Ohio History Journal

JOHN BROWN AT HARPER'S FERRY AND

CHARLESTOWN

 

 

A LECTURE.

BY S. K. DONOVAN.

 

[This lecture by Colonel S. K. Donovan was delivered a

number of times in Ohio, but was never before printed. The

original manuscript is in the possession of his sister, Miss Sallie

Donovan, of Delaware, Ohio, by whose permission it is now

published. Colonel Donovan once stated to the writer that he

was the first newspaper correspondent to reach Harper's Ferry

after the raid began.  When he arrived there he shared the

hostile feelings of the Virginians toward the raiders.  The

lecture shows how completely what he saw and heard at Harper's

Ferry and Charlestown changed his views to enthusiastic

sympathy with John Brown. Colonel Donovan's paper was pre-

pared for the platform, not as a contribution for a historical

magazine. It has been thought best however, to publish it just

as he left it. For a sketch of his life see page 346.- Ed.]

The history of the United States makes note of two

important raids which had their origin in a difference

of political sentiment. The first is known as the raid

into Kansas Territory. The second is the raid into the

valley of Virginia. Those who participated in the first,

with the exception of a few who were killed in fight,

were never called upon to answer for their acts in a

court of justice. Those who participated in the second,

with the exception of a few who escaped, were either

killed in fight, captured and cruelly murdered, or taken

prisoner, tried and executed on the scaffold.

To those in my audience, who in the fifties were of

mature years and thoughtful minds, it is not necessary

(300)

• 1
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  301

for me to say one word to refresh their memories as to

the incidents, calamities and tragedies which made up

the history of the every day life of the residents of

Kansas Territory. To those of my audience who con-

stitute the generation which has arisen since that event-

ful period, I have only time to say that the years to which

I refer were filled with important events, and that these

were succeeded by a series of still more important events,

which found their climax in the destruction of slavery

in the United States.

The aggressiveness of the slave power reached its

ultimate, when, with barbaric violence, it attempted to

fasten its leprosy upon the virgin soil of Kansas. From

the foundation of our government up to the year 1860,

the slave power was dominant in the control of national

affairs. It was immaterial which of the two great polit-

ical parties was in control; the slave power dictated the

policy and dominated the conduct of affairs.

With the development of the great West, however,

the slaveocracy felt its power slipping from its grasp.

Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Cal-

ifornia and Oregon had been admitted to the sisterhood

of States and dedicated to freedom. As the slave power

recognized the advancing steps of liberty, it became ag-

gressive, intolerant, malignant. It was no longer satis-

fied with the compromises under the constitution, which

it had proposed and which it had adopted to make secure

its power. It demanded the repeal of the most impor-

tant one, that known as the Missouri Compromise,

which limited the existence of the peculiar institution to

the country south of the parellel of 36^° 30' north, and

claimed the right to carry slavery into every foot of

the territories of the United States. To this arrogant

• 2
 

302     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

assumption the northern people were patient. Their

disapproval found but one mode of expression, that of

earnest protestation. With repeal of the Missouri Com-

promise, however, the northern people awakened to the

startling fact that the South was no longer satisfied

with being dominant in national affairs; it had deter-

mined to become absolute. Every acre of the vast public

domain was to be dedicated to slavery.

In its arrogance and confident assumption of power,

the slaveocracy challenged the sentiment of the North

to contest and selected the then Territory of Kansas as

the field of battle. On the part of the slave power the

contest was not to be a peaceful, intellectual and moral

combat, which would find its solution in the result of a

ballot, honestly cast and honestly counted. No. It inau-

gurated the fight by the organization of thousands of

men, not citizens of the Territory of Kansas, but cit-

izens of the State of Missouri, and these organized

marauders armed, equipped and mounted, crossed the

border, carrying sword and fire in advance, and leaving

death and ashes in their wake. They committed every

violent crime known to the calendar. Rapine, arson,

murder, and that nameless crime which brutal passion

incites and still more brutal power executes.

Thousands of families had emigrated from the free

states and had settled on the fertile plains of Kansas.

They went to their new home with honest intent, to

make it their earthly abiding place, tame the wildness of

nature, rear their offspring and in the end to become a

part of its dust. They carried with them their love of

liberty, their love of labor, their willingness and ability

to suffer and endure, their hatred of slavery, their reli-

gious faith, their open recognition of the love, mercy

• 3
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  303

and justice of God. Among the many intrepid and

courageous spirits attracted to the scene of conflict, was

one who embodied every quality and characteristic nec-

essary to give effectiveness to effort.

Preceded by four sons and a son-in-law,* John Brown

went to Kansas. He was immediately recognized as a

leader of men, and in the eventful years which followed

he was ever found a commander in defense, a leader in

attack. He shared to as large a degree as any other man

in the Territory the privations, the sufferings, the

sacrifices and the heroic actions which finally resulted

in the success of the Free-State party and rescued

Kansas from the barbarism of slavery. Familiarized,

by actual contact with the brutality of slavery, his hatred

to the institution became intensified while the loss of a

son, cruelly murdered by the pro-slavists, left a wound

in his heart which never healed. Thus much I have

deemed necessary, relative to the raid into Kansas Ter-

ritory, that you may be the better able to judge of the

character thereof, and make comparison with that and

the raid into the valley of Virginia.

That you may more fully comprehend my lecture,

it is necessary that you should have a clear conception

of the topography of Harper's Ferry. Harper's Ferry

is located on a triangular point of land formed by the

juncture of the Shenandoah with the Potomac river.

Imagine that I am facing the east as I stand. Here,

having its sources in the mountains of the northwest,

flows the Potomac. As it reaches a point near the Ferry,

its course is almost due east. The land for five hundred

feet from its waters is flat, a plain. Then it commences

to rise, abruptly at first and at points almost perpendic-

*Five sons. See page 232.

• 4
 

304     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

ularly, so that a half a mile back the ground is three

hundred feet above the waters of the Potomac. This

extreme height is known as Bolivar Heights. A street

starts at its summit and runs down the hill towards the

centre of the Ferry until it reaches a point within two

hundred yards of the juncture of the rivers where it

intersects a street but does not cross. The flat ground

on the banks of the Potomac had been purchased by the

government of the United States, which had thereon

erected buildings for the manufacture of small arms.

The grounds were enclosed. The track of the Baltimore

and Ohio Railroad coming from the west, as it entered

the government grounds, rested on trestles, and these

trestles increased in height eastward until when they

reached the junctures of the rivers the rails were twenty

feet from the ground. The Baltimore and Ohio Rail-

road had laid down a platform extending west three

hundred feet. As you entered the Armory grounds,

the first building to the left was a one story brick, desti-

tute of windows, with ponderous oaken doors in front.

