Avenging Angel

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry 1859

Ron Field, Johnny Shumate, Alan Gilliland, Mark Stacey

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Year: 2012
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781849087582
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

The Harpers Ferry raid confirmed for many Southerners the existence of a widespread Northern plot against slavery.

In fact, Brown had raised funds for his raid from Northern abolitionists. To arm the enslaved people, he ordered one thousand pikes from a Connecticut manufacturer. Letters to Governor Wise betrayed the mixed feelings people held for Brown. For some, he was simply insane and should not be hanged. For others, he was a martyr to the cause of abolition, and his quick trial and execution reflected the fear and arrogance of the Virginia slave-owning aristocracy. Many Northerners condemned Brown's actions but thought him right in his conviction that slavery had to end.

This up-to-date study reveals how John Brown's raid and subsequent execution further polarized North and South and made a solution of the slavery issue central to the national debate which ultimately led to Civil War in 1861.

Table of contents

• COVER
• TITLE PAGE
• CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• ORIGINS
• THE PLAN
• THE RAIDERS
• THE RAID
• AFTERMATH
• CONCLUSION
• BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READING
• INDEX
• IMPRINT