Black History Month 2025
1858 1859 1860
14 Franklin Pierce | 15 James Buchanan | 16 Abraham Lincoln
African Slavery Cotton Slavery Black Codes
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) - On Sunday night, John Brown, and his party, seized the Federal armory, in Harper's Ferry. It had a substantial arms supply. At least 20 men took part in the raid. Most were white men.
Sundary, October 16th, 11 p.m., Brown began his raid. It started well. They freed a number of slaves and cut the telegraph lines into the town. The group ran into Heyward Shepherd, a 'free' Black American man. He was a baggage handler for the railroad.
Heyward was told to stop. Instead, he headed back to the station. Brown's men shot him in the back. Pro-slavers regarded Heyward as a hero.
A white doctor heard the gunshot. He came to see what happened. Brown saw the doctor and let him leave. After the doctor left, he raised an alarm. Church bells were rung in the town. Later, he went to another town to tell of the raid.
Brown sent men to get help from nearby plantations. He wanted Black American men. Only a handful joined. With his group, Brown took at least 60 hostages, in town. The 10 most important were kept in the engine house, of the railroad.
Monday, October 17th, 1:15 a.m., the evening train was stopped. It was held for five (5) hours. Brown went on the train. He talked with passengers for an hour. The passengers were allowed into town to stay at a hotel.
At 7 a.m., the train got to the first telegraph. At 10:30 a.m., the military was sent word of Brown's raid.
Between 11 a.m. and evening, local militia units formed. Several companies of men arrived in Harper's Ferry. Most were drunk and disorderly. There was enough control to surround Brown's men.
The militia killed Dangerfield Newby. He was an ex-slave in Brown's group. Newby's corpse was mutilated, by the militia. His testicles and ears were cut off. The militia kept them as souvenirs.
By the time the military arrived, most of the hostages were freed. Brown only held about 10. They were held in the engine house, of the railroad.
On Tuesday, October 18th, the raid ended. Colonel Robert E. Lee and the military captured Brown.
On December 2nd, 1859, John Brown was hanged. Shields Green, who escaped slavery, and the 'free' man, John Copeland, were hanged. John Brown's wife was allowed to take his body back to New York. The bodies of the two Black American men were sold to white medical students.
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