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diff --git a/41582-0.txt b/41582-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f6dcff --- /dev/null +++ b/41582-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17390 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41582 *** + +John Brown + +Soldier of Fortune + +A Critique + +[Illustration: John Brown] + + + + +JOHN BROWN + +SOLDIER OF FORTUNE + +_A Critique_ + +BY + +HILL PEEBLES WILSON + +[Illustration] + + _Mr. Vallandigham_: Mr. Brown, who sent you here? + + _John Brown_: No man sent me here; it was my own prompting + and that of my Maker, or that of the Devil, whichever you + please to ascribe it to. I acknowledge no master in human + form. + + _Post, 313_ + +THE CORNHILL COMPANY +BOSTON + +Copyright, 1913 + +HILL PEEBLES WILSON + + +Copyright, 1918 + +THE CORNHILL COMPANY + +TO THE MEMORY OF +MRS. SARA T. D. ROBINSON +OF KANSAS + + + + +PREFACE + + +The writer of this book is not an iconoclast, neither has he prejudged +John Brown. In 1859 the character was impressed upon his attention in a +personal way. An older brother, Joseph E. Wilson, was a member of the +company of marines that made the assault on the engine-house at Harper's +Ferry, on the morning of October 18th; and from him he heard the story +of the fight, and about Brown. + +In 1889 the Topeka (Kansas) _Daily Capital_ took a poll of the members +of the Kansas Legislature on the question: "Who was the most +distinguished Kansan?" or something to that effect. At that time the +writer held the opinion that the public services rendered by John Brown +in Kansas Territory, were of paramount importance in the settlement of +the Free-State contention; and since the course which the nation was at +that time pursuing had been arrested by the result of that contention, +and diverted into the path which led to the marvelous achievements of +the succeeding years; he, therefore, over his signature cast his vote in +favor of John Brown; saying, among other things, in his little +panegyric, that Brown is the only Kansan whose fame was immortal. + +In 1898 he reformed his opinions concerning Brown's character and +conduct, and the importance of his public services in Kansas. The change +came about through an effort on his part to write a sketch of his life +for a work entitled "Eminent Men of Kansas." In good faith, and with +much of the confidence and enthusiasm characteristic of Brown's +eulogists, he began an investigation of the available historical data +relating to the subject; when he found to his surprise, and disgust, +that the history of Brown's career contained nothing to justify the +public estimate of him. + +Reporting to his associate that he would not write the sketch, he said +that he "could find but little in the record of his life which gave him +creditable distinction, and that he did not wish to write the +discreditable things about him which it contained." + +Later he gathered up the threads of Brown's life and has woven them, +conscientiously, into the web of history. The story reveals little which +is creditable to Brown or worthy of emulation and much that is +abhorrent. But he indulges the hope that he has made it clear that his +conceptions of the character have not been inspired by "prejudice," +"blind" or otherwise, for he has examined the records in the case; an +examination which has led him through all the existing testimony +concerning Brown; except, that he has not explored the writings which +have been put forth by those who have sought, viciously, to attack +Brown's character. The opinions therefore which he has set forth are +convictions resulting from serious investigation and thought. + +In conclusion, the author takes great pleasure in acknowledging the deep +sense of his obligation to the late Mrs. Sara T. D. Robinson, wife of +Charles Robinson of Kansas, whose generosity, and deep interest in the +history of our country, made the publication of this book possible. + +Also, he desires to express his gratitude to Dr. William Watson Davis, +of the University of Kansas, for the cordial encouragement which he +received from him while preparing the work, and for his kindly +assistance in molding the text into its present form. Also, to Dr. +William Savage Johnson, and to Professor William Asbury Whitaker, Jr., +both of the University of Kansas, he wishes to return his thanks for +many valuable suggestions. + +Lawrence, Kansas, April 15, 1913. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I THE SUBJECT MATTER 15 + +II THE MAN 26 + +III KANSAS--A CRISIS IN OUR NATIONAL HISTORY 55 + +IV HIS PUBLIC SERVICES 72 + +V ROBBERY AND MURDER ON THE POTTAWATOMIE 95 + +VI BLACK JACK 135 + +VII OSAWATOMIE 154 + +VIII HYPOCRISY 181 + +IX A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 223 + +X THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT 243 + +XI THE SHUBEL MORGAN PLUNDER COMPANY 259 + +XII MOBILIZING THE PROVISIONAL ARMY 283 + +XIII THE FIASCO 296 + +XIV A PERVERSION OF HISTORY 323 + +XV HIS GREAT ADVENTURE 341 + +XVI A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS 364 + +XVII "YET SHALL HE LIVE" 395 + + +APPENDICES + +I CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE LATE D. W. +WILDER CONCERNING JOHN BROWN 411 + +II RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN BROWN AT HARPER'S +FERRY BY ALEXANDER BOTELER, A VIRGINIAN +WHO WITNESSED THE FIGHT 414 + +III CONSTITUTION AND ORDINANCE FOR THE PEOPLE +OF THE UNITED STATES 417 + +IV JOHN BROWN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY 431 + + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +JOHN BROWN Frontispiece + + Steel engraving made from a photograph compared with a + photogravure. The photograph was taken about 1859. Original + in the Kansas State Historical Society. The photogravure is + from Mr. Oswald Garrison Villard's book: John Brown--A + Biography Fifty Years After. + +JOHN BROWN facing page 98 + + Steel engraving, made as above. The photograph was copied + from a daguerreotype taken in 1856. Original in the Kansas + State Historical Society. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE SUBJECT MATTER + +_Truth, crushed to earth shall rise again;_ + + --BRYANT + + +The object of the writer, in publishing this book, is to correct a +perversion of truth, whereby John Brown has acquired fame, as an +altruist and a martyr, which should not be attributed to him. + +The book is a review of the historical data that have been collected and +published by his principal biographers: Mr. James Redpath, Mr. Frank B. +Sanborn and Mr. Oswald Garrison Villard. It is also a criticism of these +writers, who have sought to suppress, and have suppressed, important +truths relating to the subject of which they wrote, and who have +misinformed and misled the public concerning the true character of this +figure in our national history; and have established in its stead a +fictitious character, which is wholly illogical and inconsistent with +the facts and circumstances of Brown's life. + +Mr. Redpath, his first and most lurid biographer, was a newspaper +correspondent of the type now generally called "yellow." He was a +"Disunionist," and seems to have been a malcontent, who went to Kansas +Territory to oppose the policy which the Free-State men had adopted for +a safe and sane solution of the Free-State problem; and who sought to +thwart their efforts to create a free state by peaceable means. He +said:[1] + + I believed that a civil war between the North and South + would ultimate in insurrection and that the Kansas troubles + would probably create a military conflict of the sections. + Hence, I left the South, and went to Kansas; and endeavored + personally, and by my pen, to precipitate a revolution. + +After Brown's spectacular fiasco in Virginia, and tragical death, his +cultured partisans, in most conspicuous eloquence proclaimed him to have +been a philanthropist--an altruistic hero; and placed a martyr's crown +upon his brow. Mr. Redpath's purpose, in putting forth his work, was to +make Brown over to fit the part; to make his life appear to conform with +the extravagant attributes of his improvised estate. In pursuance +thereof he sought to conceal the facts concerning the actions and +purposes of his life, rather than to develop them; and to blind the +trails leading to the facts with masses of sentimental rubbish; and to +divert public attention away from them. Upon the publication of his +book, _The Public Life of Captain John Brown_, Mr. Charles Eliot Norton, +in a review of the work, expressed his disapproval of it in vigorous +language. He said:[2] + + It would be well had this book never been written. Mr. + Redpath has understood neither the opportunities opened to + him, nor the responsibilities laid upon him, in being + permitted to write the "authorized" life of John Brown. His + book, in whatever light it is viewed--whether as the + biography of a remarkable man, as an historic narrative of + a series of important events, or simply as a mere piece of + literary job-work--is equally unsatisfactory.... + + There never was more need for a good life of any man than + there was for one of John Brown.... Those who thought best + of him, and those who thought the worst, were alike + desirous to know more of him than the newspapers had + furnished, and to become acquainted with the course of his + life, and the training which had prepared him for Kansas + and brought him to Harper's Ferry. Whatever view be taken + of his character, he was a man so remarkable as to be well + worthy of study.... + + In seasons of excitement, and amid the struggles of + political contention, the men who use the most extravagant + and the most violent words have, for a time, the advantage; + but, in the long run, they damage whatever cause they may + adopt; and the truth, which their declamations have + obscured or their falsehoods have violated, finally asserts + itself.... Extravagance in condemnation has been answered + by extravagance in praise of his life and deeds. + +Twenty-five years later, when Mr. Sanborn published his book, _Life and +Letters of John Brown, Liberator of Kansas, and Martyr of Virginia_, Mr. +John F. Morse, Jr., voiced the disappointment felt by discriminating +persons, in an article published in February, 1886.[3] He said: + + So grand a subject cannot fail to inspire a writer able to + do justice to the theme; and when such an one draws Brown, + he will produce one of the most attractive books in the + language. But meantime the ill-starred "martyr" suffers a + prolongation of martyrdom, standing like another St. + Sebastian to be riddled with the odious arrows of fulsome + panegyrists. With other unfortunate men of like stamp, he + has attracted a horde of writers, who, with rills of + versicles and oceans of prose, have overwhelmed his simple + noble memory beneath torrents of wild extravagant + admiration, foolish thoughts expressed in appropriately + silly language, absurd adulation inducing only protest and + a dangerous contradictory emotion. Amid this throng of ill + advised worshippers, Mr. Sanborn, by virtue of his lately + published biographical volume, has assumed the most + prominent place. + +Referring to the opinions expressed by these writers, Mr. Villard, in +the preface to his book, _John Brown, A Biography Fifty Years After_, +says: "Since 1886 there have appeared five other lives of Brown,[4] the +most important being that of Richard J. Hinton, who, in his preface +gloried in holding a brief for Brown and his men." Concerning his book +he says: + + The present volume is inspired by no such purpose, but is + due to a belief that fifty years after the Harper's Ferry + tragedy, the time is ripe for a study of John Brown, free + from bias, from the errors of taste and fact of the mere + panegyrist, and from the blind prejudice of those who can + see in John Brown nothing but a criminal. The pages that + follow were written to detract from or champion no man or + set of men, but to put forth the essential truths of + history as far as ascertainable, and to judge Brown, his + followers and associates, in the light thereof. How + successful this attempt has been is for the reader to + judge. That this volume in no wise approaches the + attractiveness which Mr. Morse looked for, the author fully + understands. On the other hand no stone has been left + unturned to make accurate the smallest detail; the original + documents, contemporary letters and living witnesses, have + been examined in every quarter of the United States. + Materials never before utilized have been drawn upon, and + others discovered whose existence has heretofore been + unknown.... + +Under this broad pledge of personal fidelity to the subject, this +historian introduced his volume, and has asked the public to give him +its full confidence and to accept his work as a faithful and complete +record of the ascertainable truths of history relating to the subject. +For the ardor which he has exhibited, and for the great labor which he +has expended in his compilation, and for much material of minor +importance, which he has uncovered, the student of history will not fail +to acknowledge to Mr. Villard the sense of his obligation. In these +respects, and in the scholarly features characteristic of the writings, +it is an interesting and dramatic contribution to this literature. But, +he will not be stampeded by protestations of zeal, and by professions of +integrity, to accept it as a presentation of the ascertainable truth. +The work is more conspicuous for the absence from its pages of important +historical truths, and for the contradiction of others which have been +authenticated, than it is for the great volume of trivial facts which +it presents. A line of derelictions conspicuously prevailing throughout +the pages of the book, amply justify the charge that it was not written, +primarily, for an historical purpose--"to put forth the truths of +history as far as ascertainable, and to judge Brown and his followers in +the light thereof." The true purpose seems to be ulterior to that which +is effusively proclaimed in the prefatory declarations. He has written +into the history of our country a concept of the character of John Brown +which is incongruous with the actions and circumstances of Brown's +life. He has created a semi-supernatural person--"a complex +character"--embodying the virtues of the "Hebrew prophets" and +"Cromwellian Roundheads" with the depraved instincts and practices of +thieves and murderers. He presents a man who, for righteous purposes, +"violated the statute and moral laws"; whose conduct was vile, but whose +aims were pure; whose actions were brutal and criminal, but whose +motives were unselfish. + +If this author had redeemed the pledge which he solemnly gave to the +public, to put forth the truths of history as far as ascertainable, and, +judging Brown and his followers in the light of them, had justified his +"terrible violation of the statute and moral laws," the nature of this +criticism would be different; it would be directed against his +discrimination or, perhaps, against his intelligence. But that is not +the case. The author referred to has sifted the truths of this history, +and from the fragments has framed an hypothetical case; and has judged +Brown and his followers in the light of that creation. "How may the +killings on the Pottawatomie, this terrible violation of the statute and +the moral law be justified? This is the question that has confronted +every student of John Brown's life since it was definitely established +that Brown was, if not actually a principal in the crime, an accessory +and an instigator,"[5] is not the language of an impartial historian; +but it is consistently the language of an advocate who writes for a +specious, for an ulterior purpose. Why should an historian seek to +justify a crime? Why should this author, if he intended to write +impartially, seek for evidence to justify this horror? It was the desire +to justify the crime that impelled the author to seek for pretexts for +justification of it among the surviving criminals, and to garble the +historical facts concerning it. + +The crime was the theft of a large number of horses; to accomplish it, +and to safeguard the loot, it was necessary to kill the owners thereof. +It was a premeditation. The plans for it were laid several weeks before +it was executed, and during a time of profound peace. The principals +were John Brown; his unmarried sons; Henry Thompson, his son-in-law; +Theodore Weiner, and four confederates: Jacob Benjamin, B. L. Cochrane, +John E. Cook and Charles Lenhart, whose names are herein associated with +this crime for the first time in history. These confederates received +from Brown's party the horses which belonged to the men whom they +murdered, and ran them out of the country; leaving with Brown a number +of horses, "fast running horses," which they had stolen in the northern +part of the Territory. That is the crime which this author seeks to +justify; he has concealed these truths, and has suppressed the evidence +concerning them. Pretending to put forth the "exact facts as to the +happenings on the Pottawatomie," he has suppressed the evidence +concerning the most important of the happenings, and has added no +material fact concerning them which James Townsley had not, years +before, put forth in his confession. + +The public should know that as early as April 16, 1856, John Brown and +his unmarried sons planned to abandon Kansas and the Free-State Cause +and had disbanded the Free-State company to which they belonged, the +"Liberty Guards," of which John Brown was captain; also, that the +"Pottawatomie Rifles" had been organized in its stead, with John Brown, +Jr., as captain; and that neither John Brown nor his unmarried sons +belonged to it. They were "a little company" by themselves.[6] The +public should also know that prior to that date, as early as April 7th, +Brown and the members of his little company had decided to abandon their +claims and leave the country; and further, that they desired a +recrudescence of pro-slavery atrocities. Concerning Brown's character +and his life in Kansas, as well as his relation to territorial affairs, +and a correct understanding of the Pottawatomie affair, no more +important letter was written by him than his letter of April 7th +disclosing these facts, a letter which Mr. Villard, in furtherance of +his purpose, has seen fit to sift from history and suppress. The public +has a right to know what Henry Thompson meant when he wrote in May that +"upon Brown's plans would depend his own 'until School is out.'" This +biographer, who said that he had left no stone unturned to make accurate +the smallest detail,[7] interviewed Henry Thompson, and could have +obtained from him a statement concerning the plans to which he intended +to subordinate his conduct, which involved matters of so much importance +as leaving the country. Salmon Brown and Henry Thompson could have told +this historian why the "Liberty Guards" were disbanded and the +"Pottawatomie Rifles" organized; and when, and for what purpose the +"little company of six," which intended to leave the neighborhood, was +formed; and he could have included the information in his statement of +the "exact facts." Mr. Villard says it was organized May 23d; but that +is not an "exact" statement; it is a contradiction of a statement which +John Brown made over his signature concerning it.[8] These men could +have told Mr. Villard specifically why they abandoned their claims, +whither they intended to go, and what they intended to do. And further, +they could have told him where they were, and what they were doing, +during the fifty days their "whereabouts" are by this biographer +reported as being "unknown," and their actions unaccounted for.[9] +These matters are not trifling details in this history. In view of the +author's fine panegyrics concerning Brown's devotion to the Free-State +cause, his intention to abandon it, and quit the Territory as early as +March, 1856, is of more striking consequence than his coming into it; +and the disbanding of the "Liberty Guards" in March, 1856, was an act of +greater significance than was the organization of the company in +December, 1855. + +Mr. Villard's treatment of the Pottawatomie incident, "without a clear +appreciation of which a true understanding of Brown, the man, cannot be +reached,"[10] must stand as an indictment, either of his discrimination +or of the integrity of his purpose, concerning it. Not being a dull man, +he could not have been imposed upon by the participants in this riot of +robbery and blood whom he interviewed, and whose evasions he has +certified to the world as the exact facts. It was not the happenings on +the night of May 24, 1856, that determine "the degree of criminality, if +any," [mark the language, _if any_] "that should attach to Brown, for +his part in the proceedings,"[11] for they were but the execution of the +plans which had theretofore been laid for the adventure. Whatever the +circumstances of the author's dereliction may have been, the fact +remains, that the truths concerning this historical episode have been +sifted, and such documents and concurrent evidence as tend to establish +the fact that the motive for these murders was robbery, have been +consistently suppressed from his exposition of it. + +Brown made no attempt to justify his conduct in the affair. He would +have acknowledged his responsibility and would have pleaded +justification for his acts, if there had been even a shadow of a pretext +for any justification; for he was shifty and crafty as well as vain; and +was sensitive concerning his reputation.[12] Not having the murdered +men's horses in his possession, he denied his complicity with the +murders, denied that he was concerned in the crime. If he had "killed +his men" (and stolen their horses) "in the conscientious belief that he +was a faithful servant of Kansas and of the Lord," as this author +asserts, he would not have denied his relationship with the Lord in the +matter, and offended Deity by persistently denying his participation in +it with Him; neither would he have abandoned Kansas and the Free-State +cause within the ensuing sixty days. Cowardly midnight robbery is +impossible of justification upon any ordinary circumstantial hypothesis; +and is preëminently so when the crime is aggravated by brutal +assassinations, such as were incidental to this wholesale theft of +horses. + +The derelictions concerning the history of the Pottawatomie are +characteristic of Mr. Villard's treatment of the more vital episode of +Brown's career: his attempt to incite a revolution in the Southern +States and to establish over them the authority of a "provisional +government." This Brown planned to precipitate and accomplish by an +insurrection of the slaves, and a resulting indiscriminate assassination +of the slave-holding population: such as the people of that generation, +North and South, believed to be impending, if not imminent. This central +truth Mr. Villard denies, and seeks to substitute for Brown's +intentions, the invention that his movement was merely a transitory +raid, the forerunner of a series of similar raids to be undertaken by +"small bands hidden in the mountain fastnesses." This conception is +gratituitous and illogical; a contradiction of history and inconsistent +with the bold, intrepid, daring, courageous characteristics which he +has, except in this sole instance, consistently ascribed to Brown's +character. + +Brown's purposes, at Harper's Ferry, are logically foreshadowed by every +act of his life, beginning with March, 1857; and are written in letters +of living light in the "Constitution and Ordinances for the People of +the United States," and in "General Order, No. 1," dated: + +"HEADQUARTERS WAR DEPARTMENT, PROVISIONAL ARMY. + + "Harper's Ferry, October 10, 1859." + +As in the Pottawatomie incident, and consistent with a purpose to +pervert this history, and fasten an imposition upon the public, these +two "public documents," uttered, _ex cathedra_, by John Brown, find no +place in Mr. Villard's book; they are not put forth as essential truths +of history. The general order providing for the formation of the +Provisional Army is not even remotely referred to; while the +Constitution and Ordinances are treated contemptuously, and passed over +slightingly with a few commonplace and irrelevant criticisms; and +dismissed from consideration with manifest impatience and irritation as +being so inconsistent--_not_ with Brown's purposes, but with the +author's theory of them--as to "forbid discussion."[13] + +As a study of John Brown, Mr. Villard's book is misleading, and, in +places, worthless. It is a jargon of facts and fancies; a juggling with +the truths of history; a recital of the long list of Brown's minor +peculations, and the bloody deeds which accent his career, interlarded +with half-hearted denunciations of his moral obliquity and conspicuously +fulsome panegyrics upon his character, and extravagantly illogical +attributes concerning the nobility of his aims. The book seems to have +been put forth not with reference to the truth, but to ennoble an +ignoble character; to shroud the character in a mantle of mystery; to +create in the twentieth century, a "complex" character: a mystic with a +propensity to do wrong; wherein there is a compromise of virtue with +vice. To the accomplishment of this end, this author has not only bent +his energies in subordinating the truth, but, as a furtherance of his +purpose, he has deemed it necessary to pass beyond the boundaries of +historical research, and seek to strengthen his cause by inviting +discredit upon the opinions of any who may venture to dissent from his +inventions. + +It may not be held to be a suspicious circumstance, but it certainly is +not good form for an historian to presuppose that his statements of fact +will be disbelieved, and that the logic of his conclusions concerning +them will be challenged by any one. Nor should he seek to discredit +hypothetical opinions by the cheap, or vulgar, assertion that such +opinions have their origin in prejudice--"blind prejudice"; for jurors, +and even judges, sometimes disagree; and it is possible for persons, who +are conscientious, to receive divergent impressions in relation to the +same subject. He would have preserved a better decorum if he had relied +upon candor, and the supreme truthfulness of his narrative, and the +clearness of his reasoning, whereby to supplant disbelief with faith, +and to dispel prejudice by enlightening it. + +The tree is better known by its fruits, than by any tag which the owner +may attach to the trunk. An historian who conscientiously writes the +truths of history, is not solicitous concerning the criticisms of any +who may read his lines. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE MAN + +_Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter +unto the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of +my Father which is in heaven._ + + --MATTHEW, 7:21 + + +The picturesque figure which has been presented to the public as John +Brown is an historical myth--a fiction. The character, as it has been +exploited, is a contradiction of the laws that govern in human nature. +The material for it was furnished by partisans, who were unscrupulous +writers of the times of strenuous political excitement and national +unrest, in which Brown, by his deeds of violence, attracted public +attention. Following the practice of partisans, these writers wrote with +reckless disregard for the truth of their statements. Later, in the +ultimate crisis that occurred in his fortunes, he was eulogized in +surpassing eloquence by sincere people of high ideals, who were unaware +of the real character of the object of their adoration. They were not +informed concerning the criminal life which he had led, or of the +shockingly brutal crimes which he had committed; neither did they +understand that in his final undertaking he sought to involve a section +of our fair land in a carnival of rapine and bloodshed exceeding in +extent the horrors of San Domingo.[14] They were misled and were moved, +in their orations, solely by sentiment and misplaced sympathy. Instead +of a grim and unscrupulous soldier of fortune, leading a band of +desperate men in an effort to unloose in the Slave States the demon of +insurrection, they could see in him only a religious devotee, whom +their imaginations had created; whose life they believed had been a +devotion to deeds of charity and benevolence; who for years had been the +especial champion of the slave; and whose work in Kansas had been, as in +the existing crisis, an heroic and consistent consecration to duty. This +man now awaited execution for his immutability to a great cause. He +appeared to them to be a reincarnation of the virtuous primitive +Christian--an altruistic hero--who, willing to die for his convictions, +had "dared the unequal"; and, after battling heroically, though vainly, +for humanity, had offered himself a sacrifice, making "the gallows +glorious like the cross." These original laudations attracted, as Mr. +Morse has stated, a "horde of writers, who, with rills of versicles and +oceans of prose have overwhelmed his memory beneath torrents of wild +extravagant admiration." + +Many persons therefore believe Brown to have been an exceptional person, +a man of deep religious fervor, of unimpeachable veracity and of the +strictest integrity. But a careful study of his life, as revealed by +himself, and as it has been written by his personal friends and his +friendly biographers, may well result in a different interpretation of +the man's character and actions. + +John Brown was born at Torrington, Connecticut, May 9, 1800; but he was +not, as he claimed to be, "the sixth descendant of Peter Browne of the +Mayflower." The Peter Brown to whom John Brown's ancestry has been +traced, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1632, as Mr. Villard shows +in very scholarly fashion.[15] The Peter Browne of the Mayflower left no +male issue; nor does John Brown's name appear upon the rolls of the +"Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants."[16] His grandfather +was a captain in the Eighteenth Connecticut Infantry, in the +Revolutionary Army. The father of John Brown--Owen Brown--was a +faithful, industrious citizen who for a livelihood followed the +occupation of shoemaker, tanner, and farmer. John learned the tannery +trade and began work when he was fifteen, and for the greater part of +the ensuing five years was employed as a foreman in his father's factory +at Hudson, Ohio. + +On June 21, 1820, he was married to Miss Dianthe Lusk, the daughter of +his housekeeper. She became the mother of seven children; one of +whom--Frederick--was killed at Osawatomie. Her death occurred August 10, +1832; three days after the birth of a son; mother and son being buried +together. A second marriage was contracted on July 11, 1833, his bride +being Miss Mary Anne Day, daughter of Charles Day of Whitehall, New +York. Thirteen children were born of this union; seven of whom died in +early childhood; two--Watson and Oliver--were killed at Harper's Ferry. + +As a tanner, at Hudson, Brown was successful, but he gave up his +business there and moved to Richmond, Pennsylvania, in May, 1825, where +he established a tannery. He was appointed postmaster at Richmond in +1828, and held the office until he moved to Franklin Mills, Ohio, in +1835. He left Richmond "because of financial distress."[17] At Franklin +Mills, he secured a contract for building the Ohio and Pennsylvania +Canal from there to Akron. The next year, he undertook some speculations +in real estate, and in company with a Mr. Thompson, borrowed $7,000 with +which to buy a tract of one hundred acres, for an "addition to +Franklin." During the same year, he, with others, organized the Franklin +Land Company, and purchased the water power, mills, lands, etc., in both +the "upper" and "lower" Franklin villages, combining the two water +powers at a central town-site, which he and his associates laid out.[18] +In these, and other schemes, Brown became so deeply involved that he +failed during the bad times of 1837; lost nearly all his property by +assignment to his creditors, and was then not able to pay all his debts, +some of which were never liquidated. His father also lost heavily +through him.[19] + +His failure in business should not of itself count against him, but some +of the methods which he employed to extricate himself from his financial +embarrassment, were of a most fraudulent and criminal character. July +11, 1836, he applied to Heman Oviatt and others, to become security for +him on a note for $6,000 to the Western Reserve Bank. The note was not +paid, and the bank got judgment against the makers in May, 1837. August +2d, the judgment debtors gave a joint judgment bond for the amount of +the judgment against them, payable in sixty days. The bond not being +paid, the bank sued again, and Oviatt had to pay the bank in full. The +nature of the wrong done to Mr. Oviatt by Brown is described by Mr. +Villard on pages 37 and 38. He relates that at the time of this +transaction, Brown had a "penal bond of conveyance," but not the title, +for a piece of property known as "Westlands," which he assigned to +Oviatt, as collateral for Oviatt's having endorsed the judgment bond to +the bank. When the deed to the Westlands property was duly given to +Brown, he recorded it, without notifying Oviatt of this action. Later, +he mortgaged the property to two men, again without the knowledge of +Heman Oviatt. Meanwhile, Daniel G. Gaylord had recovered a judgment +against Brown in another transaction, and to satisfy it caused the sale +of Westlands by the sheriff. By collusion with Brown, the property was +bought in at the sale, by his friend, a former business associate, Amos +P. Chamberlain. Oviatt "brought suit to have the sale of Westlands to +Chamberlain set aside as fraudulent, but the Supreme Court of Ohio held +that Chamberlain had a rightful title, and dismissed the suit. John +Brown himself was not directly sued by Oviatt, being, to use a lawyer's +term, 'legally safe' throughout the entire transaction.... Even after +this lapse of years his action in secretly recording the transfer of the +land, and then mortgaging it, bears an unpleasant aspect."[20] +Meanwhile, the parties to the fraud upon Oviatt quarreled. Brown refused +to give up occupation of the land to Chamberlain; assuming that +Chamberlain had not treated him fairly in the matter; and held +possession of the property, in "a shanty on the place, by force of arms, +until compelled to desist by the sheriff...." Finally, the sheriff +arrested Brown and two sons, John and Owen, who were thereupon placed in +the Akron jail. Chamberlain, having destroyed the shanty which Brown had +occupied, and obtained possession of the land, allowed the case to drop, +and Brown and his sons were released.[21] Mr. Sanborn, on page 55, +disposes of the matter in this way: + + The affair is explained by his son John as follows: "The + farm father lost by endorsing a note for a friend. It was + attached and sold by the Sheriff at the County seat. The + only bidder against my father was an old neighbor, hitherto + regarded as a friend, who became the purchaser. Father's + lawyer advised him to hold the fort for a time at least, + and endeavor to secure terms from the purchaser. There was, + as I remember, an old shot gun in the house, but it was not + loaded nor pointed at any one. No Sheriff came on the + premises; no officer or posse was resisted; no threat of + violence offered." + +Brown was not so staid and prosaic in his daily walk and conversation as +to be indifferent to the sports and amusements of life. He seems to have +been simply an active man of the world, getting as much worldly +enjoyment for himself out of his environment as possible. He was a +horseman with a fancy for horse racing; and while at Franklin, indulged +in the very interesting and sportsmanlike business, or diversion, of +breeding "fast running horses for racing purposes." He bred from a well +known horse of that time called "Count Piper"; and the name of another +favorite sire was "John McDonald." He is said to have dismissed +criticism of his conduct from a moral point of view, by the argument +that "if he did not breed them some one else would."[22] + +From 1837 to 1841 Brown lived alternately at Franklin, and at Hudson, +Ohio. In 1838 he became a "drover," and drove cattle from Ohio to +Connecticut. In this business he had trouble with his associates, +Tertius Wadsworth and Joseph Wells, who furnished the capital; and was +sued by them for an accounting.[23] In December, 1838, "he negotiated +for the agency of a New York Steel Scythes house." And in January, 1839, +he made his first venture in sheep, at West Hartford, Connecticut. He +brought the sheep to Albany by boat, and drove them from there to Ohio. +In June of that year he made his final drive to the east with cattle, +and, while at New Hartford, committed a crime of unusual enormity. It +appears that he proposed to the New England Woolen Company, of +Rockville, Connecticut, to act as its agent in buying wool, and induced +it to intrust to him $2,800 with which to begin purchasing the wool. The +negotiations for this money were a deception throughout, in pursuance of +theft. Brown did not intend to buy any wool with the money which he +sought to have intrusted to his keeping for that purpose; but did intend +to convert it to his own use--to make "a much brighter day" in his +affairs. He also deceived his wife, whom he caused to believe that he +was trying to secure a loan. Nor did he hesitate to have the crime, +which he was committing, called to the attention of the God whom he +pretended to serve, but asked her to ask "God's blessing" upon him in +his pursuit of this purpose. Greater hypocrisy and depravity hath no man +than this. The letter which he wrote to his wife in relation to the +transaction is as follows:[24] + + New Hartford, 12th June, 1839. + + MY DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN: + + I write to let you know that I am in comfortable health, + and that I expect to be on my way home in the course of a + week should nothing befall me. If I am longer detained I + will write you again. The cattle business has succeeded + about as I expected, but I am now somewhat in fear that I + shall fail in getting the money I expected on the loan. + Should that be the will of Providence I know of no other + way but we must consider ourselves very poor for our debts + must be paid, if paid at a sacrifice. Should that happen + (though it may not) I hope God who is rich in mercy, will + grant us all grace to conform to our circumstances with + cheerfulness and resignation. I want to see each of my dear + family very much but must wait God's time. Try all of you + to do the best you can, and do not one of you be + discouraged--tomorrow may be a much brighter day. Cease not + to ask God's blessing on yourselves and me. Keep this + letter wholly to yourselves, excepting that I expect to + start home soon, and that I did not write confidently about + my success should any one enquire. Edmond is well and Owen + Mills. You may show this to father but to no one else. + + I am not without great hopes of getting relief, I would not + have you understand, but things have looked more + unfavorable for a few days. I think I shall write you again + before I start. + + Earnestly commending every one of you to God, and to his + mercy, which endureth forever, I remain your affectionate + husband and father, + JOHN BROWN. + +This beautiful letter, written to his wife in relation to the +prosecution of a criminal design, stands as a _study_ of John Brown +which the student may well contemplate with profit. It is written in +the attractive style, and in the spiritual language characteristic of +Brown's correspondence. It is strikingly similar to the letters that he +gave out from the Charlestown jail, which, in their apparently +devotional simplicity, and humble sincerity and trust in the mercy of +God, won for him there his "victory over death." This letter was a +dissimulation, the proof of which lies in the consummation of the +negotiations for the money; and in the appropriation of it to his own +use, at a time when he was hopelessly involved. It is a real key to the +history of his life; it discloses his true character, and shatters to +fragments every hypothesis that Brown was either sincere, devout, or +honest. + +"Three days after the receipt of this letter," Mr. Villard relates, +"Brown received from the New England Woolen Company at Rockville, Conn., +twenty-eight hundred dollars, through its agent George Kellogg, for the +purchase of wool, which money, regretfully enough, he pledged for his +own benefit and was then unable to redeem. Fortunately for him the +Company exercised leniency toward him."[25] Later it permitted him to go +through bankruptcy, upon the condition that he would endeavor to repay +the money. Brown's letter in acknowledgment of the "great kindness" to +him therein, is as follows:[26] + + Richfield, Octo. 17, 1842. + + Whereas I, John Brown, on or about the 15th day of June + 1839, received from the New England Company (through their + Agent George Kellogg, Esq.) the sum of twenty-eight hundred + dollars for the purchase of wool for said Company, and + imprudently pledged the same for my own benefit, and could + not redeem it; and whereas I have been legally discharged + from my obligations by the laws of the United States--I + hereby agree in consideration of the great kindness and + tenderness of said Company toward me in my calamity, and + more particularly of the moral obligation I am under to + render them their due, to pay the same and interest + thereon, from time to time, as Divine Providence shall + enable me to do. Witness my hand and seal. + + JOHN BROWN. + +To Mr. Kellogg, agent for the woolen company, he wrote: + + Richfield, Summit County, Ohio, Octo. 17, 1842. + + George Kellogg, Esq. + + Dear Sir--I have just received information of my final + discharge as a bankrupt in the District Court, and I ought + to be grateful that no one of my creditors has made any + opposition to such discharge being given. I shall now if my + life is continued, have an opportunity of proving the + sincerity of my past professions, when legally free to act + as I choose. I am sorry to say that in consequence of the + unforeseen expense of getting the discharge, the loss of an + ox, and the destitute condition in which a new surrender of + my effects has placed me, with my numerous family, I fear + this year must pass without my effecting in the way of + payment what I have encouraged you to expect + (notwithstanding I have been generally prosperous in my + business for the season). + + Respectfully your unworthy friend, + + JOHN BROWN. + +To Mr. Villard the public owes its obligation for the quite complete +history of this transaction. Mr. Sanborn, in his record of it, saw fit +to suppress the letter of June 12, 1839. He, evidently, garbled the +correspondence relating to this criminal incident in Brown's life, with +the intention of practicing a deception upon the public. Commenting upon +the two letters of October 17, 1842, he said:[27] + + These papers show the real integrity of Brown, in a + transaction in which he might have escaped the obligation + which he thus assumed. + +That Brown promised restitution of the money herein, as a means to +forestall criminal proceedings against him; and gave the above +acknowledgment of the debt, and renewed promise to pay, as a condition +precedent to being permitted to go into the court of bankruptcy, is +evident from the two preceding letters. It is also apparent from his +letter to Mr. Kellogg, that he did not intend to fulfill the promises he +had made. At his death, "this debt, like many others, was still unpaid," +notwithstanding the fact that two years after his proceedings in +bankruptcy he became prosperous, "with the most trying financial periods +of his life behind him."[28] + +With money in his pocket wherewith to commence life anew, Brown +conceived the idea of leaving that part of the country and settling in +Virginia, upon land[29] belonging to Oberlin College. He probably +obtained information concerning the land from his father, who was a +trustee of the college. On April 1, 1840, he appeared before a committee +of the trustees, and opened negotiations with it for an agreement to +survey the Virginia land, and to purchase some of it. Two days later he +submitted a proposal "to visit, survey and make the necessary +investigation respecting the boundaries, etc. of these lands, for one +dollar per day, and a modest allowance for necessary expenses." He also +stated that this was to be a preliminary step towards locating thereon, +with his family, "should the opening prove a favorable one," and in the +event of his so locating, he was to receive one thousand acres of the +land. The trustees promptly accepted his offer, and the treasurer was +ordered to furnish him with "a Commission and Needful outfit,"[30] which +was done the same day. He immediately proceeded to Virginia and entered +upon his duties. April 27th he wrote to his wife from Ripley, Virginia: + + I have seen the spot where, if it be the will of Providence, I + hope one day to live with my family. + +July 14, 1840, he filed his report, and on August 11th he was notified +that the prudential committee of the trustees had been authorized by the +board to "perfect negotiations, and convey to Brother John Brown, of +Hudson, Ohio, one thousand acres of our Virginia land, on conditions +suggested in the correspondence between him and the committee." Replying +to the letter January 2, 1841, he wrote: + + ... I feel prepared to say definitely that I expect, + Providence willing, to accept the proposal of your + Board.... I shall expect to receive a thousand acres of + land in a body, that will include a living spring of water + discharging itself at a height sufficient to accommodate a + tannery as I shall expect to pursue that business on a + small scale if I go.... + +The trustees meanwhile, for reasons which have not been made public, +changed their minds on the subject, and Brown's letter to their Mr. +Burnell of February 5, 1841, reaffirming his intention to accept the +land, as proposed, was never answered.[31] + +Failing in his effort to establish himself in Virginia, he engaged in +the sheep raising industry, in the spring of 1841, in company with +Captain Oviatt, at Richfield, Ohio. He was successful and "gradually +became known as a winner of prizes for sheep, and cattle at the annual +fairs, in Summit County." By 1844 he had gained the reputation of a +successful wool grower, and in that year formed "a partner-ship with +Simon Perkins, Jr. of Akron, Ohio, with a view to carry on the sheep +business extensively."[32] He moved to Akron April 10th of that year. +Concerning his home at Akron, Mr. Villard says: + + They occupied a cottage on what is still known as Perkins + Hill, near Simon Perkins own home, with an extensive and + charming view over hill and dale--an ideal sheep country, + and a location which must have attracted any one save a + predisposed wanderer. + +Two years later it was decided to establish a headquarters at +Springfield, Massachusetts. There Brown went "to reside as one of the +firm of Perkins and Brown, agents of the sheep-farmers and wool +merchants in northern Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia, whose +interests then required an agency to stand between them and the wool +manufacturers of New England, to whom they sold their fleeces."[33] + +Of this arrangement Mr. Villard says on page 35: "John Brown was within +bounds in thus exulting; even though the Perkins partner-ship resulted +eventually in severe losses and dissolution. At least it was a +connection with a high minded and prosperous man, and it lasted ten +years. When it was over, the partners were still friends, but Mr. +Perkins did not retain a high opinion of John Brown's ability or +sagacity as a business man." Mr. Sanborn states on page 57, that when +Mr. Perkins was questioned by him, in 1878, about Brown's wool growing +and wool dealing, he replied: "The less you can say about them the +better." + +As to the business, there seems to have been trouble from the +commencement of it. Mr. Villard says on page 60: "Moreover some +customers had just grievances, for the letter book contains far too many +apologies for failure to acknowledge letters and shipments, and to make +out accurate accounts, for so young a firm." + +In August, 1849, Brown made his historic trip to London to superintend, +personally, the sale of wool, which he had shipped to that market, +because he could not obtain prices that were satisfactory to him from +the manufacturers of woolens in his home market. The amount of wool so +consigned was about two hundred thousand pounds. The Northampton Woolen +Mills Company of Northampton, Massachusetts, had bid sixty cents a pound +for this wool at Springfield. In London, September 17th, a lot of one +hundred and fifty bales of it was sold for twenty-six to twenty-nine +cents per pound. The buyer was the "Northampton Woolen Mills Co., of +Mass., U. S. A."[34] Brown returned home in October "bringing back with +him the portion of the wool which he had been unable to sell. The loss +on this venture was probably as high as $40,000."