John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry was a struggle by John Brown, a white abolitionist, to initiate an armed slave revolt in 1859. Brown planned on taking over a United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, build up an army of both white and black volunteers, and then follow the Appalachian Mountains south to free the slaves along the way. Unfortunately for him, Brown and his men were defeated by a platoon of U.S. Marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee. In this essay I will be talking about Brown’s preparation for the raid, the details of the raid, and the outcome of the raid.
To prepare for this raid, John Brown rented a nearby farmhouse and cabin close to Harper’s Ferry and went under the alias Isaac Smith. He brought along twenty-one men who were not very well trained to fight. They had received a big shipment of arms from northern abolitionists which made Brown think he had a fighting chance in this raid. …show more content…
Brown also reached out to Frederick Douglas to act as a liaison officer in hopes to bring in more slaves, but Douglas declined. “‘You're walking into a perfect steel-trap,’ he said to Brown, ‘and you will never get out alive’” (PBS). Brown was trying to keep the raid a secret and had all of his men cooped up in a cabin all day, only allowing them out at night so they would not be noticed. Word about John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry started to spread when Brown paid Hugh Forbes to train his troops. The two got into disagreements about money and Forbes started threatening Brown’s supporters in an effort to get more money. When Forbes realized that he was not going to get any more money from Brown, he went to Washington DC and met with senator William Steward, and partially exposed Browns raid plans. Senator Williams wrote to Brown’s supporters advising them to retrieve the weapons that were given to Brown. This caused Browns supporters to write to him, telling him that the weapons were intended to be used in Kansas and should not be used for any other purposes. This resulted in Brown returning to Kansas to discredit Forbes, killing some of the momentum they had. It is estimated that around eighty people were aware of Browns raid in advance. Another man named David J. Gue also knew about Brown’s Raid in advance. Gue thought that Brown and his men would be killed so he alerted the government in order to protect him. On August 20, 1859 Gue sent an anonymous letter to the Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, warning him of Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry. Floyd figured the letter was a prank and didn’t act on it. Although so many people knew about the raid in advance not one of them was able to stop it. Brown’s plan was put into action on October 16, 1859. Brown and his men went to the town of Harper’s Ferry. Brown sent some of his men to capture the great-grandnephew of George Washington at his nearby plantation, his slaves, and two antiques that belonged to George Washington. They completed their first assignment and traveled to the Allstadt house and took more hostages. The raid was going well for Brown and his men. “Their problems began when a train approached town. The baggage master ran to warn the passengers. Brown’s men shouted at him to halt, then fired. The first victim of John Brown’s war against slavery was Hayward Shepherd, a free black man” (PBS). The authorities were then alerted and some of the white townspeople began to fight back against the raiders, but Brown’s men succeeded in capturing the armory that night. Brown and his men were found at the armory the next morning and were surrounded by local militia, farmers, and shopkeepers. A company of militia captured the bridge across the Potomac which cut off any possible escape routes for Brown’s army. Fighting broke out that day and four civilians were killed. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hold the armory, Brown took some of his hostages and moved into a smaller engine house. Brown became desperate and sent out his son with a white flag, but his son was fatally shot and killed. “With
To prepare for this raid, John Brown rented a nearby farmhouse and cabin close to Harper’s Ferry and went under the alias Isaac Smith. He brought along twenty-one men who were not very well trained to fight. They had received a big shipment of arms from northern abolitionists which made Brown think he had a fighting chance in this raid. …show more content…
Brown also reached out to Frederick Douglas to act as a liaison officer in hopes to bring in more slaves, but Douglas declined. “‘You're walking into a perfect steel-trap,’ he said to Brown, ‘and you will never get out alive’” (PBS). Brown was trying to keep the raid a secret and had all of his men cooped up in a cabin all day, only allowing them out at night so they would not be noticed. Word about John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry started to spread when Brown paid Hugh Forbes to train his troops. The two got into disagreements about money and Forbes started threatening Brown’s supporters in an effort to get more money. When Forbes realized that he was not going to get any more money from Brown, he went to Washington DC and met with senator William Steward, and partially exposed Browns raid plans. Senator Williams wrote to Brown’s supporters advising them to retrieve the weapons that were given to Brown. This caused Browns supporters to write to him, telling him that the weapons were intended to be used in Kansas and should not be used for any other purposes. This resulted in Brown returning to Kansas to discredit Forbes, killing some of the momentum they had. It is estimated that around eighty people were aware of Browns raid in advance. Another man named David J. Gue also knew about Brown’s Raid in advance. Gue thought that Brown and his men would be killed so he alerted the government in order to protect him. On August 20, 1859 Gue sent an anonymous letter to the Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, warning him of Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry. Floyd figured the letter was a prank and didn’t act on it. Although so many people knew about the raid in advance not one of them was able to stop it. Brown’s plan was put into action on October 16, 1859. Brown and his men went to the town of Harper’s Ferry. Brown sent some of his men to capture the great-grandnephew of George Washington at his nearby plantation, his slaves, and two antiques that belonged to George Washington. They completed their first assignment and traveled to the Allstadt house and took more hostages. The raid was going well for Brown and his men. “Their problems began when a train approached town. The baggage master ran to warn the passengers. Brown’s men shouted at him to halt, then fired. The first victim of John Brown’s war against slavery was Hayward Shepherd, a free black man” (PBS). The authorities were then alerted and some of the white townspeople began to fight back against the raiders, but Brown’s men succeeded in capturing the armory that night. Brown and his men were found at the armory the next morning and were surrounded by local militia, farmers, and shopkeepers. A company of militia captured the bridge across the Potomac which cut off any possible escape routes for Brown’s army. Fighting broke out that day and four civilians were killed. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hold the armory, Brown took some of his hostages and moved into a smaller engine house. Brown became desperate and sent out his son with a white flag, but his son was fatally shot and killed. “With