler who bled to death on the street while Brown's raiders grabbed hostages and holed up at a fire engine house. Within 48 hours, Brown's rebellion was dead, along with at least four civilians, 10 raiders and a U.S. Marine who helped retake the building.
Brown's methods have been debated since, and the grandiosity of his plot and his willingness to kill or be killed have become a timeless fascination.
This year, the National Park Service has declared that his raid was the opening salvo in the War Between the States, with sesquicentennial commemorations beginning in West Virginia.