BARCLAY COPPOC
BY C. B. GALBREATH
Barclay Coppoc, according to the family
genealogist,
was born in Butler Township, Columbiana
County, Ohio,
January 4, 1839. At the age of eleven
years he went
with the family to Springdale, Iowa. He
grew up into
a delicate looking, slender youth, but
wiry, venturesome
and fearless, as the story of his life
will show.
Soon after the family reached Iowa, a
younger sister,
Lydia, died of consumption; the oldest
brother, Levi,
and another sister, Maria, became
invalids from the
same disease and passed away in the
year 1855. Bar-
clay, who aided in nursing them through
their illness,
was himself threatened and went to
Kansas in 1856 to
live in the open and fortify his frail
constitution against
the malady that had already taken away
three members
of the family. It is needless to say
that once in that
territory his inherited and acquired
hostility to slavery
made him an intense partisan of the
Free State cause.
How long he remained in Kansas is not
definitely known.
He became acquainted with John Brown
and some of his
followers and returned to Iowa before
the end of the
year, greatly improved in health by his
emigrant life.
When John Brown and his little band
arrived in
Springdale late in 1857, some
questioned whether he was
the real John Brown of Ossawatomie
fame. Barclay
Coppoc removed all doubt when he
promptly recognized
the hero of Black Jack and his
followers.
(459)
460
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Along with his older brother, Edwin,
Barclay was
deeply interested in John Brown and his
plans, much
impressed with the two visits of the
old warrior in
Springdale, and finally joined the
party at Harper's
Ferry. While Edwin was commissioned
lieutenant,
Barclay remained a private. The latter
was afflicted
with asthma and apparently not
sufficiently vigorous to
stand up under long continued and
arduous physical
exertion. For this reason, it is said,
he was left on
guard at the Kennedy Farm when John
Brown and
nineteen of his men left on the fateful
night of October
16, 1859, to attack Harper's Ferry.
With him were left on guard Owen Brown,
son of
John Brown, and Francis J. Merriam, a
member of the
wealthy Merriam family of
Massachusetts, whose oppo-
sition to slavery led him to join in
the movement at
Harper's Ferry. Owen had direction of
the little party
of three who had been instructed by his
father to take
the arms from the Kennedy house to a
school house
about one mile from the Ferry, or
direct to the Ferry
itself, depending upon where they could
be used to the
best advantage.
The night of the attack Owen stood on
guard while
Merriam and Coppoc slept. No sound
reached them
from the Ferry until about six o'clock
in the morning,
when they heard firing in that
direction. About eleven
o'clock on Monday a slave who had been
captured by
John Brown came with a team and wagon
for a load
of arms. These were taken to the school
house as
directed. At three o'clock in the
afternoon the reports
of guns from the Ferry became more
frequent. A col-
ored man rode up and asked that an
effort be made to
Barclay Coppoc 461
help the party at the Ferry. The three
men armed them-
selves and started. The shadows of
night had com-
menced to fall. An armed man was seen
approaching
and ordered to halt. It was Charles
Plummer Tidd, one
of Brown's men. He reported that the
band at Harper's
Ferry were hemmed in and a number of
them had been
killed, adding that there was no
possible chance for the
others to escape. He advised leaving
the place as soon
as possible. To this Owen Brown objected,
declaring
that they must not abandon their
friends. It was his
plan to get together a number of
slaves, arm them, ap-
proach the Ferry and commence firing at
long range to
divert the attention of the enemy in
order that their
beleaguered friends might have an
opportunity to
escape.
After they had proceeded about a mile
they met
another man in the darkness who proved
to be John E.
Cook, another of Brown's men, who had
not gone to
the Ferry but who earlier in the day
from the Maryland
heights had fired upon the Virginians
to divert their
attention. He reported that John Brown
and a number
of the men had been killed and that
there was nothing
to be done except to hasten into the
mountains if they
would save their lives. The five then
retreated, accom-
panied by the negro who shortly
afterward, to their
great discomfiture, deserted them, for
they well knew
that in order to save himself he would
probably betray
them.
Under the leadership of Owen they
followed the
mountain ranges north into
Pennsylvania, hiding in the
daytime and moving forward cautiously
and with much
uncertainty in the night. The
surrounding country was
462
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
thoroughly aroused. After they had
spent some days in
the mountains and had consumed the
supply of food
with which they started, they were
startled one day by
the sound of voices in the distance,
followed by echoes
of another sound that filled them with
apprehension and
terror. It was the baying of hounds,
and the fugitives
at once concluded that they were
followed by a party
that had set bloodhounds on their trail.
They hurried
in the opposite direction and finally
came upon a clearing
with a house in it and a road running
along one side.
Here they halted to avoid detection.