This building was used as a fire engine house. Adjoin-

ing this was a one story brick building, deeper than the

first, having front and rear rooms, and was occupied by

the paymaster. Beyond these two buildings, and extend-

ing down the Armory grounds to the west, were the

manufacturing buildings.

Here, having its sources in the south-west, came the

Shenandoah river. The formation of the ground was

similar to that on the Potomac, but the plain was wider.

Shenandoah street divided it, running from a point a

mile from the south of the town to the initial point

where the rivers join. This ground was well built up

with business houses and dwellings. High street was

also well built. The Winchester and Potomac Railroad

• 5
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  305 ran along the banks of the Shenandoah until it inter- sected the Baltimore and Ohio, where the tracks united and passed over the Potomac on a covered wood bridge. There was also a wagon road on this bridge. One hun- dred feet west of the juncture of the rivers on the banks

of the Potomac was erected a hotel known as the Wager House. Diagonally across from this hotel, at the side of the Winchester and Potomac Railroad, was a drink- ing saloon, named the "Galt House." Just at the limits of the corporation on the banks of the Shenandoah were the rifle works. Now I wish you to keep closely in mind Vol. XXX-20.

• 6
 

306     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

the little brick engine house just within the Armory

yard--The Wager House, the Baltimore and Ohio

platform, the drinking saloon diagonally across from the

Wager House, and the rifle works on the banks of the

Shenandoah river, for around these points the interest

of my story shall cling.

In the spring of 1859, a man giving the name of

Smith rented a worn out farm in the state of Maryland,

four miles north and east of Harper's Ferry. The

owner was glad of the tenant, and as his new renter paid

cash in advance, asked no questions of his past or his

future. A few days after this incident the man Smith,

accompanied by two other men much younger than he,

took possession of the premises. They brought no stock

with them except a horse, nor did they purchase any

implements of agriculture, except spades and picks and

a one horse wagon. A few days after being in posses-

sion two of the men left the house, carrying picks and

spades in their hands, with small canvas bags thrown

over their shoulders. They proceeded to the mountain

side and commenced to dig, carefully examining the

earth which they threw up and occasionally dropping

some of the substance into their canvas bags. Thus the

day was spent, and thus many days following were

spent.

The elderly man took the horse and wagon and pro-

ceeded to the east. He made several of these trips and

was usually gone three days. On each return the wagon

was laden with boxes about five feet in length, two feet

wide and about twenty inches high. These boxes were

carefully moved into the dwelling. As days went into

weeks, the number of the occupants of the house in-

creased, and the new comers spent their time, as did

• 7
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  307

those first there, apparently seeking for iron ore or some

other metallic substance. Thus the summer passed,

every week adding one or more to the occupants of the

house, so that by the second week in October there were

twenty-two persons, all males, inhabiting it.

At eleven o'clock on the night of the sixteenth

day of October, 1859, being Sunday, an armed body of

men crossed a bridge from the Maryland to the Virginia

side, and took possession of Harper's Ferry. Citizens

found on the streets at that hour were directed to go to

their homes and remain there. Other citizens, officials

at the Armory, or men prominent in civil affairs were

waked from their slumbers and bade dress and accom-

pany their captors. They were taken to the center of

the Ferry and confined in the first government manufac-

turing building west of the paymaster's office. At mid-

night the Baltimore and Ohio express train came in

from the west. When the conductor, Mr. A. J. Phelps,

stepped from the train, armed men placed him under

arrest. When the engineer stepped from his cab, he

was also arrested together with his fireman. Conductor

Phelps was very indignant and threatening when the

man who, when he rented the farm, gave the name of

Smith, now giving the name of Anderson, informed

Captain Phelps that his life depended on his pacific

behavior. Anderson assured him that no harm was

intended either him or his fellow employees or his pas-

sengers so long as they were passive and obeyed orders,

but if he, Phelps, attempted to move the train, it would

cost him his life and the life of every man engaged in

the attempt.

The train was held until after three o'clock A. M.,

when Anderson informed Conductor Phelps that he

• 8
 

308     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

could proceed with his train to the east. This the con-

ductor refused to do, saying that he believed the timbers

of the bridge had been tampered with and that the object

was to precipitate his train into the Potomac. He would

not move until he knew that the bridge was safe. "Go

or stay at your pleasure," was the response of Anderson

as he turned his back on the conductor. When day

dawned, Conductor Phelps examined the bridge, and

finding it unimpaired, proceeded east with his train.

Reaching a telegraph station, he communicated with the

Baltimore and Ohio officials. His fears more than his

observation dictated his dispatches, for at no time had

he seen more than five men, yet his dispatches stated

that hundreds of men, white and black, were in arms,

and that the valley was being given up to murder,

plunder and fire.

The wildest consternation seized the people of Balti-

more City. The militia was called out, preparations were

made to go to the rescue. The authorities at Washing-

ton were receiving dispatches which were of a more

definite character than those sent by Conductor Phelps,

for the Secretary of War deemed that two companies

of Marines, neither of which was a full one, were suffi-

cient to quell this terrible insurrection. Accordingly he

ordered them to proceed to the Ferry, under the com-

mand of Major W. W. Russell.

Baltimore City sent forward a contingent of her

militia and other militia was expected to join the force

at Monocacy Junction, near Frederick City. The en-

tire military were under command of Lieut. Col. Robert

E. Lee of the United States Army, and afterwards the

noted rebel general.

As a correspondent of the Daily Exchange of Balti-

• 9
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  309

more, I accompanied the militia to the Ferry. Nothing

of interest occurred on our trip. At every station exag-

gerations of the character of the raid and the number

engaged in it were heard. We arrived at Sandy Hook

about ten o'clock. The military then halted. I pro-

ceeded to the Ferry on foot. The first information I re-

ceived was that every foot of the soil of Virginia was in

the possession of Virginians except that little engine

house in the armory yard. Instead of two thousand per-

sons being engaged in the raid, which was the smallest

number anyone would admit, there were less than one

hundredth part of that number. There were only nine-

teen, and of these, about one-half had been killed, half

the others had escaped, and the remainder were besieged

in the little brick engine house.

I also learned further particulars of the raid.