[35] The firm of +Perkins and Brown then began proceedings in liquidation, which had been +under consideration for some time before Brown made the trip to Europe. +The losses sustained by the company were upon a large scale. Suits +against them were brought for more than one hundred thousand +dollars.[36] + +In 1850 Brown contemplated engaging in the manufacture of wine upon a +large scale; and on December 4th, wrote to his sons to send him some +samples of the wines they had made. He said: "I want Jason to obtain +from Mr. Perkins, or anywhere he can get them, two good Junk bottles, +have them thoroughly cleaned, and filled with cherry wine, being very +careful not to roil it up before filling the bottles,--providing good +corks, and filling them perfectly full. These I want him to pack safely +in a very small strong box, which he can make, direct them to Perkins & +Brown, Springfield, Mass., and send them by express. We can affect +something to purpose by producing unadulterated domestic wines. They +will command great prices."[37] + +In 1846, Gerrit Smith, a wealthy philanthropist of Peterboro, New York, +set aside one hundred and twenty thousand acres of his large estate in +northern New York, to be divided up into farms, and given, without +charge, to worthy colored people who would settle upon them and improve +them for their permanent homes. Brown heard of this proposition in +course of time, and made a proposal to Mr. Smith to settle among the +negroes on these lands, and aid them by precept and example in their +efforts at home building. In consideration of this, it is probable that +Brown secured title to some land on equal terms with the negroes, and +possibly secured options on other tracts, at satisfactory prices and +terms of payment. His experience with the Oberlin College people in +relation to the Virginia lands, heretofore referred to, was probably of +service to him in this transaction with Smith. The tracts which he +selected were at Timbuctoo, or North Elba, and in the spring of 1849 he +located his family upon the land; but in March, 1851, moved back to +Akron. Brown himself did not go to North Elba to live. His time was +taken up in liquidating the tangled affairs of Perkins and Brown, and +with the extensive litigation involved in the settlement of them. + +Litigation seems to have been a constant and conspicuous feature of +Brown's commercial life. Mr. Villard says[38] that "on the records of +the Portage County Court of Common Pleas are no less than twenty-one +lawsuits in which John Brown figured as defendant during the years 1820 +to 1845. Of these, thirteen were actions brought to recover money loaned +on promissory notes either to Brown singly or in company with others. +The remaining suits were mostly claims for wages, or payments due, or +for nonfulfillment of contracts.... In ten other cases he was +successfully sued and judgments were obtained against him individually +or jointly with others. In three cases those who sued him were +non-suited as being without real cause for action, and two other cases +were settled out of court. Four cases Brown won, among them being a suit +for damages for false arrest and assault and battery, brought by an +alleged horse thief, because Brown, and other citizens, had aided a +constable in arresting him. A number of these suits grew out of Brown's +failure in his real estate speculations. A serious litigation was an +action brought by the Bank of Wooster to recover on a Bill of Exchange, +drawn by Brown and others, on the Leather Manufacturers Bank of New +York, and repudiated by that institution on the ground that Brown and +his associates had no money in the bank. During the suit the amount +claimed was rapidly reduced, and when the judgment was rendered against +him it was for $917.65.... In 1845 Daniel C. Gaylord, who several times +had sued Brown, succeeded in compelling him and his associates to convey +to him certain Franklin lands, which they had contracted to sell, but +the title for which they refused to convey. The court upheld Gaylord's +claim. The only case in which Brown figured as plaintiff was settled out +of court." This is consistently a bad record. + +The year 1854 brought the settlement of Kansas to the front and the +wrecked and practically penniless Browns decided to emigrate to the new +Territory. Not with the "ax and gun" went they, as will be seen, but +with the ax, and with the hope of bettering their condition. The +necessity for the gun was developed later--in 1855--and by the +Free-State men who had preceded the Browns into the Territory. + +It seems the family planned to establish a little colony or group of +farms--"Brownsville"--and that while the sons were to be engaged in +opening up the farms, the father would try to earn some money in +surveying, which would be a very grateful and necessary assistance to +them while struggling with the many discouraging incidents which usually +befell the impecunious preëmptor. That such were their conclusions +appears from a letter which Brown wrote February 13, 1855, to Mr. John +W. Cook, of Wolcottville, Connecticut. He said:[39] "Since I saw you I +have undertaken to direct the operations of a Surveying & exploring +party, to be employed in Kansas for a considerable time perhaps for some +Two or Three years; & I lack for time to make all my arrangements, and +get on the ground in season." In pursuance of his intention to move to +Kansas, he relocated with his family on the North Elba farm. + +This review of Brown's career discloses a life spent, thus far, in a +series of strenuous struggles with various problems, covering a wide +range in the field of commercial activity. All his efforts had ended in +disappointment and failure. The removal to North Elba marks his +retirement, in defeat, from the world of trade, and finds him, as the +result of his failures, living with his dependent family upon a small +tract of mountain land, of little value, that had been given to him as a +condition of his settlement thereon. They had "moved into an unplastered +four-room house, the rudest kind of a pioneer home, built for him by his +son-in-law, Henry Thompson, who had married his daughter Ruth."[40] + +What Brown's religious belief was is problematical. He was a student of +the Bible, and, as he said, "possessed a most unusual memory of its +entire contents." The Book, as a whole, was his creed, and upon its +teachings he placed his personal interpretations. He spoke and wrote, +when he so desired, in its phraseology; and by this distinction, in +contradiction of the character of his actions, he gained a reputation +for being a Christian. He may have been a Presbyterian, as has been +said; or he may have been a Methodist, as has also been stated; and +there is equal authority for the statement that he belonged to the +Congregational church; but, it would seem that if he had been a +consistent member of _any_ of these churches, his historic name would +have been proudly borne upon the rolls of membership, in the +congregations to which he belonged; and the fact of his membership +therein clearly established. It would further seem that he would have +stated the fact of such membership in connection with what he did say, +in 1857, in relation to his religious experience. It appears however, +that while assuming to believe firmly in the divine authenticity of the +Bible, he had become only to "some extent a convert to Christianity." +There is no evidence that he ever attended public worship in Kansas, or +at any place during the latter years of his life, or that he engaged in +prayer. Also, it would seem, that if he had been "a student at +Morris Academy" in either 1816 or 1819, as a preparation for +college--Amherst--with an ultimate purpose so creditable as "entering +the ministry," he would have referred to the fact, incidentally at +least, in his _Autobiography_, which treats specifically of his +education.[41] + +The Rev. H. D. King of Kinsman, Ohio, met Brown frequently at Tabor, +Iowa, during August and September, 1857. He probably regarded him as an +infidel, but did not wish to say so. "He was rather skeptical, I think," +he said; "not an infidel, but not bound by creeds. He was somewhat +cranky on the subject of the Bible as he was on that of killing +people."[42] In the last letter which Brown wrote to his family, +November 30, 1859, two days before his execution, he said:[43] + + I must yet insert the reason for my firm belief in the + Bible, notwithstanding I am, perhaps, naturally + skeptical--certainly not credulous.... It is the purity of + heart, filling our minds as well as work and actions, which + is everywhere insisted on, that distinguishes it from all + other teachings, that commends it to my conscience.... + +The late Mr. George B. Gill of Kansas, who was a member of Brown's +cabinet--secretary of the treasury--said of him: "He was very human. The +angel wing's were so dim and shadowy as to be almost unseen." + +Brown's younger sons were infidels. They had "discovered the Bible to be +all fiction."[44] To the Sabbath day and its sanctity, he was +indifferent. In violation of the stricter conventions, which prevailed +at that time, concerning the observance of it as "Holy unto the Lord," +he committed the principal crimes incident to his career, wholly or in +part, on the Sabbath. A part of the murders and thefts on the +Pottawatomie were committed on Sunday morning, May 25, 1856. Returning +to Kansas from Nebraska City (August 9th and 10th) half the journey was +made on Sunday, August 10th. "On August 24," 1856 (Sunday), "the Brown +and Cline companies set out for the South, marching eight miles and +camping on Sugar Creek."[45] Sunday night, October 16, 1859, was the +time fixed for the insurrection of the slaves to occur, and on that +night, in pursuance of his plans, he occupied Harper's Ferry. + +Brown was averse to military operations, and military affairs. He +refused to drill with the local militia, paying the fines instead, which +were imposed by law for such delinquencies. In political matters he +affiliated with the Abolitionists, or with those of the party who were +"non-resistants."[46] + +The statements which have been put forth in support of the assumption +that Brown's life was a devotion to the Anti-Slavery cause--a series of +abnormal activities in opposition to slavery--are not confirmed, nor can +they be justified by any contemporaneous evidence. For notwithstanding +the persistent, if not offensive, insistence of his biographers to the +contrary; and the pages without number which have been written in +support of such insistence, the record of his life is practically +barren in relation to the subject. There is not a scrap of concurrent +evidence which, even remotely, suggests that prior to 1855 he might have +taken more than a most ordinary interest in securing freedom for the +slaves. Even in his letter of that year to Mr. John W. Cook (_note_ 40), +informing him of his intention to go to Kansas, and of his motive for +going thereto, he made no reference to the subject whatever. A statement +of everything which Brown did, or that he attempted to do up to that +year, in opposition to slavery, may be republished in this book without +encumbering its pages. It will therefore be given. + +In 1857, after Brown had ceased to be a non-resistant, and was in the +East professionally advocating war in Kansas; he wrote that during the +late war with England an incident "occurred that made him a most +determined Abolitionist: & led him to declare or _Swear_: _Eternal war_ +with Slavery." But Mr. Villard, having the infant Pardigles prodigy in +mind, makes the point that "the oaths of a lad of such tender years do +not often become the guiding force of maturity." A Mr. Blakesley, with +whom Brown, before his marriage, kept bachelor's hall, relates that one +evening a runaway slave came to their door, and asked for food, which +was given him freely. John Brown, Jr., relates the same, or a similar, +incident as occurring eight years later. The dramatic settings in each +case are practically similar: Night! Sound of horses' feet approaching! +Flight of fugitive, or fugitives, into the adjacent timber! False alarm! +Subsequent search for, and locating of the fugitive "by the sound of the +beating of his heart!" Finale: "Brown swears eternal enmity to +slavery!"[47] Both of the tales are of the legendary type common to +Brown literature. Mr. Blakesley's story is probably in part true, but +whether either of them, or both of them, be true is without +significance. It would indeed have been difficult to find a person +living in the North at that time, who would have refused a poor +fugitive slave the measure of assistance asked for in this case. + +On another occasion Brown is represented as taking the members of his +family into his confidence, and enlisting them for life in the "eternal +war" which he is said to have been personally waging; taking the +precaution to swear them to secrecy. Jason Brown states that they were +"merely sworn to do all in their power to abolish slavery," and does not +use the word "force."[48] But as related by John Brown, Jr., the +occasion was much more dramatic and far reaching. He says:[49] + + It is, of course, impossible for me to say when such idea + and plan first entered his (John Brown's) mind and became a + purpose; but I can say with certainty that he first + informed his family that he entertained such purpose while + we were yet living in Franklin, O. (now called Kent), and + before he went to Virginia, in 1840, to survey the lands + which had been donated by Arthur Tappan to Oberlin College; + and this was certainly as early as 1839. The place and the + circumstances where he first informed us of that purpose + are as perfectly in my memory as any other event in my + life. Father, mother, Jason, Owen and I were, late in the + evening, seated around the fire in the open fire-place of + the kitchen, in the old Haymaker house where we then lived; + and there he first informed us of his determination to make + war on slavery--not such war as Mr. Garrison informs us + "was equally the purpose of the non-resistant + abolitionists," but war by force and arms. He said that he + had long entertained such a purpose--that he believed it + his duty to devote his life, if need be, to this object, + which he made us fully to understand. After spending + considerable time in setting forth in most impressive + language the hopeless condition of the slave, he asked who + of us were willing to make common cause with him in doing + all in our power to "break the jaws of the wicked and pluck + the spoil out of his teeth," naming each of us in + succession. Are you, Mary, John, Jason, and Owen? + Receiving an affirmative answer from each, he kneeled in + prayer, and all did the same. This posture in prayer + impressed me greatly as it was the first time I had ever + known him to assume it. After prayer he asked us to raise + our right hands, and he then administered to us an oath, + the exact terms of which I cannot recall, but in substance + it bound us to secrecy and devotion to the purpose of + fighting slavery by force and arms to the extent of our + ability. + +Referring to this incident Mr. Villard says:[50] "It must be noted here +that in this letter John Brown, Jr., gives the date of the oath as 1839; +in his lengthy affidavit in the case of Gerrit Smith against the Chicago +_Tribune_, he gave the date as 1836, three years earlier, and in an +account given in Mr. Sanborn's book he placed it at 1837; three distinct +times for the same event. It can, therefore, best be stated as occurring +before 1840." + +In the opinion of the writer, it could, perhaps, "best be stated" as not +having occurred at all. As has been heretofore stated, Brown was at that +time a non-resistant, and there is no concurrent evidence that he +treasured a thought of using force against slavery until after Robinson +suggested it by arming the Free-State men in Kansas in the spring of +1855. The incident may therefore be considered as apocryphal. It is a +part of the mass of legendary literature that has overwhelmed Brown's +"simple, noble memory." + +The improvisation of these two incidents, shows the strait in which John +Brown, Jr., was placed, when called upon, by Mr. Sanborn, to narrate +some of the incidents occurring in the course of his father's +anti-slavery activities. There being none, nothing whatever to tell, he +filched the Blakesley incident and related it as one occurring under his +personal observation, and put it forth along with the fiction concerning +the dramatic function just related, to relieve himself from an +embarrassing situation. + +In a letter written nearly twenty years after the Blakesley incident is +said to have occurred, Brown disclosed the character of the "eternal +war" which he really proposed to wage, if any, against slavery. It was +to "get at least one negro boy or youth and bring him up as we do our +own,--give him a good English education, learn him what we can about the +history of the world, about business, about general subjects, and, above +all, try to teach him the fear of God." In the same letter he seeks to +interest his brother--Frederick--in a school for blacks which he wanted +to open at Randolph. He thought "if the young blacks of our country +could once become enlightened, it would most assuredly operate on +slavery like firing powder confined in a rock." Incidentally, he +intended to own the school, and thought it would pay.[51] + +While the suggestion to attack slavery in the manner outlined in this +letter is the first recorded movement, or act of aggression, in the much +talked of eternal war; and while it may be regarded as a sort of opening +gun; though not a loud one, the proposal contained therein may be +considered merely as being a commercial venture, for pecuniary profit, +that he desired to engage in, rather than as a scheme in negro +philanthropy. He thought the venture would be profitable, and offered to +divide the profits arising from it with his brother upon terms that +"shall be fair." Also it may be stated that at the time he made this +proposal he was in the toils of insolvency. Six months later he left +Randolph in straitened circumstances. It is therefore probable that he +was moved to suggest the opening of a school for blacks by personal +considerations, and that but for such reasons the letter containing the +proposal would not have been written. + +In 1848, while a resident of Springfield, Massachusetts, Brown wrote +some articles reflecting upon the negro character; criticising negroes +because of their vanity and shiftlessness. They were written under the +caption: "Sambo's Mistakes," and were published in the _Ram's Horn_, a +newspaper conducted by negroes, in New York. They do not relate to +slavery.[52] + +In 1850 he made the first, and, it may be said, the only noticeable +effort in behalf of the anti-slavery cause, that is recorded of him +prior to 1854. The Fugitive Slave Law, enacted by the Thirty-first +Congress, provided for the use of all the forces of the Department of +Justice, to effect the arrest of fugitives from slavery, and the +restoration of them to their masters. Brown conceived the idea of +uniting the free negroes and fugitive slaves in an organization to +resist the enforcement of the provisions of this law. The society was to +be called "The United States League of Gileadites." The plan failed; the +enrollment so far as known was confined to the Springfield, +Massachusetts, branch, which numbered fifty-three members.[53] But the +activities therein undertaken were strictly defensive in their +character; they were not directed against slavery, but for the personal +protection of fugitive slaves and free negroes living in the Northern +States. His letter of advice to the Gileadites is, in part, as +follows:[54] + + WORDS OF ADVICE + + "Union is Strength" + + Nothing so charms the American people as personal bravery. + Witness the case of Cinques, of everlasting memory, on + board the "Amistad." The trial for life of one bold and to + some extent successful man, for defending his rights in + good earnest, would arouse more sympathy throughout the + nation than the accumulated wrongs and sufferings of more + than three millions of our submissive colored population. + We need not mention the Greeks struggling against the + oppressive Turks, the Poles against Russia, nor the + Hungarians against Austria and Russia combined, to prove + this. _No jury can be found in the Northern States that + would convict a man for defending his rights to the last + extremity. This is well understood by Southern Congressmen, + who insisted that the right of trial by jury should not be + granted to the fugitive._ Colored people have ten times the + number of fast friends among the whites than they suppose, + and would have ten times the number they now have were they + but half as much in earnest to secure their dearest rights + as they are to ape the follies and extravagances of their + luxury. Just think of the money expended by individuals in + your behalf in the past twenty years! Think of the number + who have been mobbed and imprisoned on your account! Have + any of you seen the Branded Hand? Do you remember the names + of Lovejoy and Torrey? + + Should one of your number be arrested, you must collect + together as quickly as possible, so as to outnumber your + adversaries who are taking an active part against you. Let + no able-bodied man appear on the ground unequipped, or with + his weapons exposed to view; let that be understood + beforehand. Your plans must be known only to yourself, and + with the understanding that all traitors must die, wherever + caught and proven to be guilty. "Whosoever is fearful or + afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead" + (Judges, vii. 3; Deut. xx. 8). Give all cowards an + opportunity to show it on condition of holding their peace. + _Do not delay one moment after you are ready; you will lose + all your resolution if you do. Let the first blow be the + signal for all to engage; and when engaged do not do your + work by halves, but make clean work with your enemies, and + be sure you meddle not with any others._ By going about + your business quietly, you will get the job disposed of + before the number that an uproar would bring together can + collect; and you will have the advantage of those who come + out against you, for they will be wholly unprepared with + either equipments or matured plans; all with them will be + confusion and terror. Your enemies will be slow to attack + you after you have done up the work nicely; and if they + should, they will have to encounter your white friends as + well as you; for you may safely calculate on a division of + the whites, and may by that means get to an honorable + parley. + + Be firm, determined, and cool; but let it be understood + that you are not to be driven to desperation without making + it an awful dear job to others as well as to you.... + + A lasso might possibly be applied to a slave-catcher for + once with good effect. Hold on to your weapons, and never + be persuaded to leave them, part with them, or have them + far away from you. _Stand by one another and by your + friends, while a drop of blood remains; and be hanged, if + you must, but tell no tales out of school. Make no + confession._ + +In a letter to his wife, January 17, 1851, relating to the same subject, +he said:[55] + + DEAR WIFE ... Since the sending off to slavery of Long from + New York, I have improved my leisure hours quite busily + with colored people here, in advising them how to act, and + in giving them all the encouragement in my power. They very + much need encouragement and advice; and some of them are so + alarmed that they tell me they cannot sleep on account of + either themselves or their wives and children. I can only + say I think I have been enabled to do something to revive + their broken spirits. I want all my family to imagine + themselves in the same dreadful condition. My only spare + time being taken up (often until late hours at night) in + the way I speak of, have prevented me from the gloomy + homesick feelings which had before so much oppressed me: + not that I forget my family at all. + +The assumption that Brown, "The peaceful tanner and shepherd," had at +this time been transformed "into a man burning to use arms upon an +institution which refused to yield to peaceful agitation,"[56] is not +justified by anything that he had theretofore said or done relating to +slavery; neither is it justified by what he wrote to the "Gileadites," +nor by the letter which he wrote to his wife concerning the condition of +the free negroes. These papers contain no hint, to say nothing of +evidence, that the action taken therein by him was the result of any +preconceived intention to attack slavery; or that it was related to any +general plan or purpose to oppose slavery; or that it foreshadowed any +disposition on his part, burning or otherwise, to engage in the matter +any further than by counsel and advice. The letter to his wife reflects +the general sense of compassion that was felt for the negroes, by all +humane people throughout the North, because of the distressful condition +in which they were placed by the terms of the Fugitive Slave Law. + +The foregoing is a recital of all that is contained in the record of +Brown's life concerning his anti-slavery activities up to the year 1852. +In the working of that great engine for emancipation, the Underground +Railway, he took no part. Of the more than seventy-five thousand slaves +who were carried from bondage to freedom by the self-sacrificing +agencies of the system, Brown, it is said, gave shelter and a meal to +but one of them. The late Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, militant +clergyman and abolitionist, in a eulogy upon Brown, said:[57] + + ... It had been my privilege to live in the best society + all my life--namely that of abolitionists and fugitive + slaves. I had seen the most eminent persons of the age: + several on whose heads tens of thousands of dollars had + been set; a black woman, who, after escaping from slavery + herself, had gone back secretly eight times into the jaws + of death to bring out persons whom she had never seen; and + a white man, who after assisting away fugitives by the + thousand, had twice been stripped of every dollar of his + property in fines, and when taunted by the Court, had + mildly said, "Friend if thee knows any poor fugitive in + need of a breakfast, send him to Thomas Garrett's door." I + had known these, and such as these; but I had not known the + Browns.... + +This well informed man; this practical and intellectual leader of the +anti-slavery movement had been Brown's neighbor for years. Why was it +that he had never heard of him? There is but one answer: Brown had not +been a worker in Mr. Higginson's vineyard. He had not done anything to +attract the attention of any one seriously interested in the +anti-slavery cause. He was neither an ardent nor a conspicuous laborer +in behalf of the slave. + +However, what has been stated herein is the credit side of Brown's +account with slavery; there is also a debit side in this history which +exhibits strong presumptive evidence that his "horror" of slavery was +neither so "passionate" nor so violent but that it could be controlled +and modified to accommodate itself to the advantages of the system. When +John Brown, the man of affairs, decided to become a resident of the +State of Virginia, and engage in business there upon a one thousand acre +estate, he knew that he would have to employ some slave labor. He knew +also that the "good will" and the patronage of the people living in the +section of the country in which he intended to locate, were necessary +for the success of his undertaking; these he knew he could not secure +unless he conformed to the commercial and social customs prevailing in +Virginia, and to the sentiment of Virginians in relation to slavery. +These conditions this aggressive speculator and sportsman, did consider +and did accept. The letter which he wrote to his wife from Ripley, +Virginia, suggests, as a matter of fact, that he had declared a truce in +his opposition to slavery, whatever the degree of such opposition may +have been; and that he had changed his attitude toward the system to +meet the requirements of his prospective environment. The letter, +abridged by Mr. Sanborn, is as follows:[58] + + Ripley, Va., April 27, 1840. + + ... I like the country as well as I expected and its + inhabitants rather better; and I have seen the spot where, + if it be the will of Providence, I hope one day to live + with my family.... Were the inhabitants as resolute and + industrious as the Northern people, and did they understand + how to manage as well, they would become rich; but they are + not generally so. They seem to have no idea of improvement + in their cattle, sheep, or hogs, nor to know the use of + enclosed pasture-field for their stock, but spend a large + portion of their time in hunting for their cattle, sheep, + and horses; and the same habit continues from father to + son.... By comparing them with people of other parts of the + country, I can see new and abundant proof that knowledge is + power. I think we may be very useful to them on many + accounts, were we disposed. May God in mercy keep us all, + and enable us to get wisdom; and with all our getting and + losing, to get understanding. + +It would be very much more satisfactory if Mr. Sanborn had published the +full text of that part of this letter which treats of the habits of the +people, and of the labor conditions existing there. The question of +labor was of paramount importance in Brown's Virginia venture. He was an +optimist, and in his optimistic forecast saw that the care and +cultivation of a thousand acres, and the operation and development of a +tanning business would, in time, require a large establishment, +necessitating, probably, the labor of a number of slaves. This question +then arises: Did John Brown intend or expect to own, ultimately, the +necessary slaves to operate this property, or did he intend to hire them +from others. His letters consistently abound in minute detail. It is +therefore improbable, in the opinion of the writer, that he discussed +the manners and customs of the white people of that section with his +wife, and wrote of minor conditions existing there, without making some +reference to the black people of the country; and to the more important +questions of slavery and labor--matters in which he would have a deep +personal and pecuniary interest. Mr. Villard did not fail to comment, +with surprise, upon the omission of the subject from Brown's letter. He +said:[59] + + But his letter to his family from Ripley, Virginia, April + 27, 1840, already cited, is peaceable enough and his hope + of settling his family there is hardly consistent with his + anti-slavery policy of later years. Indeed, while recording + his pleasure that the residents of the vicinity were more + attractive people than he thought, he had nothing to say + about the institution of slavery which he then, for the + first time, really beheld at close range. + +No one inspired with an enthusiasm upon the subject of slavery, such as +has been attributed to Brown, could have failed, under these +circumstances, to dwell upon the theme. A dilemma is, therefore, herein +presented to his biographers and eulogists which they cannot disregard: +either he discussed the questions of labor, and what their relations to +slavery would be in their prospective estate, in this letter to his +wife; or else, he considered slavery of so little importance in the +premises, and was so indifferent at heart upon the subject, that his +first sight of real slaves, in actual slavery, failed to elicit from him +any expression whatever in regard to it. It is the opinion of the writer +that John Brown, the man of iron will, the reckless speculator, optimist +and sportsman, was well pleased with the prospect of owning a plantation +of a thousand broad acres in Virginia; and with having it well stocked +with fine horses, fine cattle, fine sheep, and _fine slaves_. + +This opinion of the man is consistent with his reckless speculative +career, and with his indifference as to the means for the accomplishment +of his ends. And after all, it is by a man's actions, and not by any +explanation of his motives, furnished by himself or by others, that we +must, in the final analysis, estimate his character. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +KANSAS--A CRISIS IN OUR NATIONAL HISTORY + + _There are no greater heroes in the history of our country + than Eli Thayer of Massachusetts, and Charles Robinson of + Kansas._--WILLIAM H. TAFT + + +In its relation to Government, our country has completed two periods of +its existence. The Colonial period ended at Yorktown. The period of +State Sovereignty had its ending at Appomattox. Kansas was the herald of +Appomattox; the climax in the series of political incidents which led to +secession and the war between the States. + +By the Ordinance of 1787, the last Continental Congress excluded slavery +from all that part of the public domain lying north of the Ohio River. +In 1803 our territorial limits were expanded by the purchase of +Louisiana, and a serious clash between the Free and the Slave sections +of the country came upon the division, in relation to slavery, of this +newly acquired domain. It was precipitated upon Congress by the +application of Missouri, in 1818, to be admitted into the Union. Its +constitution provided for slavery. The northern part of the new state +extended from the Mississippi to the Missouri; the north boundary being +40° 30' north latitude; and this line, taken in connection with the +Platte River from the Missouri to the Rocky Mountains, suggested what +the South intended should be the dividing line between the sections in +the new territory. After two years of acrimonious debate a compromise +measure was adopted admitting Missouri, as prayed for, but excluding +slavery forever from all the remaining territory, acquired from France, +lying north of 36° 30' north latitude. + +The debate upon the measure developed the existence, in the North, of a +growing hostile sentiment toward slavery, which confirmed in the minds +of Southern statesmen the necessity of keeping the number of Slave +States equal, at least, with the number of Free States; for only by thus +maintaining a balance of power in the Senate, could legislation adverse +to slavery be prevented. Also, the limitations of the compromise +agreement emphasized a further necessity; the acquisition of additional +territory south of 36° 30' from which Slave States could be created in +the future, to balance the admission into the Union of prospective Free +States. This resulted in a propaganda for territorial expansion +southward. In pursuance of such policy, the revolt against Mexico, by +Texas, was probably encouraged.[60] In discussing the recognition of the +Republic of Texas, in January, 1836, Mr. Calhoun said, "It prepared the +way for the speedy admission of Texas into the Union, which would be a +necessity to the proper balance of power in the Union between the +slave-holding and non-slave-holding Commonwealths, upon which the +preservation of the Union and the perpetuation of its institutions +rested.[61] + +The State of Vermont "apprehended that the political strength which the +annexation of Texas would give to the slave-holding interests, would +soon lead to a dissolution of the Union, or to the political degradation +of the Free States"; and, in pursuance of that apprehension the +"Legislature of Vermont adopted a set of resolutions protesting against +the annexation of Texas or the admission of any Slave State into the +Union," which was presented in Congress.[62] Having respect for Northern +sentiment, Congress kept Florida waiting six years: until Iowa was ready +to come into the Union.[63] The South consented readily to the +settlement of the "Oregon Boundary Question" at 49° north latitude +instead of 54° 40'. In fact, at the time the Democratic National +Convention of 1844 declared our title to the whole of Oregon as far as +54° 40' to be "clear and unquestionable," Mr. Calhoun, secretary of +state, had proposed to Her Majesty's representative to settle the +controversy by adopting the 49th parallel as the boundary.[64] Texas was +admitted into the Union; the articles of annexation providing that it +might be subdivided into five states, at any time it chose to make such +division. Also, after a war of conquest with Mexico, Upper California +and New Mexico were added to the public domain. + +The mutual congratulations indulged in by the Southern managers over the +accomplishment of the pro-slavery program for territorial expansion, +were interrupted by intelligence of the most startling character. Before +the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had been signed, gold was discovered in +the Sierras, and the occupation of California by emigrants, principally +from the Northern States, was an immediate result. Thus, the conquest of +Mexico--the prize trophy in the triumphal procession of pro-slavery +events--carried with it, by the irony of fate, the Nemesis of her +despoiled people. Within two years a Free State had been carved out of +the Territory which the South had won for slavery. + +The contests which were had over the admission of Missouri into the +Union, and the annexation of Texas, were trivial in comparison with the +storm that burst upon the Thirty-first Congress over the admission of +California. The already strained relations between the North and the +South reached the limits of tension; and but for the tabling of the +"Wilmot Proviso," and the adoption of the "Compromise" measures, the +cords that bound the Union would have snapped then and there. "The first +weeks of the session were more than enough to show in its full breadth +and depth, even to the duller eyes, the abyss that yawned between the +North and the South."[65] "All the Union men, North and South, Whigs and +Democrats, for the period of six months were assembled in caucuses every +day, with Clay in the chair, Cass upon his right hand, Webster upon his +left hand, and the Whigs and Democrats on either side."[66] It was +during this debate that Mr. Seward announced the doctrine of the +"_higher law_": + + The Constitution regulates our stewardship; the + Constitution devotes the domain (the territories not formed + into states) to union, to justice, to defence, to welfare, + and to liberty. But there is a _higher law than the + Constitution_, which regulates our authority over the + domain and devotes it to the same noble purposes. + +Webster thus began his great speech: + + I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a + Northern man, but as an American.... The imprisoned winds + are let loose. The East, the North, and the stormy South + combine to throw the whole sea into commotion, to toss its + billows to the skies, and disclose its profoundest + depths.... I speak today for the preservation of the Union. + Hear me for my Cause.[67] + +Said Toombs of Georgia: + + I do not then hesitate to avow before this House and the + Country, and in the presence of the living God, that if by + your legislation you seek to drive us from the territories + of California and New Mexico, purchased by the common blood + and treasure of the whole people, and to abolish slavery in + this district, thereby attempting to fix a National + degradation upon half of the states of this confederacy _I + am for disunion_, and if my physical courage be equal to + the maintenance of my convictions of duty, I will devote + all I am, and all I have on earth to its consummation.[68] + +This speech was repeatedly interrupted by storms of applause. And +Stephens, too, was greeted with loud acclamations when he announced his +concurrence in every word of his colleague, and declared the Union +dissolved from the moment an attack upon a section became an +accomplished fact. + +Colcock of South Carolina then announced that he would bring in a formal +motion for the dissolution of the Union, as soon as the abolition of +slavery in the District of Columbia should have been resolved upon, or +the Wilmot Proviso passed.[69] The compromise agreement was effected by +the fine patriotism, the sagacity, and the personal sacrifice of two +great figures of that generation: Clay and Webster. In promoting this +measure, they exhausted their political resources, and forfeited their +political fortunes. Neither of them could have been reëlected to the +senate. + +Nothing was settled by the compromise of 1850; both sides accepting it +in a tentative way. "The present Crisis may pass," wrote Mr. Stephens in +1850,[70] "the present adjustment may be made, but the great question of +permanence of slavery in the Southern states will be far from being +settled thereby. And, in my opinion, the crisis of that question is not +far ahead." + +This review, altogether too brief, is made herein to show the extreme +tension of the sectional feeling which existed in the country on account +of the extension of slavery; and the national significance of the +struggle that was soon to develop over the question in Kansas. It also +foreshadows the action the Southern States would surely take, if the +Kansas decision declared against them. + +By the admission of California into the Union as a Free State, the South +lost the "balance of power"; but the general situation at the time was +far from being hopeless. Further territorial expansion was +necessary--imperatively so--but the prospect was still full of promising +possibilities. There was Cuba, that Buchanan had offered a hundred +millions for in 1848; out of which two, or, if necessary, three States +could be made. And, looming up in the more remote horizon, were +Nicaragua and the remainder of Mexico. And, last but not least, +"Squatter Sovereignty," or, in more modern parlance: "Let the People +Rule." + +The "Pearl of the Antilles" was the prize trophy in the new crusade for +territorial acquisition, and "Free Cuba" the slogan. The efforts to get +control of the island, for purposes of annexation, were persistent, and +the history of them is intensely interesting. First came filibustering +operations. Three expeditions were sent out in 1849-1851. The command of +the last of these was offered--first to Jefferson Davis, and then to +Robert E. Lee.[71] It sailed August 3, 1851, under Lopez. In the first +scrimmage with the Spaniards, Colonel Crittenden (son of Senator +Crittenden of Kentucky) and fifty of his men were captured, taken to +Havana, and shot, August 24th. The remainder of the Army of Invasion was +defeated; Lopez was taken and garroted; and his followers who had been +taken prisoners, were sent to Spain. + +General Quitman's expedition, organized in 1853-1854, would have been +more formidable than any theretofore undertaken. He had commanded a +brigade in General Scott's army, in Mexico, and had been Governor of +Mississippi. His demonstrations, however, may have been merely in +support of Mr. Marcy's efforts, at the time, to open negotiations with +Spain for purchasing the island. Meanwhile the Black Warrior incident +offered the most promising opportunity of all. The provocation in that +case could have been held to be sufficient to justify a declaration of +war; and that surely would have been the result, had it not been for +the tornado of anti-slavery sentiment which was let loose at the time by +the promulgation, in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, then pending in Congress, +of the new doctrine of "Squatter Sovereignty"; and by Mr. Dixon's +amendment thereto, expressly repealing the restriction of the time +honored Missouri Compromise. "It may be affirmed with confidence," says +Mr. Rhodes,[72] "that Northern public opinion, excited by the +Kansas-Nebraska act, alone prevented this unjust war." The New York +_Courier and Inquirer_ said June 1st: + + Does any sane man live who believes that if Cuba was + tendered to us tomorrow, with the full sanction of England + and France, that this people would consent to receive and + annex her?... There was a time when the North would have + consented to annex Cuba, but the Nebraska wrong has forever + rendered annexation impossible. + +A revolution in Spain gave an opportunity for negotiations to purchase +the island; but the suggestion that a few millions of money should be +placed at the disposal of the Executive, during the recess of Congress, +to be used in the Spanish-Cuban business, met no response;[73] while the +"Ostend Manifesto" received no consideration whatever. The trouble was +that the South had been moving with too much energy and too arrogantly. +Her statesmen had undertaken to do everything at once. Had they been +less aggressive, or more conciliatory and diplomatic, and concentrated +their efforts on the acquisition of Cuba, they surely could have +succeeded;[74] and would then have been in position to await the +psychological moment to move the Kansas question. The Missouri +Compromise was a "solemn covenant entered into by two opposing parties +for the preservation of amicable relations." It was not sustained by any +constitutional authority. Kansas Territory, therefore, might have been +peacefully occupied by emigrants from Missouri and the Southern States, +as Missouri had been, leaving, with confidence, the constitutionality of +the restrictions against slavery, for future settlement by the courts. + +The creation of the State of Kansas was a political proposition pure and +simple. The amendment to the Nebraska bill creating Kansas Territory +provided for a "complete Territorial government; including a legislature +with two houses and thirty-nine members; although, at the time, there +was not one white man in the Territory, except those intermarried with +Indians and the few who were there under authority of Federal law.... +The project fell upon Congress as suddenly and apparently as uncaused as +a meteor from the political sky."[75] + +The settlement of the Territory was promoted by the leaders of the +pro-slavery and anti-slavery sections of the country. The South was +spurred to activity by the extremity of its political and commercial +necessities; while the North was impelled by a great moral sentiment, +that had developed with time and changes which had occurred in public +thought and in economic conditions. But the fact should not be lost +sight of, that the ethical emotions which nourished this sentiment had +their origin, or beginnings, in the unprofitable and unsatisfactory +character of slave labor in that section. The Southern statesmen staked +the entire stock of their political assets on the result in Kansas. The +North already had a majority of one State, with the Territories, +Minnesota and Oregon, waiting at the threshold of the Union for +admission into the family of States. If the South lost Kansas, its +political power and prestige would be destroyed; slavery would +thereafter be dependent, in the Union, upon the mercy or charity of the +aggressively hostile anti-slavery sentiment which it had too arrogantly +aroused. + +The plans of the Southerners for the creation of the new State, were +well matured, and seemed in every way feasible. The geographical +situation was ideal. The close proximity of the friendly State of +Missouri, with a large percentage of its population on its western +border, backed by the mutuality of every Southern State, seemed to be +sufficient guaranty that the necessary voting population could, and +would, be promptly furnished. They had good cause to believe that they +could get their people into the Territory in sufficient numbers to +control the necessary elections. + +In the Senate Mr. Seward said, May 25, 1854: + + The sun has set for the last time upon the guaranteed and + certain liberties of all the unsettled portions of the + American continent that lie within the jurisdiction of the + United States. Tomorrow's sun will rise in deep eclipse + over these. How long that obscuration shall last, is known + only to the power that directs all human events. For myself + I know this: that no human power can prevent its coming on, + and that its passage off will be hastened and secured by + others than those now belonging to this generation.