Nearer and nearer
sounded the baying of the hounds. On
they pressed a
mile or so farther. The light of day
was beginning to
dawn. Owen gave command not to shoot
the dogs
unless there were men with them. In
relating the story
of the flight afterwards he said in
speaking of dogs:
"I never saw one that would bite
me. Dogs, you see, are
like men; if you pretend to know them
they are sure you do or
at least believe a certain civility is
due to the doubt. The fact
that you are not afraid of them, too,
has to both dogs and men
a convincing, peace-making mystery about
it."
So the party stopped and waited for the
hounds. In
a little while a red fox passed by,
showing by the tongue
lolling out of its mouth that it had
been chased far.
Following came the hounds. They stopped
and looked
at the men for a moment and then went
on after the fox.
After they were gone there was a doubt
in the minds of
the men whether the hounds had been put
on their track
or whether they simply belonged to fox
hunters.
The strength of Merriam was not equal
to the
arduous experience in the
mountains. At different
times he was unable to proceed and it
seemed that he
would have to be abandoned. Owen,
however, would
Barclay Coppoc 463
not consent to desert him and at times
carried him on
his shoulders. Trouble developed
between Cook and
Tidd and it required all of Owen's
persuasive power and
generalship to keep them from
quarreling or from en-
dangering the safety of all by their
indiscretions.
Hunger drove the men almost to
desperation and Cook
was determined to risk everything in
order to get food
in spite of the pleading of Owen not to
do so. At last
he succeeded in getting some bread,
salt, boiled beef and
other provisions that greatly relieved
the hunger of his
companions when he returned. Having
succeeded in
this venture, he later made another
attempt to get food.
The other members of the party waited
long for his
return but he never came back. He was
captured, sent
back to Virginia and finally executed,
as already related,
with Edwin Coppoc.
The party reached Chambersburg about
the 25th of
October. While the weather at this time
in the valleys
was not uncomfortable, snow was falling
on the moun-
tains and rains had been frequent. The
men were be-
ginning to weaken under the strain and
for lack of food.
They pressed onward, however,
determined to escape or
perish in the effort. Finally it was
decided that it would
be impossible for Merriam to proceed
much farther.
After a day's rest he was taken to a
railroad some dis-
tance from Chambersburg and started for
the next sta-
tion to board a passenger train. He had
given all of his
money, except enough to pay his fare
east, to his com-
panions. The risk he took was great but
his plan was
entirely successful. He boarded the
train at Shippens-
burg, was not detected and was soon
safe among his
friends in Philadelphia.
464
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Owen Brown, Coppoc and Tidd continued
their jour-
ney, intending to travel all the
distance to northwestern
Pennsylvania where they had
acquaintances and might
feel measurably safe. After traveling
some days they
risked taking the road in the daytime
and met a man on
horseback. Owen inquired of him the way
to Belle-
fonte, in Center County, Pennsylvania.
He had learned
of Quakers in the vicinity of this
place and thought if
they could get employment from a
sympathetic Quaker
friend until the excitement over the
raid at the Ferry
had died away, they might then continue
their journey.
They did not ask the man they met about
Harper's
Ferry, although they were very eager to
get news re-
garding what had happened there. They
learned that,
while the town they sought was some
distance away,
they were within ten miles of the
Juniata River. Later
they reached this, crossed without
difficulty at the ferry
and traveled in a canal boat for seven
or eight miles.
Taking the road for Bellefonte they
were tempted to
stop at a farm house by the large,
comfortable fire that
beamed through the window. Without
question they
were given food and a night's lodging.
Here they learned for the first time
from a news-
paper what had happened at the Ferry
and the fate of
Cook. Owen Brown read aloud for his
companions.
When he came to the account of the
suffering and forti-
tude of his father and the death of his
two brothers, his
voice, in spite of his self restraint,
was tremulous.
Barclay Coppoc listened in silence to
the report of the
capture of his brother, but it was
noticed by Owen that
tears from his large brown eyes coursed
down his pallid
cheeks and fell on his coat.
Barclay Coppoc 465
The next morning, after paying for
their food and
lodging, they learned from their host
that about twenty
miles to the northwest lived a Quaker
by the name of
Wakefield. They reached his place in
the evening and
found him and his son loading wheat. To
Tidd's re-
quest for lodging, the elderly
gentleman said, "Thy
friends may come." But when the
party put in their
appearance with their arms he held up
his hands and
told them that they could not bring
their guns into the
house.
"It may have been contrary to his
church rules," said Owen
in his account, "I don't know, but
we argued the case a while
and then hit upon the lucky compromise
that we should take
the loads out of our guns. We had
hardly got inside the house,
however, when he startled us by saying,
in his calm way, that
he knew who we were - we were from
Harper's Ferry. We
asked him how he knew that. He said we
were so gaunt. He
knew that we were hunted like wild
beasts and that fact and
our cause were a short cut to his
heart. We found the house a
nice, cleanly one and the two trim
daughters who were the
housekeepers soon got us a splendid
supper."*
The Quaker would take nothing for their
entertain-
ment, and insisted upon their remaining
with him over
the next day, which was Sunday. He
cautioned them to
travel at night for some time and
directed them to a
cousin of his who lived about forty
miles farther in the
direction of their course.