Twenty-two persons had gathered at the little farm

house in Maryland. Three were left to guard the prem-

ises. Nineteen crossed the bridge. The chief of the

raiders divided his forces into four squads: one squad,

by way of High Street, was sent over to Bolivar Heights

in the direction of Charlestown, the county seat, to

secure some prominent persons as hostages, and to ten-

der slaves their freedom, - another squad was sent to

take possession of the rifle works on the banks of the

Shenandoah, another squad was sent to the Maryland

farm house to bring the contents of the boxes which the

little wagon had brought from the east and which con-

sisted of one hundred Sharpe's rifles, one hundred re-

volvers, about five hundred spears and fifteen hundred

pikes, together with some fixed and loose ammunition.

About three o'clock A. M. the party which started

over the heights returned, bringing with them Lewis W.

• 10
 

310     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Washington and John H. Alstadt, two important citi-

zens, as hostages, with a number of their slaves. The

latter were offered their freedom, which they refused to

accept, when together with their masters they were im-

prisoned in the little brick engine house just within the

armory yard. On the termination of this incident, the

chief of the raiders informed Conductor Phelps that he

could proceed with his train.

The party sent into Maryland to bring forward the

arms, became demoralized, a slave who had joined bring-

ing them intelligence that the force which had been left

in the Ferry had been overcome and killed. Three of

this party returned by a circuitous route to the Ferry to

find their friends still in possession. They, with two of

the party which had returned from the expedition over

the heights, were sent to the Maryland side with instruc-

tions to hold the mouth of the bridge.

That was the condition of affairs at day dawn on

Monday morning, the 17th of October. Up to this time

but one person had been killed. He was a negro man,

named Hayward, slave of Fountaine Beckham, the sta-

tion agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the

Ferry. As Mr. Beckham figures prominently in my

story, I will tell you who he was. He was a man of

middle age, of prominent family, kind and obliging to

his friends, obsequious to his superiors, always haughty

and frequently insolent to those he deemed his inferiors,

whether they were white or whether they were black.

The slave Hayward partook of all the bad qualities of

his master, and possessed none of his virtues. He was

six feet two inches in height, powerfully made and coal

black in complexion. He gave the raiders more trouble

than all the rest of the people of the Ferry. He refused

• 11
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  311

to obey orders and cursed them with fearful bitterness,

exhausting all vile epithets. Just before the dawn of

the day he slipped off his shoes and attempted to cross

the bridge, for what purpose never will be known, but

one of the raiders told me that it was for the purpose of

gaining the Maryland side and giving information as

to their number and condition. A raider secreted called

a halt on him, which he not only refused to obey, but

started to run. The raider fired and Hayward fell dead

on the floor of the bridge.

With the dawn of day those residents of that part

of the Ferry not controlled by the raiders commenced

to alarm the surrounding country. Couriers were put

on swift horses and sped in all directions, so that within

two hours the whole of Jefferson and Berkley Counties

were made acquainted with the fact of the raid. The

greatest alarm seized the people. Everywhere there was

a call to arms. Companies were organized in Charles-

town and Martinsburgh, officered and forwarded to the

Ferry. Adjacent Maryland was ablaze and military

were forwarded from Frederick City. Besides the or-

ganized military, thousands of Virginians, armed with

every kind of arms, except artillery, hastened to the re-

demption of the Ferry.

Amongst this unorganized mass was a gentleman

named George W. Turner, a bachelor, who lived five

miles south of Charlestown. His family was one of the

oldest and wealthiest in the valley. He was a graduate

of West Point, and had resigned his commission to enjoy

the elegant patrimony to which he had fallen heir. The

generation of his family which immediately preceded

him had been fearfully scandalized by brutality to their

slaves. They were noted for their cruelty, and it was

• 12
 

312     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

said that murder had been done their bondsmen. There

was a well on the plantation that was known as the

tainted well, of the waters of which no one would drink,

for the reason that in its depths was hidden a great

crime -a murdered slave laid there. When Mr. Tur-

ner heard of the raid he shouldered his rifle, mounted his

horse and alone started for the Ferry. He paused in

Charlestown long enough to have a confirmation of the

story and then sped on to the Ferry. Reaching the point

known as "Bolivar Heights" he dismounted and pro-

ceeded to the Ferry afoot. He came down over the hill

on High Street, until he reached a point within a hun-

dred yards of its intersection with Shenandoah Street

where he observed a raider sentinel standing with rifle

at rest. Mr. Turner raised his gun - took deliberate

aim at the raider and fired. Notwithstanding he was a

noted rifle shot, he missed his mark. He jumped on a

porch which extended from a dwelling, where he re-

loaded, then stepped forth intent on doing more effective

work. Just as he raised his gun to his shoulder there

was the crack of a rifle and Mr. Turner fell dead in his

tracks. He was the most noted Virginian killed. People

who did not like him personally or who had ill-will

towards his family were unkind enough to whisper that

the tainted well had been avenged.

Before the arrival of the organized military, fighting

had commenced between the citizens and the raiders.

The raider who shot George W. Turner was killed. A

musket ball had passed through his neck, tearing the

jugular vein, and he fell to the pavement, bleeding to

death almost instantly. His body was allowed to lie

where it fell all that day and the following night, and

the next day until near noon. Virginians of curious but

• 13
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  313

not chivalrous dispositions, after they got possession of

that part of the Ferry where it laid, vented their spite

on the hapless clay, some by spitting on it, others by

spurning it with their feet and all anathematizing it,

while some little pigs which were running loose rooted it

to and fro, unconscious of the human indignities it was

constantly suffering.

Distinct fights commenced for the several points

held by the raiders. Virginians crossed the river above

the Ferry to capture the Maryland side. Hundreds of

Virginians attacked the rifle works. This building had

been built with a view of securing plenty of light. The

span between the windows was small. The attacking

party commanded three sides of it, and from every shel-

tered position -from behind trees and huge boulders

thousands of shots were fired into the works. The

raiders soon discovered that they were unable to hold it.

Two of their number were severely wounded. They

concluded to surrender, and to that end a flag of truce

was shown, to which no attention was paid. The raid-

ers vacated the building and started to the river, with

the hope of fording it and reaching the mountains on

the opposite side. The two wounded men were killed as

quick as they were clear of the building. Two succeeded

in reaching the river, but both were killed before they

had gotten far into the stream. The fifth took shelter

behind a large boulder where he was captured by a

Virginian of courage and character. The great mob of

armed men wanted to brutally murder him, but his

captor protected him.

With the capture of the rifle works the Virginians

swept down the Shenandoah side to the heart of the

Ferry.  They brought their prisoner, William  W.

