BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History - John Brown (438 hits)
John Brown
On December 2, 1859, Abolitionist, John Brown, Was Hanged, For Treason, In Charles Town, West Virginia.
On October 16 Of The Same Year, Brown Led 21 Men, Including Two Of His Sons And Five Blacks, In An Attack On Harpers Ferry, West Virginia -- Then Located In The Southern Slave-Holding State Of Virginia. Brown's Group Easily Took Over The Towns Armory And Arsenal. They Stationed Themselves Inside An Engine House, Holding 11 Hostages.
Instead Of Sparking A Local Slave Uprising, As Brown Confidently Anticipated, Residents Attacked Him And His Men, And Held Them Under Siege For Two Days, Until Federal Troops Arrived From Washington, DC. Under The Command Of Col. Robert E. Lee, The Troops Stormed The Fort And Captured Brown.
John Brown Was The Son Of An Underground Railroad Stationmaster. He Had Organized An Antislavery Convention In Chatham, Canada, May, 1858. Approximately 60 Blacks And 12 Whites Attended The Event. During The Convention Brown Announced His Plan To Establish A Stronghold For Runaway Slaves En Route To The North, Closer To The Mason Dixon Line -- Thus The Harpers Ferry Attack.
In December, 1858, He Had Successfully Conducted A Practice Raid, In Which He Freed 11 Slaves In Missouri And Sent Them To Canada.
Osborne Perry Anderson, One Of The Five Blacks Present At The Harpers Ferry Raid, Escaped And Two Years Later Wrote The Book,"A Voice From Harper's Ferry."
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." - Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
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