Without any incident more exciting than
the gath-
ering of apples for food in one or two
orchards and the
capture of some poultry from the hen
roost of a farmer,
the three men finally reached the home
of the cousin
* For this and succeeding extracts from
the account of Owen Brown,
the writer is under obligations to Mr.
T. B. Alexander, who contributed a
typewritten copy. The narrative, with
slight variations, appeared in the
Atlantic Monthly of April, 1874.
Vol. XXX-30
466
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
which they approached after nightfall.
In answer to
their call he came to the window. What
followed is
thus described by Owen Brown:
"We told him, as he leaned out of
the window, that Mr.
Wakefield had sent us to him, and he
seemed disposed to let us
in; but at this stage of the interview
another window, appar-
ently in the same second story room,
opened and three night-
capped heads were thrust out. No, we
couldn't come in, any
such thing, they cried in chorus. They
knew who we were; we
were traitors; and our lives were
forfeit. We said that we had
merely risked our lives for the freedom
of millions of helpless
slaves. They replied that they were not
in favor of slavery,
themselves, but they were also in favor
of not putting it down
by force. And there we had it with the
night-caps. The man
was on our side, but when he said
anything in our favor it
seemed to go worse with us than ever.
His argument excited
more fury in the night-caps than ours
did. We offered to pay
twice any sum they would ask. What was
money to them when
we were traitors and carried wicked guns
besides? We offered
to give them up our guns. At this the
voice of what I took to
be the old lady said, 'Oh!' and one
night-cap disappeared; it
might have been in terror, it might have
been consenting. Then
the two younger voices said, 'Well,
father, if you want to take
in murderers you may, but don't ask us
to wait on them,' and
the two other night-caps disappeared and
the windows went
down. It may seem an amusing scene to
you, yet it was pretty
serious to us and we stood wondering
what was to be our fate
with the three female tongues ready to
betray us and the man
of the house not daring to take us in
-when the door opened
and the Quaker told us we might
enter."
The next morning they were given their
breakfast
but the women refused to wait on them.
The man of
the house would not take any pay from
them and Coppoc
and Tidd helped him husk corn all the
next day while
Owen went to the village nearby,
purchased some carpet-
bags in which to carry their small arms
and got a box
in which to pack the others. By evening
the women of
the Quaker household were much
mollified and disposed
to take considerable interest in the
visitors who the
Barclay Coppoc 467
evening before had been so unwelcome.
The box with
the arms was shipped to Salem, Ohio,
and from this
point Barclay Coppoc started by stage
for the same
destination.
In speaking of the conduct and
character of Barclay
Coppoc, Owen Brown years afterward
said:
"Barclay Coppoc, who was with me
through so much hard-
ship, was a medium sized young man, not
over twenty-two or
twenty-three years old. He did not look
very healthy, but could
stand a great deal. He was not so well
educated or so energetic
as his brother who was hanged."
In a letter to the Atlantic Monthly of
July, 1874, he
added this estimate:
"Coppoc was brave, philanthropic,
true to principle, faithful
to his friends, and of well restrained
temper. Few have more
admirable qualities."
George B. Gill, who has left striking
pen pictures of
John Brown's men, was not so favorably
impressed with
Barclay Coppoc as with his brother
Edwin. He seemed
to think that the former was
self-centered and not
worthy of some of the eulogistic
estimates of him.
Colonel Richard J. Hinton, who knew him
well, says:
"He (Barclay) had scant brown
hair, bold large eyes, irreg-
ular features, a determined
expression. During the perilous
period of escaping, though frail in
strength, Owen's narrative
shows that the brave youth bore his
share without complaint of
the thirty-six days of hunger, cold,
fatigue and danger that they
passed in the rough laurel hills and
semi-mountain areas from
the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry to
Center County, Penn-
sylvania."
Barclay Coppoc proceeded with no
untoward experi-
ence to Salem, Ohio, whither the box of
arms had been
shipped. Here he remained for a short
time with rela-
468
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
tives and friends to rest and regain
strength. Just what
his movements were following his return
to Ohio is not
definitely known. Reminiscences are often not very
reliable and should usually be
sustained by documentary
evidence before they are recorded as
history. The rem-
iniscences and manuscript records at
hand for this
period do not harmonize, possibly due
to an error in
transcribing; and then there may be
confusion due to
the two visits he made to Salem late in
the year 1859
and early in 1860.
His own account, according to extracts
from his
letter of January 13, 1860, written
from Springdale,
Iowa, to Annie Brown, is as follows:
"There are but five of our little
band now away and safe;
namely, Owen, Tidd, Merriam, O. P.