• 14
 

314     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Thompson, with them and confined him in the parlor

of the Wager House. They drove the raiders at that

point to shelter in the engine house. They swept into

the Virginia mouth of the bridge, driving the raiders

out at the Maryland side. The Virginians who had been

fighting for the bridge on the Maryland side had not

been able to dislodge the raiders, but when they were

forced out, short work was made of them. Three of

them were almost instantly killed. A fourth one jumped

into the waters of the Potomac and throwing up his

hands, exclaimed, "Don't shoot, I surrender." The re-

sponse to this appeal was a flash of fire from the muzzle

of a musket in the hands of a Virginian not ten feet

away, and the top of the head of the raider was blown

off, his body fell into the stream and floated toward the

sea. In this fight, Fountaine Beckham, the station agent,

attracted by curiosity into the bridge, was struck with

a stray ball and fatally wounded. He was carried into

his office where he lingered several hours. The raiders

held that Beckham was wounded by one of his Virginia

friends, as, indeed the circumstances admit, but the Vir-

ginians claim that the shot was fired by a raider.

The chief of the raiders, learning that one of his

men, William W. Thompson, was a prisoner in the

Wager House, dispatched one of his command, Aaron

Stephens, with a flag of truce, instructing him to seek

some one in authority, and tender an exchange of one

of his hostages for Thompson, but also said that if the

Virginians refused an exchange of man for man that

he should give all the hostages he held in return for

Thompson. With his flag of truce in hand, Stephens

left the engine house and proceeded towards the Wager

House where Thompson was confined. When he

• 15
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  315

reached a point midway between the armory gate and

the hotel, he felt the sting of a bullet, and heard the crack

of a pistol. He raised a flag of truce above his head,

and as he did so, he felt a second stinging sensation and

heard another report of a pistol. He waved his flag,

while he looked in vain for the source of the attack.

Again he felt the sting of a bullet and as it struck him,

he fell to the street in an apparently dying condition,

still holding his flag of truce aloft. Parties came from

the hotel and carried the wounded man into it, where

he was placed on a bed and received surgical attention.

He was shot from the window of the Galt House drink-

ing saloon. Its proprietor was a gambler and desperate

character named George Chambers. He had gained

admittance to his saloon, and when he saw Stephens

coming bearing the flag of truce, he stepped back into

the centre of the room and resting his pistol on his arm

thus (as I heard him describe it) fired through a broken

pane of glass - played the barbarian and shot down a

man who bore an emblem that even savages respect.

The organized militia was solidified and about five

hundred strong it formed at the upper end of the Ar-

mory yard to make an assault on the little brick engine

house, in which the remainder of the raiders were be-

sieged. Led by Captain E. G. Alburtis, of Martins-

burg, a courageous man, who had won a good reputation

as a soldier in the Mexican war, with cheers and yells,

such as became famous a few years after, they charged

the government buildings. They succeeded in releasing

the prisoners confined in the government building ad-

joining the paymaster's office, who had been placed there

the night of the raid - but who were not at the time of

the attack even guarded. Flushed with this success, the

• 16
 

316     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

militia reformed and started to assault the engine house.

They never reached it; when within sixty yards of it the

besieged opened with a destructive volley of bullets.

Two of the attacking party fell dead and a half dozen

were wounded. The column wavered, reeled, and then

fled up the armory yard. Though Captain Alburtus did

his utmost to rally them, he was unable to get them to

renew the assault. The flower of Virginia had no

stomach for the affair.

At this point, Fountaine Beckham, the station agent,

died. His death frenzied the Virginians. They had

possession of all the Ferry except the little engine house

and the points it commanded. They thronged the Balti-

more and Ohio platform and the adjacent streets. On

the instant, a cry was raised, "Thompson must die."

Thompson was the raider prisoner captured at the rifle

works and confined in the parlor of the Wager House.

The cry, "Thompson must die," was taken up and re-

peated by hundreds of tongues. The great angry mob

swayed to and fro and then rushed for the parlor. On

entering it the guard gave up their prisoner without a

protest, but a woman, the daughter or sister of the land-

lord, threw herself between Thompson and the mob and

declared that he should not be killed in her presence.

She was violently thrust aside.  The prisoner was

seized by the throat and dragged out of the hotel upon

the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad platform. The crowd

of armed men at the upper part of the platform were

called back. Then as bloody a murder as ever shocked

civilization or shamed humanity was done. Henry Hun-

ter, son of Andrew Hunter who prosecuted John Brown,

and George Chambers, the gambler, took the prisoner

by his shoulders and turning his face from them violently

• 17
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  317

pushed him forward. Scarcely was he clear of them,

when dozens of guns were fired and William W.

Thompson fell dead on the platform-assassinated.

Not satisfied with this bloody work, they picked up the

body and carrying it to the side of the platform, dropped

it down into the waters of the Potomac. When it struck

the stream there was a convulsive movement of the

arms; the guns were again brought into play, and the

contents of a dozen or more were emptied into the body.

It floated down the Potomac until it reached a sand bar

formed by one of the pins of the bridge, where it lodged.

There it remained during the remainder of the day and

night and until nearly noon of the following day, a

target for the viciously cruel. The blood hungry mob

was not satisfied with the murder of Thompson. The

cry was raised "Stephens must die," and a rush was

made for the room in which laid the wounded flag of

truce bearer. Fortunately his physician, Dr. Starry,

met them at the door, and prevented them from entering,

declaring that the man was so near dead that their act

would be that of killing a corpse. He succeeded in sav-

ing the wounded man.

On my arrival on Monday night I learned that

Stephens was still living, and expressing a wish to see

him, I was conducted to his room. As I entered in the

corner to the right was a bed on which laid the wounded

man. I was amazed at the wonderful perfection of his

physique. He was unconscious and almost entirely

naked. He appeared a man five feet ten, with broad,

deep chest, and strong, sinewy limbs. His arms started

with a swell at the shoulder and tapered to the ends

of fingers on a hand as shapely as a woman ever bore.

His head was large, brow broad but not high, - eyes set

• 18
 

318     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

wide apart, his nose prominent but not excessive, his

mouth bow shaped, lips full, but not heavy, his chin

strong and jaw massive. As I gazed in admiration at

this wonderful physique, the door opened and a youth

entered. He was tall and angular and about twenty

years of age. He stepped to the front of the bed. He

gazed at the wounded prisoner for a moment, when

quick as a flash he drew a revolver and throwing it over

the bed with the muzzle direct for Stephen's heart, he

pulled the trigger, and the hammer fell. The cap re-

fused to perform its office, and thus, by that fortunate

accident, I was spared the sight of seeing the wounded

man murdered in his bed. Before the young man had

time to raise the hammer of the pistol again, the guard

had him and he was violently thrust from the room.

