A martyr to most violent abolitionists and a hero to many today, John Brown's life and execution are tangled with many interesting details that have been conveniently forgotten.
On the night of October 16, 1859, Brown and twenty-one men attacked the armory at Harpers Ferry and rounded up sixty men from the area as hostages. Government forces, headed by Colonel Robert E. Lee, attacked the armory, killing ten men--two of whom were
On October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown and several followers seized the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The actions of Brown's men brought national attention to the emotional divisions concerning slavery.
Our despatches this morning give us some particulars of a serious outbreak among the employees on the government works at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in which the negros, led on by some infuriated abolitionists, have been forced to co-operate.