Anderson, or as we used
to call him, Chatham Anderson, and
myself. There were five
of us who started from the Ferry, Owen,
Tidd, Merriam, John
E. Cook and myself. We were together
eight days before John
was captured, which was near
Chambersburg, and the next night
Merriam left us and went to
Shippensburg, and there took the
cars for Philadelphia. After that there
were but three of us left,
and we kept together until we got to
Center County, Pennsyl-
vania, where we bought a box and packed
up all heavy luggage,
such as rifles, blankets, etc., and
after being together three or
four weeks we separated, and I went on
through with the box
to Ohio on the cars. Owen and Tidd went
on foot towards the
northwestern part of Pennsylvania.
"From Ohio I went to Canada and
stopped there a few
weeks. Then I went to Niagara Falls, as
far east as Rochester,
and on to Buffalo and Cleveland. I
stopped there about two
weeks and then started for my home in
Iowa.
"When I got off the cars at our
station, which is about six
or seven miles from our old place, I met
several hundred persons
who were anxiously awaiting my
arrival." 10
B. F. Gue, the Iowa historian, in an
article published
in the American Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, p. 143,
related that Barclay Coppoc, after
parting from Tidd
10See (10) in note 2, page 450.
Barclay Coppoc 469
and Owen Brown in Pennsylvania,
"took a train for
Iowa, which he safely reached, worn
almost to a skel-
eton by starvation and exposure. He
appeared suddenly
in his old home on the 17th of December
and met a
warm and tearful welcome. His brother *
* * had
died on a Virginia scaffold the day
before."
Now it is evident that from November
24, the date
on which he started from Pennsylvania
for Ohio, to
December 17 is only twenty-three days.
It of course is
improbable, perhaps impossible, that he
should have vis-
ited in that time all the places he
named in his letter and
that he should have spent "a few
weeks" in Canada and
"two weeks" in Cleveland. He
seems to have been in
Springdale in December, 1859, however,
for William
McCormick, of Muscatine, Iowa, on the
23d of that
month, wrote to Governor Wise, of
Virginia, apprising
him that Barclay Coppoc "is with
his mother in Spring-
dale and was in Muscatine
yesterday." He adds: "I
do not see why he could not be arrested
without much
trouble, he is in the country away from
any town of any
note, but am told that he has many
friends among his
neighbors."
Barclay's mother, in a letter to James
Whinnery, of
Salem, Ohio, dated "Springdale,
Iowa, 1st mo. 22nd '60"
says:
"Barclay is at home and seems
determined to stay, although
there are reports almost continually of
somebody being in search
of him. He says he has hurt nobody, and
will not run nor will
not be taken. * *
I think B's friends will take care of him,
as they are both numerous and
resolute."
How his friends had prepared to
"take care of him"
is indicated in the following letter,
written by a neighbor
who, like Mrs. Coppoc and her family,
had earlier left
470
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Columbiana County, Ohio, and gone to
Iowa. It is in-
teresting because it shows that the
village of Springdale
and the surrounding country were
thoroughly aroused
and that the non-resistent creed of the
Quakers there
was gradually giving way under the
stress of the times.
It is a singular combination of the
"plain language,"
guns and the assurance that Springdale
"is right on the
goose:"
"Springdale, Cedar County, Iowa,
Feb. 12, 1860.
"The object of thy anxious inquiry
(Barclay Coppoc) has
not been taken from Springdale, nor is
it intended that he shall
be taken. Springdale is in arms and is
prepared, at a half-hour's
notice, to give them a reception of 200 shots; and it will be
necessary for the marshal to find him
before he can be taken.
There is a well-organized body here.
They meet two or three
evenings in each week to lay their plans
and take the necessary
steps to have them carried out in case
of necessity. There are
three of their number who always know of
his whereabouts, and
nobody else knows anything of him. He is
never seen at night
where he was during the day, and there
are men on the watch
at Davenport, Muscatine, Iowa City,
Liberty, Tipton, and all
around, and the first sign of an arrest
in any quarter a messenger
will be dispatched to Springdale, and
larger companies than the
Virginians can raise will follow
immediately after them. Musca-
tine has offered to send 400 men at the
very shortest notice.
But it is intended to baffle them in
every possible way without
bloodshed if possible. The marshal was
at Des Moines City
some two weeks for a requisition, and
the Governor refused to
grant it on account of informality; then
swore they would take
him by mob. The citizens dispatched a
messenger immediately
to this place. He rode four horses down
on the way, and came
through in two nights and a day, it
being 165 miles. We under-
stand that the marshal has gone the
second time to Des Moines
for his requisition, and his return is
looked for daily. But I have
no doubt he will be baffled in some way,
for be assured Spring-
dale is right on the goose. "F. C. GALBREATH."4
As Governor Willard of Indiana was
personally in-
volved by the Harper's Ferry
raid through his brother-
4From John Brown and His Men, by
Hinton. See note 4, page 450.
Barclay Coppoc 471
in-law, John E. Cook, Governor Samuel
J. Kirkwood,
of Iowa, (later United States Senator
and Secretary of
the Interior) was officially drawn into
the aftermath of
that event by the return of Barclay
Coppoc to his home
in Springdale.
