John Brown’s Fort was the next building we walked by.
In 1859 this building became the centerpiece of a plan to incite an armed insurrection against slavery. A staunch abolitionist named John Brown led 21 men on a raid of the arsenal with a plan to steal the weapons, use them to attack slaveholders, then enlist the liberated slaves into the revolt.
The plan failed and Brown was captured by soldiers under the command of Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee, with assistance of J.E.B. Stuart, two future generals for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
After a trial, Brown was hung for murder and treason in nearby Charles Town, W.Va.
Another future general there to witness Brown’s hanging was Thomas J. Jackson. Just two years later at the Battle of Bull Run, Jackson would become famous by earning the nickname “Stonewall”, and would later die at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
I could go on and on with more fascinating facts about Harpers Ferry, but I’ll stop with just one more.
There was another person in Charles Town to witness John Brown’s hanging who would go on to play a pivotal role in American history. John Wilkes Booth was in the crowd as a member of a militia unit called the Richmond Grays.