[76] + +Authorities by the score might be cited to show the gloom and +despondency of the North at this time. The people had reason to believe +that Kansas and Nebraska would become Slave States, and that the +preponderance of Southern influence in governmental affairs would be +perpetuated indefinitely. + +May 30, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was signed and the doctrine of +Squatter Sovereignty thereby crystallized into law. Immediately the +historic contest for the occupation and political control of Kansas +Territory was on: a contest that marks an epoch in the history of our +country. The great events of the succeeding decade: the acts of +secession, the war between the States, with its tragedies; and the +Emancipation Proclamation, were all involved in the result. + +It cannot be said that the contest was of local concern, carried on +between factions in Kansas over the question whether the State should be +a Free State or a Slave State; for at that time there were no settlers +in the Territory to comprise such factions. The interest in the +impending struggle was nation wide. Congress had merely cleared the +ground for action; "pitched the ring," for what was to be the first +political battle in the "fight to a finish" between the slave-holding +and the non-slave-holding sections of our country: the beginning of the +final struggle between freedom and slavery. + +The question of slavery in the Territory was to be decided by the votes +of the people who would emigrate to and occupy it. The South had chosen +to place its reliance upon votes in a contest where oratory, tact, and +statesmanship had theretofore failed. Its slogan was "Squatter +Sovereignty." The answer given back by the North was "Organized +Emigration:" "a power unknown before in the world's history." + +The rapid settlement of California had shown that any country will draw +emigration thereto, if it offers an attractive lure. Mr. Eli Thayer, of +Massachusetts, had made a note of that fact and believed that what the +discovery of gold had done to promote emigration to that state, the +advantages of soil and climate for successful home building, would do +for Kansas, if properly advertised. The formation of the Massachusetts +Emigrant Aid Company, with an authorized capital of $5,000,000, was a +result of his conclusions upon the subject. It proved to be "a stronger +defiance to slavocracy than anything ever uttered in the hall of +Congress." This commercial novelty put its capital in the advance +instead of in the rear of the column of occupation. It assisted +emigrants to reach their destination, and helped them to develop their +farms. For this purpose it installed saw mills and flour mills, where +needed; furnished machinery and implements; built churches, school +houses, and hotels. Also, it proposed to earn dividends for its +stockholders by these and other investments. As Mr. Thayer expressed +it: "When a man can do a magnanimous act; when he can do a decidedly +good thing, and at the same time make money by it, all his faculties are +in harmony." + +An incident of the period of the occupation of Kansas is thus related by +Mr. Thayer on page 187 of the _Crusade_: "One day, in 1855, Senator +Atchison, with some others, was at the wharf in Kansas City, when a +river boat approached with one of our engines on deck. Atchison turned +to those on the right and asked: 'What is that on the deck of the +steamboat?' His companion answered: 'Senator, that is a steam engine and +a steam boiler.' Turning to the others he repeated his question. They +repeated the answer before given. He replied: 'You are a pack of ---- +fools. That is a Yankee city going to Kansas; and by ----! in six months +it will cast a hundred Abolition votes.'" + +The affairs of the company in Kansas were placed under the direction of +Dr. Charles Robinson, also of Massachusetts. He came to the Territory +early in July, 1854; located the town of Lawrence, and established there +the headquarters of the bureau of northern immigration. + +Naturally the first immigrants to arrive came from Missouri. In +sentiment they were quite unanimously pro-slavery; but that was not +discouraging, for the publicity bureau, organized by Mr. Thayer and ably +backed by Mr. Greeley through the columns of the New York _Tribune_, had +proclaimed the advantages and possibilities of the new Territory far and +wide; and the public interest thus awakened gave ample promise of +satisfactory results in the near future. July 31st, the first +consignment of emigrants from the North, twenty-nine in number, arrived +at Lawrence; and September 2d the second installment of one hundred and +fourteen arrived and joined the initial company. Within a few months +"Organized Emigration" was in successful operation; and by the close of +the year 1856, it had fulfilled the Kansas prophecy. As Mr. Thayer +states it:[77] + + We had triumphed in the great conflict. We had in Kansas + four Free-State men to every one of our opponents; our + numbers were rapidly increasing while theirs were + diminishing. Buford had returned to Alabama. Atchinson and + Stringfellow had given up the fight. + +Concerning the Kansas conflict Dr. Burgess says: + + The record of this struggle is certainly one of the most + remarkable chapters in the history of the United States. + There is much to admire in it, much to be ashamed of, and + much to be repudiated as foul and devilish. The prudence, + moderation, tact, and bravery of Dr. Robinson and his + friends have rarely been excelled by the statesmen and + diplomatists of the New World or of the Old. They were + placed in a most trying situation both by their foes and by + those who, professing to be their friends, endangered the + cause more by violent and brutal deeds than did their open + enemies. Their triumph over all these difficulties is a + marvel of shrewd, honest, and conservative management, + which may well serve as one of the best object-lessons of + our history for succeeding generations.[78] + +It is not within the purview of this sketch to recite in detail the +various incidents, accidents, and extremities which befell the Northern +emigrants in working out the problems of state building. They began to +acquire experience promptly with the arrival of the first colony; and +the authorities all agree, that, during the ensuing three years an area +of low political barometer was general throughout the Territory, with a +continuous storm center, of great energy, at Lawrence. "By the sharp +logic of the revolver and bowie knife, the people of Missouri became the +people of Kansas." Residents of Missouri furnished liberal pro-slavery +majorities at the elections, and their personal services were available +at all times, for the preservation of peace and order in the Territory; +as well as to enforce, by force, a proper respect for the dignity of +the Territorial officers, and for the authority of the Legislature +itself. + +A revolt against these superimposed attentions, organized and led by +Charles Robinson, became the thorn that rankled in the pro-slavery +flesh, and led to the discomfiture and defeat of the Slave-State +propaganda. Robinson had the temerity to challenge the subtile logic of +the revolver and bowie-knife in determining the qualifications of +Territorial electors. His dissent, at first, took the mild form of a +petition to Governor Reeder, after the election of November 29, 1854. +asking that "the entire vote of the districts receiving the votes of +citizens of Missouri, be set aside; or that the entire election be set +aside." After a brutal usurpation of the polls, at the election for +members of the Territorial Legislature, March 30, 1855, a Legislature +which, under the organic act could determine whether the State should be +Free or Slave, Robinson again protested and sought redress of the +spoilation of the squatters' rights: and, failing to obtain justice, +united the Free-State men in a revolt against the authority of the +Territorial Legislature, and in a determination to repudiate the laws it +intended lawlessly to enact. Also, what had still greater significance, +he organized his followers into military companies to resist, by force +of arms, any further infringement upon their rights. Answering his call +to duty, the Free-State men of Lawrence and vicinity led the nation in +this crisis in public affairs, making its history, and directing its +destiny. It was the hour of Destiny. Sending for a second consignment of +Sharp's rifles, Robinson wrote these impressive and heroic words: + + We are in the midst of a revolution, as you will see by the + papers. How we shall come out of the furnace, God only + knows. That we have got to enter it, some of us, there is + no doubt; but we are ready to be offered. + + In haste very respectfully, Yours, for freedom for a world, + + C. ROBINSON. + +The organization of a military force by the Free-State men, gave to the +Free-State party a solidarity and prestige it had not theretofore +enjoyed. It at once became a popular party; and encouraged by daily +accessions to its ranks by immigration, combined with a prospective +certainty of becoming the majority party, it became bravely aggressive, +and boldly launched its campaign for Free-State supremacy. In +furtherance of their plan of campaign, the Free-State men adopted a +constitution for a Free State, and organized and put into effect a full +fledged State Government in opposition to the existing Territorial +Government; and under it, with Charles Robinson as Governor, sought +admission into the Union. Only a wise and courageous leadership combined +with a high order of executive ability, could successfully handle the +delicate problems involved in this complicated program. The leadership +required the necessary tact to unite and reconcile divergent convictions +and opinions, within the party, upon questions of principle as well as +of policy; it also required prudence to restrain the impetuous, and to +avoid complications which, at any time, might make shipwreck of the +cause. + +The results accomplished by the Free-State settlers during the first two +years of their occupation of the Territory, amply justified the generous +congratulations in which they indulged. They had, wisely, withdrawn from +under the fire of an arrogant, domineering majority, and, in their +segregation, were surely creating a State to their own liking, in their +own way. They matched their wits against the management of their +political opponents, and were more than satisfied with the dilemma in +which the situation placed them. It became plainly evident that unless +the Free-State organizations, civil and military, were utterly destroyed +and further immigration from the North retarded, the Free-State cause +would certainly succeed. The situation, therefore, demanded the adoption +of more strenuous methods in dealing with it than could be approved by +the National Administration. + +What they had failed to accomplish by "peaceful" methods, the +pro-slavery junta now sought to gain by the execution of more radical +measures. They accordingly organized an "Army of Invasion," and the +Wakarusa War of 1855 became an historical incident. They indicted the +Free-State Governor, Robinson, and the more prominent Free-State men, +for "constructive" treason; arrested them, and put them in prison. In +May, 1856, under cover of judicial authority, the town of Lawrence was +looted and burned. The Free-State Legislature that had been elected, +assembled at Topeka, only to be dispersed, July 4th, by the armed forces +of the United States. A blockade of the Missouri River was declared +against Free-State immigrants, and made effective. They also attempted, +without success, to cut off communications between Kansas and the +Northern States, which the Free-State men had opened up, via Iowa and +Nebraska. They murdered Dow, and Barber, and Brown, and Stewart, and +Jones, and Hoyt. + +A third, and the final invasion, closed this chapter of heroic +undertakings and lamentable failures. September 14, 1856, their army, +2800 strong, occupied Franklin. During the night, Lieutenant Colonel +Joseph E. Johnston, U. S. Army, with a battalion of cavalry and a +section of artillery, arrived at Lawrence. Placing his battery in +position on Mount Oread, the muzzles of his guns pointing toward +Franklin, and deploying his cavalry in the valley in front of the town, +he awaited the crisis developing in the pro-slavery situation. On the +morning of the 15th, the newly appointed Territorial Governor, John W. +Geary, accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Philip St. George Cooke, U. S. +Army, arrived upon the scene from Lecompton. After a short conversation +with Governor Robinson, they rode out to interview the invaders. It was +the hour of fate. A brief conference with General Atchison was held in +front of Atchison's lines; and then, it was all over; the Federal +Government had intervened. The campaign of violence had failed, and with +it expired the last substantial hope of the pro-slavery managers that +the balance of power between the warring sections of the country could +be restored. Upon receiving Governor Geary's ultimatum: that he must +retire with his forces from the Territory, immediately, Atchison turned +the head of his column toward Missouri. Arriving at Westport, he +disbanded his army and gave up the struggle. Buford returned to Alabama +and Jackson to Georgia. That Kansas would be a _Free State_ was +practically assured from that hour. + +Involved in the corollary of the Free-State victory were the startling +incidents in history that followed in quick succession, culminating in +the stupendous tragedies of war. Mr. F. B. Sanborn said:[79] + + Had Kansas in the death struggle of 1856 fallen a prey to + the slave holders, slave-holding would today be the law of + our imperial democracy. The sanctions of the Union and the + Constitution would now be on the side of human slavery, as + they were from 1840 to 1860. + + The question of slavery domination must and will be fought + out on the plains of Kansas.[80] + + Kansas must be a Slave State or the Union will be + dissolved.... If Kansas is not made a Slave State, it + requires no sage to foretell that there will never be + another Slave State.[81] + + Slavery in South Carolina is dependent upon its + establishment in Kansas.[82] + + The Touch-stone of our political existence is Kansas.[83] + + Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama stand pledged to secede + from the Union, should Kansas applying for admission as a + slave state be refused admission.[84] + + The question is one of life or death to the South upon the + simple alternative of the admission or rejection of Kansas + with her slave constitution.[85] + + That American is little to be envied who can speak lightly + of the decisive contest in Kansas between the two + antagonistic civilizations of this continent. Either he + does not love his country, or he is incapable of + understanding her history.[86] + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +HIS PUBLIC SERVICES + +_Peace rules the day, where reason rules the mind._ + + --COLLINS + + +It was in the fall of 1855 that John Brown came to Kansas to try another +venture with fortune, in a new field of opportunity. + +During the spring of 1854 his son John was seeking a new location, and +had written to his father in relation thereto; who replied to him in a +letter dated April 3, 1854, "I do not know of a good opening for you +this way."[87] But during the fall of that year five of Brown's +sons--John, Jason, Owen, Frederick, and Salmon--decided to settle in +Kansas. Having completed their arrangements they moved to the Territory +in the spring of 1855, arriving, about May 1st, in the vicinity of +Osawatomie. They were attracted to the Territory, as thousands of others +were, by the glowing accounts published by emigration societies north +and south. These prospectuses described the beauty of the prairies, the +fertility of the soil, the delightful and health-giving climate; and set +forth the prospective rewards in wealth, health, and happiness which +were awaiting all who took advantage of the great opportunities the +country offered. That they were not disappointed upon their arrival, +appears from their letters expressing eminent satisfaction with +everything pertaining to the settlement, and their desire to have their +father locate in Kansas with them. + +May 24th John Brown, Jr., wrote to his father: "Salmon, Frederick, and +Owen say that they never was in a country that begun to please them as +well, and I will say that the present prospect for health, wealth, and +usefulness much exceeds even my most sanguine anticipations. I know of +no country where a poor man, endowed with a share of common sense and +with health, can get a start as easy. If we can succeed in making this a +free state, a great work will be accomplished for mankind."[88] + +Long before the coming of the Browns, the Free State leaders in the +Territory had determined to repudiate the laws enacted by the +Territorial Legislature; also, to defend themselves by force of arms +against the aggressions of their over-zealous pro-slavery neighbors in +Missouri. They had during April, 1855, secured from Boston a hundred +Sharp's rifles to arm the companies organized at Lawrence, and were +negotiating for further consignments of arms. After their arrival in the +Territory, the Browns realized the importance of this movement, and +since they had not brought any serviceable arms with them--having come +with axes instead of rifles--they wrote to their father to try to get +some for them, and bring them with him when he came. The letter which +John Brown, Jr., wrote to his father on the subject is as follows:[89] + + And now I come to the matter, that more than all else I + intended should be the principal subject of this letter. I + tell you the truth when I say, that while the interests of + despotism has secured to its cause hundreds and thousands + of the meanest and most desperate of men, armed to the + teeth with Revolvers, Bowie Knives, Rifles and + Cannon--while they are not only thoroughly organized, but + under pay from Slaveholders--the friends of freedom are NOT + ONE FOURTH of them HALF ARMED, and as to MILITARY + ORGANIZATION among them it NO WHERE EXISTS IN THIS + TERRITORY unless they have recently done something in + Lawrence. The result of this is that the people here + exhibit the most abject and cowardly spirit, whenever their + dearest rights are invaded and trampled down by the lawless + bands of Miscreants which Missouri has ready at a moment's + call to pour in upon them. This is the GENERAL effect upon + the people here so far as I have noticed, there are a few, + and but a few exceptions. Of course these foreign + Scoundrels know what kind of "ALLIES" they have to meet. + They boast that they can obtain possession of the polls in + any of our election precincts without having to fire a gun. + I enclose a piece which I cut from a St. Louis paper named + the St. Louis _Republican_; it shows the spirit which moves + them. Now Missouri is not alone in the undertaking to make + this a Slave State. Every Slaveholding State from Virginia + to Texas is furnishing men and money to fasten Slavery upon + this glorious land, by means no matter how foul. + + Now the remedy we propose is, that the Anti slavery portion + of the inhabitants should IMMEDIATELY, THOROUGHLY ARM and + ORGANIZE THEMSELVES in MILITARY COMPANIES. In order to + effect this, some persons must begin and lead in the + matter. Here are 5 men of us who are not only anxious to + fully prepare, but are thoroughly determined to fight. We + can see no other way to meet the case. As in the language + of the memorial lately signed by the people here and sent + to Congress petitioning help, "it is no longer a question + of negro slavery, but it is the enslavement of ourselves." + + The General Government may be petitioned until the people + here are grey, and no redress will be had so long as it + makes slavery its paramount interest.... We have among us + 5, 1 Revolver, 1 Bowie Knife, 1 middling good Rifle, 1 poor + Rifle, 1 small pocket pistol and 2 slung shot. What we need + in order to be thoroughly armed for each man, is 1 Colts + large sized Revolver, 1 ALLEN & THURBER' RIFLE--they are + manufactured somewhere in Mass or Connecticut (Mr. Paine of + Springfield would probably know) and 1 heavy Bowie Knife--I + think the Minnie Rifles are made so that a sword bayonet + may be attached. With this we could compete with men who + even possessed Cannon. The real Minnie Rifle has a killing + range almost equal to Cannon and of course is more easily + handled, perhaps enough so to make up the difference. Now + we want you to get for us these arms. We need them more + than we do bread. Would not Gerrit Smith or someone, + furnish the money and loan it to us for one, two or three + years, for the purpose until we can raise enough to refund + it from the Free soil of Kansas?... + +In so far as the Brown family is concerned, this letter contains the +first recorded evidence of an intention, or of a desire of any of them +to actively oppose slavery in Kansas or elsewhere. It treats the subject +as an original proposition; as though it had never been theretofore so +much as mentioned in their family councils. The letter has historical +significance: it secured John Brown's introduction to the public. It +opened the way that enabled him to go to Kansas; where he began a career +which led, ultimately, to Harper's Ferry and to Charlestown. + +Following the suggestion of his son he took up with Gerrit Smith the +matter of securing a loan wherewith to purchase the arms desired. The +latter, instead of making an arrangement with them for the necessary +amount, personally presented the case before a convention of +Abolitionists that was held at Syracuse, New York, June 28th, with the +result that a collection was taken up which yielded Brown sixty dollars +in cash, twenty dollars of which was given by Smith. + +The success Brown met with in collecting funds "for the cause of Kansas" +at the Syracuse convention, opened before his commercial vision that +easy field for profitable enterprise, which he afterward occupied and +worked, in a professional manner, until the end of his career. After the +Syracuse meeting he began a system of personal solicitations for money, +arms, and clothing. At Akron, Ohio, he held open meetings in one of the +public halls of the village. Mr. Villard says of these meetings:[90] + + Because of their interest in the Kansas crisis, and in the + Browns, their former neighbors, the people were quickly + roused by Brown's graphic words, and liberally contributed + arms of all sorts, ammunition and clothing. Committees of + Aid were appointed and ex-Sheriff Lane was deputed to + accompany Brown in a canvass of the village shops and + offices for contributions. + +At Cleveland, also, he solicited aid with very satisfactory results. He +obtained there guns, revolvers, swords, powder, caps, and money. He was +so successful "that he thought it best to detain a day or two longer on +that account." Mr. Villard says, "He had raised nearly two hundred +dollars in that way in the two previous days, principally in arms and +ammunition." + +Brown, with his son Oliver and his son-in-law, Henry Thompson, left +Chicago August 23d, on their journey to Kansas. Brown states that before +leaving he purchased "a nice young horse for $120 but have so much load +that we shall have to walk, a good deal." The journey was accomplished +without either accident or incident worthy of the note, the party +arriving at Osawatomie, October 6, 1855. + + Brown himself, being very tired, did not cover the last + mile or two until the next day. They arrived in all but + destitute condition, with but sixty cents between them, to + find the little family settlement in great distress, not + only because of the sickness already noted, but because of + the absence of any shelter save tents.[91] + +At the time Brown arrived, the Free-State cause in the Territory was +well advanced and was progressing satisfactorily. + + Out of all the meetings and conventions of the nine months + after the stolen March 30th election, there had come then, + great gains to the Free State Movement. The liberty party + had been organized, leaders had been developed, and a + regular policy of resistance by legal and constitutional + measures adopted. If counsels of compromise were still + entirely too apparent, and too potent, the train of events + which resulted in Kansas's admission as a free State was + well under way.[92] + +As a result of the measures that had been adopted, an election was +pending for the selection of a Free-State Territorial Delegate to +Congress; and delegates to a Free-State Constitutional Convention. This +election had been called by the Free-State men to be held October 9th. +The regular Territorial election had been held October 1st, the +Free-State men not taking any part therein. Brown and his sons attended +the second, or Free-State election, October 9th. + +An election is a political incident. A reference to an election by any +one invites an expression of his opinions upon the questions involved in +the election, if he have any special interest therein. Since Brown's +presence at this election was his introduction into the political +affairs of the Territory, we may reasonably conclude that his comments +on it cover the range of his general interest in the election and in the +issues involved therein. His letters to his family in the East +announcing his arrival at his destination, and describing the condition +of affairs, domestic as well as political, are herewith republished. + + Osawatomie, K. T. Oct. 13, 1855. + Saturday Eve. + + DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN, EVERY ONE--We reached the place + where the boys are located one week ago, late at night; at + least Henry and Oliver did. I, being tired, stayed behind + in our tent, a mile or two back. As the mail goes from here + early Monday morning, we could get nothing here in time for + that mail. We found all more or less sick or feeble but + Wealthy and Johnny. All at Brownsville appear now to be + mending, but all sick or feeble here at Mr. Adair's. Fever + and ague and chill-fever seem to be very general. Oliver + has had a turn of the ague since he got here, but has got + it broken. Henry has had no return since first breaking it. + We met with no difficulty in passing through Missouri, but + from the sickness of our horse and our heavy load. The + horse has entirely recovered. We had, between us all, sixty + cents in cash when we arrived. We found our folks in a most + uncomfortable situation, with no houses to shelter one of + them, no hay or corn fodder of any account secured, + shivering over their little fires, all exposed to the + dreadful cutting winds, morning and evening and stormy + days. We have been trying to help them all in our power, + and hope to get them more comfortable soon. I think much of + their ill health is owing to most unreasonable exposure. + Mr. Adair's folks would be quite comfortable if they were + well. One letter from wife and Anne to Salmon, of August + 10, and one from Ruth to John, of 19th September, is all I + have seen from any of you since getting here. Henry found + one from Ruth which he has not shown me. Need I write that + I shall be glad to hear from you? I did not write while in + Missouri, because I had no confidence in your getting my + letters. We took up little Austin and brought him on here, + which appears to be a great comfort to Jason and Ellen. We + were all out a good part of the last night, helping to keep + prairie fire from destroying everything; so that I am + almost blind today, or I would write you more. + + + Sabbath Eve, October 14. + + I notice in your letter to Salmon your trouble about the + means of having the house made more comfortable for winter, + and I fondly hope you have been relieved on that score + before now, by funds from Mr. Hurlbut, of Winchester, + Conn., from the sale of the cattle there. Write me all + about your situation; for, if disappointed from that + source, I shall make every effort to relieve you in some + other way. Last Tuesday was an election day with Free State + men in Kansas, and hearing that there was a prospect of + difficulty we all turned out most thoroughly armed (except + Jason, who was too feeble); but no enemy appeared, nor have + I heard of any disturbance in any part of the Territory. + Indeed, I believe Missouri is fast becoming discouraged + about making Kansas a slave State, and I think the prospect + of its becoming free is brightening every day. Try to be + cheerful, and always "hope in God," who will not leave nor + forsake them that trust in him. Try to comfort and + encourage each other all you can. You are all very dear to + me, and I humbly trust we may be kept and spared to meet + again on earth; but if not, let us all endeavor earnestly + to secure admission to that eternal home, where will be no + more bitter separations, "where the wicked shall cease from + troubling and the weary be at rest." We shall probably + spend a few days more in helping the boys to provide some + kind of shelter for winter, and mean to write you often. + May God in infinite mercy bless, comfort, and save you all, + for Christ's sake! + + Your Affectionate husband and father, + JOHN BROWN. + +In simple language and at considerable length. Brown thus announced his +arrival at his destination, and described the conditions prevailing in +Kansas and in the Brown colony. A half dozen lines in this letter +sufficed to relate the incident of the important election of October +9th, and to give his opinions of the vital questions involved in the +political situation as it then appeared to him. These lines are void of +any hostile word or phrase; also they are void of any sentiment that can +be made to suggest that Brown was different from the ordinary immigrant +that came from the North to found a home and help to make a Free State. +No settler from the North ever wrote a letter less war-like or more +peaceful and domestic in its character than this letter written by John +Brown. The clause, "I think the prospect of its becoming free is +brightening every day," is a truer index to the state of Brown's mind, +and is better evidence of the peaceful character of his quest in Kansas, +than the combined reckless assertions of his biographers to the +contrary. + +In violence of contemporary evidence, all of his biographers and some +of the historians have sought to educate the public to believe that +Brown came to Kansas on a hostile mission. The public has been led to +accept the fictitious John Brown, the picturesque character of history, +instead of the real man under consideration. To this character +constructing propaganda Mr. Redpath was an ardent contributor. One of +his many effective flights has reference to the letter, heretofore +published, which his son John wrote May 24th. He said concerning it: + + He undoubtedly regarded it as a call from the Almighty to + gird up his loins and go forth to do battle "as the warrior + of the Lord" as "the warrior of the Lord against the + Mighty" in behalf of His despised poor and His downtrodden + people. The moment long waited for had at length arrived; + the sign he had patiently expected had been given; and the + brave old soldier of the God of Battles prepared at once, + to obey the summons.... John Brown did _not_ go to Kansas + to settle there. He did not dare to remain tending sheep at + North Elba when the American Goliath and his hosts were in + the field, defying the little armies of the living + Lord.[93] + +While Mr. Redpath did very well, his panegyric is not comparable with +some of the latest and more scholarly studies of Brown. Here is one of +Mr. Villard's efforts: + + Thenceforth John Brown could give free rein to his + _wanderlust_; the shackles of business life dropped from + him. He was now bowed and rapidly turning gray; to + everyone's lips the adjective "old" leaped as they saw him. + But this was not the age of senility, nor of weariness with + life; nor were the lines of care due solely to family and + business anxieties or to the hard labor of the fields. They + were rather the marks of the fires consuming within; of the + indomitable purpose that was the main spring of every + action; of a life devoted, a spirit inspired. Emancipation + from the counter and the harrow came joyfully to him at the + time of life when most men begin to long for rest and the + repose of a quiet, well ordered home. Thenceforth he was + free to move where he pleased, to devote every thought to + his battle with the slave-power he staggered, which then, + knew nothing of his existence. + + The metamorphosis was now complete. The staid, sombre + merchant and patriarchal family-head was ready to become + Captain John Brown of Osawatomie, at the mere mention of + whose name Border Ruffians and swashbuckling adherents to + the institution of slavery trembled and often fled. Kansas + gave John Brown the opportunity to test himself as a + guerrilla leader for which he had longed; for no other + purpose did he proceed to the Territory; to become a + settler there as he had hoped to in Virginia in 1840 was + furthest from his thoughts.[94] + +At the time the chrysalis of the Osawatomie guerilla is said to have +emancipated himself bodily from the harrow and was burning to take up +arms against the "swashbucklers," he wrote a letter to his son Salmon +concerning his intentions to join the colony and asked him some +questions relating to their condition, and to their requirements. +Strange as it may seem this letter contained nothing that called for a +war-like, or even a moderately ferocious reply from Salmon. His answer +to it is scarcely dramatic; in fact it seems to relate more to the +harrow, and to such disinteresting sublunary topics as the condition of +his simple but more or less dilapidated wardrobe, than it does to +"indomitable purposes" or to armies of a Lord who Mr. Redpath represents +as being still alive. He wrote, June 22d:[95] + + In answer to your questions about what you will need for + your company, I would say that I have an acre of corn that + looks very well, and some beans and squashes and turnips. + You will want to get some pork and meal, and beans enough + to last till the crop comes in, and then I think we will + have enough grain to last through the winter. I will have a + house up by the time you get here. My boots are very near + worn out, and I shall need some summer pants and a hat. I + bought an ax and that you will not have to get. + +In a series of thirty-eight letters, published in Mr. Sanborn's _Life +and Letters of John Brown_, commencing with the date, January 18, 1841; +and ending with the letter herein, of October 14, 1855, there is not an +expression relating to slavery that has not been heretofore quoted or +referred to in this work. That Mr. Sanborn was a partisan writer, and +that he sifted Brown's correspondence in a search for letters which +could be quoted in support of the assumptions of these and other +panegyrists, concerning his alleged hostility to slavery, will not be +denied. Their assumptions are therefore, wholly fanciful; there is not a +sentence contained in any of these letters, that can be quoted in +justification of them. The attributes put forth in these eulogies are +not only gratuitous, but they are illogical and inconsistent with +Brown's circumstances, and incompatible with his environment. Mrs. Anne +Brown Adams in a few plain words told why John Brown went to Kansas. She +said: + + Father said his object in going to Kansas was to see if + something would not turn up to his advantage.[96] + +The often repeated statement that Brown came to Kansas "to fight," and +not "to settle" after the manner of other immigrants, is further +discredited in this history. + +Before the Mason Committee, in January, 1860, Mr. Wm. F. Arny, who knew +Brown to have been a non-resistant, testified that he had conversed with +him in Kansas, in 1858; and that he, on that occasion, asked him "how he +reconciled his opinions then, with the peace principles which he held +when he knew him in Virginia twenty years before. To this Brown replied, +that the 'aggressions of slavery, the murders and robbery perpetrated +upon himself and members of his family, the lawlessness by Atchison and +others in 1855 and from that time down to the Marais-des-Cygnes, +convinced him that peace was but an empty word.'"[97] + +Before the same committee Mr. Augustus Wattles testified:[98] + + Captain Brown told me that he had no idea of fighting until + he heard the Missourians, during the winter he was there, + make arrangements to come over into the Territory to vote. + He said to me that he had not come to Kansas to settle + himself, having left his family at North Elba, but that he + had come to assist his sons in their settlement and to + defend them, if necessary, in a peaceable exercise of their + political rights. + +Writing to his wife February 1, 1856, Brown said: + + The idea of again visiting those of my dear family at North + Elba is so calculated to unman me, that I seldom allow my + thoughts to dwell upon it. + +This language bears the interpretation that he had located with the +other members of his family in Kansas, and that a return to North Elba +would be in the nature of a visit. + +Brown told Mr. Arney that it was his intention, originally, to settle in +Kansas. In his testimony before the Mason Committee, he said: "He +(Brown) then referred to the fact that he had sent his sons into the +Territory of Kansas in 1853 or 1854 with a lot of blooded cattle and +other stock with the intention of settling."[99] There is presumptive +evidence too, that he did "settle" in Kansas and that he did take a +claim; also that it was "jumped." In a letter to Brown dated June 24. +1857, the late Wm. A. Phillips wrote as follows:[100] "Your old claim I +believe, has been jumped. If you do not desire to contest it, let me +suggest that you make a new settlement at some good point of which you +will be the head. Lay off a town and take claims around it." + +Among the real conditions of poverty described by Brown in his letters +of October 13th and 14th, and with but "sixty cents" in his pocket, it +is irrational to assume that he was free to move "where he pleased" or +that he was "free to devote every thought," or any of his thoughts, for +that matter, to this "battling" business. He was not "emancipated from +the counter and the harrow," and from his natural obligation to continue +to provide for the dependent wife and children, who were suffering the +acute privations of poverty in a miserable home. The letters quoted are +evidence of the domestic character of the thoughts which occupied his +mind, and of his deep solicitude for the wants of his family. They are +earnest letters, written about the pressing affairs of his domestic +life, by a man of more than ordinary experience. He dismisses any +reference to the subject of the "driving force of a mighty and unselfish +purpose," with the moderate and sensible opinion, that the "prospect of +Kansas becoming a Free state is brightening every day." + +November 2, 1855, Brown wrote a long and interesting letter to his wife +about affairs in their Kansas home, concluding with this very +conservative and peaceful statement: "I feel more and more confident +that slavery will soon die out here,--and to God be the praise."[101] +The letter is as follows: + + Brownsville, K. T., Nov. 2, 1855. + + DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN, EVERY ONE-- + + I feel grateful to learn that you were all then well, and I + think I fully sympathize with you in all the hardships and + discouragements you have to meet; but you may be assured + you are not alone in having trials. I believe I wrote you + that we found everyone here more or less unwell but Wealthy + and Johnny, without any sort of a place where a stout man + even could protect himself from the cutting, cold winds and + storms, which prevail here, much more than in any place + where we have ever lived; and no crops of hay or anything + raised had been taken care of; with corn wasting by cattle + and horses, without fences; and, I may add without any + meat; and Jason's folks without sugar, or any kind of bread + stuffs but corn ground with great labor in a hand-mill + about two miles off. Since I wrote you before, Wealthy, + Johnny, Elen and myself have escaped being sick. Some have + had the ague, but lightly; but Jason and Oliver have had a + hard time of it and are yet feeble. Under existing + circumstances, we have made but little progress; but we + have made a little. We have got a shanty three logs high, + chinked and mudded and roofed with our tent; and a chimney + so far advanced that we can keep a fire in it for Jason. + John has his shanty a little better fixed than it was, but + miserable enough now; and we have got their little crop of + beans secured, which, together with johnny cake, mush and + milk, pumpkins and squashes, constitute our fare. Potatoes + they have none of any account; milk, beans, pumpkins and + squashes, a very moderate supply just for the present use. + We have also got a few house logs cut for Jason. I do not + send you this account to render you more unhappy but merely + to let you know that those here are not altogether in + paradise, while you have to stay in that miserable frosty + region.... I feel more and more confident that slavery will + soon die out here.--and to God be the praise!... + +November 23d, he wrote: + + Since Watson wrote, I have felt a great deal troubled about + your prospects for a cold house to winter in, and since I + wrote last, I have thought of a cheap, ready way to help it + much. Take any common straight-edged boards, and run them + from the ground up to the eaves, barn fashion, not driving + the nails in so far but that they may easily be drawn, + covering all but doors and windows, as close as may be in + that way, and breaking joints if need be. This can be done + by any one and in any weather not very severe, and the + boards may afterwards mostly be saved for other uses. I + think much too, of your widowed state, and I sometimes + allow myself to dream a little of again sometime enjoying + the comforts of a home; but I do not dare to dream much.... + +There were no disturbances in the Territory until the latter part of +November, when the "Wakurusa War" became imminent. On the 27th the +following dispatch was sent from Westport: + + Hon. E. C. McLaren, Jefferson City--Governor Shannon has + ordered out the militia against Lawrence. They are now in + open rebellion against the laws. Jones is in danger. + +December 6th, notice was sent out to all Free-State men to come to +Lawrence. John Brown, with others from the vicinity of Osawatomie, +answered the call, and upon their arrival at Lawrence he was appointed a +captain in the Fifth Regiment, Kansas Volunteers. The men from Brown's +neighborhood were assigned to his company which was named the "Liberty +Guards." + +There has been much controversy concerning Brown's actions during this +brief but very interesting campaign; due, in some instances, perhaps, to +political contention, but principally to the efforts of his biographers +and eulogists to make him appear as a conspicuous figure in the +proceedings, the hero of the occasion. However, Brown's plain sensible +letter, written to his wife at the time, giving her a full and +interesting account of what occurred, will be accepted by all sane +persons, as evidence of what did occur, as well as evidence of his +personal opinions of all matters pertaining thereto, so far as they came +under his observation. His letter is as follows:[102] + + Osawatomie, K. T., Dec. 16, 1855. + Sabbath Evening. + + DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN, EVERY ONE--I improve the first mail + since my return from the camp of volunteers, who lately + turned out for the defense of the town of Lawrence in this + Territory, and notwithstanding, I suppose you have learned + the result before this, (possibly), I will give a brief + account of the invasion in my own way. + + About three or four weeks ago news came that a Free-State + man by the name of Dow had been murdered by a pro-slavery + man by the name of Coleman, who had gone and given himself + up for trial to the pro-slavery Governor Shannon. This was + soon followed by further news that a Free State man, who + was the only reliable witness against the murderer had been + seized by a Missourian (appointed sheriff by the bogus + Legislature of Kansas) upon false pretexts, examined, and + held to bail under such heavy bonds, to answer to those + false charges, as he could not give; that while on his way + to trial, in charge of the bogus sheriff, he was rescued by + some men belonging to a company near Lawrence; and that in + consequence of the rescue. Governor Shannon had ordered out + all the pro-slavery force he could muster in the Territory, + and called on Missouri for further help; that about two + thousand had collected, demanding a surrender of the + rescued witness and of the rescuers, the destruction of + several buildings and printing-presses and a giving up of + the Sharpe's rifles by the Free-State men,--threatening to + destroy the town with cannon, with which they were + provided, etc.; that about an equal number of Free-State + men had turned out to resist them, and that a battle was + hourly expected or supposed to have been already fought. + + These reports appeared to be well authenticated, but we + could get no further account of matters; and I left this + for the place where the boys are settled, at evening, + intending to go to Lawrence to learn the facts the next + day. John was, however, started on horseback, but before he + had gone many rods, word came that our help was immediately + wanted. On getting this last news, it was at once agreed to + break up at John's camp, and take Wealthy and Johnny to + Jason's camp (some two miles off), and that all the men but + Henry, Jason, and Oliver should at once set off for + Lawrence under arms; those three being wholly unfit for + duty. We then set about providing a little corn-bread and + meat, blankets, and cooking utensils, running bullets and + loading all our guns, pistols, etc. The five set off in the + afternoon and after a short rest in the night (which was + quite dark), continued our march until after daylight next + morning, when we got our breakfast, started again, and + reached Lawrence in the forenoon, all of us more or less + lamed by our tramp. On reaching the place, we found that + negotiations had commenced between Governor Shannon (having + a force of some fifteen or sixteen hundred men) and the + principal leaders of the Free-State men, they having a + force of some five hundred men at that time. These were + busy, night and day, fortifying the town with embankments + and circular earthworks, up to the time of the treaty with + the Governor, as an attack was constantly looked for, + notwithstanding the negotiations then pending. This state + of things continued from Friday until Sunday evening. On + the evening we left Osawatomie, a company of the invaders, + of from fifteen to twenty-five attacked some three or four + Free-State men, mostly unarmed, killing a Mr. Barber from + Ohio, wholly unarmed. His body was afterward brought in and + lay for some days in the room afterwards occupied by a part + of the company to which we belong (it being organized after + we reached Lawrence). The building was a large unfinished + stone hotel, in which a great part of the volunteers were + quartered, who witnessed the scene of bringing in the wife + and other friends of the murdered man. I will only say of + this scene that it was heart-rending, and calculated to + exasperate the men exceedingly, and one of the sure results + of civil war. + + After frequently calling on the leaders of the Free-State + men to come and have an interview with him, by Governor + Shannon, and after as often getting for an answer that if + he had any business to transact with any one in Lawrence, + to come and attend to it, he signified his wish to come + into the town, and an escort was sent to the invaders' camp + to conduct him in. When there, the leading Free-State men, + finding out his weakness, frailty, and consciousness of the + awkward circumstances into which he had really got himself, + took advantage of his cowardice and folly and by means of + that and the free use of whiskey and some trickery + succeeded in getting a written arrangement with him much to + their own liking. He stipulated with them to order the + pro-slavery men of Kansas home, and to proclaim to the + Missouri invaders that they must quit the Territory without + delay, and also to give up General Pomeroy (a prisoner in + their camp),--which was all done; he also recognizing the + volunteers as the militia of Kansas, and empowering their + officers to call them out whenever in their discretion the + safety of Lawrence or other portions of the Territory might + require it to be done. He (Governor Shannon) gave up all + pretension of further attempt to enforce the enactment of + the bogus Legislature, and retired, subject to the derision + and scoffs of the Free-State men (into whose hands he had + committed the welfare and protection of Kansas), and to the + pity of some, and the curses of others of the invading + force. + + So ended this last Kansas invasion--the Missourians + returning with _flying colors_, after incurring heavy + expenses, suffering great exposure, hardships, and + privations, not having fought any battles, burned or + destroyed any infant towns or Abolition presses; leaving + the Free-State men organized and armed, and in full + possession of the Territory; not having fulfilled any of + all their dreadful threatenings, except to murder one + _unarmed_ man, and to commit some robberies and waste of + property upon defenseless families, unfortunately within + their power. We learn by their papers that they boast of a + great victory over the Abolitionists; and well they may. + Free-State men have only hereafter to retain the footing + they have gained, and _Kansas is free_. Yesterday the + people passed upon the Free-State constitution. The result, + though not yet known, no one doubts.... + + We have received fifty dollars from father, and learned + from him that he has sent you the same amount,--for which + we ought to be grateful, as we are much relieved, both as + respects ourselves and you.... + +This letter will always stand in its completeness as an official +expression by John Brown of his entire satisfaction with everything that +was done by the Free-State men on this occasion. The stipulations +contained in the peace treaty not only covered every point for which +the Free-State men were contending, but gave them official recognition, +in Territorial affairs, with authority therein far greater than they +could have hoped to obtain. Brown's entire approval of the agreement, +without any reservation whatever, is clearly and fully expressed in the +sentence: + + Free-State men have only hereafter to retain the footing + they have gained and _Kansas is free_. + +No language could make his approval of what had been done more complete +or specific; and yet, notwithstanding this unequivocal record, by Brown +himself, of his approval of what had been done, his biographers insist +that he was not only dissatisfied with the proceedings that were had, +but that "the peace treaty itself produced in him only anger when he +first heard of it." + + John Brown, boiling over with anger, mounted the shaky + platform and addressed the audience when Robinson had + finished. He declared that Lawrence had been betrayed, and + told his hearers that they should make a night attack upon + the pro-slavery forces and drive them from the territory. + "I am an Abolitionist," he said, "dyed in the wool," and + then he offered to be one of ten men to make a night attack + upon the Border Ruffian camp. Armed, and with lanterns, his + plan was to string his men along the camp far apart. At a + given signal in the early morning hours, they were to shout + and fire on the slumbering enemy.