In his inaugural address of January 11,
1860, Gov-
ernor Kirkwood devoted considerable
attention to John
Brown's invasion of Virginia. Like many
other men in
office he expressed strong disapproval
of this movement
and like others of his political faith
he made pretty
clearly known that he considered this a
result of the
unfair treatment that the Free State
men had been
accorded for years in the Territory of
Kansas. This
sentence in his inaugural stirred up
his political foes to
active and open hostility:
"While the great mass of our
northern people utterly con-
demn the act of John Brown, they feel
and express admiration
and sympathy for the disinterestedness
of purpose by which they
believe he was governed and for the
unflinching courage and
calm cheerfulness with which he met the
consequences of his
failure."*
This expression precipitated a storm in
the legis-
lature of Iowa. The governor was
severely criticised
by his political opponents in that body
and they finally
went on record in a scathing protest.
Here matters
rested for a time until, on the 23d day
of January, 1860,
a Mr. Camp, an agent sent by Governor
Letcher of Vir-
ginia, who had succeeded Governor Wise,
appeared in
Des Moines and presented to Governor
Kirkwood a
requisition for the arrest and
surrender of Barclay
Coppoc. Two members of the Iowa Legislature,
Edward Wright and B. F. Gue.
abolitionists, entered the
*History of Iowa, by B. F. Gue, Vol. II, pages 16, 17.
472 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Governor's office while the interview
between Camp and
Governor Kirkwood was in progress. This
is what
happened as subsequently report by
Gue:*
"We found in conference with the
Governor a pompous-
looking man, who seemed to be greatly
excited. Governor Kirk-
wood was calmly listening to the violent
language of this indi-
vidual, who was swinging his arms wildly
in his wrath. The
Governor quietly suggested to the
stranger, that 'he had sup-
posed that he did not want his business
made public.'
"The rude reply was: 'I don't care
a d n who knows it
now, since you have refused to honor the
requisition.'
"The pompous man then proceeded to
argue the case with
the Governor, and we soon learned that
he was an agent from
Virginia bearing a requisition from
Governor Letcher for the
surrender of Barclay Coppoc.
"In reply to a remark by the agent
that Coppoc might escape
before he could get the defect in the
requisition cured, the Gov-
ernor, looking significantly at us,
replied: 'There is a law under
which you can arrest Coppoc and hold him
until the requisition
is granted,' and the Governor reached
for the code. We waited
to hear no more, but, saying to the
Governor that we would call
again when he was not engaged and giving
him a look that was
response to his own, we walked
out."
Promptly afterward a conference was
held with
other anti-slavery members of the
Legislature and a
messenger was sent posthaste on
horseback to distant
Springdale to warn Coppoc and his
friends. The mes-
senger bore a note advising that the
Governor would
probably be compelled to issue the
requisition. As
already seen from a letter quoted, the
messenger arrived
in due time and the friends of Coppoc
prepared to give
the Virginia agent a warm reception if
he should appear.
In the meantime Governor Kirkwood's
keen and
sympathetic eye had detected certain
material flaws in
the requisition papers and he refused
to order Barclay
Coppoc's arrest for the following
reasons:
*History of Iowa, by B. F. Gue, Vol. II, p. 20.
Barclay Coppoc 473
"First - No indictment had been
found against him.
"Second -The affidavit was made
before an alleged notary
public, but was not authenticated by a notary's seal.
"Third- The affidavit did not show
that Coppoc was in
Virginia aiding and abetting John Brown.
"Fourth - It did not legally charge
him with commission of
any crime."*
When this action of the Governor became
publicly
known, the Legislature was again thrown
into commo-
tion and the following resolutions were
offered by a
partisan opponent:
"WHEREAS, A requisition was made on
the Governor of
Iowa by the Governor of Virginia for
Barclay Coppoc, an alleged
participant in the difficulties at
Harper's Ferry, Virginia, as a
fugitive from Justice, and
"WHEREAS, The Governor of Iowa has
refused to deliver
up said Coppoc under said requisition,
alleging technical defects
therein, therefore be it
"Resolved, That the Governor of Iowa be requested to lay
before the House a copy of the
requisition directed to him by
the Governor of Virginia, and all
matters connected therewith;
also to inform this House whether he
possessed any knowledge
in regard to a rumor that a special
messenger was dispatched to
inform Coppoc of his danger; and if so,
by what authority said
messenger was dispatched to inform
Coppoc of his danger."*
The Governor very promptly laid before
the House
of Representatives a ringing defense of
his action.
After criticising the conduct of the
agent from Virginia
and denying that he had sent any word
whatever to
Barclay Coppoc or his friends, he said:
"Permit me to say in conclusion
that one of the most im-
portant duties of the official position
I hold is to see that no cit-
izen of Iowa is carried beyond her border
and subjected to the
ignominy of imprisonment and the perils
of trial for crimes in
another state otherwise than by due
process of law. That duty I
shall perform."*
*History of Iowa, by B. F. Gue, Vol. II, p. 19, 20.
