John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (16 to 18 October 1859) was carefully planned and, at first, perfectly executed – until he made the mistake of letting the physician John Starry go (who then raised the local militia) and allowing the train of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which had stopped there, to continue on – thereby giving the train's conductor the chance to sound the alarm outside of town.

Although the local militia engaged Brown and his men by the morning of 17 October, they were so disorganized and ineffective that it seems clear that, had Brown stuck to his original plan of looting the arsenal, loading the weapons and ammunition into carts, and vanishing into the wilderness to then wage a guerrilla war against pro-slavery forces, he might well have succeeded. Instead, he delayed, even after allowing the alarm to be given, hoping for the arrival of slaves who would join his army of liberation, although he must have known this would almost certainly doom any chance he had of achieving the goals of the raid.

Why John Brown acted as he did at Harpers Ferry continues to be debated today. Throughout his life, he was known as a man of decisive action who never deviated from a course once set. In this instance, however, he seems to have purposefully acted against his own best interests and those of the cause he had devoted his life to, and, possibly, this was done on purpose to create a martyr for the anti-slavery movement in the USA.

John Brown (1800 to 1859) was raised by abolitionist parents, first in Connecticut and then in Ohio, and, at around the age of twelve, witnessed a young Black boy beaten by his master for no reason, furthering his hatred for slavery. His parents were also ardent Christians, and Brown was raised an evangelical Christian, making his profession of faith at 16 as a member of the Congregational Church of Hudson, Ohio.

He worked in his father's tannery until he started his own and devoted himself to the efforts of the Underground Railroad, hiding fugitive slaves on his various properties and assisting them on their way north to Canada and freedom. His devotion to the anti-slavery movement seems to have been his only interest outside of work. He condemned social gatherings, dancing, drinking, card-playing, hunting, and fishing (which he regarded as leisure activities), and the theater. He read the Bible and Plutarch's Parallel Lives daily for years, and any other reading material that could be applied practically, as when he taught himself surveying from a book.

Brown was married twice, had over 20 children, and built and lost various businesses, but the constant in his life was always the vision that he had been placed by God on earth to bring about the end of slavery in the United States. In November 1837, the abolitionist minister, writer, and editor Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered by a pro-slavery mob from Missouri, and this further strengthened Brown's resolve, eventually leading him to Kansas in 1854.

"Bleeding Kansas" was a term coined by the New York Tribune in 1856 to describe the repeated outbreaks of hostilities between pro-slavery advocates and 'free state' abolitionists over whether Kansas would enter the Union as a slave or free state. Brown and his sons established themselves near the free-state settlement of Osawatomie, and he quickly became recognized as a leader of the free-state faction.

On 21 May 1856, pro-slavery militia and Missouri border ruffians sacked the free-state city of Lawrence, and the next day, in Washington, D.C., abolitionist Republican Charles Sumner was beaten senseless by pro-slavery Democrat Preston Brooks in the US Senate Chamber. Brown retaliated by leading his sons and supporters in the now-infamous Pottawatomie Massacre of 24 to 25 May 1856, during which five pro-slavery advocates were murdered.

He continued his efforts in Kansas, although now there was a price on his head, until 1859, when he left the region to gather arms and men for an event he had been planning for at least 20 years: the raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.

No one actually knows what Brown's plans were for the raid, as he never revealed the entire scheme to anyone. Information was relayed on a need-to-know basis and so all that the 21 men who followed him to Harpers Ferry knew was that they were to cut the telegraph wires, take certain positions in the town, hold hostages while calling on the Black population of the region (inside and outside of Harpers Ferry, numbering over 20,000), and raid the arsenal for weapons to equip this army of liberation that would bring about the end of slavery. This aspect of the plan seems to have been inspired, in part at least, by Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831), which also relied on the hope that the first blow struck would inspire the slaves to rise up in support.

How they would wage their war, once they had successfully fled the town with the weapons, was never discussed, and Brown seems to have felt that God would direct him in that when the time came, just as he believed God was directing all his steps leading to Harpers Ferry.