I did not go to bed that night. Just about day dawn

I heard the steady tramp of soldiers. The marines were

entering the town. They marched into the armory yard

and took position below the engine house near the man-

ufacturing buildings. During the night several at-

tempts had been made to secure the capitulation of the

raiders. The chief would not listen to any terms except

free access to the mountains, with their rifles in their

hands, and their ammunition on their persons. This

Colonel Lee would not grant but demanded an uncondi-

tional surrender. When it became certain that the

engine house would have to be attacked, Colonel Lee

tendered the honor of the assault to the Virginia militia.

They took the proffer into consideration, and after more

than an hour's consultation, declined it, saying that as

they had friends confined as hostages, it would be a

fearful thing if they became the slayers of these friends.

And thus it was that to a handful of marines, most of

• 19
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  319

whom were of foreign birth, was given the honor of cap-

turing the raiders.

Major Russell selected twenty-five marines, each of

whom excepting two was armed with muskets with

bayonets attached. The two unarmed bore sledges; one

was a tall, powerfully built man; the other of medium

size. The former stepped to the front, the marines

assuming a position twenty feet to his rear. He raised

his sledge and struck with his might, but the ponderous

door did not yield the slightest. Again the sledge circled

in the air and fell against the doors, but the blow had

no effect. Major Russell then ordered the marines to

lay their guns on the sward and pointed to a flag staff

against which rested a forty foot ladder. The marines

hurried to the ladder and dividing on either side thereof

seized its rungs, and making a ram of it rushed for the

door. When it struck the doors quivered and trembled

but did not yield. The marines retreated and came

again with more force. At the second blow the doors

partly yielded, and as they did so two shots were fired

from the engine house. A marine, named Quinn, reeled

from the right side of the ladder mortally wounded.

Another reeled from the left wounded in the face but

not mortally. Again the marines retreated and came

with still greater force. The doors yielded and the

ladder fell from their hands, lodging on the lower cross

timber to which the upright boards were nailed. The

first to enter the engine house was Major W. W.

Russell. He entered with his sword drawn, the point

to the ground, with his left arm upraised, index finger

extended, and demanded a surrender. The chief or-

dered compliance and the guns of the raiders dropped

to the floor. Following Major Russell came Lieutenant

• 20
 

320     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Green of the U. S. Army, saber in hand. The first

object he met was the chief raider, standing unarmed.

Lieutenant Green struck him on his head with his saber.

The blow tore the scalp loose, turning it over in a flap,

but the old man did not fall. The Lieutenant struck the

second blow and the old raider fell to the floor uncon-

scious. Quick on the heels of Lieutenant Green came a

marine, and, following the unsoldierly conduct of his

superior officer, bayoneted the old man as he lay in his

unconscious condition - once near the shoulder and

again lower down, near the kidney.

The hostages were brought out and received with tu-

multuous cheers by the Virginians. These cheers turned

to howls when the old raider was brought out and laid

on the grass in front of the engine house. The Virgin-

ians on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway platform

dropped their guns to the earth beneath them and swing-

ing themselves into the tressel-work timbers, jumped to

the ground. They rushed to where the old man was

lying, surrounded by marines, and demanded his life.

Major Russell ordered the wounded man to be carried

into the rear room of the paymaster's office, to protect

him from the infuriated mob. He was laid on the floor

with a carriage cushion under his head. When he re-

gained consciousness he recognized Major Russell who

was standing at his side, and said:

"Young man, as you entered the engine house I had

you covered with my rifle, and could have killed you, but

your frank face and your true courage caused me to

pause, and I spared your life." The Major threw his

hand to his cap as he replied:

"I am deeply thankful to you for it."

The raider then said:

• 21
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  321

"For what I have done I am willing to answer before

any proper tribunal, but I do not want to be torn to

pieces by a mob."

"Neither shall you be, so long as I have a soldier to

defend you," replied Major Russell.

At this point I stepped down at his side and said,

"Who are you and what are you doing here ?"

"I am John Brown. Better known to the public as

'Old Brown of Kansas'- Osawatomie Brown. I came

here to free slaves and for no other purpose. Had I

come to murder and plunder I could easily have accom-

plished my purpose, and escaped. I could have killed

whomsoever I willed and could have laid the town in

ashes. But such was not my purpose.   I have not

destroyed anything nor stolen aught, nor would I have

killed anyone, had they not tried to kill me and my men."

After some further talk I left the old man and as I

passed out of the front door of the office, to my right,

seated on the grass and resting against the brick wall

of the engine house, I saw a wounded man. The

shadow of death rested on his face. I stepped to his

side and asked:

"Who are you?"

"I am Watson Brown. My brother, Oliver Brown,

lies dead in the engine house and the old man, wounded

and dying, whom they carried into that office, is my

father. I am here to free the poor slaves. For no other

purpose I am dying. My only regret is that we were not

more successful. But success will come. Others will

carry on this fight."

John Brown was detained at Harper's Ferry for two

days. He was visited by a number of distinguished

Vol. XXX-21.

• 22
 

322     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

men. Governor Wise came up from Richmond. The

Governor treated him with great respect. Wise was the

most mortified man I ever saw. He made a speech, and

while he did not call the Virginians cowards, he said

that if he had been present, John Brown would have

been captured without the aid of the United States

marines. In a speech which he made in Richmond after

his return from Harper's Ferry, he said that he would

have given his right arm at the shoulder, if Virginians

had captured Brown. In speaking of the latter, he said:

"Those who think Brown mad make a mistake. He

is a bundle of the best nerves I ever saw, cut and thrust,

bleeding and in bonds. He is a man of clear head, of

courage, fortitude and simple ingeniousness. He is

cool, collected and indomitable. It is but just to him to

say that he was humane to his prisoners, as attested to

me by Colonel Washington and Mr. Mills, and he in-

spired me with great trust in his integrity as a man of

truth."