474 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
It is pointed out that, if Governor
Packer of Penn-
sylvania had been as deliberate in his
action before sur-
rendering to Virginia Hazlett and Cook,
it is probable
that neither of them would have ended
his career on the
gallows.
In this connection it is interesting to
recall the atti-
tude of Governor Dennison of Ohio. He
promptly
referred the requisition for Owen Brown
and Merriam
to the Attorney General of that state
who very soon
found a number of defects that were
ample excuse for
the Governor not to authorize the
arrest of either of
these men.
Finally a second requisition from
Virginia which
avoided the defects that Governor
Kirkwood had pointed
out in the first was presented at Des
Moines and a war-
rant was issued for the arrest of
Barclay Coppoc, but
he could not then be found. His friends
had been
promptly notified and with Thaddeus
Maxson Barclay
was conveyed with an armed guard to
Mechanicsville
and later the two proceeded by rail to
Chicago and
thence to Detroit. It has generally
been stated that
they crossed over to Canada. If they
did so they re-
mained a very short time, for they soon
went to Ohio
where Barclay was in hiding with
friends near Salem
and later joined Owen Brown and F. J.
Merriam at the
home of John Brown, Jr., in Dorset,
Ashtabula County,
Ohio.
It must be remembered that all this
time a reward
was offered for the capture of Coppoc
and that he was
in continual danger of arrest. It is
not likely that Gov-
ernor Dennison would have been
instrumental in this
if he could have consistently avoided
it, but the United
States authorities might at any time
seize any of the
Barclay Coppoc 475
members of the John Brown party that
had escaped
from the Ferry. It was therefore
important that these
men and their friends should be
constantly on guard.
It was at this time that Barclay Coppoc
and Thaddeus
Maxson visited the home of Daniel
Bonsall, a prominent
anti-slavery man living near Salem.
Charles Bonsall,
who is still living at the age of
eighty-two, recently gave
his reminiscences of the visit of these
two men as
follows:
"In the spring of 1860, some time
in April, as I remember,
Barclay Coppoc and Thaddeus Maxson came
to the neighbor-
hood of Winona and remained for some
time. They spent the
time with well-known abolitionists. I
distinctly recall their visit
to the home of my father, Daniel
Bonsall. When they first
called, father was away from home and I
met the two men. As
soon as they knew who I was and that
they were safe they made
known their identity. I suspected this
before they spoke. Bar-
clay Coppoc, after his escape from
Harper's Ferry, had returned
to Springdale, Iowa. From that place he
had come back with
Maxson to his native neighborhood south
of Salem to organize
secret leagues to oppose the Fugitive
Slave law. The principles
of this league had been formulated by
Parker Pillsbury and
printed along with the constitution in
pamphlet form.*
*The name of this organization was the
Order of the League of
Freedom. It was founded in Ashtabula
County and it was the purpose
of its members to extend it to other
states. Through the kindly interest
of Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Alexander, a copy
of this document, which was
secretly printed, is now in the
possession of the Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical Society. The preliminary
declaration is as follows:
"WHEREAS, Our fathers founded this
Federal Government upon the
'self-evident' truth that all men are
endowed by their Creator with equal
and imprescriptible rights to enjoy life,
liberty, and the pursuit of hap-
piness; and by the Constitution
provided, that no person shall be deprived
of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; and we, believing
that the African and all other races of
men are included in these pro-
visions: and
"WHEREAS, We believe Slave-holding
in the United States is the
source of numberless evils, moral,
social and political; that it hinders
social progress; that it embitters
public and private intercourse; that it
degrades us as individuals, as States,
and as a Nation; that it holds back
our country from a splendid career of
greatness and glory, and is in
direct violation of the principles laid
down in the Declaration of our
National Independence.
"We are, therefore, resolutely,
inflexibly, at all times, and under all
circumstances, hostile to its longer
continuance in our land."
476
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
"It soon became known to many
people of Salem that Bar-
clay Coppoc was in the neighborhood. A
citizen of Salem, who
was something of a private detective,
declared that he would get
the reward offered for the arrest of
Coppoc and that in a short
time he would be returned to the
Virginia authorities. When
Barclay Coppoc heard what this would-be
detective proposed to
do, he sent to him substantially this
message:
"'I understand that you propose to
arrest me and turn me
over to the Virginia authorities. I will
not go to Salem to afford
you the opportunity to make this arrest
but if you wish to get me
you can find me where I am at almost any
time. I suggest that
you get at least five men to aid you and
I assure you that they
will have plenty to do before they
succeed in capturing me.' "
Mr. Bonsall said that it was well known
that friends
in the neighborhood would stand by
Coppoc and no one
had the courage to attempt to arrest
him. He also re-
called the excellent marksmanship of
Barclay. A gray
squirrel ran up a tree at some distance
away and was
passing to another tree. Coppoc drew
his revolver and
fired, apparently while the squirrel
was still moving.
At the first shot it fell to the
ground.
Charles Bonsall is a Civil War veteran
and served in
the Third Kansas Regiment as we shall
see later.