[103] + +That this speech will stand for all time, as a classic in the existing +melodramatic literature of John Brown, will be conceded. The novel plan +of a night attack by ten men, furnished with lanterns, as targets, +"strung far apart," against a force of fifteen hundred men, will, of +itself, commend it to such recognition. + +A summary of the speeches, recently referred to as "harangues," made by +Governor Shannon, and by General Lane, and by Charles Robinson, on this +occasion, was duly reported at the time and published throughout the +country, for this was a notable incident in our national history. But +not a word was reported about Brown's speech. It ought to have been the +climax--the fire-works--of the whole performance for he was the only one +of the speakers who is said to have been "boiling over" with anything. +It may be assumed however that if John Brown had made a violent speech +_from this platform_ on this occasion, the fact would have been reported +by the reporter for the _Herald of Freedom_, who was present, and who +felt very kindly toward him. It may be true that Brown did some +grumbling in camp, or some loud talking somewhere, about the treaty +which he may not have understood at the time. + +A very extended report of the incidents occurring in the "Wakurusa War" +is contained in the Lawrence _Herald of Freedom_ of December 15, +1855,[104] from which the following are extracts: + + Sunday the negotiations were resumed with Governor Shannon + and finally completed, the substance of which was + communicated to the people by the Governor. The settlement + was received with satisfaction and yet the terms were not + coincided in so fully as many supposed it would be. It was + apparent that the Governor was in bad odor, as several + attempts to get up cheers in his favor proved a failure, + though no insult was shown him. + + Colonel Lane followed and was loudly cheered. He assured + the public there had been no concession of honor and that + the people of Lawrence and Kansas, would cheerfully + acquiesce in the terms of the settlement as soon as they + could learn the particulars.... + + General Robinson was also loudly cheered and congratulated + by the people on account of the settlement.... The day + closed by Governor Shannon giving General Robinson and + Colonel Lane each a commission, and clothing them with full + power to preserve the peace in the vicinity and to use the + volunteer force at their command for that purpose. + + Tuesday was full of animation. The soldiers were reviewed + and finally formed in a square and addressed by the + commanding officers. General Lane spoke as follows:... + + At the close of General Lane's speech, he was vociferously + cheered. + + General Robinson, as Commander in Chief, delivered the + following speech which was loudly applauded. He said: + "...The moral strength of our position is such that even + the 'gates of hell' could not prevail against us, much less + a foreign mob and we gained a bloodless victory."... As + General Robinson closed, six cheers were given to him. + +Even a reporter and journalist so enterprising as James Redpath failed +to know of Brown's much advertised speech. He said:[105] + + I had no personal knowledge of his opposition to the Treaty + of Peace.... The first time I heard of old Brown was in + connection with a caucus at the town of Osawatomie. + +It was not Redpath's fault that he did not then know John Brown or that +he had not even heard of him. It was simply because Brown was an +ordinary person, and had not done anything yet to attract public +attention to his personality. Opportunity did not happen to knock at his +door on that occasion; if it had, Brown, doubtless, would have acquitted +himself creditably, and Mr. Redpath would have heard of him. As soon as +Brown did even a little thing, Redpath heard of it promptly. April 16, +1856, a meeting or caucus was held at Osawatomie to consider the +question of paying the taxes that had been levied by authority of the +Territorial Legislature, and other public measures. To pay the taxes +would be a recognition of the "Bogus Legislature" that had enacted the +laws relating to taxation. Richard Mendenhall was chairman of the +meeting and Oscar V. Dayton was secretary. Brown, among others, spoke +in opposition to paying the taxes. There was nothing sensational in this +incident, but Redpath heard of the meeting and located Brown in his +mind, because of it. Referring to the incident Mr. Redpath made this +authoritative statement:[106] "This was John Brown's first and last +appearance in a public meeting in Kansas." Therefore, it appears that +Mr. Villard has been imposed upon. + +Of Brown himself, the _Herald_ published the following sane and +_restful_ paragraph: + + About noon Mr. John Brown, an aged gentleman from Essex + County, New York, who has been a resident of the Territory + for several months, arrived with four of his sons,--leaving + several others at home sick, bringing a quantity of arms + with him which were placed in his hands by eastern friends + for the defense of the cause of freedom. Having more than + he could well use to advantage, a portion of them were + placed in the hands of those who were more destitute. A + company was organized and the command given to Mr. Brown + for the zeal he had exhibited in the cause of freedom, both + before and after his arrival in the Territory.[107] + +Brown, with his sons, returned to their homes December 14th, and under +that date, in a letter to Orson Day, he expressed, further, his +satisfaction with what had been accomplished at Lawrence by the +Free-State managers. He said: "The Territory is now entirely in the +power of the Free-State men," and stated hopefully his opinion that "the +Missourians will give up all further hope of making Kansas a slave +state."[108] January 1, 1856, he wrote from West Point, Missouri: "In +this part of the state there seems to be but little feeling on the slave +question."[109] + +January 5th, a Free-State county convention was held at Osawatomie to +nominate candidates for members of the Free-State Legislature. The +Browns took a prominent part in the proceedings. John Brown was chairman +of the meeting. Frederick Brown received the nomination for member of +the House of Representatives, but at the request of his father, he +declined the nomination, and it was given to John Brown, Jr. + +With his participation in this convention, John Brown closed his public +services. Later--probably during March--he abandoned his honorable +commission as captain of the "Liberty Guards," disbanded the company, +and with his sons, Owen, Salmon, Frederick, Oliver, and his son-in-law, +Henry Thompson, planned and decided to abandon the Free-State cause, +enter upon a career of crime, and leave the neighborhood. The course was +agreed upon with John Brown, Jr., as accessory thereto; but not with the +knowledge of Jason Brown. These men comprised John Brown's "little +company of six" who, with others, committed the robbery on the +Pottawatomie on the night of May 24th--a robbery that included in the +plans for its execution, the murder of seven persons, five of whom fell +beneath the blows of the assassins. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ROBBERY AND MURDER ON THE POTTAWATOMIE + + _A blush as of roses_ + _Where rose never grew!_ + _Great drops on the bunch-grass_ + _But not of the dew!_ + _A taint in the sweet air_ + _For wild bees to shun!_ + _A stain that will never_ + _Bleach out in the sun!_ + + _Back, steed of the prairies!_ + _Sweet song bird, fly back!_ + _Wheel hither, bald vulture!_ + _Gray wolf, call thy pack!_ + _The foul human vultures_ + _Have feasted and fled;_ + _The wolves of the Border_ + _Have crept from the dead._ + + --FROM LE MARAIS DU CYGNE. WHITTIER. + + +From a rude home in the bleak mountains of northern New York, John Brown +went to Kansas; not for the purpose of fighting, but inspired by the +hope of bettering his shattered fortunes; a hope that withered in the +budding, and gave place to feelings of deep disappointment and +discouragement. He wrote February 1st: + + It is now nearly six weeks that the snow has almost + constantly been driven, like dry sand, by the fierce winds + of Kansas. By means of the sale of our horse and wagon, our + present wants are tolerably well met; so that, if health is + continued to us, we shall not probably suffer much.... + Thermometer on Sunday and Monday at twenty-eight to + twenty-nine below zero. Ice in the river, in the timber, + and under the snow, eighteen inches thick this week.... + Jason down again with the ague, but he was some better + yesterday. Oliver was also laid up by freezing his + toes,--one great toe so badly frozen that the nail has come + off. He will be crippled for some days yet. Owen has one + foot frozen. We have middling tough times (as some would + call them) but have enough to eat, and abundant reason for + the most unfeigned gratitude....[110] + +These were hard conditions. It would be difficult to imagine +circumstances of greater discomfort and hopelessness. But what about the +future--the future for himself and for the wife and the daughters +depending upon him for the necessaries of life, for whose benefit he had +come to Kansas? Did Brown think of them? Present inconvenience and +privation may be borne with fortitude if the future holds out a promise +of betterment. In his case we may reasonably assume that the problems of +the future, rather than the present conditions and discouragements, +engrossed his thoughts. It is altogether unreasonable to suppose that +this unscrupulous man of affairs--this restless, aggressive +speculator--sat listlessly, amid his environment of discomfort and +poverty, and permitted the dreary months to pass without thinking of his +precarious financial condition, and of the incessantly urgent family +responsibilities impending; and of the possibilities of bettering his +fortunes in the immediate future. His biographers have wisely avoided +discussion of the practical side of Brown's condition at this time, +preferring to wander in more intangible fields, and to speculate upon +the emotional and metaphysical phenomena they seek to involve in the +situation. The record of his life at this time, however, reveals the +fact that Brown did think of the future and of its responsibilities; and +that he did mature a plan to better his financial condition. Also, that +his plan was in harmony with his latest and best biographer's estimate +of his character: "It was not only that he was visionary as a business +man,"[111] says Mr. Villard, "but that he developed the fatal tendency +to speculate; doubtless the outgrowth of his restlessness, and the usual +desire of the bankrupt for a sudden coup to restore his fortune," To his +wife he wrote as follows: + + Brown's Station, K. T., April 7, 1856. + + DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN, EVERY ONE,--I wrote you last + week,... We do not want you to borrow trouble about us, but + trust us to the care of "Him who feeds the young ravens + when they cry." I have, as usual, but little to write. We + are doing off a house for Orson Day, which we hope to get + through with soon; after which we shall probably soon leave + this neighborhood, but will advise you further when we + leave. It may be that Watson can manage to get a little + money for shearing sheep if you do not get any from + Connecticut. I still hope you will get help from that + source. We have no wars as yet, but we still have abundance + of "rumors." We still have frosty nights, but the grass + starts a little. There are none of us complaining much just + now, all being able to do something. John has just returned + from Topeka, not having met with any difficulty; but we + hear that preparations are making in the United States + Court for numerous arrests of Free State men. For one, I + have no desire (all things considered) to have the slave + power cease from its acts of aggression. "Their foot shall + slide in due time." May God bless and keep you all. + + Your affectionate husband and father, + JOHN BROWN. + +This letter foreshadows the turning point in John Brown's career. It +discloses the fact that he and his sons intended to engage in an +enterprise that was related to danger, against which he sought to quiet +his wife's apprehensions. The letter also foreshadows the fact that as a +result of what they intended to do, they would probably leave the +neighborhood; but as to either the nature of the undertaking which they +had in view, or the time at which the venture would be executed, she +would not be informed until they left the country. It discloses further +the significant fact, that his attitude toward the Free-State cause had +undergone a change. That instead of treasuring in his heart a patriotic +desire to win freedom for Kansas by peaceable means, he had assumed a +hostile attitude. He now desired, not peace, but war. + +Three important facts appear at this point in Brown's history: That he +had decided to do something of a dangerous character and leave the +neighborhood; that he desired a revival of pro-slavery aggressions; and +that he had disbanded the "Liberty Guards." + +On the 16th of April, 1856, John Brown, Jr., was in command of the +"Pottawatomie Rifles."[112] He said: "During the winter of 1856, I +raised a company of riflemen, from the Free-State settlers who had their +homes in the vicinity of Osawatomie and Pottawatomie Creek."[113] James +Townsley, in his "confession," made December 6, 1879, said: "I joined +the Pottawatomie Rifle Company at its reorganization in May, 1856, at +which time John Brown, Jr., was elected captain." + +Why Brown should desire a revival of pro-slavery aggressions, if he +intended to leave the neighborhood; and what he intended to do, are +important questions in this analysis which his versatile biographers +have failed to attempt to explain. Brown could not have desired a +provocation from the pro-slavery people because he wanted an opportunity +to fight--to march against them at the head of the "Liberty Guards," and +"stagger the slave-power by the driving force of his iron will;"--for he +intended to leave the neighborhood; he intended to go away from the +scene of the prospective aggressions. He was no longer "Captain of the +Liberty Guards," but a private citizen; therefore, he must have desired +an outbreak of pro-slavery hostility for personal reasons; for reasons +relating to operations which he intended to engage in with Henry +Thompson as an associate; who wrote, equivocally, to his wife in May, +1856, that "Upon Brown's plans would depend his own, until School is +out." + +[Illustration: John Brown] + +The operations that Brown and his four unmarried sons and Henry Thompson +engaged in immediately after the letter containing this extract was +written, show that the "plans" therein referred to related to the +capital tragedy in the history of Kansas Territory. These plans provided +for the theft of a large number of horses on Pottawatomie Creek. The +horses were duly stolen by Brown and his band. To make the theft +possible, and personally safe, they planned to quietly assassinate the +owners of the horses. To avoid identification, and to dispose of the +horses which they intended to steal, they planned to deliver them to +confederates, who would run them out of the neighborhood; and, at the +same time, they were to receive from such confederates horses of a more +desirable character--fast running horses--which were to be brought from +the northern part of the Territory to a designated rendezvous. + +It was the original intention to steal four lots of horses and murder +seven men. The persons murdered in pursuance of their plans were John +Doyle and two of his sons, Hon. Allen Wilkinson, and William Sherman. +Those who escaped death were Henry Sherman, a brother of William, and +another person whose name has been withheld from publication.[114] The +_silent_ weapons used in these murders were some of the short swords, +ground to a keen edge, that Brown had brought with him when he came to +the Territory. The unfortunate victims, in holding up their arms in vain +attempts to shield their heads from impending blows, were struck upon +their forearms and hands; these in some instances were almost severed +from their bodies. The heads of the murdered men, except in the case of +Doyle, were split open and their bodies otherwise mutilated. In the +case of Doyle, he was shot in the head; and in addition thereto, a sword +was run through his breast. He was the first victim of the tragedies. +The shot which struck him was the only shot that was fired in these +murders, and the firing of it stands charged to John Brown himself. Of +this Mr. Villard says:[115] "Salmon Brown will not positively state that +his father fired it but admits that no one else pulled a trigger." + +An account in detail of these murders is found in the testimony of the +widows of Doyle and Wilkinson, and of James Harris, and others, taken +before Hon. M. N. Oliver, of Missouri, minority member of a +congressional committee of which Hon. W. A. Howard was chairman. The +committee was appointed in 1855 to investigate and report to Congress +upon the troubles in Kansas. The character of the evidence brought out +in this investigation incriminated the Browns; but for more than twenty +years thereafter the surviving members of the family stoutly denied +having any participation in the crime. Even at Harper's Ferry, when +standing within the shadow of the gallows, John Brown denied having had +anything to do with it. To Judge Russell "the prisoner reiterated his +assertion often made in those prison days that he was not personally +concerned in the Pottawatomie murders."[116] But after the confession of +James Townsley, his biographers and friends were forced to acknowledge +Brown's directing hand in the crime. Since that time, they have +continuously sought, by various pretexts--defensive, patriotic and +altruistic--to justify him in the killing of these men; and to distract +attention away from the real motive that prompted it; with the result +that they have thus far succeeded in so agitating discussion upon the +merits of the _murders_, as to concentrate public attention upon that +feature of the crime--the murders--and to eliminate or silence any +allusion whatever to the fundamental feature of it--_robbery_. As a +consequence of their propaganda, writers of history have not made any +reference to the robberies to which the murders were subordinate and +incidental. After the manner of sheep, they have followed the lead of +Brown's eulogists into the interesting field of metaphysics; and have +there engaged in profitless speculation upon Brown's mental processes, +and the probable psychical impulses which may have controlled his +actions.[117] + +The confession of James Townsley is as follows: + + I joined the Potawatomie rifle company at its + reorganization in May, 1856, at which time John Brown, Jr., + was elected captain. On the 21st of the same month + information was received that the Georgians were marching + on Lawrence, threatening its destruction. The company was + immediately called together, and about four o'clock P. M. + we started on a forced march to aid in its defense. + + About two miles south of Middle Creek, we were joined by + the Osawatomie company under Captain Dayton, and proceeded + to Mount Vernon, where we waited about two hours, until the + moon rose. We then marched all night, camping the next + morning, the 22nd, for breakfast, near Ottawa Jones's. + Before we arrived at this point, news had been received + that Lawrence had been destroyed, and a question was raised + whether we should return or go on. During the forenoon, + however, we proceeded up Ottawa Creek to within about five + miles of Palmyra, and went into camp near the residence of + Captain Shore. Here we remained, undecided, over night. + About noon the next day, the 23rd, Old John Brown came to + me and said he had just received information that trouble + was expected on the Potawatomie, and wanted to know if I + would take my team and take him and his boys back, so they + could keep watch on what was going on. I told him I would + do so. The party, consisting of Old John Brown, Watson + Brown, Oliver Brown, Henry Thompson, (John Brown's + son-in-law), and Mr. Winer, were soon ready for the trip + and we started, as near as I can remember, about two + o'clock P. M. All of the party except Winer, who rode a + pony, rode with me in my wagon. When within two or three + miles of Potawatomie Creek, we turned off the main road to + the right, drove down to the edge of the timber between two + deep ravines, and camped about one mile above Dutch Henry's + crossing.... We remained in camp that night and all the + next day. Some time after dark we were ordered to march. + + We started, the whole company, in a northerly direction, + crossing Mosquito Creek, above the residence of the Doyles. + Soon after crossing the creek, some one of the party + knocked at the door of a cabin, but received no reply--I + have forgotten whose cabin it was, if I knew at the time. + + The next place we came to was the residence of the Doyles. + John Brown, three of his sons, and son-in-law, went to the + door, leaving Frederick Brown, Winer, and myself, a short + distance from the house. About this time a large dog + attacked us. Frederick Brown struck the dog a blow with his + short two edged sword, after which I dealt him a blow with + my sabre, and heard no more of him. The old man Doyle and + two sons were called out and marched some distance from the + house toward Dutch Henry's, in the road, where a halt was + made. Old John Brown drew a revolver and shot the old man + Doyle in the forehead and Brown's two youngest sons + immediately fell upon the younger Doyles with their short + two-edged swords. + + One of the young Doyles was stricken down in an instant, + but the other attempted to escape, and was pursued a short + distance by his assailant and cut down. The company then + proceeded down Mosquito Creek to the house of Allen + Wilkinson. Here the old man Brown, three of his sons, and + son-in-law as at the Doyle residence, went to the door and + ordered Wilkinson to come out, leaving Frederick Brown, + Winer, and myself standing in the road east of the house. + Wilkinson was taken and marched some distance south of his + house and slain in the road, with a short sword, by one of + the younger Browns. After he was killed, his body was + dragged out to one side and left. + + We then crossed the Potawatomie and came to the house of + Henry Sherman, generally known as Dutch Henry. Here John + Brown and the party, excepting Frederick Brown, Winer, and + myself, who were left outside a short distance from the + door, went into the house and brought out one or two + persons, talked with them some, and then took them in + again. They afterwards brought out William Sherman, Dutch + Henry's brother, marched him down into the Potawatomie + Creek, where he was slain with swords, by Brown's two + youngest sons, and left lying in the creek.... + + JAMES TOWNSLEY. + + Lane, Kansas, December 6, 1879. + +From this statement it appears that John Brown set the example for his +sons to follow by killing Doyle. "Old John Brown drew his revolver and +shot old man Doyle in the forehead, and Brown's two younger sons +immediately fell upon the younger Doyles with their short, two edged +swords." + +Mrs. Doyle, in her testimony said: + + ... My son John was spared because I asked them in tears to + spare him.... + +The son testified: + + I found my father and one brother, William, lying dead in + the road about two hundred yards from the house. I saw my + other brother lying dead on the ground about one hundred + and fifty yards from the house, in the grass, near a + ravine, his fingers were cut off, and his arms were cut + off; his head was cut open; there was a hole in his breast. + William's head was cut open, and a hole was in his jaw, as + though it was made by a knife, and a hole was in his side. + My father was shot in the forehead and stabbed in the + breast.[118] + +Allen Wilkinson was the postmaster for the community, and was a member +of the Territorial Legislature. Like Doyle, he was married, and had a +family of small children. Mrs. Wilkinson states that the persons who +murdered her husband, came to their home after midnight, and after +knocking at the door, inquired "the way to Dutch Henry's." Wilkinson +began to tell them, but they told him to "come out and show them." Her +testimony is in part as follows: + + ... One of them said, "You are our prisoner. Do you + surrender?" He said, "Gentlemen, I do." They said, "Open + the door." Mr. Wilkinson told them to wait till he made a + light and they replied, "If you don't open it, we will open + it for you." He opened the door against my wishes, and four + men came in and my husband was told to put on his clothes, + and they asked him if there were not more men about. They + searched for arms, and took a gun and powder flask, all the + weapon that was about the house.... They then took my + husband away. One of them came back and took two saddles. I + asked him what they were going to do with him and he said, + "Take him a prisoner to the camp." ... After they were + gone, I thought I heard my husband's voice, in complaint, + but do not know; went to the door and all was still. Next + morning Mr. Wilkinson was found about one hundred and fifty + yards from the house dead, in some bushes. A lady who saw + my husband's body said, that there was a gash in his head + and in his side; others said he was cut in the throat + twice.[119] + +James Harris, at whose house William Sherman was staying on the night of +May 24th, states in his testimony, what came under his observation. +Harris was a day laborer. He testified in part as follows: + + On last Sunday morning about two o'clock (the 25th of last + May) whilst my wife and child and myself were in bed in the + house where we lived, we were aroused by a company of men + who said they belonged to the Northern army, and who were + each armed with a sabre and two revolvers, two of whom I + recognized, namely, a Mr. Brown, whose name I do not + remember, commonly known by the appellation of "old man + Brown" and his son Owen Brown.... When they came up to the + bed, some had drawn sabres in their hands, and some + revolvers. They then took possession of two rifles and a + Bowie knife which I had with me in the room--there was but + one room in my house--and afterward ransacked the whole + establishment after ammunition.... They asked me where + Henry Sherman was. Henry Sherman was a brother to William + Sherman. I told them that he was out on the plains in + search of some cattle that he had lost. They asked me if + there were any bridles or saddles about the premises. I + told them there was one saddle which they took, and they + also took possession of Henry Sherman's horse which I had + at my place, and made me saddle him. They then said if I + would answer no, to all questions which they asked me, they + would let [me] loose. Old Mr. Brown and his son then went + into the house with me.... Old man Brown asked Mr. Sherman + to go out with him, and Mr. Sherman then went out with old + man Brown, and another man came into the house in Brown's + place. I heard nothing more for about fifteen minutes. Two + of the northern army, as they styled themselves, stayed on + with us until we heard a cap burst and then these two men + left. That morning about ten o'clock I found William + Sherman dead in the creek near my house. I was looking for + Mr. Sherman; as he had not come back, I thought he had been + murdered. I took Mr. William Sherman out of the creek and + examined him. Mr. Whiteman was with me. Sherman's skull was + split open in two places, and some of his brains was washed + out by the water. A large hole was cut in his breast, and + his left hand was cut off except a little piece of skin on + one side. We buried him.[120] + +It should be remembered that prior to the date of these murders and +robberies, the zone of conflict in the Territory had been confined +within the limits of Douglas, Leavenworth, and Atchison counties. Also, +that the settlers living south of Douglas county had, up to this time, +enjoyed the repose and benefits of a condition of profound peace; and +that during all of the time that Brown was formulating his plans to rob +and murder his unsuspecting neighbors, the "Shannon Treaty" was in full +force and effect, and a season of peace prevailing throughout the whole +Territory. Mr. Villard says of this period:[121] + + Not a single person had been killed in the region around + Osawatomie either by the lawless characters, or by armed + representatives of the pro-slavery cause. The instances of + brutality or murder narrated in the preceding chapters, all + took place miles to the north in the vicinity of Lawrence + or Leavenworth. + +And John Brown himself, in his speech before a committee of the +Massachusetts Legislature, February 18, 1857, said:[122] + + Things do not look one iota more encouraging now than they + did last year at this time. You may remember that from the + Shannon Treaty, (December 9th, 1855) which ended the + Wakarusa war, till early in May, 1856, there was general + quiet in Kansas. No violence was offered to our citizens + when they went to Missouri. I frequently went there myself + to buy corn and other supplies. I was known there, yet they + treated me well. + +Some of Buford's men had been in the neighborhood but they were not +brutal toward the Free-State settlers. There was a potent restraining +influence controlling their conduct. They were at the time on the pay +roll of the General Government as deputy United States marshals, and the +respectability and responsibility of their official positions demanded +reasonably proper behavior on their part.[123] + +The most important evidence upon the important subject under +consideration, appears in Brown's letter to his wife, written after his +fight at Black Jack; and in a personal statement made by John Brown, +Jr., to F. B. Sanborn. The letter is, in part, as follows:[124] + + Near Brown's Station, K. T., June, 1856. + + DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN, EVERY ONE,--It is now about five + weeks since I have seen a line from North Elba, or had any + chance of writing you. During that period we have passed + through an almost constant series of very trying events. We + were called to go to the relief of Lawrence, May 22, and + every man (eight in all), except Orson turned out; he + staying with the women and children and to take care of the + cattle. John was captain of a company to which Jason + belonged; _the other six were a little company by + ourselves_.[125] On our way to Lawrence we learned that it + had been already destroyed, and we encamped with John's + company over night. Next day our little company left and + during the day we stopped and searched three men.... + + On the second day and evening after we left John's men, we + encountered quite a number of pro-slavery men and took + quite a number of prisoners. Our prisoners we let go, but + we kept some four or five horses. We were immediately after + this, accused of murdering five men at Pottawatomie and + great efforts have since been made by the Missourians and + their ruffian allies to capture us. John's company soon + afterward disbanded, and also the Osawatomie men.[126] + + Since then, we have, like David of old, had our dwelling + with the serpents of the rocks and wild beasts of the + wilderness; being obliged to hide away from our enemies. We + are not disheartened, though nearly destitute of food, + clothing and money. God, who has not given us over to the + will of our enemies, but has moreover delivered them into + our hand, will we humbly trust, still keep and deliver us. + We feel assured that He who sees not as men see, does not + lay the guilt of innocent blood to our charge. + + If, under God, this letter reaches you so that it can be + read, I wish it at once carefully copied, and a copy of it + sent to Gerrit Smith. I know of no other way to get these + facts and our situation before the world, nor when I can + write again.... + +The statement that John Brown, Jr., made to Mr. Sanborn is, in part, as +follows:[127] + + We got back to Osawatomie from our five days' campaign, + toward evening on the 26th of May.... I took my rifle and + horse and went into the ravine on Mr. Adair's land, + remaining there through that day (May 27) and the following + night. About four o'clock P. M. I was joined by my brother + Owen, who had been informed at Mr. Adair's of my + whereabouts. He brought with him into the brush a valuable + running horse, mate of the one I had with me. These horses + had been taken by Free-State men near the Nebraska line and + exchanged for horses obtained in the way of reprisals + further south; and while on foot a few miles south of + Ottawa Jones's place, May 26, I had been offered one of + these to ride the remaining distance to Osawatomie. Owen's + horse was wet with sweat; and he told me of the narrow + escape he had just had from a number of armed pro-slavery + men who had their headquarters at Tooley's,--a house at the + foot of the hill, about a mile and a half west of Mr. + Adair's. Their guards, seeing him in the road coming down + the hill, gave a signal and at once the whole gang were in + hot chase. The superior fleetness of the horse Owen rode + alone saved him. He exchanged horses with me, and that + night forded the Marais des Cygnes, and going by Stanton, + (or Standiford as it was sometimes called), recrossed the + river to father's camp about a mile north of the house of + Mr. Day. Until Owen told me that night, I did not know + where father could be found.... + +Referring to a horse whose mane and tail had been shaved--"Dutch Henry's +gray pony"--Mr. Sanborn states:[128] "This horse was soon taken to +northern Kansas by some Free State men who gave in exchange for that and +other horses captured on the Pottawatomie, some fast Kentucky horses, on +one of which Owen Brown afterward escaped from his pursuers." + +But John Brown, Jr., received his fast running horse on the morning of +May 26th and "upon a mate to it" Owen Brown escaped from his pursuers on +the same day near Osawatomie. Therefore, the exchange of the horses +"taken as reprisals" on the Pottawatomie, for the fast running horses, +was not made in northern Kansas some time afterward, as Mr. Sanborn +states, but was made immediately after the robbery--May 25th or 26th--at +the appointed time and place; probably on Middle Creek. + +These statements, made by John Brown, and by his son, complete the +recorded evidence of Brown's plan to retrieve his shattered fortunes by +a plunge in horse stealing. It shows that he was in partnership with +others in the transaction, and that his confederates brought the +northern horses, eight at least, to the appointed rendezvous and +delivered them to him. It shows also, that John Brown, Jr., was in his +father's confidence, and that he knew enough about his father's plans +and of what had been done on the night of the 24th, to enable him to +walk to a point "a few miles south of Ottawa Jones's place" where he was +"offered one of the northern horses," and accepted it as his own. + +Who Brown's confederates were in this transaction, except as to Weiner, +is as yet unknown. Salmon Brown still guards the sacred secret. But it +is probable that the "mysterious courier," who came to the camp of the +Pottawatomie Rifles on the morning of the 23d, was one of them, and +that he delivered a message to John Brown. There has been much debate +concerning this messenger and his identity.[129] B. L. Cochrane may have +been the important person, or it may have been Jacob Benjamin that bore +the important message, or Charles Lenhart, or Mr. John E. Cook. None of +these men have heretofore been charged with having taken any part in the +Pottawatomie episode, but there are incidents in this history which +connect them with it as confederates. Weiner owned the store at "Dutch +Henry's Crossing," and Benjamin was in his employ. Weiner disposed of +his stock of merchandise and gave up the business to engage in this +speculation in horses. He was from Texas and to Texas he returned. It is +also probable that he was a pro-slavery man. Benjamin was subsequently +"imprisoned" for some act that he committed while in Brown's service; as +appears from a reference which the latter made, during July, concerning +him.[130] The name of Benjamin Cochrane also appears in the same +reference, as having been with Brown at the Pottawatomie and at the +Black Jack. + +On page 101, Mr. Redpath states that Charles Lenhart and John E. Cook +left Lawrence on the 21st to "commence reprisals." There is also +evidence that they went southward. They were horse thieves, and at +Cleveland in May, 1858, Cook stated that he had killed five men in +Kansas.[131] It is therefore probable that these men were accomplices +with the Browns in this deal; and participated, directly or indirectly, +in the murders. Cook was a guest in their camp June 4th, two days after +the fight at Black Jack, when they had Pate's horses and mules in their +possession. Thereafter he continued to be Brown's faithful lieutenant, +and followed his fortunes to the gallows at Charlestown. Charles +Lenhart, too, appeared at Charlestown, engaged in an effort to effect +Cook's escape from the jail. + +The terms of the agreement which the Browns made with these +confederates, and the details for the execution of the Pottawatomie +transaction, would make history of absorbing interest. How many horses +did Brown turn over to them? Did they trade one bunch of horses for the +other, and let it go at that? Or, did his confederates charge him with +the value of the horses which they turned over to him; and then, after +offsetting their services in selling Brown's horses, against his +services in stealing them, did they divide the net profits, or the +difference in value between the two lots of horses? Then as to the time +when Brown was to make his delivery; it would be interesting to know +about that. Were the parties to wait until the Border Ruffians started +something, and raised some friendly dust that would distract public +attention from their operations? Probably so, for Brown was prepared to +kill his neighbors and take their horses at any time. His letter of +April 7th shows that he intended to do this whether the slave-power +renewed its acts of aggression or not. He simply preferred to commit his +robbery under cover of some pro-slavery provocation. Otherwise, after +the grass had well started, he intended to execute it in cold blood and +leave the country. In that event, he probably intended to "go to +Louisiana," and "head an uprising of the slaves there."[132] + +For reasons obvious, Mr. Villard could not obtain the exact facts as to +all these incriminating matters from his friends, Salmon Brown and Henry +Thompson; but the former is still living,[133] and can yet supply them +if he desires to do so. He can, if he be so disposed, give out the +"exact facts" as to _all_ the principal happenings on the Pottawatomie. +For instance: He can give the name of the man whose horses they intended +to steal, but failed to get, and the number of them. Townsley referred +to this incident, but Salmon Brown gave further details and spoke very +interestingly upon the subject. He said:[134] + + Soon after crossing the creek, some one of the party + knocked at the door of a cabin. There was no reply, but + from within came the sound of a gun rammed through the + chinks of the cabin walls. It saved the owner's life, for + at that we all scattered. We did not disturb that man. With + some candle wicking soaked in coal oil to light and throw + inside, so that we could see within while he could not see + outside, we would have managed it, but we had none. It was + a method much used later. + +From the expression "it was a method much used later" we derive a +confession that the Browns continued in the horse stealing business. + +Upon the number of horses that Brown expected to get as a result of the +murder of seven men, depends this interesting problem in his psychology: +his estimate of the value of a human life in terms of horses. In the +case of the Doyles, he took three lives and got, probably, eight or ten +horses; but the whole number of horses taken will never be known unless +Salmon Brown, or some one who has his confidence, should decide to +reveal it. + +"The Shermans," Bondi says, "had amassed considerable property by +robbing cattle droves and emigrant trains."[135] They lived at a +"crossing" of the Pottawatomie, and were buyers and traders in horses, +oxen, and cattle passing over the trail. "Crossings" are usually camping +places for emigrants and drovers; and at such locations lame, footsore, +or otherwise unserviceable stock, can be, frequently, bought or traded +for at a very profitable margin in favor of the trader. Travelers must +either sell or abandon their lame stuff, and replace it with serviceable +animals, or lie over and wait until such animals get in condition to +travel. The trader not being compelled to trade, names the price he +will pay, or the terms upon which he will exchange good stuff for bad. +When the stock which he buys is recuperated, he sells it for a good +profit to other travelers, or to immigrants who locate in his +neighborhood. In this way the Shermans, William and Henry, had +accumulated wealth in horses and cattle; and since there was then much +travel on the trail, they may have had on hand at that time, from +twenty-five to forty or fifty horses.[136] + +The importance of exchanging the Pottawatomie horses immediately, and +getting them out of the country was a high card in Brown's play. If he +and his gang had been caught with their murdered neighbors' horses in +their possession the next morning, there would not have been any +sophistical discussion fifty years after about how the "killings on the +Pottawatomie" could be "justified"; or about Brown's "sudden impulses"; +or of his altruistic convictions that it was necessary to "_remove_" +anybody. The men of that outraged neighborhood, regardless of party +affiliation, would have promptly hanged the outlaws. But the robbers +were too deep for them. The neighbors lost the trail of the robbers and +murderers; also, they lost the trail of the Browns. + +The horror of these murders, aggravated by the brutal mutilation of the +bodies of the victims, seems to have shocked that community into a +condition of semi-insensibility. In a lot of resolutions adopted at a +public meeting of citizens at Osawatomie, on the 27th, "denouncing the +murders"; the motive prompting the crime, _the theft of the horses owned +by the victims_, is not referred to. It is probable that the Osawatomie +people, who drew the resolutions, did not then know that any horses had +been stolen. At any rate, these resolutions came to be regarded as the +public or official announcement of what had occurred; and since they +contained no reference to any robbery, in connection with the murders, +the public was thus, unintentionally, led to believe that the +assassinations were acts of partisan warfare; a killing of obnoxious +pro-slavery men by unknown, but over zealous Free-State men. The +resolutions are as follows:[137] + + _Whereas_, an outrage of the darkest and foulest nature has + been committed in our midst by some midnight assassins + unknown, who have taken five of our citizens at the hour of + midnight, from their homes and families, and murdered and + mangled them in the most awful manner; to prevent a + repetition of these deeds, we deem it necessary to adopt + some measures for our mutual protection and to aid and + assist in bringing these desperadoes to justice. Under + these circumstances we propose to act up to the following + resolutions: + + _Resolved_, that we will repudiate and discountenance all + organized bands of men who leave their homes for the avowed + purpose of exciting others to acts of violence, believing + it to be the duty of all good disposed citizens to stay at + home during these exciting times and protect and if + possible restore the peace and harmony of the neighborhood; + furthermore we will discountenance all armed bodies of men + who may come amongst us from any other part of the + Territory or from the States unless said parties come under + the authority of the United States. + + _Resolved_, That we pledge ourselves, individually and + collectively, to prevent a recurrence of a similar tragedy + and to ferret out and hand over to the criminal authorities + the perpetrators for punishment. + + C. H. PRICE, President} + R. GOLDING, Chairman } + R. GILPATRICK } + W. C. MCDOW } Committee + S. V. VANDAMAN } + A. CASTELE } + JOHN BLUNT } + + H. H. WILLIAMS, Secretary + + +The pillage and burning of Lawrence put the killings upon a war basis. +They were supposed to have been a war measure, instead of a case of +horse stealing; and, instead of the Browns _et al._ being hanged for +their crimes, as they would have been, by common consent, as undesirable +citizens, partisan spirit and sectional sentiment soon rallied in their +behalf and not only condoned their horrible crimes, but, in time, +approved of the murders, and recognized Brown as among the foremost +defenders of the Free-State cause. At a meeting of the Anti-Slavery +Society in Lawrence December 19, 1859, Governor Robinson said: + + It made no difference whether he (Brown) raised his hand or + otherwise (at Pottawatomie); he was present aiding and + advising to it and did not attempt to stop the bloodshed, + and is, of course, responsible, though justifiable, + according to his understanding of affairs. + +Robinson also stated at this meeting that he himself thought the murders +justifiable at the time. + + The Anti-Slavery Society, after the discussion, voted that + the murders were not unjustifiable, and that they were + performed from the sad necessity ... to defend the lives + and liberty of the settlers of that region.