Summary:
John Brown (1800 - 1859) dedicated his life to the abolishment of slavery. He was convicted of treason and hung after an attempt to take over an arsenal in Virginia in order to arm slaves with weapons was thwarted.
Personal Information:
Occupation - Education - Military:
Activist
October 16, 1859:
John Brown was devoted to abolishing slavery. On October 16, 1859, in his final revolutionary act, he led 21 men on a raid in Harpers Ferry, Virgina and attacked a federal arsenal with a plan to arm slaves with weapons. His raid was unsuccessful when Robert E. Lee led local farmers and Marines to protect the arsenal. Brown and the remaining men that had not been killed during the figut, were captured, tried, and convicted of treason.
In John Brown's final words to the court he said, ". . . I believe to have interfered as I have done, . . . in behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but right. Now, if it be deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children, and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I submit: so let it be done."
He was hanged on December 2, 1859.
