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Tag Archives: John Brown’s Raid
“The First Blood Spilt to Freedom”: Dangerfield Newby, the Boston Massacre, and Crispus Attucks 250 Years Later
Every quest for liberty has its first martyr. Two-hundred and fifty years ago this evening, the cause of American liberty gained its first five when British soldiers fired on a crowd of Bostonians in an event immortalized as the Boston … Continue reading
“But his soul goes marching on.” Brown, Douglass, and the Radicals
Today abolitionism is praised with few reservations, but it was a fringe movement in the 1830s. Its followers took a lonely moral stand. William Lloyd Garrison in 1831 declared “I am in earnest. I will not equivocate – I will … Continue reading
Posted in Slavery
Tagged Abolition, John Brown, John Brown's Raid, John-Brown-160, John-Browns-Raid-160
21 Comments
The Reason for Harpers Ferry and Why John Brown Raided It
While working as a ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, I often began my tours about the United States Armory with this simple question to visitors: “Why are you here today?” Common answers included vacation, an interest in history, … Continue reading
John Wise (The Governor’s Son) Responds To John Brown’s Raid
Twelve-year-old John Wise watched history happen. He would later recall “The End of An Era” in a book with the same title, detailing his memories of growing up in Antebellum Virginia, living through the Civil War, and actually embracing many … Continue reading
Heyward Shepherd Memorialized (Sort Of)
On one hand, it’s fitting that a monument commemorates Heywood Shepherd. A night watchman at Harpers Ferry, Shepherd stumbled across John Brown’s raiders on the night of October 16, 1859. They called to Shepherd to surrender, but he refused, and … Continue reading
Posted in Monuments, Slavery
Tagged Herpers Ferry, Heyward Shepherd, Heywood Shepherd, John Brown's Raid, Lost Cause, monuments
7 Comments
Governor Wise’s Response To John Brown’s Raid
When violence broke out at Harper’s Ferry, Henry A. Wise was governor of Virginia. In the aftermath of the raid, Virginians were on edge: fears of slave revolt were everywhere and the feeling grew that the Federal Government could not … Continue reading
Posted in Antebellum South
Tagged Henry Wise, John Brown's Raid, John-Brown-160, John-Browns-Raid-160
3 Comments
Book Review: Midnight Rising
…follow him they did, swearing allegiance to his revolutionary government and marching into Virginia to found a new order. Within two years, entire armies would cross the Potomac, and this obscured the magnitude of what happened in 1859. The street … Continue reading
Posted in Book Review
Tagged Book Review, John Brown, John Brown's Raid, John-Brown-160, John-Browns-Raid-160, midnight rising, Tony Horwitz
1 Comment
October The Sixteenth – “Alive With Ghosts Today”
Perhaps You will remember John Brown. John Brown Who took his gun, Took twenty-one companions, White and black, Went to shoot your way to freedom Where two rivers meet And the hills of the North And the hills of the … Continue reading
An Eyewitness Account of John Brown’s Raid
Reverend Michael Costello was the pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church at Harpers Ferry, [West] Virginia during John Brown’s Raid. A native of County Galway, Ireland, Costello studied at All Hallows College in Dublin for the Diocese of Richmond. On … Continue reading
John Brown’s Raid 160th: An Introduction
One hundred and sixty years ago this month (October 2019), twenty-two men embarked on a mission that shocked the nation and accelerated the rush toward Civil War. The event is now popularly called “John Brown’s Raid” and is viewed as … Continue reading
Posted in Slavery
Tagged Abolition, introduction, John Brown, John Brown's Raid, John-Brown-160, John-Browns-Raid-160
8 Comments