It was while Barclay Coppoc was with
friends near
Salem that he went to see a panorama of
the Harper's
Ferry raid presented in that town. Mrs.
Mary Lease,
of Salem, Ohio, eldest daughter of Dr.
J. C. Whinnery,
thus recalled Barclay Coppoc's presence
at this exhi-
bition:
"When Barclay Coppoc returned to
Salem, after his return
from Harper's Ferry and Canada, he was
kept secreted and con-
stantly guarded. During this period a
travelling company with a
panorama of Harper's Ferry, the arsenal,
the scaffold, and the
route that Barclay travelled to Iowa,
came to Salem. Barclay
insisted on seeing it, despite all
pleadings and dissuasions, not-
withstanding that there was a reward of
$1,000 offered
for his
head, and the fact that some of the
people were watching for
Barclay Coppoc 477
him. So he went, disguised and
surrounded by his friends, the
whole party well armed. It was agreed
that no one of the party
should speak a word, in the building;
but that Barclay should
indicate his approval of what was
correctly shown by slightly
inclining his head. But he became so
absorbed as to forget all
precautions and when a scene came on
that displeased him he
raised his hand in a violent gesture and
I caught and held it
just in time to prevent his betraying
himself." (See note 2,
page 450.)
On July 4, 1860, a number of the
followers of John
Brown, including Barclay Coppoc, are
said to have been
at the home of John Brown, Jr., in
Ashtabula County.
Later in the year he returned to Kansas
and in company
with a few other men went into
Missouri, liberated and
ran off a number of slaves. Later he
very nearly lost
his life in a trap set by a man under
the assumed name
of Charley Hart, who pretended to favor
the Free State
cause and the freedom of the negroes.
This man per-
suaded Barclay Coppoc and some of his
associates to
make another raid into Missouri to help
some Jackson
County slaves to freedom. They were
ambushed and
Barclay almost lost his life. Two of
his party were
killed, the others escaped.
"Charley Hart" who planned
the capture of the party was himself an
Ohio man, who
afterwards was known as the famous
Confederate
guerrilla, Quantrill,* whose name
became a terror on the
western border early in the Civil War.
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860
and his
inauguration later radically changed
the status of Bar-
clay Coppoc. The same statutes remained
but there was
*William Clarke Quantrill was born at
Canal Dover, Ohio, July 31,
1837, and died in a military prison at
Louisville from wounds, June 6, 1865.
William E. Connelley, Secretary of the
Kansas Historical Society, has
written the detailed history of his life
in a large volume entitled Quantrill
and the Border Wars which presents Quantrill as the terror among border
ruffians with practically no devotion to
principle and ever ready to betray
his friends. He served as a Confederate
in the Civil War.
478
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
no longer serious thought of hunting
down the remnants
of the John Brown band. Barclay
returned to his old
home in Springdale and once more
settled down quietly
to farm work.
The year 1861 marked the marshalling in
arms and
the beginning of the Civil War. It is
scarcely necessary
to say that with his past record, his
adventurous spirit
and his hostility to slavery Barclay
Coppoc could not
long remain inactive in the quiet village
of Springdale.
He was no longer a fugitive from
justice. The part
that he had taken at Harper's Ferry had
ceased to make
him an object of aversion to all except
his closest friends.
Occasionally to someone who had not
known him he
was pointed out as one of John Brown's
men who had
escaped from the foray into Virginia.
His part in that
event was gradually making him an
object of distinction
rather than reproach. Possibly as he
thought over the
past he recalled the words of his
brother Edwin, in the
letter to his uncle Joshua:
"The time may come when he will
remember me and the
time may come when he will still further
remember the cause in
which I die. Thank God, the principles
of the cause in which
we were engaged will not die with me and
my brave comrades.
They will spread wider and wider, and
gather strength with
each hour that passes. The voice of
truth will echo through our
land, bringing conviction to the erring,
and adding numbers to
that glorious army who will follow its
banner."
Was not that army already forming under
the flag
of the Republic and was not the call
for volunteers
especially to men of the spirit of
Barclay Coppoc? He
evidently felt so, for on the 24th day
of July, 1861, he
was commissioned first lieutenant in
Company C, Third
Barclay Coppoc 479
Regiment,* Kansas Volunteer Infantry,
and was mus-
tered into service six days later. And
now in a uniform
of blue he was recruiting other young
men to proceed
with all possible haste to the theater
of war. As the
days passed, in spite of his modest
demeanor and reti-
cence, he was more and more an object
of interest to
his comrades because of the dangers
that he faced at
Harper's Ferry and in the long flight
through Pennsyl-
vania and Ohio. What distinction might
not come to
him in the great conflict between the
North and the
South?
At last he with a few of his comrades
was moving
southward. The Confederates had been
waging an
active guerrilla warfare in Missouri.
They had blown
up culverts and committed other bold
assaults in the
northwestern part of that state under
the shadows of
night. The train on which Coppoc was a
passenger had
been delayed. All danger was thought
behind them and
they were expecting soon to reach their
destination.
