Ohio History Journal

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THE EXECUTION OF JOHN BROWN

THE EXECUTION OF JOHN BROWN.*

 

 

BY MURAT HALSTEAD

 

The execution of John Brown was on the second of

December, 1859; the scene, in a field a furlong south of

Charlestown, seven miles from Harper's Ferry. The

sensation caused by the John Brown raid was something

wonderful. The excitement of the whole country was

out of all proportion to the material incidents. The

shock was because the feeling of the people that the

slavery question had reached an acute stage and de-

manded uncompromising attention, was general, and

there was apprehension that there were conditions upon

the country of "unmerciful disaster"--a public sensi-

bility that an immense catastrophe was impending.

As a correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial,

to write the story of the hanging of old John Brown, I

carried letters from Dr. Dandridge, cousin of Colonel

Washington, to that gentleman, and from the Hon.

George H. Pendleton, to the superintendent of the Har-

per's Ferry rifle-works of the United States. On the

journey I fell in with the Baltimore police scouts, who

by command of the Governor of Virginia had explored

"the abolition counties of Ohio" in search of military

organizations, made up in violation of the peace and

dignity of the United States, for "another raid on

Virginia."

 

* Written for the New York Independent. See Connelly's John

Brown, pages 384-393.

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