[138] + +Governor Robinson further said on February 5, 1878: + + I never had much doubt that Captain Brown was the author of + the blow at Pottawatomie, for the reason that he was the + only man who comprehended the situation, and saw the + absolute necessity of some such blow and had the nerve to + strike it. + +The character of Charles Robinson is evidence that if he had known, at +this time, that the murders on the Pottawatomie had been committed in +the promotion of robbery, instead of resulting from a supposed spasm of +patriotic resentment, provoked by the sack and burning of Lawrence, he +would not have declared them justifiable. + +In the light of these occurrences, the student of history may readily +solve the enigmas involved in Brown's letter of April 7th and in Henry +Thompson's reference to his relation with Brown's plans: _until school +is out_. He finds in them a logical reason for the disbanding of the +"Liberty Guards"; for the organization of the Pottawatomie Rifles; and +for Brown's desire that the slave-power should not "cease from its acts +of aggression." These preliminary acts are in harmony with, and form a +part of his general plan for a "sudden coup" on the Pottawatomie. + +The evidence is complete that the theft of the horses was the part to be +performed by Brown in this comprehensive scheme. His crime cannot be +excused or justified upon any pretext of supposed conditions or of +supposed circumstances. A condition of profound peace was prevailing +throughout the entire Territory when he laid his plans for this assault +upon his neighbors. The settlers in the region south of Douglas County +were living in a state of amity and neighborly interdependence; so much +so that Jason Brown and the members of the Pottawatomie Rifles, who +started to go to Lawrence, and who expected to be absent for an +indefinite period of time, deemed it safe to leave their families and +their property in the care of, or at the mercy of these same pro-slavery +neighbors. Neither can the crime be justified upon the ground that the +robbery and the attendant murders were acts of partisan or guerrilla +warfare. Such warfare is conducted in the open, with the knowledge and +approval of the side to which the guerrillas belong; there is no secrecy +concerning their operations. But Brown robbed and murdered in the night +for his personal gain; and sought by secretly exchanging the loot to +hide his identity therewith from the world, and denied his participation +in the crime to shield himself from the wrath of his outraged friends +and neighbors. Neither can Brown's crime be compared to the execution of +undesirable persons by vigilance committees, as some have attempted to +do. The swift vengeance of such committees falls upon criminals--persons +whose existence in a community is a menace to public order and safety; +it is exercised by reputable persons whose social and commercial +interests are involved; and in a public or semi-public manner, and after +notice has been served upon the offensive persons. It is simply +monstrous to conceive of a vigilance committee secretly murdering +well-to-do citizens--heads of families, engaged in legitimate +occupations; and then stealing their property and dividing it up among +themselves. Yet such is the logic of that comparison. + +Also, it is gratuitous to assert that the persons who were killed were +disreputable. Wilkinson was the local postmaster, and was, when +assassinated, a member of the Territorial Legislature; the Sherman +brothers were successful horse dealers and stock men. Concerning the +Doyles, notwithstanding the efforts which have been made to defame them, +they seem to have been decent, respectable, well-to-do settlers. Of them +Mr. Eli Moore of Lawrence, Kansas, says: + + William Doyle and his sons were good and desirable + citizens. In 1854-55 the elder Doyle and his oldest son + were contractors for building the mission houses at Miami, + Missouri. I never knew more quiet and industrious men. I + was with them almost daily for a year and never heard + either of them utter a word of politics.[139] + +They were not "poor whites" as has been recently said.[140] If they had +been poor; if they had not owned a lot of good horses, they would not +have been murdered. The desperado always appeared upon the fringe of our +advancing settlements; but he was neither a settler nor a home builder. +The men who were murdered and robbed had taken claims, had built homes, +and were living peaceably and honorably in them. They did not in their +lives exhibit the characteristics of the desperado, but their assassins +measure up to the part. They had no homes; they were not cultivating +the fertile soil of eastern Kansas; they had abandoned their claims and +were living upon their wits; they were floaters who intended to leave +the neighborhood. These men wore the brands which distinguish the +desperado; they carried "slung-shots";[141] they were swearing, +swaggering bullies[142]--"rough-necks"--who infested that border and +preyed upon the home builders. + +In the preface to his great book, Mr. Villard states that "to Salmon +Brown and Henry Thompson is due his ability to record for the first time +the exact facts as to the happenings on the Pottawatomie." It is evident +that he was imposed upon by these principals in the "happenings"; for it +is unfair to suppose that he would withhold the facts from his +publication if he had correct information in his possession concerning +them. He has written voluminously, and in a scholarly manner about this +episode, and has shown the inconsistency of a part of the brood of +fallacies which were conjured, and put forth as motives justifying +Brown's conduct therein; but he has not added any valuable fact to the +narrative that was given out by Mr. Townsley concerning it. + +Mr. Townsley withheld the facts relating to the robbery and the +exchanging of the horses through confederates, for the personal reason +that he did not desire to incriminate himself as a horse thief. Salmon +Brown and Henry Thompson had greater reasons for withholding from Mr. +Villard, and from the public, the damning evidence of the brutal +selfishness of this crime. It was theirs rather to guard, _jealously +guard_ their father's fame and to defend his memory; and not to betray +it by giving up facts that would disclose the secret of his and of their +own dishonor. Statements made by criminals, concerning their +criminality, are not usually true. It is well enough to get such +statements, but it is the safer way not to attach much importance to +them. These men were not credible witnesses. John Brown, himself, was a +very unreliable witness upon any question wherein his personal interests +were involved; and was especially so in relation to this incident; and +these two men, as witnesses in their own behalf, continually denied +having any knowledge of the facts herein, until Townsley gave out the +secret of their complicity with the murders. Salmon Brown wrote December +27, 1859:[143] + + DEAR SIR: Your letter to my mother was received to-night. + You wish me to give you the facts in regard to the + Pottawatomie execution, or murder, and to know whether my + father was a participant in the act. I was one of the + company at the time of the homicide, and never away from + him one hour at a time after we took up arms in Kansas; + therefore, I say positively, that he was not a participator + in the deed,--although I should think none the less of him + if he had have been there; for it was the grandest thing + that was ever done in Kansas. It was all that saved the + Territory from being overrun with drunken land-pirates from + the Southern States. That was the first act in the history + of Kansas which proved to the demon of Slavery that there + was as much room to give blows as to take them. It was done + to save life and to strike terror through their wicked + ranks. + + Yours respectfully, + SALMON BROWN. + +Criminals who are tried and judged upon testimony furnished by +themselves are usually acquitted. In this important case it is +unfortunate that the distinguished author accepted the statements which +these men made to him, as being the whole truth, and that he certified +them to the public and wrote them into history as the exact facts +therein. + +Salmon Brown and Henry Thompson could not fructify the desert, but they +held the secrets of the Pottawatomie, and if they had revealed them to +Mr. Villard instead of practicing a deception upon him, he would have +written the history of the tragedy differently. + +But Mr. Villard was zealous in a quest for evidence that would sustain +the conception of the character of John Brown which he desired to +establish for him in history: a "complex character," which only those +can understand who hold a chart upon the mysteries of the soul. He +said:[144] + + How may the killings on the Pottawatomie, this terrible + violation of the statute and the moral laws, be justified? + This is the question that has confronted every student of + John Brown's life since it was definitely established that + Brown was, if not actually a principal in the crime, an + accessory and an instigator. + +It thus appears that it was not historical facts that he sought, but +evidence that would counteract the force of the historical facts already +existing. It was a partisan zeal that led him to seek the testimony of +partisans. + +To obtain a true understanding of John Brown, the man, the student of +his life must take up the threads of history that lead to the character +making incident of May 24th. Mr. Villard concedes this[145] but he made +no effort to gather them up. In a chapter of more than thirty pages, +under the title, "The Captain of the Liberty Guards," he refers only to +the organization of the company, and to Brown's two days' service with +it at Lawrence--December 7th and 8th, 1855. The disorganization and +abandonment of this company by Brown in the spring of 1856, is of far +greater significance in this history than the organization of it. In +honor, as "Captain of the Liberty Guards in the Fifth Regiment Kansas +Volunteers," John Brown first received the historic title of "Captain," +and _in dishonor he abandoned_ his commission three months later. + +Back of every human action there is that which incites the action, that +which determines the choice or moves the will. There was that back of +the actions of John Brown, and of his sons and confederates, that moved +them to do what they did on the night of the 24th of May, 1856; this +inciting force was _motive_. + +John Brown had a motive for disbanding the _Liberty Guards_. What was +it? He had a motive for quitting the Free-State army secretly. Why +secretly? He had "no desire all things considered, that the slave-power +should cease from its acts of aggression." Why should he not desire +peace? He had a purpose in view when he organized the Pottawatomie +Rifles under the command of his son, and a motive for organizing five of +his sons into a separate company: "a little company by ourselves." What +were the purposes? He wrote to his wife that he contemplated leaving the +neighborhood, but did not tell her when he would leave, or why he +expected to leave, or where he intended to go. What motive prompted him +to conceal from her the facts in relation to a subject in which she was +so intimately concerned? The matters referred to here are "stones" that +have lain in the path of this history for more than fifty years which +have not heretofore been turned over. Salmon Brown and Henry Thompson +could have answered all these questions correctly if they had been asked +so to do. Also, they could have cleared the atmosphere of the +Pottawatomie of the mockeries relating thereto, and of its glamour, +which have been foisted upon the public as history; and could have given +to Mr. Villard and to the public the exact facts concerning the +robberies, and brutal tragedies. It was the duty of Brown's historians +to take up these matters and to make clear interpretations of them. But, +because of his personal pledge of fidelity to the subject, it was +especially incumbent upon the author of _Fifty Years After_, to make +known the facts that these "stones" were in the record, and to turn them +over; and with an analysis characteristic of his distinguished ability, +make clear the essential truths which they covered; for without a clear +appreciation of them "a true understanding of Brown, the man, cannot be +reached." This he has not done; but has elected to conceal these motive +interpreting incidents from further historical research. He has excluded +from history the facts relating to this period of Brown's life. It may +be said of this biographer, that having determined to issue a +certificate of altruism for John Brown, he did not wish to take up these +threads of history and follow them to their logical sequence; because +they lead, unerringly, to the robberies and the murders which the Browns +intended to commit; and expose, in the character of his hero, the +extremity of selfishness. + +None of Brown's biographers has found it convenient to explain or to +comment upon his letters of April 7th and June 16th, although the first +contains a personal statement that he intended to do something of a +dangerous nature, and the latter a similar statement concerning +dangerous things which he had done. In their treatment of the +Pottawatomie incident they have written without regard to the +restrictions and limitations contained in these authenticated papers +relating to the subject. Mr. Redpath chose to proceed along the lines of +the least resistance. He suppressed both of these letters; denied that +Brown had anything to do with the incident; and upon the "authority of +two witnesses" stated that "he was on Middle Creek twenty-five miles +distant, at the time." + +Mr. Sanborn published both letters; made no comment upon the letter of +April 7th, and, concerning the letter of June 26th said:[146] + + This is all that Brown says in his letter about the events + of that night in May when the Doyles were executed. + Doubtless his text the next morning was from the Book of + Judges: "Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did + as the Lord had said unto him; and so it was that he did it + by night. And when the men of the city arose early in the + morning, behold the altar of Baal was cast down. And they + said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when + they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon, the son of + Joash, hath done this thing." + +By this expedient he placed the responsibility for the murders and the +robbery upon the broad shoulders of the Almighty, and presented the +incident to the public as an interesting exhibit in theological, +metaphysical, and psychological phenomena. He called the murders +executions and said that the victims "were first tried and found guilty; +given time to pray; and were then executed." + +Following the example of James Redpath, Mr. Villard suppressed the +letter of April 7th; and in view of his disregard for the statements +which Brown made in the letter of June 26th, he might as well have +suppressed that letter also. In it Brown reveals the fact that the band +that executed the Pottawatomie horror was already organized when the +alarm bells rang out from Lawrence. He says that he and his sons "were a +little company by ourselves. On our way to Lawrence we learned that it +had been already destroyed, and we camped with John's company over +night. Next day our little company left and we stopped and searched +three men." This language certifies that Brown's party moved +independently of the Pottawatomie Rifles, and that the camping "over +night" with "John's company" was but an incident of their march; it +certifies also that they were highwaymen--robbers. + +When men who have banded together during a time of peace, subsequently +commit acts of robbery, persons naturally suppose that they united for +the purpose of committing such acts, and that the motives prompting them +were selfish. So in this case. If Mr. Villard had admitted that Brown +organized his little company as early as April, 1856, persons would +think that the men composing the company united to do the things which +they afterward did do; and that the motives prompting Brown and his sons +to hold up and search men, on the 23d, and to steal these horses, were +selfish. Therefore, he decided to rewrite this bit of history, and +change the time of the organization of Brown's company, and make it +appear that it was formed on May 23d, under the popular excitement and +indignation existing on that day, that had been aroused by the Lawrence +outrage; and that the criminal acts included the murders only, and that +they were committed the next day, before the excitement had cooled; thus +making it possible for him to assume that the motives prompting these +murders were unselfish. Contradicting what Brown said in his letter of +June 26th, relating to the time when his band was organized, Mr. Villard +makes the following remarkable statement:[147] + + About noon, May 23, John Brown selected for his party Henry + Thompson, Theodore Weiner, and four sons, Owen, Frederick, + Salmon and Oliver. + +The author herein could not otherwise than have known that this +statement was a contradiction of the truth, a falsification of the +record, and a perversion of history. It is a clear contradiction of a +vital point in the authenticated record concerning the history of the +organization of this historic company. It is a direct assault upon an +established historical fact. + +Following this statement the author proceeds to repeat the fictions, +theretofore put forth, concerning the grinding of the sabres for the +party, and of the publicity given to the preparations for leaving the +camp, and of the departure of the expedition "with the shouts of their +comrades ringing in their ears." And, in support of this perversion of +history he publishes an illogical, and scurrilous statement prepared for +the purpose by Salmon Brown.[148] + +Secrecy was characteristic of all Brown's planning. To the Gileadites he +had written: "Let no man appear upon the ground unequipped or with his +weapons exposed to view. Your plans must be known only to yourself." +Brown's expedition herein had for its object the accomplishment of an +atrocity, conspicuous for its cowardice and selfish brutality; a crime +that involved the honor, as well as the lives, of every person who was +connected with it. The grinding of sabres usually signifies an intention +to cut somebody to death. The men of this party intended to murder their +victims quietly with swords; and had planned, long before the date of +this supposed occasion, how to conceal their connection with the +cutting, and therefore did not thus advertise their undertaking. There +was no "enthusiasm" in the camp of the Pottawatomie Rifles two days +later, when a messenger "came tearing into it,--his horse panting and +lathered with foam,--and without dismounting yelled out: 'Five men have +been killed on Pottawatomie Creek, butchered and most brutally mangled, +and old John Brown has done it.'"[149] No "cheering," such as "you never +heard," greeted this announcement. There was excitement, but not the +"wild excitement" and enthusiasm of victory. There were no cheers for +John Brown and his "avengers." There was, however, the deeper excitement +of indignation and resentment against the tribe of Browns. Instead of +adopting resolutions and presenting them to Captain John Brown, Jr., +congratulating him upon the prompt and splendid achievements of his +father's expedition, a drum-head court martial was convened in the camp +of the Pottawatomie Rifles, which stripped him of his command and +dismissed him in disgrace from the company; First Lieutenant H. H. +Williams being elected captain to succeed him. Jason Brown said: + + This information caused great excitement and fear among the + men of our company and a feeling arose against John and + myself that led the men all to desert us.[150] + +If Jason Brown, "whose hatred of blood-letting had deprived him of his +fathers confidence," when violent deeds were under way,[151] "had +devoted" himself to sharpening the cutlasses in John's camp May 23d, as +stated by Mr. Villard,[152] he would have known that "blood-letting" was +to ensue; and the news that blood had been shed, would not have come to +him as a shock--"'the worst shock' that ever came to him in his +life."[153] Nor would he have "tremblingly" _demanded_ of his father on +the night of the 25th: "Did you have anything to do with the killing of +those men on the Pottawatomie?" For he would not only have known that +there were to be killings, and who were to be killed, but he would have +been a party to them, and to the robbery. He would have known all about +what was to happen. But to his eternal credit let it be said that his +father and brothers had not taken him into their confidence in this +matter. Townsley, in his confession, said nothing about the calling for +volunteers, and the grinding of sabres, although it is probable that his +connection with Brown's scheme began on May 23d, as he stated. + +There were suspicious circumstances which tended to incriminate the +Brown party; but the facts that the horses which were stolen had been +run out of the country, while the Browns remained in the neighborhood, +and did not have the murdered men's horses in their possession, were +potent in allaying these suspicions, and gave them an opportunity to +deny their guilt. But if the sensational scenes of calling for +volunteers for a hostile purpose, and the sharpening of their sabres had +actually occurred, they would have had no possible defense. This +evidence would have connected them directly with the crime, and it would +have been published immediately upon the return of the resentful +Pottawatomie Rifles to their homes at Osawatomie and on the +Pottawatomie. Whereas the resolutions adopted at the mass-meeting of +citizens at Osawatomie May 27th, refer to "midnight assassins unknown;" +and on May 31st, Mr. James H. Carruth wrote to the Watertown (New York) +_Reformer_: + + ... It was murder nevertheless and the Free-State men here + co-operate with the pro-slavery men in endeavoring to + arrest the murderers. + +In his statement of the facts as to the happenings on the Pottawatomie, +Mr. Villard makes one sole reference to the robberies that happened. It +is, that when Owen Brown had been denounced by his uncle, the Rev. Mr. +Adair of Osawatomie, on the 26th, as a "vile murderer," and was refused +admission to his home, that "he rode away on one of the murdered men's +horses." Except for this and another incidental reference to theft, the +reader of _Fifty Years After_ would not be informed that any robbery had +been committed; and even this statement is artfully written. It is +incorrect and misleading. It conceals a thread in this history which +would, if exposed, unmask the selfishness that prompted this crime: Owen +Brown rode away on one of the "fast Kentucky horses" which John Brown +received _in exchange_ for the "murdered men's horses." + +Mr. Villard assumes that Brown's motives for committing the murders +herein, and stealing these horses, were unselfish; a grace that should +logically apply to the swaggering, swearing infidels whom he directed. +In a summary of his conclusions he says:[154] + + Fired with indignation at the wrongs he witnessed on every + hand, impelled by the Covenanter's spirit that made him so + strange a figure in the nineteenth century, and believing + fully that there should be an eye for an eye and a tooth + for a tooth, he killed his men in the conscientious belief + that he was a faithful servant of Kansas and of the Lord. + He killed not to kill, but to free; not to make wives + widows and children fatherless, but to attack on its own + ground the hideous institution of human slavery, against + which his whole life was a protest. He pictured himself a + modern crusader as much empowered to remove the unbeliever + as any armoured searcher after the Grail. It was to his + mind a righteous and necessary act; if he concealed his + part in it and always took refuge in half-truth that his + own hands were not stained, that was as near to a + compromise for the sake of policy as this rigid, + self-denying Roundhead ever came. Naturally a + tender-hearted man, he directed a particularly shocking + crime without remorse, because the men killed typified to + him the slave-drivers who counted their victims by the + hundreds. It was to him a necessary carrying into Africa of + the war in which he firmly desired himself engaged. And + always it must not be forgotten that his motives were + wholly unselfish, and that his aims were none other than + the freeing of a race. With his ardent, masterful + temperament, he needed no counsel from a Lane or a Robinson + to make him ready to strike a blow, or to tell him that the + time for it had come. The smoke of burning Lawrence was + more than sufficient. + + From the point of view of ethics, John Brown's crime on the + Pottawatomie cannot be successfully palliated or excused. + It must ever remain a complete indictment of his judgment + and wisdom; a dark blot upon his memory; a proof that, + however self-controlled, he had neither true respect for + the laws nor for human life, nor a knowledge that two + wrongs never make a right. Call him a Cromwellian trooper + with the Old Testament view of the way of treating one's + enemies, as did James Freeman Clarke, if you please; it is + nevertheless true that Brown lived in the nineteenth + century and was properly called upon to conform to its + standard of morals and right living. + + For John Brown no pleas can be made that will enable him to + escape coming before the bar of historical judgment. There + his wealth of self-sacrifice, and the nobility of his aims, + do not avail to prevent a complete condemnation of his + bloody crime at Pottawatomie, or a just penalty for his + taking human life without warrant or authority. If he + deserves to live in history, it is not because of his + cruel, gruesome, reprehensible acts on the Pottawatomie, + but despite them. + +Conceptions of the distinguishing traits in Brown's character are widely +divergent; a divergence not attributable to a "blind prejudice." Those +who knew him best did not have the exalted opinions of the nobility of +his aims, or of the sublimity of his humanity, that inspired his +eulogists and biographers. Prominent among the dissenters was John Brown +himself. As late as March 31, 1857, he did not personally understand +that what he had been doing in Kansas was either sentimental, patriotic, +or romantic. It had not occurred to him that he had been impelled by the +covenanters spirit, or that he was a crusader, either ancient or modern. +On that date, replying to a letter that he had received from his wife, +in which she informed him that "his sons were now inclined to give up +war and remain at North Elba," he said:[155] + + I have only to say as regards the resolution of the boys to + "learn and practice war no more," that it was not at my + solicitation that they engaged in it at first; and that + while I may perhaps feel no more love of the business than + they do, still I think there may be in their day what is + more to be dreaded if such things do not now exist. + +Judged in the light of what has been already shown concerning Brown's +activities, this letter is fatal to any theory that he was instigated by +other than sordid motives when he engaged in his course of crime. So +judged it is an acknowledgment by himself that what he and his sons had +been engaged in, in Kansas, was "_business_," simply business. Also, +that it was disreputable; and he sought to absolve himself from any +responsibility for their participation therein, by denying that it was +at his solicitation "that they engaged in it at first." By the +declaration that what he had been doing was repulsive to him, John Brown +discredits every altruistic theory which has been put forth in +extenuation of his crimes, or in justification of his actions. It is +evidence that it was his hands, and not his heart, that were enlisted in +his operations. A man inspired by the righteousness of a cause is not +moved to make apology for having invited others to engage in it with +him. If he had believed that in these murders and robberies he had been +acting as a faithful servant of Kansas, and of the Lord, he would have +proudly asserted his conviction, and would have defended his conduct +upon the high grounds of duty, loyalty, and humanity. + +Mr. Geo. B. Gill was one who knew Brown better than any of his +panegyrists knew him--Mr. Sanborn not excepted. Upon him he practiced no +hypocritical pretensions. He was honored by Brown with a place in his +cabinet, as secretary of the treasury, under the "Provisional Government +of the United States," which he organized in Canada in 1858; and was one +of the generals, in embryo, who was to command the Army of the Invasion. +In a letter (not heretofore published)[156] written from Milan, Kansas, +July 7, 1893, to Colonel Robert J. Hinton, author of _John Brown and His +Men_, Mr. Gill expressed, confidentially, his opinion of Brown's +personality. He said: + + MY DEAR FRIEND: + + It seems that all great men have their foibles or what we + in our differences from them call their weaknesses. "A man + is never a hero to his valet" and I am about to give you an + expression of truthfulness which I have never given to any + one yet.... I admit that I am sadly deficient as a God or + hero worshipper.... And the man who may do his fellows the + most good may be far from the goody-goody, but may be + personally absolutely offensive. + + My intimate acquaintance with Brown demonstrated to me that + he was very human; the angel wings were so dim and shadowy + as to be almost unseen. Very superstitious, very selfish + and very intolerant, with great self esteem.... He could + not brook a rival. At first he was very fond of + Montgomery, but when he found that Montgomery had thoughts + of his own, and could not be dictated to, why, he loved him + no longer. Montgomery, Lane and all others went down before + his imperial self. He was intolerant in little things and + in little ways, for instance, his drink was tea, others + wanted coffee. He would wrangle and compel them to drink + tea or nothing, as he was cook and would not make coffee + for them. I had it from Owen in a quiet way and from other + sources in quite a loud way that in his family his methods + were of the most arbitrary kind.... I have known Stevens to + sometimes raise merry hell when the old man would get too + dictatorial. He was iron and had neither sympathy or + feeling for the timid or weak of will. Notwithstanding + claims to the contrary, he was essentially vindictive in + his nature. Just before we left Kansas, during a trip that + Brown and myself were some days away from the rest, the + boys arrested a man. (I think by the name of Jackson.) + Montgomery gave him a trial and he was released by general + consent as not meriting punishment. When we returned Brown + was furious because the man had not been shot.... It seems + hard and cruel in me to tell you of Brown's individuality + as I have told you, yet it seemed to me that you, perhaps + the last writer on the theme, should know all, whether it + be any use to you or not.... + + Yours truly, + GEORGE B. GILL. + +There is nothing in Mr. Gill's pen picture of John Brown that suggests +to the mind a "misplaced Crusader," or a "self-denying Roundhead," a +"Cromwellian trooper" or an "armored searcher for the Grail;" but there +is that in it which does suggest a man of low instincts, trifling and +contentious about little things; of a vindictive and quarrelsome +disposition; inordinately selfish, inhuman and intolerant. It is for the +reader to determine which of the two estimates of the man is entitled to +credit. + +In view of the facts presented herein, this much debated event in +Brown's life cannot be considered, abstractedly, as a study in altruism; +but as a premeditation in robbery, to which the murders were incidental. + +The movement to execute the Pottawatomie robbery began when Brown and +his sons left their homes on the evening of May 21st, ostensibly to +engage in the defense of Lawrence. They did not belong to the +Pottawatomie Rifles. That was, says John Brown, the company of which +"John was Captain" and to which Jason belonged. The six were "a little +company by themselves." This party did not intend to go to Lawrence. +They had matters of a personal nature to attend to. After camping "with +John's company over night" they left his camp and retracing their steps, +proceeded to a secluded spot, about a mile from the scene of their +prospective operations; where they remained thirty hours, awaiting, +doubtless, the arrival of their confederates with the northern horses. +The owners of the horses that were to be stolen stood in the pathway of +the thieves and they thrust them aside in death. If Brown and his band +"killed these men in the conscientious belief that they were faithful +servants of the Lord and of Kansas," then they stole these horses in the +same exalted inspiration. The theft of the horses cannot be put in +harmony with any theory of either patriotism or humanity. The _murders_ +have been defended, quite successfully, from a spiritual point of view; +but there is nothing spiritual in horse-trading, nor is there anything +in horse-stealing which appeals to the tender susceptibilities of our +nature, or to the refinements of life. It is impossible, by any +contortions of the imagination, to conceive of anything æsthetic, +altruistic, or spiritual being connected with a horse trade wherein all +the horses involved in the trade have been stolen, and the trade is +being made between the thieves, even though some of the thieves be +murderers. The event herein was a plain case of murder and robbery, +deliberately planned and executed under most revolting circumstances. +"Murder is murder" and robbery is robbery, therefore this combining +incident cannot be accepted as an exhibit in metaphysics. The victims of +these men were not murdered and their horses taken in behalf of Kansas +and of the Lord, but for the exclusive benefit of the Browns and their +associates in the crime; they were not moved to "murder these men and +boys" by any "sudden overpowering impulse" excited by the spectacle of +burning Lawrence; but by a brutal desire to get possession of their +horses. Brown was impatient of the cruel fortune that kept him, as he +tersely stated it, "like a toad under a harrow," and he determined to +break asunder the chains that bound him within his environment of +poverty, and to seek relief from their fetters in a life of crime; a +decision due to "an outgrowth of his restlessness and the usual desire +of the bankrupt for a sudden coup to restore his fortune." + +If the robbery on the Pottawatomie were undertaken and executed in +behalf of the Free-State cause, then all the horses which the Browns +stole during the time they remained in Kansas, were stolen from motives +of patriotism and humanity. The term "attacking slavery" was a joke in +the vocabulary of these bandits. The theft of a horse was spoken of, +wittily, as an "attack upon slavery" or as "fighting for freedom." + +On page 122 Mr. Villard stoutly says: "Where John Brown was, he led." +Did he lead in these midnight murders? Were his methods and conduct +throughout this bloody affair those of a hero inspired by a devotion to +humanity and by the nobility of his aims; or were they characteristic of +the assassin and thief, who kills and robs under cover of the night and +hides his identity by flight? In view of his actions as set forth +herein, it is violently illogical to suppose that in planning to murder +these settlers and steal their horses, Brown's motives were unselfish; +and that he was moved by the higher impulses of altruism. Yet such are +the assumptions of his biographers. + +A public sentiment in sympathy with "the men in bondage," and excited by +the fierce storm of sectional animosity prevailing during the later +fifties, created, of John Brown, an altruistic hero; and his biographers +have been diligent and successful in perpetuating the fiction. When +these murders were committed, had the public known that they were +executed in promoting the robbery of these settlers; and that Brown and +his sons were a band of thieves, working jointly with another party of +thieves; and that they intended to continue their thieving operations +while they remained in the Territory; the metamorphosis of John Brown, +the criminal into John Brown, the hero, would have been impossible. +History would have dealt differently with him. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BLACK JACK + +_There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the +flood leads on to fortune._ + + --JULIUS CAESAR, ACT IV + + +The tide in Free-State sentiment was soon to flow strongly in Brown's +favor. He had wisely deferred the execution of his "sudden coup" on the +Pottawatomie, until a time when public attention would be distracted +from a close observance and inquiry into his actions. In the flames of +burning Lawrence he saw the fruition of his hopes. The storm of passion +awakened by the outrages there, swept by the malignant winds of revenge, +spread and lighted the fires of partisan spirit and partisan hate in the +hearts of the Free-State men, to the borders of the remotest prairie. +They were aroused and united in their common cause, as never before, and +were prepared not only to condone any outrages that might be committed +upon pro-slavery men, but to approve of them. In this spirit they +received the news of the "murder on the Pottawatomie" and congratulated +the murderers. But when Brown won his victory over Captain Pate at Black +Jack and humiliated that boasting aggravation of border ruffianism, they +went wild in their enthusiasm for him and his name was upon every +tongue. The criminal of the age became the hero of the hour. Had Brown +sought to serve the cause of Freedom, and to engage the forces of +slavery at "close quarters," he would have been carried to leadership +upon the crest of the wave of Free-State enthusiasm which then swept +over the Territory. But such was neither his intention nor his ambition. +It was sordid gain which he sought--that, and that only. Free booty, +and not Free Kansas, was the slogan in the Brown camp. + +May 26th Brown received some reënforcements. August Bondi and A. O. +Carpenter joined the band. Bondi was a member of the Pottawatomie +Rifles; also, he was an associate with Benjamin. Carpenter, it is said, +knew of a safe hiding place. The retreat to which he invited the party +was in a secluded ravine, opening into Ottawa Creek bottom, in the +vicinity of Palmyra, some twenty miles northward. The flight of the +Browns, during the night of the 26th, from their concealment on Middle +Creek, to the more secure hiding place on Ottawa Creek, is thus +described by Mr. Bondi. He says:[157] + + There were ten of us--Captain Brown, Owen, Frederick, + Salmon and Oliver Brown; Henry Thompson, Theodore Weiner, + James Townsley, Carpenter and myself.... The three youngest + men, Salman Brown, Oliver and I--rode without saddles. By + order of Captain Brown, Fred Brown rode first, Owen and + Carpenter next; ten paces behind them, Old Brown; and the + rest of us behind him two and two.... + +It will be observed that the little company of six which was on foot on +the 24th, was now mounted; and the fact that Bondi rode without a +saddle, indicates that his mount was not his own property, but that it +had been furnished by the Browns. It thus appears that they had seven +horses in their possession, exclusive of the fast running horse in the +hands of John Brown, Jr. + +Another incident therein related reflects some historical light upon the +state of Brown's mind at the time. Generally, the leader of such a party +rides at the head of it. On this occasion Brown assigned to himself a +position of safety in the line of march not consistent with the +reputation he earned later as a fighter; or with the biographical axiom: +"Where John Brown was, he led." Danger was imminent on the route of this +column. But Brown did not lead. His conduct can only be accounted for +upon the hypothesis that a man cannot be a thief and a hero at the same +time. The subject of personal safety, by _flight_, was uppermost in +Brown's mind. His study was how to escape from the country with his +booty. He was fleeing, under cover of the night, from the wrath of his +fellow citizens, and from the officers of the law whom he suspected +might be upon his trail. He was in the rôle of a thief, pure and simple, +and he acted the part. June 1st, under very much altered circumstances, +his conduct was different. Having been encouraged to fight, he had made +an honorable alliance with Captain Shore, and had started from his +hiding place to join him in a contemplated attack upon a party of +Missourians, then in the vicinity, to effect the arrest of the Browns. +This march is also described by Bondi:[158] + + Still in the best of spirits, and with our appetites still + better, just whetted by a scant breakfast, we followed + Captain Brown,--he alone remaining serious, and riding + silent at our front. + +Continuing his narrative of the all-night ride, Bondi says that about 4 +o'clock on the morning of May 27th, they reached the secluded spot, on +Ottawa Creek, which Carpenter had indicated as a safe place for camping; +in the midst of a primeval wood, perhaps half a mile deep to the edge of +the creek. + +Whether by premeditation or otherwise, the party lost no time from the +pursuit of the purposes of their organization. During the afternoon of +that day they went to the store of Mr. J. M. Bernard, at St. Bernard, or +Centropolis, and helped themselves to such goods as pleased their fancy; +principally blankets and clothing, and, returning next day they carried +away, practically, the remainder of the stock. The value of the goods +taken amounted to probably $3,000.[159] + +June 19, 1856, Mr. John Miller testified concerning the robbery of Mr. +Bernard's store, as follows: + + I was at St. Bernard on Tuesday, May 27th, 1856. I was in + the store (J. M. Bernard's) with Mr. Davis. Whilst there a + party of 13 men came to the store on horseback, armed with + Sharp's rifles, revolvers and bowie knives. They inquired + for Mr. Bernard. I told them he had gone to Westport. One + of them said to me, "You are telling a God damn lie," and + drew up his gun at me. They called for such goods as they + wanted and made Mr. Davis and me hand them out and said if + we didn't hurry they would shoot us--they had their guns + ready. After they had got the goods they + wanted--principally, blankets and clothing--they packed + them upon their horses and went away.... On the next + evening, a party of 14 men came to the store on horseback. + Thirteen of the party I recognized as the same that came to + the store the day before and the other man I knew--William + S. Ewitt is his name--and who I know is a Free-State man. + They had a wagon along with them. They came into the store + each having his gun ready. Some carried goods and some put + the goods in the wagon.... They also took away with them + Mr. Bernard's two large horses and three saddles and two + bridles and nearly all the provisions that were + there--bacon and flour and other provisions. They asked Mr. + Davis for all the money he had in the store. There were but + 4 dollars in the drawer which he handed to them. When they + first came they looked up at the sign and said they would + like to shoot at the name.[160] + +An incident of vast importance to John Brown occurred in his secure +retreat. What he then needed above all other earthly things, was a +friend who could and would create a diversion in his behalf and present +his case in a favorable light to the world. Here he met James Redpath, a +correspondent for the New York _Tribune_, and other newspapers. Redpath +had come to interview Brown, and to get a story for the press. Just how +Redpath happened to know that Brown was due to arrive at that time, at +that particular point on Ottawa Creek, is not publicly known; but he +knew of it, and was there awaiting his arrival.[161] The location of +Brown's hiding place was so well concealed that Captain Pate, in pursuit +of the Browns northward, passed by without discovering it; and Redpath, +notwithstanding he had explicit directions, lost his way and had +difficulty in finding the place. His description of the camp is as +follows: + + I shall not soon forget the scene that here opened to my + view. Near the edge of the creek a dozen horses were tied, + all ready saddled for a ride for life, or a hunt after + southern invaders. A dozen rifles and sabres were stacked + against the trees. In an open space, amid the shady and + lofty woods, there was a great blazing fire with a pot on + it; a woman, bareheaded, with an honest, sun-burnt face, + was picking blackberries from the bushes; three or four + armed men were lying on red and blue blankets on the grass; + and two fine looking youths were standing, leaning on their + arms, on guard near by. One of them was the youngest son of + Old Brown, and the other was "Charley," the brave + Hungarian, who was subsequently murdered at Osawatomie. Old + Brown himself stood near the fire, with his shirt sleeves + rolled up, and a large piece of pork in his hand. He was + cooking a pig. He was poorly clad, and his toes protruded + from his boots. The old man received me with great + cordiality, and the little band gathered about me. But it + was for a moment only, for the Captain ordered them to + renew their work. He respectfully but firmly forbade + conversation on the Pottawatomie affair, and said, that, if + I desired any information from the company in relation to + their conduct or intention, he, as their captain, would + answer for them whatever it was proper to communicate.[162] + +Redpath remained for an hour in Brown's camp, an hour of importance to +Brown, the most fortunate hour of his life. Redpath not only pledged to +him his professional support, but assured him that the Free-State men +would defend him, and promised to have the formidable "Stubbs" Rifle +Company, armed with Sharp's rifles, march immediately to his relief. At +the close of the interview he returned to Lawrence and began his vivid +exploitation of Brown in the Territorial and Northern press. He +succeeded in stemming the current of condemnation of the Pottawatomie +murders which came sweeping up from Osawatomie, and turned the tide of +Free-State opinion to Brown's advantage. He was thereafter Brown's +foremost representative, and became his first and most lurid biographer. + +While the incidents herein related were occurring in Brown's camp, the +murderers of the pro-slavery men were being diligently sought for by +voluntary pro-slavery partisans, as well as by the Territorial +authorities. The flight of the Browns caused the finger of suspicion to +point to them as the guilty persons; and when Captain Pate at the head +of a party of Missourians came into the Osawatomie district, and found +out what had happened there, he proceeded to carry off or burn all the +available property of the Browns and their allies--Weiner and Bondi. He +then followed the trail of the Browns and arrived in the vicinity of +their camp on Ottawa Creek, May 31st. Brown, in the meantime, encouraged +by the arrangements he had made with Redpath, and the prospect of +substantial assistance, abandoned the idea of further flight and +determined to fight, and if possible, capture his pursuers. With Pate's +company of twenty-five men, there were as many horses, and probably a +dozen mules, besides arms, provisions, and other plunder; all of which +looked good to the plunder band. + +The Free-State men in that neighborhood had organized a military +company, the "Prairie City Rifles." It was under the command of Captain +S. T. Shore, and numbered eighteen men. Shore agreed to "mobilize" his +company, and unite his force with Brown's party of ten, and to attack +Pate, by surprise, in his camp. An attack of this character upon +undisciplined men, was practically certain of success. The command was +given to Brown, and at daylight on the morning of June 2d, the combined +forces opened fire upon the front and right flank of the astonished +"invaders." The attack was creditable, especially to Brown, who planned +it, and who preserved his poise, and displayed all the skill and courage +necessary in such an engagement. He was fighting for his existence, and +for spoils, and won the battle without loss of life on either side. +After an hour or two of desultory firing, Pate surrendered +unconditionally. The total casualties were four men wounded, two in +Pate's command, and one each in Brown's and Shore's companies. Brown +took possession of all Pate's horses and other property, and held his +men as prisoners until June 5th, when Colonel E. V. Sumner, First United +States Cavalry, arrived upon the scene and separated the belligerents. +He restored to Pate his horses, and such other property belonging to him +as he could find, and ordered all of the "companies" to disband and +return to their homes. + +In view of the losses sustained by the parties engaged in the battle, it +seems as though the fighting was conducted along conservative lines. +Brown's account of it to his wife reads as follows: + + Near Brown's Station K. T. June 1856. + + DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN, EVERYONE: + + ... The cowardly mean conduct of Osawatomie and vicinity + did not save them; for the ruffians came on them, made + numerous prisoners, fired their buildings, and robbed them. + After this a picked party of the Bogus men went to Brown's + Station, burned John's and Jason's houses, and their + contents to ashes; in which burning we have all suffered + more or less. Orson and boy have been prisoners, but were + soon set at liberty. They are well, and have not been + seriously injured. Owen and I have just come here for the + first time, to look at the ruins. All looks desolate and + forsaken--the grass and weeds fast covering up the signs + that these places were lately the abodes of quiet families. + After burning the houses, this selfsame party of picked + men, some forty in number, set out as they supposed, and as + was the fact, on the track of my little company, boasting, + with awful profanity, that they would have our scalps. They + however, passed the place where we were hid, and robbed a + little town some four or five miles beyond our camp in the + timber. I had omitted to say that some murders had been + committed at the time Lawrence was sacked. + + On learning that this party was in pursuit of us, my little + company, now increased to ten in all, started after them in + company of a Captain Shore, with eighteen men, he included + (June 1). We were all mounted as we traveled. We did not + meet them on that day, but took five prisoners, four of + whom were their scouts, and well armed. We were out all + night, but could find nothing of them until about six + o'clock next morning, when we prepared to attack them at + once, on foot, leaving Frederick and one of Captain Shore's + men to guard the horses. As I was much older than Captain + Shore, the principal direction of the fight devolved on me. + We got to within about a mile of their camp before being + discovered by their scouts, and then moved at a brisk pace, + Captain Shore and men forming our left, and my company the + right. When within about sixty rods of the enemy, Captain + Shore's men halted by mistake in a very exposed situation + and continued to fire, both his men and the enemy being + armed with Sharpe's rifles. My company had no long + shooters. We (my company) did not fire a gun until we + gained the rear of a bank about fifteen or twenty rods to + the right of the enemy, where we commenced, and soon + compelled them to hide in a ravine. Captain Shore after + getting one man wounded and exhausted his ammunition, came + with part of his men to the right of my position, much + discouraged. The balance of his men, including the one + wounded, had left the ground. Five of Captain Shore's men + came boldly down and joined my company, and all but one + man, wounded, helped to maintain the fight until it was + over. I was obliged to give my consent that he should go + after more help, when all his men left but eight, four of + whom I persuaded to remain in a secure position, and there + busied one of them in shooting the horses and mules of the + enemy, which served for a show of fight. After the firing + had continued for some two or three hours, Captain Pate + with twenty-three men, two badly wounded, laid down their + arms to nine men, myself included,--four to Captain Shore's + men and four to my own. One of my men (Henry Thompson) was + badly wounded, and after continuing his fire for an hour + longer was obliged to quit the ground. Three others of my + company (but not of my family) had gone off. Salmon was + dreadfully wounded by accident, soon after the fight; but + both he and Henry are fast recovering....