The Raid on Harpers Ferry It is situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where the U.S. states of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet. In 1733, a German immigrant named Peter Stephens (originally "Stephan") established the ferry at the lowest point where the rivers joined. In 1747, Robert Harper bought the ferry and land surrounding it and renamed it for himself. In 1796, the federal government purchased a 125-acre parcel of land from the heirs of Robert Harper and, in 1799, construction began on the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. On October 16, 1859, the radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of 21 men in a raid on the Arsenal. Five of the men were black: three free blacks, one a freed slave, and one a fugitive slave. During this time, assisting fugitive slaves was illegal under the Dred Scott decision. Brown attacked and captured several buildings; he hoped to use the captured weapons to initiate a slave uprising throughout the South. The first shot mortally wounded Heyward Shepherd. Shepherd was a free black man who was a night baggage porter for the B&O Railroad that ran through Harpers Ferry near the armory. The noise from that shot roused Dr. John Starry from his sleep shortly after 1:00 a.m. He walked from his nearby home to investigate the shooting and was confronted by Brown's men. Starry stated that he was a doctor but could do nothing more for Shepherd, and Brown's men allowed him to leave. Instead of going home, Starry went to the livery and rode to neighboring towns and villages, alerting residents to the raid. When he reached nearby Charles Town, they rang the church bells and aroused the citizens from their sleep. John Brown's men were quickly pinned down by local citizens and militia, and forced to take refuge in the engine house adjacent to the armory. Built in 1848, this building that became known as John Brown's Fort was originally constructed for use as a guard and fire engine house for the federal Harpers Ferry Armory in Harper's Ferry, then a part of Virginia. The Secretary of War asked for the assistance of the Navy Department for a unit of United States Marines, the nearest troops. Lieutenant Israel Greene was ordered to take a force of 86 Marines to the town. In need of an officer to lead the expedition, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee was found on leave nearby and was assigned as commander along with Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart as his aide-de-camp. The whole contingent arrived by train on October 18, and after negotiation failed, they stormed the fire house and captured most of the raiders, killing a few and suffering a single casualty themselves. Brown was tried for treason against the state of Virginia, convicted, and hanged in nearby Charles Town. Starry's testimony was integral to his conviction. Following the prosecution (by Andrew Hunter), "John Brown captured the attention of the nation like no other abolitionist or slave owner before or since." The Marines returned to their barracks and Colonel Lee returned to finish his leave. The raid was a catalyst for the Civil War. Of John Brown's original twenty-two men, John H. Kagi, Jeremiah G. Anderson, William Thompson, Dauphin Thompson, Brown's sons Oliver and Watson, Stewart Taylor, Leeman, and free African Americans Lewis S. Leary and Dangerfield Newby had been killed during the raid. John E. Cook and Albert Hazlett escaped into Pennsylvania, but were captured and brought back to Charles Town. Brown, Aaron D. Stevens, Edwin Coppoc, and free African Americans John A. Copeland and Shields Green were all captured and imprisoned. Five raiders escaped and were never captured: Brown's son Owen, Charles P. Tidd, Barclay Coppoc, Francis J. Merriam, and free African American Osborne P. Anderson. One Marine, Luke Quinn, was killed during the storming the engine house. Two slaves, belonging to Brown's prisoners Colonel Lewis Washington and John Allstadt, also lost their lives. It is unknown whether or not they voluntarily took up arms with Brown. One drowned while trying to escape and the other died in the Charles Town prison following the raid. Local residents at the time believed the two took part in the raid. To discredit Brown, residents later claimed that these two slaves had been taken prisoner and that no slaves actually participated in the raid. John Brown, still recovering from a sword wound, stood trial at the Jefferson County Courthouse on October 26. Five days later, a jury found him guilty of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia. Judge Richard Parker sentenced Brown to death and he was hanged in Charles Town on December 2. Before walking to the scaffold, he noted the inevitability of a national civil war: "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood." Following