Harriet Tubman (circa 1822 to 1913), who had helped plan the raid, probably knew more of Brown's ultimate vision than anyone, and the same is most likely true of Frederick Douglass (1818 to 1895), whom Brown tried to recruit as a Black leader who could rally the former slaves. Douglass refused to participate, believing the raid was a suicide mission, but his friend, "Emperor" Shields Green (circa 1836 to 1859), disagreed with Douglass and signed up with Brown as one of the raiders.

Brown rented the Kennedy Farm in Washington County, Maryland, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now located in West Virginia), using the alias of Isaac Smith because he was a known outlaw from his time in Kansas. The Kennedy Farm became the staging area for the raid. In addition to the 21 men (who had to remain indoors in the attic during the day to avoid rousing suspicion), there were Brown's daughter, Annie, and daughter-in-law, Martha. Brown, as Isaac Smith, posed as a chemical engineer researching new mining techniques.

Brown and his party had arrived with almost 200 Sharps carbines and over 900 pikes, which would be used to outfit recruits in Harpers Ferry once the Day of Liberation was announced. The weapons taken from the arsenal would be used later as more people joined their cause. The pikes were to be distributed among the Blacks who did not know how to use firearms. In their time at the Kennedy farmhouse, the men drilled, cleaned the weapons, played cards, and read the two books Brown was always quick to recommend: the Bible and Plutarch's Lives.

The raid was launched around 11 p.m. on Sunday, 16 October 1859, earlier than planned because word had reached Brown that they might soon be discovered. He left three men behind at the Kennedy Farm, including his son Owen, then slipped into Harpers Ferry, cut the telegraph cables, took the designated positions, and quickly acquired hostages (including Colonel Lewis Washington, great grandnephew of George Washington, as well as Washington's sword) while alerting the slave population to the fact that they were now free.

The raiders then converged on the arsenal/armory – a complex of buildings that included an armament factory – and waited for the army of newly-freed slaves to arrive. Brown only had 21 men at his disposal, however, and less than ten of these had made it to nearby farms and plantations to alert the slave population and ask them to join the fight. Although, according to later reports, those slaves who received the news welcomed it, there was no plan in place to organize and lead them to the arsenal. Brown seems to have thought the slaves would organize and lead themselves.

While Brown waited for his new recruits, some of his men loaded weapons into wagons, and others kept watch in the town. The first casualty of the raid was Heyward Shepherd, a free Black who worked at the train station. He was shot in the back by Brown's men, who mistook him for a pro-slavery agent, and the noise roused Dr. John Starry, who lived nearby. Starry examined Shepherd but realized there was nothing to be done. Brown, called to the scene, could have kept Starry as a hostage but, instead, told him to go home. Starry did no such thing; he raised the alarm by ringing the bell in the Lutheran church.

Now, in the morning of the 17th, a little after 1:00, the Baltimore & Ohio train from Wheeling pulled into the station and was boarded by Brown and his men, who explained what they were doing and why. Brown seems to have thought passengers on the train might join him – but none did – and, after holding it for a few hours, Brown allowed it to continue on its way. As soon as the train reached the next station where a telegraph was operable, the conductor sent out the alarm about Harpers Ferry. This was at first dismissed as a prank, but once confirmed, troops were mobilized to march on Brown's position.

After Starry had raised the alarm, the local militia and those of surrounding towns gathered and engaged Brown and his men who, by midday, had been driven to the fire engine house (now known as John Brown's Fort), and the two parties exchanged fire throughout the day, resulting in casualties on both sides, including the town's mayor and two of Brown's sons.

The United States Marines, under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee, arrived around 10 p.m. on the 17th. The next morning, at around 6:30, Lee sent Lt. J. E. B. Stuart toward the engine house under a flag of truce, offering terms of surrender – but these were refused. Stuart then gave the signal to attack – waving his hat – and Lt. Israel Greene led his men against Brown's position.