[163] + + I ought to have said that Captain Shore and his men stood + their ground nobly in their unfortunate but mistaken + position during the early part of the fight. I ought to say + further that a Captain Abbott, being some miles distant + with a company, came onward promptly to sustain us, but + could not reach us till the fight was over. After the fight + numerous Free-State men who could not be got out before + were on hand, and some of them I am ashamed to add, were + very busy not only with the plunder of our enemies, but + with our private effects, leaving us, while guarding our + prisoners and providing in regard to them, much poorer than + before the battle.... + + Your affectionate husband and father, + JOHN BROWN. + +"Articles of Surrender" signed by Captains Brown, Shore, and Pate, and +his lieutenant, W. B. Brockett, provided for an exchange of prisoners, +stipulating that Brown's sons--John and Jason--then prisoners, were to +be exchanged for Pate and Brockett respectively. It also provided that +the side arms of each person exchanged were to be returned, also the +horses, "so far as practicable." + +An important incident at Black Jack was the failure of the deputy United +States marshal, Wm. J. Preston, to arrest the Browns. He had warrants +for their arrest for the murders on the Pottawatomie, and came with +Sumner to accomplish it. The Colonel notified Brown that they would be +served in his presence, but when ordered by Sumner to proceed, the +marshal said: "I do not recognize any one for whom I have warrants," to +which the Colonel replied: "Then what are you here for?"[164] A man of +Brown's years and experience and courage is a dangerous animal when thus +situated. That a tragedy was impending is more than probable. At any +rate, Preston quailed under the hostile look which Brown fixed upon him. +What would have happened if the marshal had attempted to make the +arrests, none can say, but Preston decided not to mix up in a tragedy. + +Another incident in the affair of historical importance was the presence +of John E. Cook, as a guest in Brown's camp. None of Brown's biographers +has referred to this incident, but the fact appears in Cook's confession +heretofore quoted from. It will be difficult for anyone to account for +Cook's presence there, at that psychological moment, upon any hypothesis +other than that he was there by virtue of an invitation from Brown, or +other notice or understanding with him. It follows, presumptively, that +this was not the first time they had met, and that they were mutually +interested in the problem which Brown had under consideration: how to +get away, safely, with the horses and mules which he had taken from +Pate. The final clause of the last sentence in the "Articles of +Surrender," foreshadows the possibility, or probability, that some of +the horses might be missing later on, and gives credit to the +suspicion, or assumption, that Cook had come to the camp to run the +stock off north and turn it into money, as had been done with the +Pottawatomie horses. That the horses and mules herein were not run off +immediately, and disposed of, was doubtless due to the negotiations that +were pending for the liberation of Brown's sons. He probably thought +that a theft of the horses would be construed as a violation of the +terms of the surrender, and might prevent the exchange of prisoners that +he hoped to effect. But whatever his hopes and his plans may have been, +they were all dissipated and broken up by a fly that unexpectedly +dropped into the ointment of his calculations: the arrival upon the +scene of Sumner, with his cavalry. He spoiled everything. First he made +Brown give back to Pate's men all the property he had taken from them, +or as much of it as was visible, and then peremptorily ordered all the +combatants to disband and return to their homes. + +Sumner's orders bore lightly upon Captain Shore. It was a simple +proposition for his men to "disband and return to their regular +vocations." The presence of Pate and his band in the neighborhood was a +menace to their peace and security; they had left their work, in +response to a call from their captain, to unite in an effort to drive +out the intruders; also they had behaved creditably, and were ready to +return to their homes and to the congratulations which they were sure to +receive from their Free-State neighbors on account of their victory. But +with the Browns it was different. They were engaged in a different kind +of business: the horse and general robbery business. They too had won a +victory--a far greater victory than Shore's men. It was their personal +fight which they had won. With Shore's assistance they had beaten and +captured the posse that had come to arrest them for murder and robbery. +They had fought for their lives--also for Pate's horses and mules. But +they had no homes to which to go. They belonged to a different class of +citizens--the undesirable class. They were outlaws against whom their +neighbors and relatives had closed their doors. Mr. Villard states[165] +that on the evening of May 26th, John Brown, Jr., and Jason Brown were +refused admittance into the house of their uncle, the Rev. Mr. Adair, +near Osawatomie. He said to them, "Can't keep you here. Our lives are +threatened. Every moment we expect to have our house burned over our +heads." However, after assuring Mrs. Adair that they "did not have +anything to do with the murders on the Pottawatomie" they were permitted +to come in. But later that night, when Owen Brown sought admittance to +his uncle's home, Mr. Adair refused even to parley with him, saying: +"Get away, get away as quickly as you can! You endanger our lives. You +are a vile murderer, a marked man!" + +Bondi states that within an hour after Sumner ordered the companies to +disband. Camp Brown had ceased to exist. The wounded Salmon (Thompson) +was taken to Carpenter's cabin, nearby, and nursed by Bondi; the others, +with Weiner, camped in a thicket about half a mile from the abandoned +camp.[166] June 10th settlement was made with Weiner, and he left the +country. It is probable that, at this date, the horses which were taken +on the Pottawatomie had been sold; and that final settlement was then +made between the Browns and Weiner, and their unknown confederates. Mr. +Villard states that "on Thursday June 10, at a council held that day, it +was agreed to separate. Weiner had business in Louisiana. Henry Thompson +[Salmon Brown] was also taken to Carpenter's cabin, and Bondi +accompanied Weiner as far as Leavenworth." + +This was the end of the first John Brown organization. The period of its +active operations covered eighteen days, May 24th to June 10th. During +this time they murdered five men; stole a lot of horses; made a big +horse trade, exchanging the whole, or a part of the stolen horses; +robbed a store; made an alliance with Captain Shore, and captured +Pate's posse at Black Jack: a record of strenuous activity, +characteristic of the aggressive speculator who directed the movements. + +The chapter of robbery and murder on the Pottawatomie, of which Brown's +success over Pate at Black Jack was an incident, closes with the +settlement herein stated and the dissolution of Brown's band June 10th. +It further appears that John Brown and his unmarried sons quit the +Territory late in July, en route to the east. Inquiry then, very +properly turns to what Brown did during the fifty days intervening +between these dates. In the case of an altruistic hero, a "leader of the +Free-State Cause," such as the heralds proclaim Brown to have been, the +public supposes, naturally, that he did something during these days of +opportunity that was worthy of the great distinction with which he is +credited. But to the question: WHAT _did he do_? history gives back no +answer. The historical record of John Brown, except as to three days, +July 2d to 4th, is a total blank. Even his "whereabouts" during these +fifty days is, to the public, unknown. The history of those days of +strenuous endeavor, shows clearly where Robinson was, and what he was +doing. He was the Free-State Governor of the "State of Kansas," and was +in jail, or in confinement, under indictment in the Territorial Court +for "Constructive Treason." History shows where Lane was, and where +Walker was, and where Sam, Woods, and Deitzler, and G. W. Brown and the +others were, but not where John Brown was. His latest biographer +dismisses the question as immaterial, with the following +generalization:[167] + +"Not until the beginning of July," he says, "did John Brown terminate +this life in the bush and again become active. On July 2 he boldly +entered Lawrence, and called upon the _Tribune_ correspondent, William +A. Phillips." Brown's object, in calling upon Phillips, was not to make +a report of the public services which he had rendered during the thirty +days preceding; but for the purpose of having him publish a letter which +he had written in reply to Captain Pate's report of the Black Jack +affair--a personal matter between himself and Pate. It may be said that +if Brown had done anything creditable during "this life in the bush" he +would not have failed to report the fact to Phillips for publication, +for he was vain. He did, however, the next best thing; he told Phillips +what he _intended_ to do: "That he was on his way to Topeka with his +followers, to be on hand at whatever crisis might arise at the opening +of the legislature." Continuing his remarks Mr. Villard says: + + How long John Brown remained at the Willets farm, near + Topeka, to which he now proceeded, and where he spent the + next two or three weeks, is not known. He neither entered + Topeka, on the fateful July 4th, nor immediately + thereafter. It is probable that he returned promptly to the + neighborhood of his sick sons, more than ever disgusted + with the Free-State leaders and their inability to adopt + his view that the way to fight was "to press to close + quarters."[168] + +Since Brown is herein creditably reported to have "terminated this life +in the bush and again become active," it is fair to inquire into the +nature of the public service which he rendered during the period of +activity thus auspiciously announced. Mr. Phillips gave out what Brown +said he intended to do. But Mr. Villard states that he did not do that; +and that there is no record of what he did do, or of where he went. It +appears, then, that "the termination of the life in the bush" was not a +termination of it at all; and that the period of his public activities +"terminated" at the end of a night ride, on stolen horses, from Lawrence +to the vicinity of Topeka. It may be worthy of note, that the above +example of Brown's activity in public affairs is probably the shortest +period of public activity by a hero, that has ever been dignified by +historical record. Further: History does not sustain the statement that +Brown "recruited his band" after the disbanding of it, June 10th. There +is no reason apparent why he should have enlarged it. He and his sons +could operate more profitably than a larger party could, and with less +risk of detection. + +Brown was not a loafer: and he was not in idleness during the fifty days +of his obscuration; neither was he fighting, "pressing to close +quarters," for no fighting was being done during this time. +Investigation, however, of the record and of the various admissions and +statements subsequently made by his sons, discloses the facts that the +activities in which they were engaged were merely akin, or similar to a +state of warfare; that there was continuous "fighting," of a certain +kind, where they were, and "trouble"; so much so that the sons, at +least, had a surfeit of it, and were "tired" of the "business," and were +anxious to quit it and leave the Territory. + +Salmon Brown stated to Mr. Villard, that they left "because Lucius Mills +insisted on the invalids being moved, and because they were a drag on +the fighting men": and Henry Thompson affirmed that "he, Oliver, Owen +and Salmon had had enough of Kansas. They did not wish to fight any +more. They felt they had suffered enough; that the service which they +had been called upon to perform at Pottawatomie squared them with duty. +They were, they thought, entitled to leave further work to other hands. +They were sick of the fighting and trouble."[169] + +These statements show that there were violent actions somewhere, about +something long after Black Jack; and that the invalids impeded the +movements of the "fighting" men. But where this fighting took place, or +what it was about, history is silent. Salmon Brown could tell all about +the occurrences of these fifty days if he were disposed to do so. There +is ample evidence, however, of the fact that the Browns led a stormy +life during the days they are reported "unaccounted for."[170] The +friendly mantle which the night spread over their actions, at the time, +has not been lifted, but the actors therein have told enough to show +that what they did do, was done at the peril of their lives; and was of +such a character that at least one of the party, Lucius Mills, refused +to take any part in it. For this, Mills lost caste with Brown "because +he had no desire to fight, but played nurse and doctor while the others +did the fighting."[171] But since there was no fighting anywhere in +Kansas, we must conclude that they used the term "fighting" as a +convenience, or as a witticism, and that it really means stealing +horses; and that the Browns, while in hiding from the world at large, +were still carrying on the business they commenced in the bloody tragedy +on the Pottawatomie. Further evidence that they were horse thieves, +appears in an incident which occurred when they were en route home, as +related by Salmon Brown. He says:[172] + + "We other four bought a double buggy and harness from the + Oberlin people, on credit at Tabor, drove to Iowa City, + sold the horses, sent back the money to pay for the wagon, + and all four went home. The horses for the double buggy we + came by thus: we heard on the way through Nebraska, that + some pro-slavery men were after us. Oliver, who was always + a dare-devil, and William Thompson ambushed these men, + deliberately turning aside for that purpose. The men, + ordered off their horses, took it for a regular hold-up in + force, and surrendered their animals. Oliver and William + immediately jumped on and lit out for Tabor. It was these + horses that took us across Iowa." The need of converting + pro-slavery animals into good anti-slavery stock, was thus + urgent with the Brown sons in peaceful placid Nebraska as + it had been in bleeding Kansas. + +This incident bears all the characteristics of the daring professional +at work. It is not probable that two lone Kansas pro-slavery men +followed John Brown, who had become the Terror of the Territory, up into +Free-State Nebraska. It is much more probable that the Browns held up +two unsuspecting, unarmed, citizens of Nebraska, and took their horses. +And, having taken them in this manner, it follows, more than logically, +that they also stole the buggy and harness, to complete the outfit; for +it would be quite impossible that two irresponsible young strangers, +traveling through a country, could thus buy a "double buggy and harness +on credit." + +The Browns profited by their operations in Kansas. They did not grow +rich during the short period of their outlawry, but they became +prosperous in comparison with what their circumstances were before they +became robbers. It will be remembered that Salmon Brown, when he was a +homebuilder, was very poor. Mr. Villard has been quoted as saying that +Brown and his sons "arrived in Kansas in all but destitute condition, +with but sixty cents between them, to find the settlement in great +distress." And Redpath said of Brown, when he met him in his camp May +30, 1856, "He was poorly clad, and his toes protruded from his boots." +In contrast with these commercial ratings we have a report on Brown, as +he appeared in Nebraska about August 1, 1856:[173] + + The Captain was riding a splendid horse and was in plain + white summer clothing. He wore a large straw hat and was + closely shaven. Everything about him was scrupulously + clean. He made a great impression on several of the + company, who, without knowing him, at once declared that he + must be a distinguished man in disguise. + +As a result of their "fighting," and of their "pressing to close +quarters," the Browns were quite independent when they left the +Territory. "_School was out._" Also, the "_toad_" had got out from under +the harrow. They could now go wherever they wished, and they concluded +to give up "their struggle to make Kansas a Free-State" and to return to +their home in New York. At Nebraska City, when Brown changed his mind +about going east and decided to return to Kansas, he bought horses for +himself and Frederick, who was to accompany him, and sent the remainder +of the party on their way to the States.[174] When he arrived at +Osawatomie, about August 20th, he had, as stated by Bondi, "a spick and +span four mule team, the wagon loaded with provisions; besides he was +well supplied with money."[175] In poverty and on foot, the Browns +entered the valley of the Pottawatomie May 23, 1856; seventy days +thereafter, they left the Territory, in independent circumstances. + +During the latter part of July and the first days of August. 1856, some +incidents occurred in Kansas which are interrelated. The pro-slavery men +living in the vicinity of "New Georgia," near Osawatomie, built a +"block-house" for the protection of pro-slavery settlers from Free-State +aggressions. Following this, John Brown and his band of Free-State +aggressors suddenly left the Territory. August 5th, Captain Cracklin, +with the Stubbs Rifles, routed the Georgians at New Georgia and burned +their block-house; also, upon receipt of this intelligence, at Nebraska +City, Brown changed his mind about going east, and returned to Kansas to +raid the Osawatomie district. The first of these incidents, the building +of the block-house, was a pro-slavery demonstration in Brown's +territory. It was notice to him that further stealing from pro-slavery +settlers would be unsafe in that neighborhood; it was also a challenge +to John Brown to fight, if he chose to accept it as such. That the +leaving of the Browns was not a premeditation, but the result of a +"sudden impulse," appears from a statement made by Mr. Adair to Mr. T. +H. Hand in a letter dated July 17, 1856: "Bro. J. B. and unmarried sons +expect to leave the territory immediately."[176] Also, from the further +fact that at the time they left, William Thompson, brother of Henry +Thompson, was due to arrive in Kansas to join the Brown colony. They met +him near the Nebraska line and took him back east with them.[177] + +The abrupt leaving of the Browns, under these circumstances, is +inconsistent with the theory that they were "fighting men;" or that they +were anxious to fight. If John Brown had actually desired to "engage the +slave-power at close quarters" as has been insisted upon, boastfully, +for more than fifty years, he would have joined his force with Captain +Shore, or others, and would have attacked the Georgians at New Georgia, +and driven them out, as Captain Cracklin did August 5th, while +they--Brown and his sons--were running away from the job. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OSAWATOMIE + +_Do men gather grapes of thorn or figs of thistles?_ + + --MATTHEW 6:16 + + +At Nebraska City Brown met some distinguished persons: General Lane, +Colonel Samuel Walker, and Aaron D. Stevens. These men were commanders +in the Free-State army; they received him into their confidence, and +related to him their plans concerning the pending military operations; +the object of which was to destroy the pro-slavery forces that had +occupied strategic positions near Lawrence and Osawatomie, or drive them +from the Territory. He knew that the execution of these undertakings +would result in important events and decided to return to Kansas. It was +evident there was to be real fighting; fighting at close quarters; in +fact the fighting had already begun. August 5th, Captain Cracklin had +opened the campaign, prosperously, by a successful attack upon the +pro-slavery post at New Georgia, as has been heretofore stated. Mr. +Sanborn[178] claims that Brown had some share in Cracklin's victory, but +of course, he could not be simultaneously at both of these places. News +of this victory was received at Nebraska City in a message that came to +Walker; whereupon the party, except Brown, "proceeded to Lawrence as +fast as humanly possible." They all left Nebraska City August 9th: +thirty hours later, Lane arrived at Lawrence, Walker arriving shortly +afterward. But Brown stopped at Topeka on the 10th, where no fighting +was in contemplation; and his "whereabouts," from that date until the +17th, is reported as being "unknown."[179] + +August 12th, Captain Bickerton defeated Major Buford's company of +Georgians, at Franklin; stormed and burned the block-house; captured +some arms and provisions, and recaptured the six-pounder brass cannon, +that Buford had taken possession of at Lawrence, May 21st. Buford wrote: +"Our money, books, papers, clothing, surveying instruments, and many +precious memorials of kindness and friends far away, were all consumed +by the incendiary villains who hold sway.... We are now destitute of +everything except our muskets, and an unflinching determination to be +avenged..." Bickerton lost one man killed and six wounded. Buford's loss +was four men wounded--one mortally.[180] But Brown was not present when +Bickerton pressed to close quarters at Franklin; Lane was there, and +Sanborn says that Brown was there:[181] "Returning about the 10th of +August," he says, "with General Lane, he proceeded with him to Lawrence +and to Franklin where there was some skirmishing." "On the 15th the +Free-State men assailed Fort Saunders, a strong log house on Washington +Creek, about twelve miles southwest of Lawrence. After the customary +fusillade, the pro-slavery men retreated without blood shed on either +side."[182] Still, no Brown. The following appeal, by General Lane, was +sent to him, from Topeka, on August 12th: + + Mr. Brown:--General Joe Cook (Lane) wants you to come to + Lawrence this night, for we expect to have a fight on + Washington Creek. Come to Topeka as soon as possible and I + will pilot you to the place. + + Yours in haste, + H. STRATTON.[183] + +It seems from this that Brown was somewhere near Topeka, on the 12th, +and not at Franklin. + +On the 16th the attack was made on Fort Titus. Of this Mr. Villard says: + + There was real fighting at Fort Titus, which Captain Samuel + Walker, Captain Joel Grover, and a Captain Samuel Shombre + attacked, at sunrise August 16, with fifty determined men. + Captain Shombre was killed, and nine out of ten men with + him wounded, in a rush on the block-house. In a short time + eighteen out of the forty remaining attackers were wounded, + including Captain Walker. After several hours of fighting, + Free-State reinforcements appeared, including Captain + Bickerton, with the six pounder, and its slugs of molten + type. It was run to within three hundred yards of the fort + and fired nine or ten times.... As Titus still showed no + white flag, a load of hay was again resorted to with the + same success as at Franklin. As the wagon was backed up to + the log fort, and before the match was applied, the party + surrendered.... Walker captured thirteen horses, four + hundred guns, a large number of knives and six pistols, a + fair stock of provisions and thirty-four prisoners, six of + whom were badly wounded. One dead man was found in the + block-house before it was burned. + +Again this question comes up: Where was Brown when this fighting was +taking place? Was he in this very creditable engagement? Continuing his +narrative, Mr. Villard says, on page 232: + + The testimony as to whether John Brown was at Saunders and + Titus is conflicting. He himself left no statement bearing + upon it, and Luke Parsons, James Blood, O. E. Learnard and + others, are positive that he was not at either place. The + weight of evidence would seem to be on that side. + +But John Brown did leave a statement bearing directly upon the question +as to whether, or not, he was present at any of these engagements. In +the interview which he gave out after his capture at Harper's Ferry, in +answer to the question: "Did you know Sherrod in Kansas? I understand +you killed him?" Brown replied: "I killed no man except in fair fight. I +fought at Black Jack, and at Osawatomie, and if I killed anybody it was +at one of these places."[184] Brown, therefore, was not present at any +of these battles. He was at Lawrence, however, on August 17th, _after_ +the fighting was over. Mr. Villard says on page 233: "That Brown was at +Lawrence, when Walker arrived with his prisoners, admits of no doubt. +Again his voice was raised for the extreme penalty; again he asked a +sacrifice of blood." It appears, therefore, that Brown "terminated" a +seven days "life in the bush" on the 17th, and became active in public +affairs, for twenty-four hours. Referring to a concurrent incident +Colonel Walker says: + + At a little way out of Lawrence I met a delegation, sent by + the committee of safety, with an order for the immediate + delivery of Titus into their hands. Knowing the character + of the men, I refused to give him up. Our arrival at + Lawrence created intense excitement. The citizens swarmed + around us, clamoring for the blood of our prisoner. The + committee of safety held a meeting and decided that Titus + should be hanged, John Brown, and other distinguished men + urging the measure strongly. At four o'clock in the evening + I went before the committee, and said that Titus had + surrendered to me; that I had promised him his life, and + that I would defend it with my own. I then left the room. + Babcock followed me out and asked me if I was fully + determined. Being assured that I was, he went back, and the + committee, by a new vote, decided to postpone the hanging + indefinitely. I was sure of the support of some 300 good + men, and among them Captain Tucker, Captain Harvey, and + Captain Stulz. Getting this determined band into line, I + approached the house where Titus was confined and entered. + Just as I opened the door I heard pistol shots in Titus's + room and rushed in and found a desperado named "Buckskin" + firing over the guard's shoulders at the wounded man as he + lay on his cot. It took but one blow from my heavy dragoon + pistol to send the villain heels-over-head to the bottom of + the stairs. Captain Brown and Doctor Avery were outside + haranguing the mob to hang Titus despite my objections. + They said I had resisted the committee of safety, and was + myself, therefore, a public enemy. The crowd was terribly + excited, but the sight of my 300 solid bayonets held them + in check. + +This is a part of the record of these heroic days--days of strenuous +effort and of heroic achievement. The Free-State men were engaged in a +supreme effort to drive from the Territory the armed pro-slavery bands +that had been organized in the South to intimidate and subdue them. They +had fought a splendidly aggressive campaign, dislodging their foes from +all their positions, burning their forts, and capturing their supplies. +There was, as has been said, real fighting, fighting at close quarters, +and plenty of it. And now, in view of it, what is to be said about +Brown, the hypothetical Kansas hero, the "Fighting Leader of the +Free-State Cause?" Lane was in evidence; and Colonel Walker, and +Bickerton, and Grover, and the gallant Shombre, were in the thick of it; +but what part did Brown perform in these undertakings? What contribution +did he make to the winning of these victories? Nothing! Absolutely +nothing. He came out of the "brush" after the fighting was over, and +endeavored to incite a mob to hang a prisoner who was severely wounded. + +This disreputable action is evidence that Brown was not in harmony with +the best thought of the occasion; that he mingled with the lawless +element--with the "Buckskin" class, that "fired over the guard's +shoulders, at the wounded man, as he lay on his cot." Brown was not +interested in these important public matters; he was not coöperating +with the Free-State men; his motives for returning to the Territory did +not relate to Territorial affairs. His plans had to do with something +else. They were of a personal character; and his presence at Lawrence on +the 17th, was simply an incident of his trip from Nebraska City to +Osawatomie, where he arrived, according to Bondi, "about the 20th, well +supplied with money," and with a "spick and span four mule team, the +wagon loaded with provisions,"[185] to make a coup in horses and cattle. +Brown had outfitted this four mule team at or near Topeka, and the +presence of it at Osawatomie on the 20th, with its stock of provisions, +is the best evidence of what he had been thinking about, and of what he +was doing, while the Free-State men were fighting the battles around +Lawrence. + +Leaving Nebraska City on the 9th, Brown stopped at Topeka on the 10th. +Later developments show that he had planned a scheme of robbery upon a +larger scale than anything he had theretofore undertaken. As to the +Free-State campaign, the battles "at close quarters," the victories, the +rejoicings, the planning for future operations, he was indifferent, +except as they served his personal purposes. + +Brown's arrival at Osawatomie was his first appearance there after the +Pottawatomie murders. By the 24th he had "enlisted" nine men: Wm. +Partridge, John Salathiel, S. B. Brown, John Godell, L. T. Parsons, N. +B. Phelps, Wm. B. Harris, Jason Brown, and J. Benjamin.[186] He had also +stolen enough horses to mount them. Of this Mr. Villard says:[187] + + Naturally, as a good general, John Brown's first concern + was for the mounts of his men. Bondi avers that some of + Brown's men received prompt orders to capture all of "Dutch + Henry" Sherman's horses. He himself obtained, when these + orders were executed, "a four year old fine bay horse for + my mount" and "old John Brown rode a fine blooded bay." + +The example set by the Browns, during May, June, and July, brought +forth many imitators. Robbery became an industry. A new Richmond was in +the Osawatomie field--a Captain Cline, with a company of mounted men, +every one of whose horses had been stolen. This seems to have been +sufficient recommendation, for Brown joined forces with Cline, and the +two commands set out, August 24th, for the south, marching eight miles, +and camping on Sugar Creek, Linn County.[188] On the 26th another merger +of the special interests was accomplished. Captain J. H. Holmes also had +a company which was consolidated with Brown's party. Captain Shore was +in the vicinity, with the Prairie City Rifles, but it seems that he was +not stealing anything. The Brown combination probably represented all +the plants, or commercial units, then doing "business" in that district. +In promptly effecting the merger of these interests, Brown showed his +capacity for affairs, and is entitled to receive for the second time the +"historic title of Captain,"--Captain of Industry. The men who belonged +to Holmes's Company were, Cyrus Tator, R. Reynolds, Noah Fraze (First +Lieutenant), William Miller, John P. Glenn, Wm. Quick, M. D. Lane, Amos +Alderman, August Bondi, Charles Kaiser, Freeman Austin, Samuel Hauser, +and John W. Fay,[189] and, probably, Frederick Brown. Thus organized and +equipped, the forces put into effect the purposes of their organization +without delay. Mr. Villard says:[190] + + John Brown then rode off to raid the pro-slavery + settlements, on Sugar Creek.... They visited the home of + Captain John E. Brown, taking, as his toll, fifty + pro-slavery cattle and all the men's clothes the house + contained.... Other houses were similarly searched, and + their cattle taken, on the ground that they had originally + been Free-State before being purloined by the pro-slavery + settlers. + +That they moved promptly, worked industriously, and obtained +satisfactory results without hindrance from any quarter, appears from +the further statement by Mr. Villard:[191] + + On Thursday evening, August 28th, Brown reached Osawatomie, + traveling slowly because of the one hundred and fifty + cattle he drove before him. Both his company and Cline's + bivouacked in the town that night. The next morning, + (August 29) early, they divided their plunder and cattle, + and Brown moved his camp to the high ground north of + Osawatomie, where now stands the State Insane Asylum. An + ordinary commander would have allowed all his men to rest. + But not John Brown. He was in the saddle all day, riding + with James H. Holmes, and others of his men, along + Pottawatomie Creek, whence he crossed to Sugar Creek, + returning to Osawatomie with more captured cattle, by way + of the Fort Scott trail. + +This last lot of cattle was probably the drove that the Quaker, Richard +Mendenhall, referred to, as quoted by Sanborn on page 326: + + I next met John Brown again on the evening before the + battle of Osawatomie. He with a number of others, was + driving a herd of cattle, which they had taken from + pro-slavery men. + +It is not probable that it will ever be known what Brown intended to do +with these cattle. Those who know what his intentions were in the +premises, have not revealed them. He was going East, later on, to work +out a scheme which he then had in his mind, to raise money. He also had +a fancy for fine animals and for the stock business. It is therefore +probable that he intended to establish a stock ranch at some point in +Kansas, further west, and put his son Frederick in charge of it; and +that the cattle which he was then collecting, and the four mule team +that he had bought, and the load of provisions, were to be used in +starting the enterprise. Mr. Villard quotes Holmes's estimate of Brown +as follows:[192] + + To Holmes, John Brown appeared on that afternoon more than + ever the natural leader. He rode a tall strong chestnut + horse; his spare form was more impressive when he was + mounted than when he was afoot. Alert and clear sighted, he + closely watched the landscape for evidence of the enemy. + The enemy were the settlers who were being robbed. + +This short narrative of Brown's operations in stealing horses and +cattle, at Osawatomie, discloses the secret motive that prompted his +return to Kansas from Nebraska. It gives reasonable grounds for the +assumption, that when his "whereabouts were unknown," from August 10th +to the 16th, inclusive, he was working out the details of the new +venture; financing it; purchasing the necessary outfit; and making plans +for handling the loot after it would be rounded up. It furnishes a +reason why he refused to join General Lane and his associates, in the +attack on Fort Saunders, and on Fort Titus; he had business engagements +and appointments elsewhere, that required his personal attention. But +what is of more historical importance, perhaps, than anything else, is, +that it reveals the general channel in which his mind ran; the things +upon which his thoughts and energies were concentrated; the occupation +he was following. Also, the magnitude of the hazardous performance +undertaken in this instance, and successfully executed, shows clearly, +that Brown was not a novice in the business. Only a strong, bold man, of +large experience, could enter such a district, and within four days +collect, equip and mount, upon stolen horses, a company of ten men, +himself included. Then, within two days more effect a consolidation, +under his leadership, of two other similar companies; and within three +more days gather up by force, two hundred and fifty head of cattle, +besides horses and other plunder, and assemble the whole at the general +rendezvous in Osawatomie. Only an expert in horse stealing, and in the +general plunder business, could accomplish so much in so short a time. + +To counteract the effect of the Free-State victories, heretofore +referred to, and to restore pro-slavery supremacy, a pro-slavery army +numbering more than a thousand men, led by Major General David R. +Atchison, invaded the Territory. This formidable force left Westport +August 23d, and on the 29th arrived at Bull Creek, thirty miles from +Lawrence. To oppose it, the Free-State army was being mobilized under +the command of General Lane; who sent an urgent message to Brown, and +others at Osawatomie, asking them to report to him at Lawrence at once, +and take part in the impending battle. The message was delivered to +Brown by Alexander G. Hawse, on the evening of August 29th, as he +approached Osawatomie, "in a cloud of dust and driving the motley herd" +of stolen cattle "before him." Captain Shore received a similar request, +and promptly responded to the urgent call. He started for Lawrence about +three o'clock in the afternoon. Brown did not go. He could not be +expected to abandon the horses, and the cattle, and the plunder which he +had on hand; and the robber combine of which he was the head, and which +was operating so successfully, and which had before it a future so +promising. He was too busy. Besides, the troubles about Lawrence would +be "water upon his wheel." He was doing business under cover of the +distracting conditions then existing. Mr. Villard says, "After +consultation, it was decided that the call should be heeded on the next +day." + +At the time Brown received this message, General Atchison had already +detached two hundred and fifty mounted men, with one field piece, to +march against Osawatomie and burn the place. The command of the +expedition was given to Brigadier General John W. Reid, who had served +in the war with Mexico. Reid made a night march from Bull Creek. +Arriving at Osawatomie, he immediately began his attack. His official +report of the fight is as follows:[193] + + Camp Bull Creek, Aug. 31st + + GENTLEMEN:--I moved with 250 men on the Abolition fort and + town of Osawatomie--the headquarters of Old Brown--on night + before last; marched forty miles and attacked the town + without dismounting the men, about sunrise on yesterday. We + had a brisk fight for an hour or more and had five men + wounded--none dangerously--Capt. Boice, William Gordon and + three others. We killed about thirty of them, among the + number, _certain_, a son of Old Brown and almost certain + Brown himself; destroying all their ammunition and + provisions, and the boys would burn the town to the ground. + _I could not help it_.... + + Your friend, REID. + +Hon. William Higgins of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, then fourteen years of +age, drove one of the three teams that comprised Reid's means of +transportation. Concerning Reid's losses in the battle, he says: "The +total was three men wounded. Two of these were conveyed back to Missouri +in one of the wagons, while the other wounded man was able to ride his +horse. No one was killed."[194] + +On the Free-State side the battle seems to have been opened by Dr. +Updegraff, of Osawatomie, and Holmes. The latter was "saddling up," +presumably to join Brown in another day's ride after cattle, when the +presence of the enemy was announced, and rode up toward the Adairs until +he sighted Reid's troopers, upon whom he fired three times from his +Sharp's rifle.[195] + +From Lawrence, September 7th, Brown wrote to his wife as follows:[196] + + DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN EVERY ONE: + + I have one moment to write to you, to say that I am yet + alive, that Jason and family were well yesterday--John and + Family, I hear, are well (he being yet a prisoner). On the + morning of the 30th of August an attack was made by the + Ruffians on Osawatomie, numbering some four hundred, by + whose scouts our dear Frederick was shot dead, without + warning--he supposed them to be Free-State men, as near as + we can learn. One other man, a cousin of Mr. Adair was + murdered by them about the same time that Frederick was + killed, and one badly wounded at the same time. At this + time I was about three miles off, where I had some fourteen + or fifteen men over night that I had just enlisted to serve + under me as regulars. These I collected as well as I could, + with some twelve or fifteen more--and in about three + quarters of an hour I attacked them from a wood with thick + undergrowth. With this force we threw them into confusion + for fifteen or twenty minutes, during which time we killed + or wounded from seventy to eighty of the enemy--as they + say--and then we escaped as well as we could, with one + killed while escaping, two or three wounded and as many + more were missing. Four or five Free-State men were + butchered during the day in all. Jason fought bravely by my + side during the fight, and escaped with me, he being + unhurt. I was struck by a partly spent grape canister, or + rifle shot, which bruised me some, but did not injure me + seriously. "Hitherto the Lord has helped me," + notwithstanding my afflictions, etc., etc. + + JOHN BROWN. + +On the same day he gave out the following statement for +publication:[197] + + + THE FIGHT OF OSAWATOMIE + + Early in the morning of the 30th of August the enemy's + scouts approached to within one mile and a half of the + western boundary of the town of Osawatomie. At this place + my son Frederick (who was not attached to my force) had + lodged with some four other young men from Lawrence, and a + young man named Garrison, from Middle Creek. The scouts, + led by a pro-slavery preacher named White, shot my son dead + in the road while he--as I have since ascertained--supposed + them to be friendly. At the same time they butchered Mr. + Garrison, and badly mangled one of the young men from + Lawrence, who came with my son, leaving him for dead. This + was not far from sunrise. I had stopped during the night + about two and one half miles from them, and nearly one mile + from Osawatomie. I had no organized force, but only some + twelve or fifteen new recruits, who were ordered to leave + their preparations for breakfast and follow me into the + town, as soon as this news was brought to me. + + As I had no means of learning correctly the force of the + enemy, I placed twelve of the recruits in a log-house, + hoping we might be able to defend the town. I then gathered + some fifteen more men together, whom we armed with + guns--and we started in the direction of the enemy. After + going a few rods we could see them approaching the town in + line of battle, about half a mile off, upon a hill west of + the village. I then gave up all idea of doing more than to + annoy, from the timber near the town, into which we were + all retreated, and which was filled with a thick growth of + underbrush--but I had no time to recall the twelve men in + the log house, and so lost their assistance in the fight. + At this point above named I met with Captain Cline, a very + active young man, who had with him some twelve or fifteen + mounted men, and persuaded him to go with us into the + timber, on the southern shore of the Osage, or Marais des + Cygnes, a little to the north west from the village. Here + the men, numbered not more than thirty in all, were + directed to scatter and secrete themselves as well as they + could, and await the approach of the enemy. This was done + in full view of them (who must have seen the whole + movement), and had to be done in the utmost haste. I + believe Captain Cline and some of his men were not even + dismounted during the fight, but cannot assert positively. + When the left wing of the enemy had approached to within + common rifle shot, we commenced firing, and very soon threw + the northern branch of the enemy's line into disorder. This + continued for some fifteen or twenty minutes, which gave us + an uncommon opportunity to annoy them. Captain Cline and + his men soon got out of ammunition, and retired across the + river. + + After the enemy rallied we kept up our fire, until, by the + leaving of one and another, we had but six or seven left. + We then retired across the river. We had one man killed--a + Mr. Powers, from Captain Cline's company--in the fight. One + of my men, a Mr. Partridge, was shot in crossing the river. + Two or three of the party who took part in the fight are + yet missing, and may be lost or taken prisoners. Two were + wounded--namely. Dr. Updegraff and Mr. Collis. I cannot + speak in too high terms of them, and of many others I have + not now time to mention. + + One of my best men, together with myself, was struck by a + partially spent ball from the enemy, in the commencement of + the fight, but we were only bruised. The loss I refer to is + one of my missing men. The loss of the enemy, as we learn + by the different statements of our own as well as their + people, was some thirty one or two killed, and from forty + to fifty wounded. After burning the town to ashes and + killing a Mr. Williams, they had taken, whom neither party + claimed, they took a hasty leave, carrying their dead and + wounded with them. They did not attempt to cross the river, + nor to search for us, and have not since returned to look + over their work. + + I give this in great haste, in the midst of constant + interruption. My second son was with me in the fight, and + escaped unharmed. This I mention for the benefit of his + friends. Old Preacher White, I hear, boasts of having + killed my son. Of course he is a lion. + + JOHN BROWN. + Lawrence, Kansas, Sept. 7, 1856. + +In a third statement[198] Brown says: "In the battle of Osawatomie, +Capt. (or Dr.) Updegraff--and two others whose names I have lost, were +severely (one of them shockingly) wounded before the fight began, August +30, 1856." + +The arrival of Reid's forces at Osawatomie, was a complete surprise. +Brown knew nothing of their coming until after the battle was on. Mr. +Villard states[199] that John Brown and his party, with the exception of +Holmes, who spent the night in town, crossed the Marias des Cygnes to +their camp on the Crane claim (about two miles from the town), taking +their cattle with them. Captain Cline and about fifteen men remained in +the town. Two of Brown's men, Bondi and Benjamin, were on guard (over +the cattle) on the morning of the 30th, until the firing began. Brown +was preparing breakfast at the cattle camp, where a messenger is said to +have arrived with the news that Frederick Brown had been killed; +whereupon Brown is said to have "seized his arms" and "cried, 'Men come +on!' and with Luke F. Parsons hurried down the hill to the crossing +nearest the town." But the men, it seems, finished their breakfast +before responding to this request and still had time to overtake their +leader. Mr. Villard says that "After finishing their coffee, most of +them overtook their leader before he reached the town"; and that +Parsons, upon following Brown into the timber where the fighting was +going on, "met Captain Cline and his company of fifteen well-mounted men +retiring through the town, abandoning their cattle and their other +plunder. One of his (Cline's) men, Theodore Parker Powers, was killed in +the few minutes they were at the front." + +From the data at hand it appears that the battle was opened by Holmes, +who fired upon Reid's advance immediately upon the latter's arrival; +that Dr. Updegraff, and other citizens of Osawatomie, turned out, and +with Captain Cline defended the town for "an hour or more" during which +time Powers, of Cline's company, was killed and Dr. Updegraff and two +others were severely wounded. These were all the casualties that befell +the Free-State men in the actual fighting; and Brown states that they +occurred "before the fight began": by which he meant, before he arrived +upon the scene, which was at the time Parsons met Cline retiring in +disorder from the field. None of Brown's men was hit while fighting. One +of them, Geo. W. Partridge, was killed in the retreat while crossing the +river. It seems therefore, that Brown arrived late in the engagement and +that he, very wisely, attempted nothing "more than to annoy, from the +timber near the town, into which we were all retreated." + +Comment or criticism, favorable or unfavorable, as to what John Brown +did or did not do in this fight is equally unimportant. Brown's men were +not a military company organized for the defense of Osawatomie. They +were a gang of "rustlers," as cattle thieves are sometimes called. Such +organizations are not under obligations to fight anybody; and they do +not fight, except as their personal interests or advantage may seem to +require at the time. In this case the prospects for defeating Reid's +command of two hundred and fifty men, getting his horses, and saving +their own plunder, were so unfavorable, that Brown and his men were +justified in getting away from the trouble as best they could; and that +is what they did, leaving the town to be pillaged and burned by Reid's +army. That "they stood not upon the order of their going" is evident +from the fact that Brown lost his hat while making good his escape from +the trouble. Of this incident Sarah Brown says: + + On the day that my brother Frederick was killed near + Osawatomie, my father lost his hat in fighting.