Suddenly the train plunged through a
burning bridge
into the Platte River of Missouri, and
the darkness was
rent with the shrieks of the wounded
and dying. The
Confederate guerrillas had set the
bridge on fire and
without a word of warning the train,
crowded with pas-
sengers, plunged a distance of forty
feet into the River.
About twenty-five passengers were
killed. Among the
number fatally injured was Lieutenant
Barclay Coppoc.
One of the survivors of the wreck, Mr.
W. R. Ramsey,
of the Government Printing Office,
Washington, in 1899
wrote:
*In this regiment Charles Bonsall, of
Salem, afterward enlisted.
480
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
"Of the ninety or more passengers
on board (men, women,
children and soldiers) very few escaped
uninjured and many
(about twenty-five) were killed, among
the latter being Lieu-
tenant Coppoc. I saw him at the St. Joe
Hotel the day after the
accident, and how he survived
twenty-four hours with the fright-
ful wound in his head * * * was a
miracle, as very few men
could have withstood the shock." (See note 2, page 450.)
The Daily Conservative of
Leavenworth, Kansas, in
its issue of September 5, 1861, gives a
very full account
of the disaster at the Platte River
bridge. From this
we learn that the train plunged into the
river at about
eleven o'clock at night. The heavens
were clouded and
a heavy darkness overhung the scene of
the tragedy.
A few of the passengers escaped
uninjured and these
made heroic efforts to save others. Some
went to St.
Joseph, nine miles distant, and others
to Easton to bring
aid. It was four o'clock the next
morning before a
relief train arrived.
The Conservative of September 6
contains an ac-
count of the funeral which is here
quoted in full:
"The burial of B. Coppoc and C.
Fording, two of the vic-
tims of the unparalleled atrocity of
last Tuesday night, took
place yesterday from the Mansion House.
"Coppoc, recently from Iowa, was a
young man of noble
soul and undaunted courage, and held the
position of Lieut. in
the company of Capt. Allen, in Col.
Montgomery's regiment.
Barclay Coppoc was with John Brown in
the raid on Virginia;
his brother Edwin was captured and hung
but Barclay escaped.
He fled in company with Captain Cook and
succeeded in eluding
pursuit when his companion was taken.
There was nothing of
the bravado about him. Religiously
anti-slavery, he endeavored
solely to do what he considered his
duty. C. Fording was a
young man who was coming with him from
Ohio to join the
same company.
"The Home Guards, Fencibles, and
the Old Guard led the
procession while a large concourse of
our most influential cit-
izens followed the hearses containing
the remains to the cemetery
on Pilot Knob. The companies of Captain
Swoyer and Jenkins
were with the procession part of the
distance.
Barclay Coppoc 481
"At the graves, Rev. Mr. Paddock
delivered an earnest, soul-
stirring prayer, and at about five
o'clock the remains were com-
mitted to the ground. A military salute
was then fired over the
graves."*
And thus the lives of these two young
brothers,
Edwin and Barclay Coppoc, which began
among the
peaceful scenes and surroundings in a
Quaker com-
munity of Columbiana County, Ohio,
after many vicis-
situdes, each had a tragic ending.
Their devotion to
principle and the courage with which
they lived and died
in the service of what they esteemed a
righteous cause
-a cause that was soon to triumph throughout the
Republic - entitle them to a place in
the history of the
Buckeye State.
THE MOTHER OF EDWIN AND BARCLAY COPPOC.
The mother of Edwin and Barclay Coppoc
was a staunch advocate
of the reforms that were popular among
the Quakers of Columbiana
County in the early half of the last
century. She was strongly opposed
to slavery and her two sons owed their
hostility to that institution, in
no small measure to her teaching. She
did not wish to see them join
John Brown. She had already lost three
children and she felt that the
enterprise upon which they were
venturing was a very dangerous one.
After they had given up their lives to
the cause that she held sacred,
however, one on the scaffold and the
other in the Union army, she
accepted the results with remarkable
calmness and stated that she felt
honored in the sacrifice they had made.
At the time of the funeral of Edwin
Coppoc she was almost totally
blind. In a letter to Rev. North, who
visited her son in jail at Charles-
town, she wrote:
"Every son of America whom you send
to the North with the prints
of the accursed halter upon his neck and
whose funeral is attended by
assembled thousands, has a tendency to
kindle the fires of indignation and
hatred against the common cause,
slavery, which is at the bottom of all
of this."
Her only remaining child, Joseph L.
Coppoc, enlisted in the Union
army and rose to the rank of major. He
was for many years a minister
in the Baptist Church. His contribution
to the Midland Monthly of Sep-
tember, 1895, entitled "John Brown
and His Cause," is a spirited defense
and eulogy of Brown. He died at Chambers,
Nebraska, in 1914.
* From typewritten copy contributed by
William E. Connelly, Secre-
tary of the Kansas Historical Society.
Vol. XXX-31.