The Fanatic John Brown believed he was the agent of God, personally chosen to free the slaves. He was a curious choice: an inept businessman who had failed twenty times in six states and regularly beat his twenty children for minor transgressions. He also was a cold-blooded killer. In the Kansas Territory, he and four of his sons hacked to death five slavery supporters. Brown said that he was simply defeating "Satan and his legions." Most people believed Brown was a dangerous lunatic and gave him a wide berth. Burly, bearded, and wild-eyed, he resembled an Old Testament prophet. He quoted the Bible to support his beliefs and actions. "Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin" was his favorite passage. Brown attracted the support of a small group of influential abolitionists. Among them were a minister, a college professor, and the noted black leader and former slave Frederick Douglass. Brown concocted a plan to free the slaves, and these men gave him money to carry it out. He and a small band of followers would seize firearms stored in the arsenal at Harpers Ferry (West) Virginia, arm the slaves, and ignite a black rebellion across the South. The October 1859 raid was, simply, a fiasco. Angry townspeople surrounded the engine house and began firing. Ironically, the first casualty was the baggage master at the railroad station -- a free black -- shot dead by Brown's men. Before it was over, ten of Brown's men were dead, including two of his sons. Brown was charged with murder, treason, and insurrection. He knew he would hang, but he wanted his death to count for something. He told the court: "Had I interfered in the manner which I admit...in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of any of their friends, it would have been all right and every man in this Court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward rather than punishment." On the gallows, Brown handed a prophetic note to one of his guards: "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with Blood..." In the North, widespread admiration for Brown's courage was evidence of a deeply rooted anti-slavery sentiment. This stunned the South, which could not comprehend the extent of the sympathy for a fanatic bent on inciting a slave uprising. The countdown to war had begun. In a little more than a year, Union troops would march off to war singing, "John Brown's body lies a-moldering in the grave, but his soul goes marching on..." Excerpted from The Civil War: Unstilled Voices by Chuck Lawliss All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