[200] + +General Reid's estimate of the battle as quoted by Mr. Villard,[201] is +perhaps more nearly the truth: "Merely the driving out of a flock of +quail." And it may be truthfully said that some of the birds flew as far +as Lawrence, before alighting; "indeed, Bondi, Benjamin and Hawes set +off at once for Lawrence and so by himself did Holmes."[202] As for +Brown, he went deep into the friendly brush and hid. To a legislative +committee, February 18, 1857, he read, from a prepared address, that +about the first of September he was "obliged to lie on the ground, +without shelter, for a considerable time; and at times almost in a state +of starvation, and dependent on the charity of a Christian Indian." + +Brown's son Frederick was killed by the Rev. Martin White, who was with +the patrol that was scouting the head of Reid's column as it approached +Osawatomie. Frederick had come from Lawrence the day before with Hawes. +The two stopped over night at the Carr cabin, adjoining his uncle +Adair's place, where they had left their horses. Frederick arose early +to feed them, and noticing two or three mounted men approaching, walked +out to see who they were. The parson knew him, and recognized him as +being one of a party that had raided his home, and his stables, on the +night of August 13th, whereupon he shot him through the heart as he +stood in the road. Mr. Villard treats this incident facetiously. He +says:[203] + + Thus on August 13th, the home of the Rev. Martin White was + raided by Free-State men, among them James H. Holmes, and + ten pro-slavery horses were weaned from their allegiance to + a wicked and failing cause. White, a prejudiced witness, + asserted that the horses were laden with plunder, but upon + this point the memories of Holmes and Bondi, both + participants, failed them. + +Continuing he says:[204] + + White pretended to recognize the boots on Brown as a pair + stolen from his son in the raid upon White; but there is no + evidence to show that Frederick Brown was at that time + elsewhere than in Lawrence. + +It may be said with equal irrelevancy, that there is no evidence to show +that Frederick was elsewhere than in the raid. The author knows, or +ought to know, the exact facts concerning that feature of this +deplorable incident. He could have obtained the information from Holmes, +one of the principals, or from others whom he met, who had knowledge of +the facts. However, it is probable that Frederick was a party to this +robbery. He returned to Kansas with his father from Nebraska City. +"Frederick felt," according to the testimony of Henry Thompson, "that +Pottawatomie bound him to Kansas. He did not wish to leave. He felt that +a great crime had been committed and that he should go back to Kansas +and live it out."[205] August 10th, father and son arrived at Topeka and +disappeared. But since Osawatomie was the field of their prospective +operations, and robbery the purpose for which they intended to enter it, +Frederick probably went direct from Topeka to Osawatomie, and +participated, with Holmes and Bondi, in an outrage for which he paid the +forfeit of his life. His presence in the robbery is not the only +probability in the case. The stolen stuff had to be sold somewhere, and, +because of his experience in the business, and his knowledge of how to +do such things, it is quite probable that after raiding the parson's and +other homes, he went north with the horses that had been stolen, and +disposed of them, and had just returned with the proceeds, August 29th, +for another consignment of horses; or, possibly, to drive the cattle, +which his father was to steal during his absence, to their destination. + +The death of Frederick was the beginning of the utter collapse and +failure of Brown's "get-rich-quick" expedition. His camp was raided a +few hours later, and his property--the cattle and other loot of the +recent foray, and probably the four mule team and provisions--was all +taken by the enemy. "The horses and cattle, at hand, were gathered up +and carried off, including Cline's booty from South Middle Creek."[206] + +The statement put forth, that after the battle Brown "encamped" several +days on the Houser farm, about two and one-half miles from Osawatomie, +and attempted to fortify it,[207] is merely trifling with history. Aside +from his personal statement that he was hiding, and starving, during +this time, it follows, logically, that if Brown were human, and could +have obtained facilities for so doing, he would not have refrained, +until September 7th, from writing to his wife at North Elba, the sad +news concerning the death of their son. And further, if John Brown had +believed that his relation to this battle was honorable, and that the +part which he had performed in it was in any sense heroic or creditable, +he would not have concealed himself and the facts concerning his heroism +from the public for eight days. It appears that Brown arrived bareheaded +at the Adair home on the evening of the 30th, saw the dead body of his +son, took his cap, and disappeared, leaving the burial of the body to be +attended to by others.[208] The truth seems to be that he was ashamed +because of his disgraceful conduct; and terror stricken because of the +calamities which he had brought upon the people of the ill-fated town: +and that he slunk out of sight and hid to avoid arrest, and the public +condemnation that was his due. But when at Lawrence, Bondi, Benjamin, +and Holmes gave out their exaggerations concerning the battle, but +nothing about the robberies; and told of their personal prowess in the +engagement, and of their leader's heroism (?) therein; and when Brown +discovered that his band of thieves had come to be recognized as a +military organization; and that he, the Loki of Osawatomie, had become +the "Hero of Osawatomie"; then, and not till then, came he out of +hiding, and affirmed what had been put forth by his men concerning him, +and accepted the honors which were accordingly thrust upon him. + +With these September days came the climax of the aggressive Free-State +campaign. Also, came the collapse of the pro-slavery effort to fasten +slavery upon Kansas by force of arms. Lawrence was the headquarters for +the Free-State men, and their activities gave to the place an atmosphere +of war. Lane led an expedition against Atchison's army which he +encountered at Bull Creek. September 7th, the day Brown arrived from +Osawatomie, an expedition was launched against Leavenworth, under the +command of Colonel James A. Harvey, but it was ordered back to Lawrence, +by General Lane, before it arrived at its destination. On September 9th, +General John W. Geary arrived in the Territory. He had been appointed +Territorial Governor to succeed Governor Shannon. + +"Almost simultaneously with Harvey's movements, Aaron D. Stevens, alias +Charles Whipple, raided Osawkie, a pro-slavery settlement, taking eighty +horses and nearly as many arms."[209] Falling back from the front of +Atchison's army at Bull Creek, Lane personally led an attack upon +Hickory Point, and finding the pro-slavery men too strong, sent to +Lawrence for assistance. "Whipple and fifty men responded; but on their +arrival Lane wanted Bickerton's cannon, and sent to Lawrence for it." +Colonel Harvey, who had just got back from the Leavenworth campaign, +also went to his assistance, arriving on the 14th. Lane in the meantime +had abandoned the siege, but Harvey attacked them at once, and after a +spirited fight captured the force. His loss was five men wounded. The +pro-slavery loss was one man killed and four wounded. There was no +robbery involved in this battle.[210] Later, Captain Wood, United +States Army, met and captured one hundred of Harvey's men including +their arms, and the cannon. + +The withdrawal of Lane from Lawrence, with a large portion of the +organized Free-State forces, left the town quite unprepared to resist +the advance against it by General Atchison's army, which arrived at +Franklin on the 13th. This was the most formidable force that had ever +invaded the Territory. It comprised, at this time, twenty-seven hundred +men, including a battery of artillery. The principal subordinate +commanders were Generals John W. Reid, B. F. Stringfellow, W. A. +Haskell, and J. W. Whitfield. On the afternoon of the 14th, Atchison +made a reconnoissance, his advance guard drawing the fire of the +Free-State pickets in front of Lawrence. His attack upon the town on the +morning of the 15th, was prevented by the armed intervention of the +Federal Government. During the night of the 14th, detachments of United +States cavalry and artillery arrived at Lawrence, and took up positions +to defend the town. The Territorial Governor, Geary, appeared upon the +scene on the morning of the 15th, and, proceeding to Atchison's camp, +notified him that he could proceed no farther. This forceful +intervention was fatal to the pro-slavery propaganda. Upon receiving the +Governor's ultimatum, the pro-slavery leaders disbanded their army and +gave up the struggle. Geary's interference was not wholly unexpected. +The "hand writing" had heretofore been seen "upon the wall." Before +Atchison's advance upon Lawrence, a South Carolinian, connected with the +invading army, stated the situation in this way: "And why should we +remain? We cannot fight, and of course, cannot prevent our enemy from +voting. The object of our mission will then, of course, be defeated and +we had as well return."[211] + +Brown was well received by the Free-State leaders, on his arrival at +Lawrence. He was fresh from the "bloody field of Osawatomie." He gave +his story to the press, and posed as the hero of a splendidly fought +battle against odds of nearly ten to one; and, although defeated, had +inflicted _heavy losses_ upon the enemy. + + After his arrival, the Sunday morning council reassembled, + and decided on the movement against Leavenworth. Most of + the men thereupon offered the command to John Brown, a + responsibility he declined, out of deference to other + leaders, and it was then entrusted to Colonel James A. + Harvey.[212] + +Referring to the defense of Lawrence, Mr. Villard says, with reference +to September 14th: + + But the day before Lieutenant Colonel Johnston's arrival, + these amateur fortifications were filled with very earnest + Free-Soil men, ready to defend Lawrence at any cost. In the + absence of Lane, the command was as much in the hands of + Major J. B. Abbott and Captain Joseph Cracklin of the + "Stubbs" as of any one else. Some partisans of John Brown + have attempted to prove that he was in command, but the + evidence is conclusive that he declined Major Abbott's + offer of the command of a company, and then, at his + request, went from one of the "forts" to another, + encouraging the men, urging them to fire low, and giving + them such military information as was his, everywhere, + according to Major Abbott, with excellent results.[213] + +Of the invaders, Mr. Villard says:[214] + + They had with them no less than twenty-seven hundred men, + some of them completely uniformed and well equipped. + Besides infantry and cavalry, there was a six-pounder + battery; in all a remarkably strong force. Its advance + guard had come in sight of the men on guard at Lawrence on + the afternoon of the 14th, and after an hour's shooting at + long range, the Missourians had retired upon Franklin. + Naturally the people of Lawrence were in great alarm; few + were able to sleep that night, remembering as they did, + Atchison's last visit to their town. There was, therefore, + general rejoicing when, on the next morning, Lieut. Col. + Johnston's troops were found to be encamped on Mount Oread, + the hill overlooking Lawrence, where they had arrived + during the night. + +The people of Lawrence might well be in a state of alarm during the +night of the 14th, believing that with the dawn of the 15th, Atchison's +guns would open upon the town. But Brown was not there on the morning of +the 15th to help meet the shock of the impending battle. True to the +mercenary character of his conduct, he declined all offers of command on +the 14th, and left the town to its fate, going to the home, in the +country, of Augustus Wattles.[215] + +Upon assuming control of affairs as Territorial Governor, General Geary +released the Free-State leaders who had been arrested and held as +prisoners at Lecompton during the later months of Governor Shannon's +administration, an act that caused great rejoicing at Lawrence. + +On the 13th, Charles Robinson addressed the following letter to Brown: + + Lawrence, September 13, 1856. + + CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN: + + Dear Sir: Governor Geary has been here and _talks very + well_. He promises to protect us, etc. There will be no + attempt to arrest anyone for a few days, and I think no + attempt to arrest you is contemplated by him. He talks of + letting the past be forgotten, so far as may be, and of + commencing anew. If convenient, can you not come to town + and see us? I will then tell you all that the Governor + said, and talk of some other matters. + + Very respectfully, + C. ROBINSON + +In response to this letter. Brown called upon the Governor on the 14th; +told him the story of his "defense" of Osawatomie, and obtained from him +the following beautiful letter:[216] + + Lawrence, Sept. 14, 1856. + + CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN. + + My Dear Sir: I take this opportunity to express to you my + sincere gratification that the late report, that you were + killed, at the battle of Osawatomie, is incorrect. Your + course, so far as I have been informed, has been such as to + merit the highest praise from every patriot, and I + cheerfully accord to you my heartfelt thanks for your + prompt, efficient, and timely action against the invaders + of our rights and the murderers of our citizens. History + will give your name a proud place in her pages and + posterity will pay homage to your heroism in the cause of + God and humanity. + + Trusting that you will conclude to remain in Kansas, and + serve during the war, the cause you have done so much to + sustain, and with earnest prayers for your health, and + protection from the shafts of death that so thickly beset + your path. I subscribe myself, + + Very respectfully, your obedient servant, + C. ROBINSON. + +But Brown was seeking neither honors nor honorable mention for honorable +purposes; he sought only for something of commercial value. He wanted +"assistance"; something upon which he could work the public for money. +Robinson, therefore, addressed to him a second letter, a letter of +credit, as follows: + +_To the Settlers of Kansas_-- + +If possible please render Captain John Brown all the assistance he may +require in defending Kansas from invaders and outlaws, and you will +confer a favor upon your co-laborer and fellow citizen. C. ROBINSON. + +Brown obtained these letters by dissimulation. He took advantage of the +Governor's confidence in his statements and deeply imposed upon him. He +concealed from him the plans which he had formed for working a colossal +graft upon the Free-State sentiment in the East; and the fact that he +intended to use these letters in pursuance of them. He was equivocal, +too, as to his plans for leaving the Territory. If he had given Charles +Robinson even a hint that he had been robbing the settlers in the +Osawatomie district of their horses, cattle, and clothing; and had thus +provoked Reid's descent upon the town, and the burning of it, as a +retaliatory measure, and that he intended to use the letters he asked +for in grafting operations, they would not have been written. + +Brown's latest biographer regards the foregoing letters of special +interest, because of Governor Robinson's subsequent criticism of Brown's +actions--assuming that the spirit of these letters in inconsistent with +his later estimate of the rectitude of Brown's conduct.[217] The point +is not well taken. The Governor's endorsement is, plainly, dependent +upon the information which he had received relating to it. He said: Your +course, _so far as I have been informed_, has been such as to merit the +highest praise from every patriot, and he then proceeds to state what +the heartfelt thanks are for: "For your prompt, efficient, and timely +action against the _invaders_ of our right and the _murderers_ of our +citizens." This plain language cannot be distorted into an approval, by +the Governor, of Brown's crimes in murdering and plundering pro-slavery +settlers; who came into the Territory to build homes for their families, +as Brown and his sons originally came to do; and whose rights, as +settlers, were equal to those of their Free-State neighbors. Equality of +settlers' rights, was the basic principle of the Free-State contention. +Robinson wrote it into the platform of the party and unalterably +maintained it, to a victorious finish. The war that was being carried on +by the Free-State men, was directed against the invasion of the +Free-State settlers' rights by pro-slavery men who were non-residents of +the Territory. + +John Brown remained at the Wattles farm until the 22d. Meanwhile plans +were matured for his sons, John and Jason, and their families, to quit +the Territory. During the first days of October they left Kansas for the +East. Brown's farewell is recorded by Mr. Villard, as follows:[218] + + On departing from the Territory, Brown left the remainder + of his Osawatomie volunteer-regular company under the + command of James H. Holmes, with instructions to "carry the + war into Africa." This Holmes did by raiding into Missouri + and appropriating some horses and arms and other property, + for which he was promptly and properly indicted and long + pursued by the Kansas and Missouri authorities. + +The foregoing is the record, to date, of John Brown's "activities" in +Kansas. The peace and tranquility of the Osawatomie district to which he +came in October, 1855, had not theretofore been disturbed by any +distracting contentions. The settlers were pursuing the even tenor of +their way. They were comfortable, prosperous, and contented; living in +the security vouchsafed, by the usages of our civilization and the laws +of our country, to all of its citizens. They so continued to live, +during a period of eight months thereafter, wholly unsuspicious of the +designs their neighbor, Brown, was maturing against their peace, their +property, and their lives. + +From 1854 to 1860, the great political contest in the country was over +the question of the extension of slavery into the public domain. It was +the paramount issue in National politics. New alignments were then +formed throughout the country in relation to it, as men were differently +moved by their sympathies or interests. In Kansas, the division in +public sentiment was more pronounced than elsewhere, for reasons that +have been stated. Naturally, the settlers in the Osawatomie neighborhood +were divided upon this political question; but certainly not with very +much greater intensity of feeling than this same neighborhood was +divided afterward, upon the great moral question of prohibition, or upon +the equally great economic question of free-coinage of silver. The +differences of opinion there did not promote or arouse personal +animosities, or bitterness of feeling, among the settlers. Ample +authority for this conclusion of fact is found in the letters written, +at the time, by John Brown and others of his family, and in the +statement which he voluntarily made in 1857, before a committee of the +Massachusetts legislature, heretofore quoted. A large majority of the +settlers in that district belonged to the Free-State party which made +the security and peace of the Free-State settlers complete, beyond +debate. These conditions of peace and tranquility continued undisturbed, +until the night of May 24, 1856, when John Brown opened his "school" of +plunder, and cast the baleful shadow of his presence upon the +settlement. The Pottawatomie horror inaugurated a season of +assassination and robbery unprecedented in Kansas history: a period of +public disorder and crime, that ended only when the Territory was +finally rid of John Brown and his marauders. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +HYPOCRISY + + _He was a man + Who stole the livery of the court of Heaven + To serve the Devil in._ + + --POLLOCK, COURSE OF TIME + + +John Brown "struck the trail" of "easy money" June 28, 1855, when Gerrit +Smith presented his case to the Syracuse convention and collected sixty +dollars to assist him in migrating to Kansas. He had followed it up with +profit, while en route thereto, at Springfield, Hudson, Akron, and +Cleveland. Now he was returning to the East to work the field again. It +was the same graft which he had theretofore worked, but upon greatly +improved plans and along broader lines. + +He had two schemes in view. Robinson's letter of September 14th +addressed "To the Settlers of Kansas," showed that Brown was their +accredited defender "from invaders and outlaws." Under the pretext of +enlisting, arming, equipping, and maintaining in Kansas, a company of +fifty mounted men to protect the settlers from "invaders and outlaws," +he intended to try to secure $30,000, in cash, to finance the pretense. +The other scheme was to have the Legislatures of Massachusetts and New +York appropriate large sums of money--$100,000 each--to reimburse +persons who had emigrated to Kansas from these States, for losses which +they were supposed to have "suffered in advancing the Free-State cause." +Naturally, Brown and all the members of his family were "sufferers," and +would be eligible as beneficiaries of this legislation. + +"The National Kansas Committee" was a company formed to promote +emigration to Kansas Territory. It was also a sort of clearing-house for +the various committees which had been organized in the Northern States +for a similar purpose. It had offices in New York, Chicago, and other +places. Mr. E. B. Whitman was the resident agent of the company in +Kansas, a fact which the Browns had not overlooked. + +That Brown had this scheme for raising money in view as early as July, +1856, appears from the fact that before leaving Kansas with his sons, in +that month, he called upon Mr. Whitman, at Lawrence, and filed with him +a paper which was intended to serve as the foundation of a claim for +reimbursement for such losses. It reads as follows:[219] + + FOR MR. WHITMAN + + Names of sufferers and persons who have made sacrifices in + endeavoring to maintain and advance the Free-State cause in + Kansas, within my personal knowledge. + + 1. Two German refugees (thoroughly Free-State), robbed at + Pottawatomie, named Benjamin and Bondy (or Bundy). One has + served under me as a volunteer; namely, Bondy. Benjamin was + prisoner for some time; suffered by men under Coffee and + Pate. + + 2. Henry Thompson. Devoted several months to the Free-State + cause, traveling nearly two thousand miles at his own + expense for the purpose, leaving family and business for + about one year. Served under me as a volunteer; was + dangerously wounded at Palmyra, or Black Jack; had a bullet + lodged beside his backbone; has had a severe turn of fever, + and is still very feeble. Suffered a little in the burning + of the houses of John Brown, Jr., and Jason Brown. + + 3. John Jr. and Jason Brown. Both burned out; both + prisoners for some time, one a prisoner still: both losing + the use of valuable, partially improved claims. Both served + repeatedly as volunteers for defense of Lawrence and other + places, suffering great hardships and some cruelty. + + 4. Owen and Frederick Brown. Both served at different + periods as volunteers, under me. Were both in the battle of + Palmyra; both suffered by the burning of their brothers' + houses; both have had sickness (Owen a severe one), and are + yet feeble. Both lost the use of partially improved claims + and their spring and summer work. + + 5. Salmon Brown (minor). Twice served under me as a + volunteer; was dangerously wounded (if not permanently + crippled) by accident near Palmyra; had a severe sickness + and is still feeble. + + 6. Oliver Brown (minor). Served under me as a volunteer for + some months; was in the battle of Palmyra, and had some + sickness. + + 7. (B. L.) Cochrane (at Pottawatomie). Twice served under + me as a volunteer; was in the battle of Palmyra. + + 8. Dr. Lucius Mills devoted some months to the Free-State + cause, collecting and giving information, prescribing for + and nursing the sick and wounded at his own cost. Is a + worthy Free-State man. + + 9. John Brown has devoted the service of himself and two + minor sons to the Free-State cause for more than a year; + suffered by the fire before named and by robbery; has gone + at his own cost for that period, except that he and his + company together have received forty dollars in cash, two + sacks of flour, thirty five pounds of bacon, thirty five + do. of sugar, and twenty pounds of rice. + + I propose to serve hereafter in the Free-State cause + (provided my needful expenses can be met) should they be + desired; and to raise a small regular force to serve on the + same condition. My own means are so far exhausted that I + can no longer continue in the service at present without + the means of defraying my expenses are furnished me. + + I can give the names of some five or six more volunteers of + special merit I would be glad to have particularly noticed + in some way. J. BROWN + +When one considers the life Brown had been leading and the nature of the +atrocities which he had committed, this proposal to ask for +compensation therefor is a piece of effrontery: a good exhibit of +sublime gall. Also, his ultimatum therein is deserving of consideration. +In it he demands, as a condition precedent to the rendering of any +further service in the Free-State cause, that he have an assurance that +he and his sons would be paid for such services. This demand further +discloses the fact that the energies which Brown was putting forth were +not a devotion to the cause of the men in bondage, but that he sought to +work a personal and family graft upon Free-State sentiment of the +country. + +During February, 1857, Brown had a bill prepared and introduced in the +Massachusetts Legislature to appropriate $100,000, as a contingent fund, +to relieve the distress of settlers in Kansas. And on the 18th of that +month he and Mr. Whitman appeared before the committee, having charge of +the bill, to urge its passage. + +Brown arrived at Tabor, Iowa, en route to the East, October 10th. On the +23d he was at Chicago, where he was well received by the National Kansas +Committee. At this time it was moving a lot of supplies--two hundred +Sharp's rifles, a brass cannon, ammunition, clothing, etc.--across Iowa +to Kansas, under the direction of Dr. J. P. Root. The committee asked +Brown to return and accompany the train to its destination. He, however, +advised the management to stop the train, and not attempt to enter +Kansas with it; saying that "The immediate introduction of the supplies +is not of much consequence compared to the danger of losing them." His +remark had reference to the efficient measures which Governor Geary had +adopted to put an end to the lawlessness which was prevailing in the +Territory at the time he assumed his official duties. Brown went with +Root as far as Tabor, Iowa, where the supplies were stored, to await +further developments. + +Leaving Tabor, he passed through Chicago about the first of December. In +Ohio, upon presenting his letters from Governor Robinson to Governor +Chase, he received from him an additional letter of commendation, for +use in Ohio, and twenty-five dollars in cash. Thus encouraged, he pushed +on, stopping at various places on the way, soliciting money, and +arriving in Boston about January 1, 1857. There the congratulatory +letters which he had in his possession were of inestimable value to him. +It was through them that he succeeded in establishing relations with men +of ample means and of high character, who, by their generous +contributions of money, and by their moral support, enabled him to work +out his schemes to their logical conclusions. + +In Boston, Brown met Mr. Frank B. Sanborn, a young man but a year and a +half out of Harvard, who was then secretary of the Massachusetts State +Kansas Committee. "He was on fire for the anti-slavery cause, and ready +to worship any of its militant leaders."[220] Brown, being a militant +leader, made a deep impression upon this susceptible young enthusiast, +who reported his find to Mr. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, "the fighting +young Unitarian Parson of Worcester," in a letter, as follows:[221] + + "Old Brown" of Kansas is now in Boston, with one of his + sons, working for an object in which you will heartily + sympathize--raising and arming a company of men for the + future protection of Kansas. He wishes to raise $30,000 to + arm a company, such as he thinks he can raise this present + winter, but will, as I understand him, take what money he + can raise and use it as far as it will go. Can you not come + to Boston tomorrow or next day and see Capt. Brown? If not, + please indicate when you will be in Worcester, so he can + see you. I like the man from what I have seen--and his + deeds ought to bear witness for him. + +It will be observed that this was to be a cash transaction: he will +"take what money he can raise and use it as far as it will go." Most +persons will scan this proposal with grave suspicion, it bears so +prominently the brand of the faker; but it will create no surprise in +the minds of those who are familiar with Brown's criminal conduct while +in commercial life, and with his career of murder and robbery and +association with thieves in Kansas. + +In his enthusiasm for his Kansas hero, Mr. Sanborn led Brown, as the +Psalmist had been led, "into green pastures and beside the still +waters." Through him he met Dr. Samuel G. Howe, Patrick Tracy Jackson, +George L. Stearns, Dr. Samuel Cabot, Judge Thomas Russell, Wendell +Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Henry D. Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, +and other notable persons, all of whom were intensely interested in the +paramount political question of the day, and especially in the contest +going on in Kansas to make it a Free State. His Eastern campaign opened +auspiciously. As the popular leader of a popular cause, he struck the +popular fancy. He presented himself to the public, "modestly," as being +the leader of the "fighting" forces of the Territory; and as having come +from the "front" to organize a more effective force, in order that he +might render still more efficient services. January 7th, armed with his +congratulatory letter from Governor Robinson, he called upon Mr. Amos A. +Lawrence, who wrote of him, admiringly, as follows: + + Captain Brown, the old partisan hero of Kansas warfare, + came to see me. I had a long talk with him. He is a calm, + temperate, and pious man, but when roused he is a dreadful + foe. He appears about sixty years old. His severe + simplicity of habits, his determined energy, his heroic + courage in time of trial, all based on a deep religious + faith, make him a true representative of the Puritanic + warrior. I knew him before he went to Kansas, and have + known more of him since, and should esteem the loss of his + service, from poverty, or any other cause, almost + irreparable. + +Mr. Stearns, too, was deeply impressed with his "sagacity, courage, and +strong integrity," He had him dine with him at his home on Sunday, +January 11th. Brown sought, on this occasion, to advance his personal +fortunes by discrediting Charles Robinson and other Free-State leaders. +Measured by his standard they were a collection of incompetents. He +exalted Martin F. Conway as the best of them, but characterized him as +"lacking in force." Naturally, if the best of them lacked force, there +was an emergency to get Brown back to the Territory as speedily as +possible. It became clear to Mr. Stearns's mind that it was the general +incompetency and inefficiency of the men in control of affairs in +Kansas, their cowardice and consequent inability to "protect" the +settlers, that impelled Brown to come East and raise money to equip a +force to protect them. He therefore determined "to do everything in his +power to get him the arms and money he desired." + +Mr. William Lloyd Garrison, also, was very much taken with him. "They +discussed peace and non-resistance together, Brown quoting the Old +Testament against Garrison's citations of the New, and Parker, from time +to time, injecting a bit of Lexington into the controversy, which +attracted a small group of interested listeners."[222] + +The first result of his newly formed relations was a contribution to him +of two hundred Sharp's rifles, four thousand ball cartridges, and thirty +thousand percussion caps, made by the "Massachusetts State Kansas +Committee." These were the arms which Brown had stored at Tabor. The +committee also voted him a credit of $500 for expenses. The +Massachusetts Kansas Committee originally purchased the arms, and had +turned them over to the National Kansas Committee, under whose control +they then were. + +Before the latter committee, at its offices in the Astor House, New +York, Brown appeared, January 24th, and presented his case. He asked for +the arms, and for the moderate sum of $5,000, cash. But this committee +had taken pains to inform itself, through its general agent, Mr. Arny, +with reference to conditions existing in Kansas. The directors, +therefore, were not nearly so susceptible as were the more impulsive +people of the Massachusetts Committee. They wanted to know something +about the nature of the project which they were being asked to finance, +and hoped that Brown would make a more specific and definite +declaration. They wanted to know what the cost of the equipment, for the +defenders he talked about, would amount to, and called for a list of the +articles which he needed, with an estimate of the cost of each; and +wanted to know what he intended to do with the company after it was +organized. And then they asked another very relevant question: what he +intended to do with the five thousand dollars he wanted them to give +him. Brown's scheme was a personal matter, and to have answered these +questions, and others that would have, logically, followed, would have +caused him some embarrassment. He therefore denied their right to +inquire into the privacy of his affairs. He wanted five thousand dollars +flat; with no questions asked; and rising to the height of the occasion, +put on a bold front, and refused to be interrogated. He said:[223] + + I am no adventurer. You all know me. You know what I have + done in Kansas. I do not expose my plans. No one knows them + but myself, except perhaps one. I will not be interrogated; + if you wish to give me anything, I want you to give it + freely. I have no other purpose but to serve the cause of + liberty. + +The debate being thus closed, the National Committee then settled the +question of the arms by transferring them back to the Massachusetts +Committee; and with admirable tact, voted the five thousand dollars +conditionally--for "necessary defensive purposes in aid of Captain John +Brown in any defensive measures that may become necessary." The irony of +the resolution was concealed by an order authorizing him to draw upon +the committee for five hundred dollars at any time. But he received no +part of it, until he showed, by his actions, that he intended to return +to Kansas. + +The committee penetrated the veneer that disguised Brown's hypocrisy, +and refused to put any money whatever into his hands. After the +adjournment, he made up a list of the articles that he thought he would +need, which he handed to Mr. Horace White, assistant secretary. It reads +as follows: + + Memorandum of articles wanted as an Outfit for Fifty + Volunteers to serve under my direction during the Kansas + war: or for such specified time as they may each enlist + for: together with estimated cost of same delivered in + Lawrence or Topeka.[224] + +2 substantial (but not heavy) baggage waggons +with good covers $200.00 + +4 good serviceable waggon Horses 400.00 + +2 sets strong plain Harness 50.00 + +100 good heavy Blankets say at 2. or 2.50 200.00 + +8 Substantial large sized Tents 100.00 + +8 Large Camp Kettles 12.00 + +50 Tin basins 5.00 + +4 Plain strong Saddles & Bridles 80.00 + +4 picket ropes and pins 3.00 + +8 Wooden Pails 4.00 + +8 axes and Helves 12.00 + +8 Frying pans (large Size) 8.00 + +8 Large sized Coffee Pots 10.00 + +8 do do Spiders or Bake Ovens 10.00 + +8 do do Tin Pans 6.00 + +12 Spades & Shovels 18.00 + +6 Mattocks 6.00 + +2 Weeks provisions for Men & Horses 150.00 + +Fund for Horse hire & feed, loss & damage of +same 500.00 + --------- + $1,774.00 + +There was a very handsome margin for profits between $30,000, his +original estimate of what he would require to "arm and equip a company +such as he thought he could raise this present winter" and his final +estimate--$1,774. But that is not material; Brown was simply working the +field for all the money he could get; as Mr. Sanborn truly said "he will +take all he can raise and use it as far as it will go." + +The National Committee voted $1,774 to fill this requisition, but it +declined to give Brown the money wherewith to make the purchases. He had +a right to expect that the committee would give him this money, and +trust him to expend it honestly; but it ordered otherwise. February 18th +Mr. White wrote that the articles Brown had requisitioned would be +shipped the following week; and on March 21st he notified him that he +would "shortly go to Kansas and work there to fit him out with all the +supplies he was entitled to under the New York resolution."[225] Brown +was keenly disappointed and deeply humiliated by the actions of the +National Committee; and in a letter to Mr. William Barnes, of Albany, +April 3d, gave expression to his resentment. He said: + + I am prepared to expect nothing but bad faith from the + Kansas National Committee at Chicago, as I will show you + hereafter. This, for the present, is confidential.[226] + +It was money and not supplies that Brown was eager for at this period in +his operations. His plans did not contemplate any defense of Kansas. The +"arming and equipping" of the fifty men was a deception. It was but his +stock in trade--a pretext upon which he solicited funds. He, and the +kind of men he would have enlisted, if he enlisted any, had all the arms +they would need, and stealing requires but little ammunition. In his +largest successful venture--the Pottawatomie--but one shot was fired, +and that one, as stated by Salmon Brown, was "wholly unnecessary." + +February 18, 1857, was an important day in Brown's calendar. Mr. +Sanborn had prepared his bill to appropriate $100,000 to relieve the +distress of Kansas settlers. It had been introduced in the Massachusetts +Legislature, and referred to the Joint Committee on Federal Relations, +before which it was to be taken up, on that day, for consideration. Mr. +Sanborn stood sponsor for the measure; and Brown and Mr. Whitman +appeared before the committee, as advocates, in support of it. +Introducing these two distinguished persons Mr. Sanborn said in +part:[227] + + As one of the petitioners for State aid to the settlers of + Kansas, I appear before you to state briefly the purpose of + the petition. No labored argument seems necessary; for if + the events of the last two years in Kansas, and the + prospect there for the future, are not of themselves enough + to excite Massachusetts to action, certainly no words could + do so. We have not provided ourselves with advocates, + therefore, but with witnesses; and we expect that the + statements of Captain Brown and Mr. Whitman will show + conclusively that the rights and interests of Massachusetts + have suffered gross outrage in Kansas--an outrage which is + likely to be repeated unless measures are taken by you to + prevent so shameful an abuse. Your petitioners desire that + a contingent appropriation be made by the legislature, to + be placed in the hands of a commission of responsible and + conservative men, and used only in case of necessity to + relieve the distress of the settlers of Kansas--especially + such as have gone from our own state.... We have invited + Captain Brown and Mr. Whitman to appear in our behalf, + because these gentlemen are eminently qualified either to + represent Massachusetts in Kansas, or Kansas in + Massachusetts. The best blood of the "Mayflower" runs in + the veins of both, and each had an ancestor in the army of + the Revolution. Mr. Whitman, seventh in descent from Miles + Standish, laid the foundation of the first church and the + first school-house in Kansas; John Brown, the sixth + descendant of Peter Browne, of the "Mayflower," has been in + Kansas what Standish was to the Plymouth Colony. These + witnesses have seen the things of which they testify, and + have felt the oppression we ask you to check. Ask this gray + haired man, gentleman--if you have the heart to do + it--where lies the body of his murdered son--where are the + homes of his four other sons, who a year ago were quiet + farmers in Kansas. I am ashamed, in presence of this modest + veteran, to express the admiration which his heroism + excites in me. Yet he, so venerable for his years, his + integrity, and his courage--a man whom all Massachusetts + rises up to honor--is today an outlaw in Kansas. To these + witnesses, whose unsworn testimony deserves and will + receive from you all, the authority which an oath confers, + I will now yield place. + +Mr. Redpath states that Brown then came forward and read his speech, "in +a clear ringing tone," as follows:[228] + + "I saw, while in Missouri, in the fall of 1855, large + numbers of men going to Kansas to vote, and also returning + after they had so done; as they said. + + "Later in the year, I, with four of my sons, was called out + and traveled, mostly on foot and during the night, to help + defend Lawrence, a distance of thirty-five miles; where we + were detained, with some five hundred others, or + thereabouts, from five to ten days--say an average of ten + days--at a cost of not less than a dollar and a half per + day, as wages, to say nothing of the actual loss and + suffering occasioned to many of them, leaving their + families sick, their crops not secured, their houses + unprepared for winter, and many without houses at all. This + was the case with myself and sons who could not get houses + built after returning. Wages alone would amount to seven + thousand five hundred dollars; loss and suffering cannot be + estimated. + + "I saw, at that time, the body of the murdered Barber, and + was present to witness his wife and other friends brought + in to see him with his clothes on, just as he was when + killed. + + "I, with six sons and a son-in-law, was called out, and + travelled, most of the way on foot, to try and save + Lawrence, May 20 and 21, and much of the way in the night. + From that date, neither I nor my sons, nor my son-in-law, + could do any work about our homes, but lost our whole time + until we left, in October; except one of my sons, who had a + few weeks to devote to the care of his own and his + brother's family, who were then without a home. + + "From about the 20th of May, hundreds of men, like + ourselves, lost their whole time, and entirely failed of + securing any kind of a crop whatever. I believe it safe to + say, that five hundred free state men lost each one hundred + and twenty days, which, at one dollar and a half per day, + would be--to say nothing of attendant losses--ninety + thousand dollars. + + "On or about the 30th of May, two of my sons, with several + others, were imprisoned without other crime than opposition + to bogus legislation, and most barbarously treated for a + time, one being held about one month, and the other about + four months. Both had their families on the ground. After + this, both of them had their houses burned, and all their + goods consumed by the Missourians. In this burning all the + eight suffered. One had his oxen stolen, in addition." + + The Captain, laying aside his paper, here said that he had + now at his hotel, and would exhibit to the Committee, if + they so desired, the chains which one of his sons had worn, + when he was driven beneath the burning sun, by federal + troops, to a distant prison, on a charge of treason. The + cruelties he there endured, added to the anxieties and + sufferings incident to his position, had rendered him, the + old man said, as his eye flashed and his voice grew + sterner, "A maniac--yes, a MANIAC." + + He paused a few seconds, wiped a tear from his eye, and + continued his narration.... + + "I saw while it was standing, and afterwards saw the ruins, + of a most valuable house, the property of a highly + civilized, intelligent, and exemplary Christian Indian, + which was burned to the ground by the ruffians, because its + owner was suspected of favoring the free state men. He is + known as Ottawa Jones, or John T. Jones. + + "In September last, I visited a beautiful little free state + town called Staunton, on the north side of the Osage, (or + Marais-des-Cygnes, as it is sometimes called,) from which + every inhabitant had fled for fear of their lives, even + after having built a strong log house, or wooden fort, at a + heavy expense, for their protection. Many of them had left + their effects liable to be destroyed or carried off, not + being able to remove them. This was to me a most gloomy + scene, and like a visit to a sepulchre. + + "About the first of September, I, and five sick and wounded + sons, and a son-in-law, were obliged to lie on the ground, + without shelter, for a considerable time, and at times + almost in a state of starvation, and dependent on the + charity of the Christian Indian I have named before, and + his wife." + + He concluded his remarks by denouncing the traitors to + freedom, who, when a question of this kind was raised, + cried out, "Save the people's money--the dear people's + Money." He had a detailed estimate of how much the National + Government had expended in endeavoring to fasten slavery on + Kansas; and asked why these politicians had never cried + out, "Save the people's money!" when it was expended to + trample under the foot of the "peculiar" crime of the + south, the rights, lives, and property of the Northern + squatters. They were silent then. (Applause.) + + The Chairman then asked who commanded the free-state men at + Lawrence. His answer was characteristic of the man, whose + courage was only equalled by his modesty and worth. + + He explained how bravely our boys acted--gave every one the + credit but himself. When again asked who commanded them, he + said,--no one; that he was asked to take the command, but + refused, and only acted as their ADVISER! + + The Captain spoke in conclusion, about the emigrants needed + for Kansas. + + "We want," he said, "good men, industrious men, men who + respect themselves; who act only from the dictates of + conscience; MEN WHO FEAR GOD TOO MUCH TO FEAR ANY THING + HUMAN." + + When asked by the Chairman:--"What is your opinion as to + the probability of a renewal of hostilities in Kansas--of + another invasion; and what do you think would be the + effect, on the free state men, of an appropriation by + Massachusetts?"