John Brown and the Raid Upon Harper's Ferry
The first blood shed in the war between freedom and slavery was that spilled upon the soil of Kansas. In this conflict one of the most active and earnest of the Free State party was the afterwards famous John Brown, a man whose hatred of slavery reached the height of fanaticism. Four of his sons had settled in Kansas, near the site of the village of Osawatomie, in 1854. Finding themselves greatly harassed by the invading Missourians, they wrote to their father for arms. Instead of sending them, he brought them, and quickly placed himself at the head of an armed opposition to the invaders.
On August 30, 1856, the village of Osawatomie was attacked by a large body of well-armed Missourians. It was defended by about thirty Free State men. John Brown led this little party, and posted them in an advantageous position on the banks of the Osage River. In the fight that ensued the invaders suffered severely, while the defenders lost but five or six, one of Brown's sons being killed. His party was driven out, and the village burned. Six weeks after, another encounter took place, near Lawrence, in which Brown succeeded in repelling a greatly outnumbering force of assailants.
He afterwards returned to the East, where he held conferences with the leading abolitionists, to some of whom he made known a purpose to invade Virginia, with the design of arousing the slaves to an effort to obtain their freedom. A committee was appointed to procure the means for this enterprise. Shortly after Brown held a secret convention of white and black abolitionists at Chatham, Canada, which adopted a "Provisional Constitution" embodying regulations for the proposed invasion. In a meeting of the committee, on May 24, 1858, it was agreed to raise funds and to supply Brown with rifles. As nothing could be done at that time, he returned to Kansas, for the purpose of aiding the Free State settlers. Here, learning that a family of slaves, just beyond the Missouri border, were about to be sold and sent to Texas, he invaded that State with twenty men, and liberated these and some others. During this raid a Missourian, who had resisted the invaders, was killed. This event roused a strong feeling of indignation, the more moderate Free State men disavowed all sympathy with the act, and Brown soon found Kansas too hot to hold him. He left the Territory in January, 1859, accompanied by four white men and three negroes, with some women and children. He was sharply pursued by thirty pro-slavery men from Lecompton. Brown took possession of two log huts, and faced his adversaries, who were soon joined by twelve additional men from Atchison. On these forty-two Brown and his seven companions made a sudden sally, when the assailants turned and fled without firing a shot,-probably aware of the fact that reinforcements were hastening to Brown's aid. Four only of them stood their ground. These were made prisoners, and forced to deliver their horses to Brown's negroes. At this they swore so profusely that the stern old Puritan ordered them to kneel and pray, his presented pistol overcoming their scruples against this exercise. They swore no more, though he held them prisoners for five days, compelling them, by the same potent argument, to kneel and pray night and morning.
On reaching the East again he received from the secret committee about two thousand dollars. The whole amount raised for the expedition was about four thousand dollars in money and nearly twice that value in arms, most of it given with full knowledge of the purpose intended. Being now prepared for the execution of his desperate scheme, Brown repaired to Harper's Ferry, near which he rented, under the name of Smith, three unoccupied houses on a farm. Here he was gradually joined by the companions whom he had enlisted for the enterprise. Most of these kept out of sight during the day, while arms and munitions were brought from Chambersburg in well-secured boxes. The time originally fixed for the assault on Harper's Ferry was the night of October 24, 1859, but it was made on the 17th, for reasons satisfactory to the leader. The arsenal at this place held a large store of government arms, on which account, and probably from its natural strength, it was selected as a good central point for the rallying of the slaves who Brown must have felt assured would immediately join him. An account of the circumstances which followed we select from the historical work of a prominent advocate of anti-slavery, the "American Conflict" of Horace Greeley.]
ON Saturday, the 15th, a council was held, and a plan of operations discussed. On Sunday evening another council was held, and the programme of the chief unanimously approved. He closed it with these words: "And now, gentlemen, let me press this one thing upon your minds. You all know how dear life is to you, and how dear your lives are to your friends; and, in remembering that, consider that the lives of others are as dear to them as yours are to you. Do not, therefore, take the life of any one if you can possibly avoid it; but, if it is necessary to take life in order to save your own, then make sure work of it." .