Among the first to call on him were two distin-

guished men well known in the country. One was

James M. Mason, United States Senator from the State

of Virginia and author of the fugitive slave act, an

infamous law, the passage of which brought shame to

the Nation, and indeed on humanity, and the other was

Clement L. Vallandigham, of Ohio, then a hated pro-

slavist and afterwards a noted opponent of the war to

preserve the Union. These two persons thought that

they saw in John Brown's raid the exposed point of a

great conspiracy, which had its birth in the North and

the object of which was the destruction of slavery by

servile insurrection. They spent two hours questioning

and requestioning the old raider, in a vain endeavor to

• 23
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  323

implicate prominent men in the North, who were well

known abolitionists, with the raid.

Now, whether any man aided John Brown, by con-

tributing money or arms to the expedition, or even sym-

pathized with the movement, one thing is certain, the

old raider compromised no living person. He took upon

himself all the responsibility of his acts and met without

fear and without equivocation every demand which the

state of Virginia made upon him.

He was removed to the county jail in Charlestown,

where for days he was besieged with visitors. He re-

ceived all with kindness and civility and treated each

with respect. He demanded the same treatment from

them, and it was but seldom that he did not receive it.

The dignity of his character, his conceded sincerity and

his unquestioned physical and moral courage won from

his bitterest enemies a consideration and respect, which

a less honest or less courageous man could not have com-

manded. Even the imperious Senator Mason, who was

a leading type of that offensive effrontery which char-

acterized the slaveocracy, said when coming from his

presence, "There is a man able to command the respect

of any man."

John Brown was captured on the morning of the

18th day of October. On the morning of the 25th he

was required to appear before an examining court. Hav-

ing his rights in that particular, he was remanded to

prison. On the morning of the 26th, he and his fellow

captives were arraigned in the regular Criminal Court

and required to plead to indictments.  Weak and

wounded he was scarcely able to walk from the jail to

the Court Room. Stephens, the flag of truce bearer, who

• 24
 

324     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

had been barbarously shot down while he waved the

emblem above his head, was unable to stand up while

the charges were read. Two stalwart men, one under

each shoulder, held him to his feet. After the charges

had been read John Brown addressed the court, saying:

"I am surprised and indignant at the unseemly haste

with which you seek my blood. I am not here to ask

favors. I have asked none. But this professes to be

a court of justice, and I think that the decencies and

proprieties which should accompany the administration

of law should be observed in this trial. I am severely

wounded and physically unable to go to trial. The

wounds on my head seriously affect my mind. I am

unable to think consecutively for any length of time,

while this wound near my kidneys gives me great pain.

Besides, I am without counsel, though I have sent for

them. Yet, if it is the intention of this court to indulge

in a mockery and speedily make a fact out of a fore-

gone conclusion, I ask that it spare itself the trouble

and me the indignity."

His complaint received no attention. The trial was

ordered to proceed and the court appointed Thomas G.

Green and Lawson Botts, members of the Charlestown

Bar, as counsel for the prisoners. The exertion of the

morning greatly increased Captain Brown's suffering,

and when the court called in the afternoon, he was not

able to walk to the Court House. While lying on his

cot, it was picked up and he was carried to the room of

justice, and placed within the bar. The trial proceeded.

But little trouble was experienced in selecting a jury.

The question was not, as it is in this community, "Have

you formed an opinion of the guilt or innocence of the

prisoner at the bar?" The question put was- "If the

• 25
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  325

evidence shows that the prisoner at the bar is innocent

of the charges, can you bring in a verdict in accordance

with the evidence?" After the jury had been secured,

court adjourned to the following morning, the 27th.

On the assembling of court on the 27th, John Brown

was able to walk to the court room, but was not able to

sit up. The cot was brought within the bar and the old

wounded man stretched himself upon it. Lawson Botts,

one of the attorneys assigned to him by the court, stated

that he had received a communication from a man sign-

ing himself "A. H. Lewis" of Akron, Ohio, wherein

was set forth the fact that a vein of insanity ran through

a collateral branch of the Brown family, and named

members thereof who had been consigned to insane

asylums. He said that his client had no knowledge of

this movement. At this point John Brown struggled

from his cot and addressing the Court, said:

"I did not ask aid from my friends in Ohio. Least

of all did I expect them to proffer such as that letter

contains. I am not insane, nor have I ever been. My

observation teaches me that insane people know more

on all subjects than all the rest of the world. I am not

of that opinion in regard to myself. I recognize my

jeopardy and the necessity for aid in this my extremity,

but I want none such as is offered. I reject with scorn

any advantage which might accrue from such a plea."

Virginians generally had spoken of the old man as

a crazy man - a madman. After that speech there was

not a man in the room who believed he was insane.

The trial proceeded. Conductor Phelps, Lewis W.

Washington, Master Armorer Mills and others were

placed on the stand, and gave evidence strong, but with-

out prejudice as to the acts of the raiders. On the fol-

• 26
 

326     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

lowing morning a scene was presented, one of the most

remarkable I ever witnessed. Just after court called,

a young, almost effeminate youth presented himself

within the bar. He presented papers to the court stat-

ing that he was George H. Hoyt of Boston, a member

of the bar of that city, and that he had come on to de-

fend John Brown. He was of medium height, spare,

with a fine cut face, on which rested a determined ex-

pression. After the court had examined the papers he

turned to the clerk, "Swear in Mr. Hoyt as a practi-

tioner in this court." From that time forward, with

zeal and intense earnestness, with force and at times

with eloquence, this youthful David largely aided in

John Brown's defense. After the lapse of years, when

the insolent and arrogant institution no longer exists,

it is difficult to conceive the courage it required to per-

form this act, and to the generation which is unfamiliar

with the terrible prejudice and hate which ruled that

hour, it is impossible to have a clear conception of the

nerve requisite for its performance.

Near the close of the day's session, John Brown

complained of the counsel whom the court had assigned

him, stating that memoranda which he had given them

had received no attention and the witnesses which he

had desired had not been summoned. At this point

Messrs. Green and Botts withdrew from the case.

On the following day Samuel Chilton, of Washing-

ton City, and Hiram Griswold, of Ohio, presented them-

selves as counsel for John Brown. But it was now the

sun-down of the scene. Before the day closed the evi-

dence was all in and the arguments commenced. They

were finished the next day, the 30th, and the jury re-

tired. The court took a recess of three quarters of an

• 27
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  327

hour, at the expiration of which, the jury was ready to

render its verdict, "Guilty as he stands indicted." Mr.

Chilton made a motion for arrest of judgment. It was

overruled. The prisoner was asked if he had anything

to say why sentence should not be pronounced. Captain

Brown made a brief address - wherein he reiterated

the integrity of his purposes, and claimed that he had a

right to free the slaves, no man having a right to hold

another in bondage. He had no regrets for his conduct

and was ready to meet his fate. He was then sentenced

to be hung on the 2nd day of December following, a

month and two days distant.