additional trials, Shields Green, John A. Copeland, John E. Cook, and Edwin Coppoc were executed on December 16, and Aaron D. Stevens and Albert Hazlett were hanged on March 16, 1860. Photograph by Joy Schoenberger, 2007 and used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License Data summarized from wikipedia.org and the West Virginia Archives Newspaper Stories About the Raid Mr. Senott's endeavors to procure the remittance of the death punishment of the Harper's Ferry insurrectionists, Stevens and Haslett, have proved unavailing. Stevens was hung on the 16th instant. [Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 03/24/1860 - Submitted by Candi H.] The Mr. F. J. Merriam of Boston, who has died of his wounds received at Harper's Ferry, was, says the Transcript, a young man well known in this vicinity. His father was in the house of Curtis & Merriam, dry goods jobbers in Kilby st. and his mother is the daughter of Francis Jackson, Esq., the famous abolitionist and non-resistant.— Young Merriam had been an extensive traveller, having had ample means to indulge his taste for foreign scenes. He was very impulsive, and has fallen victim to the most foolish and mad enterprise of our times. He had a superior education, and was of more than ordinary intelligence. His father died when he was quite young, and his mother is now the wife of Mr. James Eddy, the artist. [9 Nov 1859; Farmer's Cabinet (New Hampshire) - Submitted by K. Torp] Mary Brown San Francisco, Feb 20 -- Mrs. Mary Brown, widow of John Brown, of Harper's Ferry notoriety, died here today. [1 March 1884; Las Vegas Daily Gazette (New Mexico) - Submitted by K. Torp] Owen Brown Owen Brown, son of old John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame, died at his home on the summit of the Sierrra Madreth mountains of California, on the 10. Owen was the last survivor of the Harper's Ferry affair, and had lived for a number of years the life of a hermit.—Gainsville Register. [January 30, 1889 Cherokee Advocate (Oklahoma) - Submitted by K. Torp] Owen Brown buried Pasedena, Cal., Jan 11. - the funeral of Owen Brown, son of John Brown, of Ossowatomie and the last survivor of the Harper's Ferry affair, occurred yesterday. The dead man had for several years passed the life of a hermit on the remote of the Sierra Madre mountains, known as Brown's peak. He was 74 years old at the time of his death. [11 Jan 1889; Grand Forks Herald - Submitted by K. Torp] John Brown, Jr. Dead Son of the Hero of Harper's Ferry Passes Away Sandusky, Ohio, May 2 -- Captain John Brown, Jr., died at his home on the island of Put-in-Bay at 10 o'clcok tonight. Captain Brown was 74 years old and the son of John Brown, the hero and victim of the historical scene at Harper's Ferry before the civil war. Captain Brown was a fruit raiser on the island and spent his old age very quietly. He was highly respected by his neighbors on the island. May 03, 1895, The Inter Ocean (Illinois) - Submitted by K. Torp] Ruth Brown Thompson DAUGHTER OF JOHN BROWN She Is Lying at the Point of Death With the Grip. Pasadena, Cal., Jan 13 - Mrs. Ruth Brown Thompson, oldest daughter of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame, is lying at the point of death at her home in this city. She is suffering from an attack of grip with complications. She is 75 years of age. [January 14, 1904, Omaha World Herald (Nebraska) - Submitted by K. Torp] Jason Brown Son of John Brown Dies Another son of famous abolitionist lives in Portland Akron, O., Dec. 26 - Jason Brown, 90 (?) years old, second son of John Brown, famous as the leader of the raid on Harper's Ferry, W. Va., died at his home here last night. He was actively engaged in recruiting and enlisting a company of Negroes from those smuggled into Canada by the "underground railroad" when the Harper's Ferry incident occurred. A younger brother, Salmon Brown, lives at Portland, Or., at 2024 East Couch street. [26 Dec 1912; The Oregonian (Oregon) - Submitted by K. Torp] July 25, 1916 Location: San Jose Mercury News (California ) Ellen Brown Fablinger John Brown's Daughter dies San Jose, Cal., July 25 - Mrs. John Sadlinger, youngest daughter of John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame, died at Campbell, near here, yesterday. Her sister, Sarah Brown, died at the same place three weeks ago. Mrs. Sadlinger was 65 years of age. [26 Jul 1916; The Times Picayune (Louisiana) - Submitted by K. Torp] Salmon Brown Son of John Brown Dies of Gun Shot Portland, May 11 - Salmon Brown, 82 years old, son of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame, died at his home tonight as the result of a gunshot wound. Relatives said he shot himself because of despondency. [May 12, 1919; Duluth News-Tribune (Minnesota) - Submitted by K. Torp] Copyright © Genealogy Trails