John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

John Brown

On October 16, 1859, a federal armory located in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, was raided by abolitionist John Brown in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt against slavery. He was backed by other abolitionists and his group included his three sons, five black men and about 12 other men. His group was discovered and by the next morning, the raiders were surrounded. On October 19th, the U.S. Marines overtook Brown and his cohorts killing ten men. Brown was found guilty of treason and murder and was hanged on December 2, 1859. Brown handed a note to a guard before the execution which read:, "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood." Although John Brown failed, his revolt raised sectional tensions between the North and South by convincing the south that the Northerners were plotting against them, and thus called to prepare to go to arms. The north, however, saw this as the morally right thing to do and by Brown's insurrection encouraged the abolitionist movement in the north.