After their first assault with sledgehammers failed, Greene ordered his men to ram the doors with a ladder. Upon breaking through, Greene slashed and then stabbed Brown while two others were shot dead. The entire assault was over in under three minutes, Brown was taken captive, and the hostages, all unharmed, were freed.

Brown and the others were held at the site until Wednesday, 19 October, when they were transferred to the Jefferson County Jail in Charles Town. Whatever plan Brown originally had for his raid, he now swiftly refocused on using the event to his advantage, granting interviews to reporters from newspapers around the nation on what he had done and why he had done it.

Although initially regarded as a madman and outlaw, these interviews and profiles cast Brown in a new light as a Christian visionary and martyr for the cause of liberty for all. Northern media elevated Brown at the same time that Southern media demonized him – which only served to increase his popularity in the North and sympathy for the abolitionist cause – quickly making him the most famous – or infamous – man in the United States.

By 2 November, when he was sentenced, John Brown's name was known by everyone, and his trial had been attended by as many as were allowed in the courthouse. Among these was the young Reverend Samuel Leech, who recorded Brown's speech after sentencing. The speech reads, in part:

I have, may it please the court, a few words to say. In the first place, I deny everything but what I have all along admitted, the design on my part to free the slaves. I certainly intended to have made a clean thing of that matter as I did last winter when I went into Missouri and took slaves without the snapping of a gun on either side, moved them through the country, and finally left them in Canada. I designed to have done the same again on a larger scale. That was all I intended.

I never did intend murder or treason, or the destruction of property, or to excite or incite slaves to rebellion or to make insurrection.

I have another objection and that is that it is unjust that I should suffer such a penalty. Had I interfered in the manner which I admit, and which I admit has been fairly proved – for I admire the truthfulness and candor of the greater portion of the witnesses who have testified in this case – had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of any of their friends, either father, mother, sister, brother, wife or children, or any of that class, and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference, it would have been all right and every man in this court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward rather than punishment.

This court acknowledges, as I suppose, the validity of the law of God. I see a book kissed here which I suppose is the Bible, or at least the New Testament. That teaches me that all things, whatsoever I would that men should do to me, I should do even unto them. It teaches me further to 'Remember them that in bonds as bound with them.' I endeavored to act up to that instruction.

I say that I am yet too young to understand that God is any respecter of persons. I believe that, to have interfered as I have done, as I have always admitted freely I have done, in behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but right. Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I submit. So, let it be done.

(Leech, 1)

Brown makes several inaccurate statements during the speech, including how he never intended to raise a slave revolt, but many of these statements were omitted from the reports of the Northern press at the time, and so Brown's status as a martyr became greatly amplified. He was found guilty of all charges, including "conspiracy to foment a slave insurrection" and was hanged on 2 December 1859. His body was then taken to his home in North Elba, New York, where he was buried. The others, including Shields Green, were executed later in December and in March of 1860.

From the time of his activities in Kansas to the outbreak of the American Civil War, John Brown remained a polarizing figure, and even today, the debate continues on whether he was a madman and terrorist or a hero and freedom fighter. Scholar Stephen B. Oates comments:

To dismiss Brown as an "insane" man is to ignore the tremendous sympathy he felt for the suffering of the black man in the United States; it is to disregard the fact that, at a time when most Northerners and almost all Southerners were racists who wanted to keep the Negro at the bottom of society, John Brown was able to treat America's "poor despised Africans" as fellow human beings. And to label him a "maniac" out of touch with "reality" is to ignore the piercing insight he had into what his raid – whether it succeeded or whether it failed – would do to sectional tensions that already existed between North and South.

(333)

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry is often cited as the spark that ignited the American Civil War and perhaps, as Oates suggests, that was his plan all along, and the 'mistakes' he made at Harpers Ferry were not mistakes at all, just all part of his plan to sacrifice himself as a martyr to the cause he felt God had called him to champion.