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John Brown's Raid
Harpers Ferry and the Coming of the Civil War, October 16-18, 1859
Jon-Erik M. Gilot, Kevin R Pawlak
- 192 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
John Brown's Raid
Harpers Ferry and the Coming of the Civil War, October 16-18, 1859
Jon-Erik M. Gilot, Kevin R Pawlak
About This Book
The first shot of the American Civil War was not fired on April 12, 1861, in Charleston, South Carolina, but instead came on October 16, 1859, in Harpers Ferry, Virginiaâor so claimed former slave turned abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The shot came like a meteor in the dark. John Brown, the infamous fighter on the Kansas plains and detester of slavery, led a band of nineteen men on a desperate nighttime raid that targeted the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. There, they planned to begin a war to end slavery in the United States. But after 36 tumultuous hours, John Brown's Raid failed, and Brown himself became a prisoner of the state of Virginia. Brown's subsequent trial further divided north and south on the issue of slavery as Brown justified his violent actions to a national audience forced to choose sides. Ultimately, Southerners cheered Brown's death at the gallows while Northerners observed it with reverence. The nation's dividing line had been drawn. Herman Melville and Walt Whitman extolled Brown as a "meteor" of the war. Roughly one year after Brown and his men attacked slavery in Virginia, the nation split apart, fueled by Brown's fiery actions. John Brown's Raid tells the story of the first shots that led to disunion. Richly filled with maps and images, it includes a driving and walking tour of sites related to Brown's Raid so visitors today can follow the path of America's meteor.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Maps
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword by Dennis E. Frye
- Prologue
- Chapter One: âA Most Determined Abolitionistâ The Making of John Brown
- Chapter Two: âThe Slave Will Be Delivered by the Shedding of Bloodâ Planning the Raid
- Chapter Three: âWe Will Proceed to the Ferryâ To the Kennedy Farmhouse
- Chapter Four: âThey Say They Have Come to Free the Slavesâ The Raid Begins
- Chapter Five: âA More Dismal Night Cannot Be Imaginedâ Harpers Ferry, A Scene of War
- Chapter Six: âThe Whole Was Over in a Few Minutesâ John Brownâs Raid Suppressed
- Chapter Seven: âThe Crimes of This Guilty Landâ John Brownâs Imprisonment, Trial, and Execution
- Conclusion: âThe Meteor of the Warâ
- Appendix A: Walking Tour of Raid Sites in Lower Town Harpers Ferry
- Appendix B: Driving Tour of Outlying Raid Sites
- Appendix C: Biographies of John Brownâs Raiders
- Suggested Reading
- About the Authors