John Brown’s Raid | Crossroads of War

John Brown’s Raid

November 1, 2011 By admin

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The Kennedy Farm in Washington County, MD, where John Brown and his men prepared for the raid on Harpers Ferry (Library of Congress; originally from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Nov. 26, 1859)

Harpers Ferry, from an 1859 engraving (Courtesy of Timothy R. Snyder)

John Brown, from an 1859 reproduction of a daguerreotype taken by Martin M. Lawrence in 1858 (Library of Congress)

The schoolhouse near the Kennedy Farm where pikes and arms were stored (David Hunter Strother, artist; Harpers Weekly, Nov. 12, 1859; New York Public Library, digitalgallery.nypl.org)

An 1859 photograph of lower Harpers Ferry and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridge (1859, Historic Photo Collection, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park)

Entrance to the armory grounds in Harpers Ferry, with the engine house on the left (Courtesy of Chris Haugh)

A view of the railroad men, led by Captain Alberts, attacking the engine house (Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, Nov. 5, 1859; Library of Congress)

Col Washington and other hostages inside the engine house just before the gate is broken down (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Nov. 5, 1859; Library of Congress)

Heyward Shepherd, who was a railroad baggage handler and a free African American, was the first person killed in the raid (Elijah Avey, The Capture and Execution of John Brown [Elgin, IL: Brethren Publishing House, 1906], 35)

Attack on the Insurgents at the Bridge by the Railroad Men (Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, October 29, 1859; New York Public Library, digitalgallery.nypl.org)

Marines storming the engine house (National Park Service)

Another view of Marines breaking down the gates of the engine house (Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, October 29, 1859; Library of Congress)

John Brown and his son lying wounded after the raid (Harpers Weekly, November 5, 1859; Courtesy of Timothy R. Snyder)

Marines removing the prisoners from the engine house (The Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown [New York: Robert M. DeWitt, 1859], after p.28)

The prisoners being taken to the railroad station in Harpers Ferry and then on to Charlestown to stand trial (The Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown [New York: Robert M. DeWitt, 1859], after p.44)

Jail in Charlestown, Virginia, where John Brown was held (Elijah Avey, The Capture and Execution of John Brown [Elgin, IL: Brethren Publishing House, 1906], 59)

The Charlestown courthouse as it appeared in 1864 (Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, September 24, 1864; Courtesy of Princeton University Library)

Interior of the courtroom in Charlestown during John Browns trial for treason and murder (Harpers Weekly, Nov. 12, 1859; Library of Congress)

The guard room with two wounded prisoners (Harpers Weekly, November 5, 1859; Courtesy of Timothy R. Snyder)

Governor Wise, of Virginia, and District-Attorney Ould examining the wounded prisoners in the presence of the officers and reporters (The Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown [New York: Robert M. DeWitt, 1859], after p.44)

The wounded John Brown in Charlestown (Harpers Weekly, November 5, 1859; Courtesy of Timothy R. Snyder)

John Brown being taken back to the Charlestown jail after he was sentenced to hang (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Nov. 12, 1859; New York Public Library, digitalgallery.nypl.org)

John Browns last letter, written on the day he was executed (Truman Nelson, The Old Man: John Brown at Harpers Ferry, 1973)

Broadside from mayor of Charlestown urging residents to stay indoors on the nights immediately before John Browns hanging (Gettysburg National Military Park)

John Brown being led to the gallows (John Greenleaf Whittier, National Lyrics [Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1866], 89)

John Brown riding on his coffin to the place of execution (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Dec. 17, 1859; Library of Congress)

The gallows being prepared for John Brown (William T. Alexander, History of the Colored Race in America [Kansas City: Palmetto, 1899, 8th edition], 410)

John Brown ascending the scaffold to be hanged (Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Dec. 17, 1859; Library of Congress)

The execution of John Brown (Courtesy of West Virginia and Regional History Collection, West Virginia University Libraries)

John Browns Fort after its return from the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893 (National Park Service)

A depiction of John Brown in Harpers Weekly, November 26, 1859 (NPS History Collection)

In 1885, the artist Thomas Hovenden created this image of John Brown kissing an African American child on the way to his hanging (Library of Congress)

The Tragic Prelude mural in the state capitol building in Topeka, Kansas, by John Steuart Curry (Courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society)

This project has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, Frederick Community College, and others. See Credits page for full list.

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