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)
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
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
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.
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
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. |
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
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
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-
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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:
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.
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
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
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
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-
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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."
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
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
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
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.