John Brown launched his consequential raid on the federal
arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, on this day in 1859. The latest in a series of events that jolted
the nation in that decade, this dramatic attack helped hastened the Civil
War.
Brown’s four-day episode ended in
failure and Brown was executed on December 2.
Before leaving for his hanging, the abolitionist wrote this prophetic
statement: “I, John Brown, am now quite
certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with
blood.”
The marine contingent sent to stop him was commanded by
Colonel Robert E. Lee. Future
Confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart also were there and John
Wilkes Booth was at the hanging. Many
books have been written about Brown, the raid, the execution, and the impact of
Harpers Ferry. But a terrific new book
by Gene Meyer, Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown’s
Army, adds another dimension to this vastly important event.
More than thirty years ago I purchased this artifact. I will leave the credibility of its
authenticity up to you, but I enjoy having it on a bookshelf in my
library. Ah, I believe the word
“possion” is meant to mean “possession.”
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