I visited John Brown frequently while he was in

prison, and had many interesting talks with him. He

was interesting on all subjects, but particularly so when

talking of the slave. His heart ran out to him as a

mighty river, and so full and complete were his expres-

sions of love and tenderness for the slaves that I was

unable to fully appreciate them. I have never seen a

man who so loved his fellow, as did John Brown. He

seemed imbued with that passion of which God Himself

is the origin and embodiment, that love which was

birthed anew in the manger at Bethlehem, and which

was sealed forever to mankind on the heights of Cal-

vary. It would take the night till dawn would quicken

the eastern sky, were I to tell the pith of each of my

interviews. Therefore I am compelled to describe only

a few.

I entered his cell one morning, and found him read-

ing the Bible. I remarked, "You are never without a

companion." "No," he replied, "and the best of com-

panions. This is the fountain of all truth and therefore

the fountain of all comfort and joy. How wretched a

• 28
 

328     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

man must be who is destitute of a religious faith. To

me he seems like a mariner in the frailest of barks on

the most turbulent of seas - surrounded by arctic dark-

ness and constant tempest - destitute of compass and

chart -forever floating he knows not where -for-

ever living, yet forever lost. This book contains the love

of loves and the law of laws. Human contradictions of

it are void, and should not be obeyed."

On another occasion, after spending a sleepless night

in an endeavor to grasp the motives which prompted

and the effects which would follow his acts, I entered

his cell and said: "I come to you this morning to ask

you to give me your opinion as to what results will fol-

low your acts at the Ferry and the atonement which

you are to make for them."

"I do not possess the gift of prophecy, and were I

to give you my opinion it would no doubt only afford

you amusement."

"No," I replied, "I did not come here to be amused.

All the night I have been endeavoring to fathom the

depths, but in my endeavor I became intellectually blind.

Tell me where you think those waves which you have

started will wash. On what shores will they break?"

He was seated while we talked. He rose and walked

to the window, paused for a moment and then replied,

"God alone knows on what shores they will break, but

as for me I believe they will wipe away the last vestige

of slavery in the United States. I and my fellow cap-

tives must die, but mark my prediction: our deaths will

be the beginning of the end of slavery."

Again on the occasion of a visit he said:

"The operations of God's laws in their relations to

states, governments and communities are general in

• 29
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  329

their character, but specific in their effects and results.

Do not misunderstand me. Do not think that I dis-

believe in special providences, for I believe in them but

they find application to individuals and not as of old to

governments and peoples. God's general laws, con-

stantly working to the perfection of his designs, are

inexorable. Their violation demands compensation and

sooner or later they will have it. Slavery is a violation

of God's laws. It is the Leviathan of all wrongs and

the sum of all villainies, and the hour is near at hand

when they who have enjoyed its fruits will be compelled

to give compensation. God will equalize human suffer-

ings. I am satisfied that he will not permit the abolish-

ment of this great crime until suffering and sacrifice in

kind has been made and endured by those who have

reaped the benefits of the institution. The North and

the South will each have to share in this suffering and

sacrifice. Both are guilty. The North profited most in

the inauguration of the infamy and has shared largely

in the profits which have arisen from slave labor. Be-

sides, by its unconcern and cowardice it has permitted

the institution to grow and prosper until now it is arro-

gantly strong. Nothing but violence will wipe it out.

It will go down in blood and carnage; There will be

wailing and lamentations in a million of homes, and

grief and sorrow will sit with every family in the land."

During the mighty struggle which so soon followed,

I thought a thousand times of the prophecy of the old

man in Charlestown jail, and never for one moment did

I doubt as to the result. A few days before his execu-

tion I entered his cell with this remark, "How rapidly

the time flies. I scarcely realize that a night has passed

since I saw you." He smiled as he replied, "Do you

• 30
 

320     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

think the time goes rapidly? I do not. It seems a lag-

gard. Were it not for a face I long to see, and some

correspondence I wish to finish, I could wish the last

hour were here. My work is all done except the final

and most important act. I must die and while I do not

go to the scaffold of my own accord, yet willingly do I

do so, as I believe that my death is necessary to com-

plete my work, and I am anxious to finish it."

Thirty years ago I was a youth - occupying a prom-

inent position, and not without considerable pretensions.

As I listened to that old man, I thought how utterly

without aim was my life--how insignificant all my

ambitions, and as I gazed on John Brown, he grew until

he seemed a human cathedral, grand, massive and

sublime.

Arrangements had been made for his wife to visit

him. She arrived at the Ferry the afternoon preceding

his execution. A squadron of cavalry escorted her to

the Charlestown jail. She was conducted to the cell of

her husband, where she remained four hours. I will

not attempt to describe that interview. His jailer, Cap-

tain John Avis, attempted to give me a description of it,

but failed for two reasons -one was that words were

too poor to paint it and the other was that when he at-

tempted his emotions overcame him, and he closed the

effort in a burst of tears. I will not attempt it tonight.

I leave to your imaginations to conceive how much love,

how much sorrow and how much resignation were

crowded into those four short hours. At the close of the

interview Mrs. Brown was returned to Harper's Ferry,

there to await the body of her husband.

The air on the second day of December was crisp

and sharp, such as we have in this latitude in early

• 31
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  331

December, when the weather is fine. Early in the morn-

ing there were fleecy clouds shrouding the sun, but by

ten o'clock these had dissipated and the sun shone

brightly. John Brown dressed for execution when he

rose from bed. About nine o'clock, bedizened with

laces and cords and spangles, General Taliaferro, com-

mandant of the three thousand Virginia uniformed

militia, called at John Brown's cell. The old hero was

engaged in writing. As he looked up and recognized

the General, he said:

"What is the hour of execution?"

"Eleven o'clock," replied the General.

"I will have finished my correspondence before that

hour," he replied as he resumed his pen.

Taliaferro stood for a moment and then turned on

his heels and left the jail. He did not awe the old

raider by his imposing presence and attitude.

At eleven o'clock a furniture wagon, with two

horses attached, was drawn up in front of the jail.

John Brown with Sheriff Campbell on one side and

Jailer Avis on the other stepped from the jail. Unaided

Captain Brown got into the wagon and took a seat on

a box which contained his coffin. Jailer Avis sat at his

side. On the driver's seat sat George W. Sadler, the

undertaker, and Wells J. Hawks, Massachusetts man,

resident of Charlestown, who thought it necessary that

he should drive John Brown to his death, that he might

attest his loyalty to southern institutions. The Char-

lestown cadets, under command of Captain W. W. Gal-

lagher, formed around the wagon, and preceded by mil-

itary and followed by military the line of march was

taken up to the field of execution just beyond the town

limits and to the south of it.

