We see that javascript is disabled or not supported by your browser - javascript is needed for important actions on the site. Read more

What's New - Home - Login

Member $avings: $81,578,852.91 | Books Available: 793,967 | Members Online: 259

Swap Used Books - Buy New Books at Great Prices!

How To Swap Books Sign Up Search submenu

PBS Market (New Books)

Gift Buying Guide

Book Browser Advanced Search Books Posted Today Member Book Reviews Award Winning Books NYT Best Sellers Amazon Best Sellers Most Traveled Copies Club Wish List

Discussion Forums Book Lists

Club Lists My Book Lists My Watched Lists Create a List

Blog Donations

School Donation Program In Memory of... Military Donation Program Friends of PBS

Box-O-Books Maps The Eclectic Pen Fun Stuff

20 Questions Sudoku Bookmark Creator

Top 100

Requests Posts Swappers Referrers Reviewers

Pulse of PBS Spread The Word

Invite Friends Bookmarks Facebook Page Facebook App More Ways...

Photo Gallery Recipes Club Tag Cloud Member Testimonials

Help Center submenu

How To Swap Books Browse Help Docs Ask the Librarian PBS Member Icons Live Help

Kiosk

PBS Market (New Books) Go Shopping Buy Credits Buy PBS Money Upgrade Membership Gift Certificates Transfer Credits

Need Help?

Search - Avenging Angel # John Brown#s Raid on Harpers Ferry 1859

Avenging Angel John Browns Raid on Harpers Ferry 1859
Author: Ron Field

On October 16, 1859 John Brown led a small "army" of 18 men, consisting of 13 whites and five blacks, into Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Three other members of his force formed a rearguard at a nearby Maryland farm. A veteran of the violent struggles between pro- and antislavery forces in Kansas during 1855-56, Brown intended to provoke a general upr... more »ising of African Americans that would lead to a rebellion against slavery. The raiders seized the Federal buildings, including an armory and arsenal, and cut the telegraph wires. However, they failed to realize that further weapons had been removed to safety after flooding at the Hall Rifle Factory. Expecting local slaves to join them, Brown and his men fortified themselves in the Fire Engine House while the well-armed townspeople surrounded the building. The raiders and the civilians exchanged gunfire, and eight of Brown's men were killed or captured. By daybreak on October 18, a battalion of US Marines under the command of future Confederate commander Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee, with First Lieutenant James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart as second in command, stormed Brown's position in a fire engine house and captured or killed most of his force. Five of the conspirators, including Brown's son Owen, escaped to safety in Canada and the North. Severely wounded and taken to the jail in Charlestown, Virginia, John Brown stood trial for treason against the commonwealth of Virginia, for murder, and for conspiring with slaves to rebel. On November 2, 1859, a jury convicted him and sentenced him to death. Brown readily accepted the sentence and declared that he had acted in accordance with God's commandments. Responding to persistent rumours of further rebellion and written threats, Henry A. Wise, governor of Virginia, called out the state militia to guard against a possible rescue of Brown and his followers. Brown was hanged in Charlestown later that day, with John Wilkes Booth and Thomas (later "Stonewall") Jackson among those who witnessed the event.

The Harpers Ferry raid confirmed for many Southerners the existence of a widespread Northern plot against slavery. In fact, Brown had raised funds for his raid from Northern abolitionists. To arm the slaves, he ordered one thousand pikes from a Connecticut manufactory. Letters to Governor Wise betrayed the mixed feelings people held for Brown. For some, he was simply insane and should not be hanged. For others, he was a martyr to the cause of abolition, and his quick trial and execution reflected the fear and arrogance of the Virginia slave-owning aristocracy. Many Northerners condemned Brown's actions but thought him right in his conviction that slavery had to end. The John Brown Raid on Harpers Ferry and his execution further polarized North and South and made a solution of the slavery issue central to the national debate which ultimately led to Civil War in 1861.

The Market's bargain prices are even better for Paperbackswap club members!

Retail Price: ~~$18.95~~
Buy New (Paperback): $14.29 (save 24%) or
Become a PBS member and pay $10.39+1 PBS book credit Help icon

(save 45%)

ISBN-13: 9781849087575
ISBN-10: 1849087571
Publication Date: 11/20/2012
Pages: 80
Rating:

0 stars, based on 0 rating

Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Genres:

History >> Military

Back to the Top ↑

Search - Avenging Angel # John Brown#s Raid on Harpers Ferry 1859

Loading...