• 32
 

332     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

As Captain Brown filled his lungs with the crisp air

he said to Mr. Sadler, "What a delicious atmosphere.

It is very invigorating."

"Yes," replied Mr. Sadler. They reached a little

knoll from which the open country could be seen.

"Why, Mr. Sadler, you have a lovely country sur-

rounding you. I had no idea it was so lovely."

"Yes," replied Mr. Sadler.

Then the old man's eye caught the Blue Ridge Moun-

tains. "Is the Blue Ridge always as beautiful as it is

this morning?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Mr. Sadler, "always so on bright

days. Captain Brown, you are more cheerful than I."

"Oh! yes, I should be."

And thus he proceeded to his death.

Reaching the field, he got from the wagon unaided

and started for the steps of the scaffold. Of all the

scenes in a life which has not been uneventful, that

scene at the scaffold is most indelibily impressed upon

my mind. Tonight, as on that cool December morning,

nearly a generation ago, it stands distinctly before me.

I see him as he places his foot on the first step. No

bravado, but a calm mien and exquisite poise, step after

step he takes, as though he were ascending the stairs

in a gentleman friend's home to a chamber in which he

was to rest. Reaching the top, he steps forward on the

trap, glances at the thousands of soldiers by whom he

is surrounded and turns to Jailer Avis with,

"Where are your citizens?"

"Citizens are not allowed to be present," the jailer

replies.

"That is a great mistake - a grave mistake. Your

citizens should have witnessed this scene."

• 33
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  333

He throws back his head and looks at the rope which

dangles above him. Then his eyes catch the Blue Ridge

and he turns almost around grasping its beautiful sweep

up the valley. A touch on his shoulder calls his atten-

tion, and, as he faces, the sheriff whispers to him. The

old man reaches up and removes his old black felt hat,

laying it at his feet; then runs his fingers through his

hair, and then his arms are pinioned, his limbs are

bound, the rope is adjusted and the white cap is drawn

over his face.

Then an order is given to the military and it com-

mences to maneuver. Charging and retreating, flying

off at the flank and falling back on the centre; ten min-

utes are occupied in this barbarian behavior, and all the

while the old man stands on the death trap without a

tremour. Jailer Avis becomes impatient and says to

Captain Brown,

"Aren't you getting tired, Captain?"

"No, but I do not see the necessity for keeping me

waiting so long."

The military settle. The sheriff approaches the old

man and touches his hand with a handkerchief with the

remark:

"Drop this when you are ready."

"Oh, no! I do not need that. I am always ready."

In a few seconds the trap is sprung, and in fifteen

minutes John Brown's soul is with his God.

Here and there in the vast field of humanity a kin-

dred spirit said "Amen" to his acts and "Amen" to his

death, believing, as did John Brown, that his death was

necessary to complete his work. But the great con-

servative mass pronounced him a radical and a fanatic.

So has the conservative element in all ages and in all

• 34
 

334     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

climes denounced those who were the advance guard in

the struggle for the elevation and amelioration of man-

kind, and so it will be until time shall be no more.

Thank God, history changes epitaphs. John Brown

from the moment he was able to appreciate its enormity,

hated human slavery. As he grew in years, its destruc-

tion absorbed his being and awakened all his energies.

He studied its origin and its effects and familiarized

himself with its terrible injustice and cruelties. With

his mental vision he went back through the centuries.

He saw a vast continent around which the father of his-

tory had thrown the mists of tradition. He saw a vast

plain, pathless and trackless as the air, -he saw a

valley which had teemed with fertility where Abraham

had received his vision under the oak on the plains of

Mamre; he saw the fields of Goshen in which a chosen

people had slaved for centuries, and where deliverance

had been secured by a human instrument guided and

directed by God. He turned his mental eyes to the

South; he saw the long ranges of mountains, whose

snow capped summits pierced the ether, until they

seemed to hold communication with the moon; he saw

mighty rivers, with unknown source, rolling their

freightless waters to the sea; he saw a black race of

people in primitive simplicity - primitive innocence

and primitive intelligence; he saw the civilization of an

age which had just crowned itself with a refulgent burst

of literature and philosophy, send its white winged

messengers of commerce to the shores of that continent,

and prompted by greed and avarice, tear the confiding

blacks from their homes, to fill the holds of their vessels

with living freight; he saw all the horrors of the middle

passage; each morning he saw the hatches open, the

• 35
 

John Brown at Harper's Ferry and Charlestown  335

hooks descend, the dead of the night dragged forth, and

their bodies, unshriven and unshrouded, cast into the

deep, until the slaver's track was paved with human

bodies; he saw them landed on the shores of a continent

which was virgin in its character, and to which the

oppressed of Europe had recently fled, that they might

enjoy liberty; he saw them sold into slavery; saw all

the sufferings of more than two hundred years of

bondage; heard the smack of every lash in the cruel

hands of the master or still more cruel hands of the soul

driver as it fell on the quivering flesh of the helpless

victim; he saw them chained in dungeons; herded in

shambles, sold from blocks; he saw them give the sweat

of their faces - the strength of their muscles and

sinews-the marrow of their bones and not infre-

quently the blood of their hearts in unrequited toils.

His mental vision quit the past and peered into the

future.

He saw his own captivity--the mocking of his

trial, his own scaffold-heard the sounds of his own

foot falls as he ascended its steps - witnessed his own

sacrifice. He was startled with the sudden fruition of

his hopes. The marvel of all the ages which time has

birthed save ours passed before him; sounds fell on his

ears he had never heard before - it was the tramp of

serried hosts - they were coming from the East, and

from the North and from the gigantic West. The im-

plements of peace had been turned into those of war,

and sword in hand the mighty hosts were carving their

way to liberty and unshackled maturity, to hopes ful-

filled. What mattered a life, sacrifice, if it bring to a

downtrodden race all that he had dreamed and prayed

for? Everything fell from him except the vision of

• 36
 

336     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

the future which he might pave the way for, that he

might prove a stepping stone for a new life, a nobler

existence. Wrapped in this vision the soul of the

martyr, eager, glorified, passed on to the new country

where are no race prejudices to overcome, no struggle

for emancipation, but fraternity and equality for all.

• 37