--replied:--"Whenever we heard, out in + Kansas that the North was doing any thing for us, we were + encouraged and strengthened to struggle on. As to the + probability of another invasion, I do not know. We ought to + be prepared for the worst. Things do not look one iota more + encouraging now, than they did last year at this time. You + ought to remember that, from the date of the Shannon treaty + till May last, there was perfect quiet in Kansas; no fear + of a renewal of hostilities; no violence offered to our + citizens in Missouri. I frequently went there myself; was + known there; yet treated with the greatest kindness." + +The Massachusetts Kansas Committee, of which Mr. Sanborn was secretary, +was composed of the kind of men described in the resolution, +"responsible and conservative men." It seems, therefore, that the scheme +was to have the State appropriate this money, and place it with the +Massachusetts Committee, for disbursement among Kansas settlers who had +suffered, as the Browns and "four or five others" had suffered. + +Of his biographers James Redpath, alone, seems to have been favorably +impressed with the speech; and it is unfortunate for Brown's fame that +he gave it publicity; for, had the report of the speech been suppressed +and the manuscript destroyed, his biographers could have made much of +the occasion; much more than was made of his mythical effort at +Lawrence, December 8, 1855. The speech was, in truth, a maudlin plea for +compensation for the time which he and his sons had spent in secretly +murdering and plundering Kansas settlers. It also included a weak +attempt to criticise the Free-State leadership; a line of criticism then +becoming popular, and still existing within the zone infected by the +pernicious influence of the Disunionists of that period. + +Brown did not dare to even hint at the truth concerning what he had +seen, and what he had personally done in Kansas. Yet he did not hesitate +to seek to impose this measure for compensation upon the Legislature, +and to misinform it in relation to his conduct, and to misdirect its +official actions. Imagine if possible the dismay, horror, and disgust +that would have taken possession of the members of this committee, if a +correct view of Brown's life, in Kansas, had been portrayed to them. The +arrangement of the function was audacious and clever; an illustration of +his daring hypocrisy, reckless insolence, and consistent variance with +right doing. The legislative committee penetrated Brown's armor, as the +Kansas National Committee had done, and refused to recommend that his +bill be passed. + +Three months later, Mr. Stearns was led to make an effort to have the +New York Legislature take up a similar measure. Writing on May 18th, to +a New York committee, he made the following remarkable statements:[229] + + Since the close of the last year we have confined our + operations to aiding those persons in Kansas who were, or + intended to become, citizens of that Territory,--believing + that sufficient inducements to immigrate existed in the + prosperous state of affairs there; and we now believe that + should quiet and prosperity continue there for another + year, the large influx of Northern and Eastern men will + secure the State for Freedom. To insure the present + prosperity we propose-- + + 1. To have our legislature make a grant of one hundred + thousand dollars, to be placed in the hands of discreet + persons, who shall use it for relief of those in Kansas who + are, or may become, destitute through Border-Ruffian + outrage. We think it will be done. + + 2. To organize a secret force, well armed, and under + control of the famous John Brown, to repel Border-Ruffian + outrage and defend the Free-State men from all alleged + impositions. This organization is strictly to be a + defensive one. + + 3. To aid by timely donations of money those parties of + settlers in the Territory who from misfortune are unable to + provide for their present wants. + + I am personally acquainted with Captain Brown, and have + great confidence in his courage, prudence, and good + judgment. He has control of the whole affair, including + contributions of arms, clothing, etc., to the amount of + thirteen thousand dollars. His presence in the Territory + will, we think, give the Free-State men confidence in their + cause, and also check the disposition of the Border + Ruffians to impose on them. This I believe to be the most + important work to be done in Kansas at the present time. + Many of the Free-State leaders being engaged in + speculations are willing to accept peace on any terms. + Brown and his friends hold to the original principle of + making Kansas free, without regard to private interests. If + you agree with me, I should like to have your money + appropriated for the use of Captain John Brown. If not + that, the other proposition, to aid parties of settlers now + in the Territory will be the next best. + +It appears from the closing sentences of this letter, that Brown had +succeeded in discrediting the men, who were steadfastly working out the +Free-State problem, in order to ingratiate himself with the people whom +he then sought to delude. His turpitude should not provoke surprise. The +crime of ingratitude cannot further degrade the character of this +mendacious mendicant. Having assassinated his unoffending neighbors in +the West, and robbed them, he now assassinated the fame of honorable +men, and robbed them of the measure of confidence and esteem to which +they were justly entitled because of their public services. + +Disappointed in his scheme to have money legislated into his pocket, +and in his effort to raise the thirty thousand dollars in large sums, he +proceeded to canvass the East personally, for money, and to draw upon +every possible source of supply--sailing under false colors and doing +business under false pretenses. Referring to this, Mr. Villard +says:[230] + + It must not be forgotten in this connection that very + little was known in Boston at this time, about the + Pottawatomie murders, and still less about Brown's + connection with them. Frank Preston Stearns, the biographer + of his father, states that the latter never knew of John + Brown's connection with the crime, and it may be well that + Theodore Parker and others passed off the scene without a + full realization of the connection between the Harper's + Ferry leader and the tragedy of May 24, 1856. + +Brown was proficient in the art of dissimulation. Mr. Thoreau was thus +impressed with what, to him, seemed to be the sanctity of a Christian +character. He said:[231] + + He was never able to find more than a score or so of + recruits whom he would accept, and only about a dozen + (among them his own sons) in whom he had perfect faith. + When he was here, he showed me a little manuscript + book,--his "orderly book" I think he called it,--containing + the names of his company in Kansas, and the rules by which + they bound themselves and he stated that several of them + had already sealed the contract with their blood. When some + one remarked that with the addition of a chaplain, it would + have been a perfect Cromwellian troop, he observed that he + would have been glad to add a chaplain to the list, if he + could have found one man who could fill the place worthily. + I believe he had prayers in his camp morning and evening, + nevertheless. He is a man of Spartan habits, and at sixty + was scrupulous about his diet at your table, excusing + himself by saying that he must eat sparingly and fare hard, + as became a soldier, or one who was fitting himself for + difficult enterprises, a life of exposure. A man of rare + common-sense and directness of speech as of action, a + transcendentalist, above all a man of ideas and + principles,--that is what distinguishes him. Not yielding + to a whim or transient impulse, but carrying out the + purpose of a life. I noticed that he did not overstate + anything, but spoke within bounds. I remember particularly + how, in his speech here, he referred to what his family had + suffered in Kansas, without ever giving the least vent to + his pent up fire. It was a volcano with an ordinary chimney + flue. Also referring to the deeds of certain Border + Ruffians, he said, rapidly paring away his speech, like an + experienced soldier keeping a reserve of force and meaning: + "They had a perfect right to be hung." He was not in the + least a rhetorician, was not talking to buncombe or his + constituents anywhere. He had no need to invent anything, + but to tell the simple truth, and communicate his own + resolution; therefore he appeared incomparably strong, and + eloquence in Congress and elsewhere seemed to me at a + discount. It was like the speeches of Cromwell compared + with those of an ordinary king. + +Mr. Emerson recorded his impressions in the following beautiful +language: + + For himself, Brown is so transparent that all men see him + through. He is a man to make friends wherever on earth + courage and integrity are esteemed,--the rarest of heroes, + a pure idealist with no by-ends of his own. Many of us have + seen him, and everyone who has heard him speak has been + impressed alike by his simple, artless goodness and sublime + courage. He joins that perfect Puritan faith which brought + his ancestors to Plymouth Rock, with his grandfather's + ardor in the Revolution. He believes in two articles,--two + instruments shall I say?--The Golden Rule and the + Declaration of Independence; and he used this expression in + a conversation here concerning them: "Better a whole + generation of men, women and children should pass away by a + violent death, than that one word of either should be + violated in this country." There is a Unionist, there is a + strict constructionist for you! He believes in the Union + of the States, and he conceives that the only obstruction + to the Union is slavery; and for that reason, as a patriot, + he works for its abolition.[232] + +These exalted characters, incapable of detecting the vile imposition +which he was practicing upon them, gave Brown the full measure of their +confidence; even accepting at its face value the assassin's statement +that he would have been glad to add a chaplain to his band, if he could +have found one who could fill that office worthily. Governor Robinson +had been more conservative in his recommendation. He based his approval +of Brown upon the information he had received. "Your career," he said, +"so far as I have been informed, has been such as to merit the highest +praise." + +As may be supposed, Brown's most dependable contributor was the +Massachusetts Committee. January 7th it voted him $500 for expenses and +on April 11th it voted him $500 more for the same account. April 15th it +authorized him to "sell to Free-State settlers in Kansas, one hundred of +the rifles it had placed in his care, for not less than fifteen dollars +each, and to apply the proceeds to relieve the suffering inhabitants of +the Territory."[233] Meanwhile he pursued his personal campaign for +money without abatement of energy; visiting the principal towns and +cities in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.[234] + +On March 4th he published, in the New York _Tribune_, the following +general advertisement for remittances of money:[235] + + TO THE FRIENDS OF FREEDOM + + The undersigned, whose individual means were exceedingly + limited when he first engaged in the struggle for liberty + in Kansas, being now still more destitute, and no less + anxious than in time past to continue his efforts to + sustain that cause, is induced to make this earnest appeal + to the friends of freedom throughout the United States, in + the firm belief that his call will not go unheeded. I ask + all honest lovers of liberty and human rights, both male + and female, to hold up my hands by contributions of + pecuniary aid, either as counties, cities, towns, villages, + societies, churches, or individuals. I will endeavor to + make a judicious and faithful application of all such means + as I may be supplied with. Contributions may be sent in + drafts to W. H. D. Callender, cashier State Bank, Hartford, + Conn. It is my intention to visit as many places as I can + during my stay in the states, provided I am first informed + of the disposition of the inhabitants to aid me in my + efforts as well as to receive my visit. Information may be + communicated to me (care of the Massasoit House) + Springfield, Mass. Will editors of newspapers friendly to + the cause kindly second the measure, and also give this + some half dozen insertions? Will either gentlemen or + ladies, or both, who love the cause, volunteer to take up + the business? It is with no little sacrifice of personal + feeling that I appear in this manner before the public. + +At Hartford and Canton, Connecticut, he used a similar appeal: + + I am trying to raise from twenty to twenty-five thousand + dollars in the free States, to enable me to continue my + efforts in the cause of freedom. Will the people of + Connecticut, my native state, afford me some aid in this + undertaking? Will the gentlemen and ladies of Hartford, + where I make my first appeal in this State, set the example + of an earnest effort? Will some gentleman or lady take hold + and try what can be done by small contributions from + counties, cities, towns, societies, or churches, or in some + other way? I think the little beggar-children in the + streets are sufficiently interested to warrant their + contributing, if there was any need of it, to secure the + object.[236] + +February 19th Mr. Lawrence sent Brown a check for seventy dollars which +had been contributed to the Massachusetts Company by John Conant, of New +Hampshire. About this time Mr. Lawrence published an offer to be "one of +ten, or a smaller number, to pay a thousand dollars per annum till the +admission of Kansas into the Union, for the purpose of supporting John +Brown's family and keeping the proposed company in the field." Since he +did not intend to have any company in Kansas, Brown took up this +proposal promptly and pressed tenaciously to commute it for a thousand +dollars, cash. On March 19th, he wrote Mr. Lawrence from New Haven, as +follows:[237] + + The offer you so kindly made through the _Telegraph_ some + time since, emboldens me to propose the following for your + consideration: For One Thousand Dollars cash I am offered + an improved piece of land which with a little improvement I + now have, might enable my family, consisting of a Wife & + Five minor children (the youngest not yet Three years old) + to procure a Subsistence should I never return to them; my + Wife being a good economist, & a real old fashioned + business woman. She has gone through the Two past winters + in our open cold house; unfinished outside; & not + plastered. I have no other income or means for their + support. I have never hinted to any one else that I had a + thought of asking for any help to provide in any such way + for my family; & SHOULD NOT TO YOU, but for your own + suggestion. I fully believe I shall get the help I need to + operate with West. Last Night a private meeting of some + gentlemen here; voted to raise one Thousand Dollars in New + Haven for that purpose. If you feel at all inclined to + encourage me in the measure I have proposed, I shall be + grateful to get a line from you; Care Massasoit House, + Springfield, Mass; & will call when I come again to Boston. + I do not feel disposed to weary you with my oft repeated + visitations. I believe I am indebted to you as the UNKNOWN + GIVER of One share of Emigrant aid stock; as I can think of + no other so likely to have done it. IS MY APPEAL RIGHT? + +Mr. Lawrence replied March 20th that he had just sent nearly fourteen +thousand dollars to Kansas to establish a school fund there, and was +short of money, but assured him that if his life were shortened while +engaged in the great cause, "the family of 'Captain John Brown of +Osawatomie' will not be turned out to starve in this country, until +Liberty herself is driven out." Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Stearns afterward +agreed to raise the thousand dollars, but as the payment lagged, Brown +"pressed to close quarters." May 13th he wrote quite peremptorily to Mr. +Stearns: + + I must ask to have the $1000 made up _at once_; & forwarded + to Gerrit Smith. I did not start the measure of getting up + any subscription for me; (although I was sufficiently needy + as God knows); nor had I any thought of _further burdening_ + either of my dear friends _Stearns or Lawrence_....[238] + +The amount was made up and paid late in August, Mr. Lawrence paying $310 +of it and Mr. Stearns $260. + +It will never be known how much money Brown secured during this raid +through the East. Mr. Villard estimates his cash collections at $4,000. +The money value of the clothing and war material given to him was about +$13,000. In addition to this Mr. Stearns gave him a cash credit of +$7,000 against which he could draw from time to time "as it might be +needed to subsist his company after they entered upon active service." +He also had to his credit with the National Kansas Committee the $5,500 +it had voted him. His total collections and subscriptions amounted +therefore to about $30,000. A valuable asset in his collection of arms +was two hundred revolvers, which the Massachusetts Arms Company, at +Chicopee Falls, agreed, through Mr. Thayer, to sell to him for $1,300, +fifty per cent of the regular price. Brown notified Mr. Stearns of the +offer, who promptly placed the order, agreeing to pay for the arms by +his personal note, in four months from date of delivery. In his letter, +notifying Brown that he would purchase the revolvers for him, Mr. +Stearns remarked incidentally: + + I think you ought to go to Kansas as soon as possible, and + give Robinson and the rest some back bone. + +Also on May 11th he said: + + I am glad to know that you are on your way to Kansas: the + free State leaders need somebody to talk to them. I hope + you will see Conway very soon after your arrival. I did not + expect you to return, or hold pledged to me, any arms you + use in Kansas, but only such as were not used. + + Yours truly, + GEORGE L. STEARNS. + +Encouraged by the success of his deceptions--"the greedy swallowing +every where of what I have told,"--and flattered by the notoriety he had +gained. Brown began to take his personal criticisms of the Kansas +leaders seriously. During the latter part of March he became so +impressed by his dissatisfaction with their "incompetence," and, what +was worse, with their "unwillingness to fight," that he decided to take +things into his own hands and displace them altogether. He would put +abler men in charge of Territorial affairs. With this purpose in view, +he modestly requested young Mr. Sanborn, and Martin F. Conway, to meet +him in conference at the Metropolitan Hotel, in New York. From there the +trio went to Easton, Pennsylvania, where they formally offered the +leadership of the Free-State cause to ex-Governor Reeder, which the +latter declined, with appropriate thanks. However, the mission was not +wholly without results. Mr. Villard informs us that the ex-Governor was +"so heartily in sympathy with Brown's plan, that the latter wrote to him +for aid, on his return to Springfield, explaining that the only +difference between them was as to the number of men needed, and hoping +that Mr. Reeder would soon discover the necessity of going out to +Kansas this spring."[239] + +The coming of spring was a serious matter in Brown's affairs. His +"sagacious" forecast called for a renewal of pro-slavery aggressions in +Kansas, and he was not there to resist them, if they arrived. His +admirers had responded to his appeals for arms and money; and in return, +they expected him to do something creditable; something worthy of his +pretensions. Naturally they wanted their hero to be at the front; they +wanted to see him at the post of honor, and, if need be, at the post of +danger. Spring came, but Brown was not ready to go--"not yet, but soon." +He had not got enough of the kind of money he wanted--"Money without +questions asked." Mr. Villard says: "April was for Brown another month +of active solicitation of funds." He realized that he had to go, and +began making the necessary preparations with reluctance, and in a state +of despondence wholly inconsistent with heroism; but true--strictly +true--of the shamming mendicant. April 16th he wrote to Mr. Eli Thayer: + + I am advised that one of "Uncle Sam's hounds is on my + track;" and I have kept myself hid for a few days to let my + track get cold. I have no idea of being taken, and intend + (if God will) to go back with irons in, rather than upon my + hands.... I got a fine list in Boston the other day, and + hope Worcester will not be entirely behind. I do not mean + you or Mr. Allen & Co.[240] + +At this time Brown heard, or pretended that he had heard, a rumor that a +United States marshal had passed through Cleveland on his way East to +arrest him for "high treason." In consequence of this he sought and +obtained a hiding place in the home of Judge and Mrs. Russell, in +Boston, where he remained concealed several days. Here he indulged in +several spectacular effects, for the benefit of the Judge and his +wondering wife. Some of his performances were related by Judge Russell, +as follows: + + He used to take out his two revolvers, and repeater, every + night before going to bed, to make sure of their loads, + saying, "Here are eighteen lives." To Mrs. Russell he once + said, "If you hear a noise at night, put the baby under the + pillow. I should hate to spoil these carpets, too, but you + know I cannot be taken alive." Giving an account one day of + his son Frederick's death, who was shot by Martin White, + Mrs. Russell broke out, "If I were you, Mr. Brown, I would + fight those ruffians as long as I lived." "That," he + replied, "is not a Christian spirit. If I thought I had one + bit of the spirit of revenge I would never lift my hand; I + do not make war on slave-holders, even when I fight them, + but on slavery." He would hold up Mrs. Russell's little + girl, less than two years old, and tell her, "When I am + hung for treason, you can say that you used to stand on + Captain Brown's hand."[241] + +Brown had not been charged with treason in Kansas, nor was he even under +suspicion for "constructive" treason. But Kansas treason was then a +fashionable offense in the North, and Brown, of course, worked it with +fine effect upon his listeners. The Rev. Theodore Parker suggested to +Judge Russell a way of escape for Brown. He wrote: + + MY DEAR JUDGE--If John Brown falls into the hands of the + marshal from Kansas, he is sure either of the gallows or of + something yet worse. If I were in his position, I should + shoot dead any man who attempted to arrest me for those + alleged crimes; then I should be tried by a Massachusetts + jury and be acquitted.[242] + +Brown at one time expressed his contempt for the gullible people upon +whom he imposed. It was when he was in Kansas in 1858, and intended to +write a book. He thought the story of his life, as he would write it, +would be a good "seller." The title was to be "catchy," if there be such +a word. It read: + + A brief history of John Brown, otherwise (Old B.) and his + family: _as connected with Kansas_; By one who knows. + +It was to be "sold for the benefit of the whole of my family or to +promote the cause of Freedom as may hereafter appear." There was a +mutuality of interest or a unity of Brown and the cause of Freedom. +Whatever he did for the cause was done for the benefit of the family. In +writing to his son about this venture he said: + + I am _certain_, from the manner in which I have been + pressed to narrate, and the greedy swallowing everywhere of + what I have told, and complaints of the newspapers + voluntarily made of my backwardness to gratify the public, + that the book would find a ready sale.[243] + +But his sons--John and Jason--disapproved of the venture: they were +reactionaries; they thought it best to leave well enough alone, and +shied at a proposal to skate upon ice so treacherous as they knew this +departure to be. John said:[244] "But many a man has committed his +greatest blunder when trying to write a book." + +While at the Russell home Brown evolved a scheme, characteristic of his +craftiness, which he launched in a highly dramatic and effective manner. +The paper was named: + + OLD BROWN'S FAREWELL + + _To the Plymouth Rocks, Bunker Hill Monuments, Charter + Oaks, and, Uncle Tom's Cabbins._ + +Having prepared the paper for the specific purpose of imposing upon Mrs. +Steams, rather than upon Mr. Parker's congregation, he paid that lady +the flattering compliment of desiring to consult her about "a plan he +had," asking her to call on him at the Russell home. Her interesting +statement of what happened is as follows: + + ... As the address states, Brown was keeping very quiet at + Judge Russell's house in Boston, partly on account of a + warrant issued in Kansas for his arrest for high treason, + and partly because he was ill with fever and ague, a + chronic form which had been induced by his exposures in + Kansas. It was in April, 1857, and a chilling easterly + storm had prevailed for many days. Mr. Stearns went + frequently to visit him, and on Saturday preceding the + Sunday morning mentioned by Judge Russell, Captain Brown + expressed a wish that I should go to see him, as he could + not venture in such weather on a trip to + Medford--emphasizing the request by saying that he wished + to consult me about a plan he had, and that I might come + soon. Mr. Stearns gave me his message at dinner, and I + drove at once to Judge Russell's house. As soon as my name + was announced Brown appeared, and thanking me for the + promptness of my visit, proceeded to say that he had been + "amusing himself" by preparing a little address for + Theodore Parker to read to his congregation the next + (Sunday) morning; and that he would feel obliged to me for + expressing my honest opinion about the propriety of this. + He then went upstairs, and returned with a paper, which + proved, in reading, to be "Old Brown's Farewell." The + emphasis of his tone and manner I shall never forget, and + wish I could picture him as he sat and read, lifting his + eyes to mine now and then to see how it impressed me. When + he finished, he said: "Well, now, what do you think? Shall + I send it to Mr. Parker?" "Certainly; by all means send it. + He will appreciate every word you have written, for it + rings the metal he likes. But I have my doubts about + reading it to his congregation. A few of them would + understand its significance, but the majority, I fear, + would not. Send it to Mr. Parker, and he will do what is + best about it." In reply he thanked me, and said I had + confirmed his own judgment, had cleared his mind, and + conferred the favor he desired. Then, I told him, he must + give me a copy to preserve among my relics. He replied: "I + would give you this, but it is not fit. I had such an ague + while writing that I could not keep my pen steady; but you + shall have a fair copy." In a few days he sent the copy I + now have, by the hand of Mr. Stearns. It will be forwarded + with other memorials to the Kansas Historical Society. + + This matter being settled, Brown began talking upon the + subject always uppermost in his thought, and, I may add, + action also. Those who remember the power of his moral + magnetism will understand how surely and readily he lifted + his listener to the level of his own devotion; so that it + suddenly seemed mean and unworthy--not to say wicked--to be + living in luxury while such a man was struggling for a few + thousands to carry out his cherished plan. "Oh," said he, + "if I could have the money that is _smoked away_ during a + single day in Boston, I could strike a blow which would + make slavery totter from its foundation." As he said these + words, his look and manner left no doubt in my mind that he + was quite capable of accomplishing his purpose. To-day all + sane men everywhere acknowledge its truth. Well, I bade him + adieu and drove home, thinking many thoughts--of the power + of a mighty purpose lodged in a deeply religious soul; of + only one man with God on his side. The splendor of spring + sunshine filled the room when I awoke the next morning; + numberless birds, rejoicing in the returning warmth filled + all the air with melody; dandelions sparkled in the vivid + grass; everything was so beautiful, that the wish rose warm + in my heart to comfort and aid John Brown. It seemed not + much to do to sell our estate and give the proceeds to him + for his sublime purpose. What if another home were not as + beautiful! When Mr. Stearns awoke, I told him my morning + thoughts. Reflecting a while, he said: "Perhaps it would + not be just right to the children to do what you suggest; + but I will do all I can in justice to them and you." When + breakfast was over, he drove to the residence of Judge + Russell and handed Captain Brown his check for seven + thousand dollars. But this fact was not known at that time + and only made public after the death of Mr. Stearns.[245] + +The historical _Farewell_, referred to, is herein reproduced: + + He has left for Kansas; has been trying since he came out + of the Territory to secure an outfit, or, in other words, + the means of arming and thoroughly equipping his regular + minute-men, who are mixed up with the people of Kansas. And + he leaves the States with a feeling of deepest sadness, + that after having exhausted his own small means and with + his family and his brave men suffered hunger, cold, + nakedness, and some of them sickness, wounds, imprisonment + in irons with extreme cruel treatment, and others, death; + that after lying on the ground for months in the most + sickly, unwholesome, and uncomfortable places, some of the + time with sick and wounded, destitute of any shelter, + hunted like wolves, and sustained in part, by Indians; that + after all this, in order to sustain a cause which every + citizen of this "glorious republic" is under equal moral + obligation to do, and for the neglect of which he will be + held accountable by God--a cause in which every man, woman, + and child of the entire human family has a deep and awful + interest--that when no wages are asked or expected, he + cannot secure, amid all the wealth, luxury, and + extravagance of this "heaven-exalted" people, even the + necessary supplies of the common soldier. "How are the + mighty fallen?" + + I am destitute of horses, baggage-wagons, tents, harness, + saddles, bridles, holsters, spurs, and belts; camp + equipage, such as cooking and eating utensils, blankets, + knapsacks, intrenching-tools, axes, shovels, spades, + mattocks, crowbars; have not a supply of ammunition; have + not money sufficient to pay freight and travelling + expenses; and left my family poorly supplied with common + necessaries.[246] + +In a letter to Brown of April 17th, Mr. Thayer proposed a name for +Brown's prospective company, as follows: + + ... Will you allow me to suggest a name for your company? I + should call them, "The Neighbors," from Luke tenth chapter: + "Which thinkest thou was neighbor to him who fell among + thieves." + +What Brown's thoughts were when he read this friendly suggestion can not +well be imagined. The association of the word "neighbors" with the +phrase "falling among thieves" may have caused him to suspect that +Thayer held the secret of his dishonor; and that his guilt, hypocrisy, +and mendacity might be on the verge of exposure. At any rate the effect +of the combination of these words must have sunk deep into his heart. +They could not but call up afresh, and vividly, a mental vision of the +scenes on the Pottawatomie, when he and his band of thieves fell among, +and upon, their neighbors, at midnight, and murdered and robbed them. + +Brown's trouble now lay in the fact that he had to leave the East and +there was nothing which he could do in the West. The Free-State cause +under the direction of Robinson, and his co-laborers: Goodin, Roberts, +Holliday, Lane, Crawford, Brown, Deitzler, Parrott, Brooks, Dudley, +Emery, Woodward, Learnard, Phillips, Conway, Wood, and many others, was +progressing in an orderly and satisfactory manner toward a decisive +victory at the polls. + +Acknowledging the receipt of Mr. Stearns's suggestions that he should go +to Kansas immediately, Brown wrote him on the 13th: "I leave for the +West to-day." It will be observed that he put off no fire-works, nor +indulged in any exhibition in heroics on the occasion of his going to +his, pretended, field of achievement. To William Barnes, of Albany, he +wrote April 3d: + + I expect soon to return West; & to go back without even + securing an outfit. I go with a _sad heart_, having failed + to secure even the means of equipping; to say nothing of + feeding men. I had when I returned, no more than I could + peril; and could make no further sacrifice, except to go + about in the attitude of a beggar: & that I have done, + humiliating as it is. + +Proceeding slowly westward, almost aimlessly, with two wagons driven by +himself and his son Owen, he worked the country he passed through for +all the money and "supplies" he could secure. It was not until August +7th, that he arrived at Tabor, Iowa. "I was obliged," he said,[247] "to +stop at different points on the way, and to go to others off the route +to solicit help." + +While thus engaged, he wrote the "Autobiography"; a paper held in +adoration by his biographers. It is in the form of a letter addressed to +Mr. Stearns's twelve year old son, who had obtained "permission from his +father to give all his pocket money to Captain Brown." It contains +nothing that was unusual or extraordinary in the lives of those who +wrestled with the problems and the privations which were incident to +border-life during the period of Brown's youth. The paper was written +for a special purpose and is valuable as an exhibit of his scheming to +finance the operations he then intended to undertake in Virginia.[248] + +John Brown was not a weakling, nor was he wasting any of his time +trifling with sentiment when he wrote this letter. In his brain surged +the hopes for success, and the fears of a miscarriage, for lack of +funds, of a secret purpose of transcendant importance. The parents of +young Stearns were the most valuable of his fiscal and moral supporters. +Also he carried in his pocket the father's check for $7,000. Further, he +knew that Mr. Stearns was seeking to have the State of New York +appropriate $100,000 to put in his hands for use in his Kansas +operations. Though still masquerading under cover of the deception which +he practiced upon these people, he had definite plans in view, which +were not a pretense; they were secret; he could not unfold them; but +they were none the less real. He intended to ask Mr. Stearns, and +others, to finance his new project; and to do so without inquiring too +closely into the nature of the details that would be involved in the +execution of it. He wanted to retain the confidence which these friends +reposed in him, and under these circumstances wrote the letter or +autobiography, for the purpose of confirming their faith in his +sincerity; and to encourage a belief in their minds that he was well +equipped by heredity and training, to accomplish what he intended to +undertake, and that he would with certainty succeed. + +The problem of accounting for the impending failure of his Kansas +pretentions was also a serious matter. Mr. Stearns confidently expected +that upon his arrival in Kansas, Brown would promptly take up the +subject of public affairs with Governor Robinson _et al._, and tell +them, sharply, what should be done. As he had derived it from Brown, +these leaders needed a leader: one with courage and energy; and without +a suspicion that he had been deceived in the premises, he thought Brown +was equipped for the job, and that he was eager to give the Free-State +leaders an effective stimulant for "backbone." + +To keep up the pretense that his destination was Kansas, and that his +going there had some political significance, Brown sought to have some +responsible people meet him at Tabor for consultation about Kansas +matters. He accordingly wrote to Colonel Phillips, June 9th, asking him +to come, designating others whom he desired to meet. Also he wrote to +Mr. Wattles and to Holmes, and probably to Cook. Phillips answered his +letter June 24th, informing him that none of the men whom he hoped would +meet him in the "most quiet way," for a conference about "very important +matters," in relation to which there were to be "no words," was +sufficiently impressed with the importance of his coming to put in an +appearance. He also told him, what he already knew, that there was no +necessity for military operations. + +Whether Brown entered Kansas at all, would depend solely upon whether or +not conditions there were favorable for another "sudden coup to restore +his fortunes." Upon this subject he was in correspondence with "Captain" +James H. Holmes of Osawatomie fame. It will be remembered that Holmes +had been "promptly and properly indicted and long pursued by the Kansas +and Missouri authorities for "carrying the war into Africa"--stealing +horses and other property." Holmes must have been a very daring and +efficient thief, for Brown greatly admired him and "used to call him 'my +little hornet.'"[249] One of the Little Hornet's men had been stung. To +this Holmes referred in a letter which he wrote to Brown April 30th. He +said:[250] + + You will hear of me either at Lawrence, through J. E. Cook, + of the firm of Bacon, Cook, & Co., or I may be at Emporia, + where I have taken a claim and make it my home. At any + rate. Cook can tell you where I may be. A case has recently + occurred of kidnapping a Free-State man, which is this: + Archibald Kendall was some two weeks since, enticed out, + under pretense of trading horses, by four men, and abducted + into Missouri. Archy was in my company and is a good brave + fellow. + +In answer to a letter from Brown, Holmes replied August 16th: + + ... I do not know what you would have me infer by business; + I presume though, by the word being emphasized, that you + refer to the business for which I learn that you have a + stock of material with you. If you mean this, I think quite + strongly of a good opening for this business about the + first Monday of Oct. next. If you wish other employments, I + presume you will find just as profitable ones.[251] + +The "Little Hornet" did not recommend, as profitable, the business that +might be had on election-day--October 5th; that opportunity foreshadowed +the possibility of real resistance against pro-slavery aggressions; but +other profitable employments could be had, by the act of undertaking +them, at any time. These thieves understood each other. The "profitable +employments" meant stealing horses. + +With his arrival at Tabor, August 7th, Brown reached the limit of his +possibilities. The next day he thus reported his arrival to Mr. +Stearns:[252] + + In consequence of ill-health and other hindrances too + numerous and unpleasant to write about, the least of which + has _not been_ the lack of sufficient means for freight + bills and other expenses, I have never as yet returned to + Kansas. This has been unavoidable, unless I returned + without securing the principal object for which I came back + from the Territory; and I am now waiting for teams and + means to come from there to enable me to go on. I obtained + two teams and wagons, as I talked of, at a cost of seven + hundred and eighty-six dollars, but was obliged to hire a + teamster,[253] and to drive one team myself. This + unexpected increase of labor, together with being much of + the time quite unwell and depressed with disappointments + and delays, has prevented my writing sooner. Indeed, I had + pretty much determined not to write till I should do it + from Kansas. I will tell you some of my disappointments. I + was flattered with the expectation of getting one thousand + dollars from Hartford City and also one thousand dollars + from New Haven. From Hartford I did get about two hundred + and sixty dollars, and a little over in some repair of + arms. From New Haven I got twenty-five dollars; at any + rate, that is all I can get any advice of. Gerrit Smith + supplied me with three hundred and fifty dollars, or I + could not have reached this place. He also loaned me one + hundred and ten dollars to pay to the Thompsons who were + disappointed of getting their money for the farm I had + agreed for and got possession of for use. I have been + continually hearing from them that I _have not fulfilled_, + and I told them I should not leave the country till the + thing was completed. This has exceedingly mortified me. I + could tell you much more had I room and time. _Have not + given up._ Will write more when I get to Kansas. + + Your friend, + JOHN BROWN. + +He now had at Tabor and at Nebraska City, five wagon loads of stuff[254] +which was wholly useless for any purpose relating to Kansas. He had been +posing, for nearly a year, as a hero charged with the responsibility of +saving Kansas to freedom, and had finally come to the end of his rope. +To Mr. Sanborn he wrote, August 13th:[255] + + I am now, at last, within a kind of hailing distance of our + Free-State friends in Kansas.... I am now waiting to know + what is best to do next. + +Four days later he wrote to his wife these significant words: + + Should no disturbance occur, we may possibly think best to + work back eastward.[256] + +To Mr. Adair he wrote: + + I have been trying all season to get to Kansas; but have + failed as yet, through ill health, want of means to pay + Freights, travelling expenses, etc. _How to act now_; I do + not know.[257] + +There was nothing more that Brown could do. The failure of his +pretensions was almost complete. Only his vocabulary had survived the +general wreck. It was still intact and in working order. Drawing upon +that inexhaustible resource of the charlatan, he wrote to Mr. Sanborn, +October 1st: + + I am now so far recovered from my hurt, as to be able to do + a little; and foggy as it is, "we do not give up the ship." + I will not say that Kansas, watered by the tears and blood + of my children, shall yet be free or I fall.[258] + +A comparison of Brown's correspondence at this time, with what his +eulogists have put forth concerning it, discloses a wide divergence +between the facts therein stated, and the biographical fiction relating +thereto. Referring to Brown's irrelevant reference to the tears and +blood of his children, Mr. Villard says: + + Brave as this sentiment is, it only increases the mystery + of Brown's delaying at Tabor.... Obviously, Brown, grim, + self-willed, resolute chieftain that he generally was, + appeared baffled here and lacking wholly in a determination + to reach the scene of action at any cost.... It will be + seen that, when he finally reached Kansas, he stayed but a + few days, was practically in hiding,...[259] + +Only editorial fiction mystifies the cause of his delay at Tabor. The +"grim, self-willed, resolute chieftain" had a clear and unalterable +purpose in view, when he was delaying there. It was to attempt the +conquest of the Southern States. If he entered Kansas, it would be +merely an incident in the promotion of that scheme. His attitude was +pivotal but not enigmatic; if a "disturbance" occurred in Kansas, he +intended to proceed thither, and under cover of it, execute such +purposes as he had in view; otherwise, he would "work back eastward." + +One, at least, of his Eastern admirers, Mr. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, +became impatient because of this delaying. After nursing his +disappointment a few months, he protested Brown's procrastination, which +evoked the following instructive reply from Mr. Sanborn:[260] + + ... You do not understand Brown's circumstances.... He is + as ready for a revolution as any other man, and is now on + the borders of Kansas, safe from arrest, but prepared for + action, but he needs money for his present expenses and + _active_ support. I believe he is the best Disunion + champion you can find, and with his hundred men, when he is + put where he can raise them, and drill them (for he has an + expert drill officer with him) he will do more to split the + Union than a list of 50,000 names, for your convention, + good as that is. + + What I am trying to hint at is that the friends of Kansas + are looking with strange apathy at a movement which has all + the elements of fitness and success--a good plan, a tried + leader, and a radical purpose. If you can do anything for + it _now_, in God's name do it--and the ill result of the + new policy in Kansas may be prevented. + +On August 13th, the "Cromwellian Trooper" wrote Mr. Sanborn a long +letter,[261] which he intended "as a kind of report of my progress and +success, as much for your committee or my friend Stearns as yourself." +The letter has no public significance. It is a prolonged whine because +he had not received all the _money_ that had been promised him; also it +incidentally but artistically put Mr. Stearns and Mr. Lawrence in a +position that practically compelled them to make good the thousand +dollars which he had theretofore pressed Mr. Lawrence for.[262] He said: + + ... It was the poor condition of my noble-hearted wife and + her young children that made me follow up that + encouragement with a tenacity that disgusted him and + completely exhausted his patience. But after such repeated + assurances from friends I so much respected that I could + not suspect they would trifle with my feelings, I made a + positive bargain for the farm; and when I found nothing for + me at Peterboro', I borrowed one hundred and ten dollars of + Mr. Smith for the men who occupied the farm, telling him + it would certainly be refunded, and the others that they + would get all their money very soon, and even before I left + the country. This has brought me only extreme mortification + and depression of feeling; for all my letters from home, up + to the last, say not a dime has been paid in to Mr. Smith. + Friends who never knew the lack of a sumptuous dinner + little comprehend the value of such trifling matters to + persons circumstanced as I am. But, my noble-hearted + friend, I am "though faint, yet pursuing."... + +Brown's hope for a "disturbance" in Kansas was nourished by the reports +that he received from General Lane, which, doubtless, encouraged him to +prolong his stay at Tabor. Concerning this, Mr. Villard says:[263] + + Only the erratic Lane, who was then the sole person trying + to stir up strife in Kansas, and is accused by respectable + witnesses, of planning schemes of wholesale massacre of + pro-slavery men through a secret order; was on fire for + Brown's presence in the Territory, but it was the Tabor + arms, rather than their owner, he really desired. + +Lane wrote Brown, confidentially, September 7th, as follows:[264] + + (Private) + + SIR: + + We are earnestly engaged in perfecting an organization for + the protection of the ballot-box at the October election + (first Monday). Whitman and Abbott have been East after + money & arms, for a month past, they write encouragingly, & + will be back in a few days. We want you with _all_ the + _materials_ you have. I see no objections to your coming + into Kansas publicly. I can furnish you just such a force + as you may deem necessary for your protection here & after + you arrive. I went up to see you but failed. + + Now what is wanted is this--write me concisely what + transportation you require, how much money & the number of + men to escort you into the Territory safely & if you desire + it, I will come up with them. + +To this letter Brown replied September 16th: + + I suppose that three good teams with _well covered_ wagons, + and ten _really ingenious_, industrious (not gassy) men, + with about one hundred and fifty dollars in cash, could + bring it about in the course of eight or ten days. + +Lane, hoping to make his proposition more attractive, appointed Brown +Brigadier-General, Second Brigade, First Division. But not until the +29th, did he send his Quartermaster-General, Mr. Jamison, to Brown, for +the arms. In a letter addressed to "General John Brown" Lane said that +it was "_all important_ to Kansas, that your things should be in at the +earliest possible moment, and that you should be much nearer than you +are." He also enclosed fifty dollars, "all the money I have," but said +that Jamison "had some more." Naturally Lane's proposal failed to +interest Brown. He replied that he could not go to Lawrence on such +short notice and returned the fifty dollars.[265] The election, however, +passed off quietly and resulted in a complete victory for the Free-State +men. They elected their delegate to Congress, and thirty-three of the +fifty-two members of the Legislature. + +Another of Lane's schemes served to keep Brown at Tabor a month longer: +a project for "the wholesale assassination of pro-slavery men through a +secret order" called Danites. This time Mr. Whitman ably seconded Lane's +efforts to interest Brown. He borrowed one hundred and fifty dollars +which he enclosed with a letter to him and sent it by Mr. Charles P. +Tidd, saying: "General Lane will send teams from Falls City so that you +may get your goods all in. Leave none behind. Come direct to this place, +and see me before you make any disposition of your plunder.... Make the +money I send answer to get here, and I hope by that time to have more +for you. Mr. Tidd will explain all."[266] That this messenger gave +Brown inside information concerning the prospective assassinations, +there can be little doubt. + +October 25th, Mr. Whitman reported to Mr. Stearns[267] that Brown would +be at Lawrence November 3d, "at a very important council: Free-State +Central Com., Executive Com., Vigilance Committee of 52, Generals and +Capts. of the entire organization." Such a "disturbance" as this +promised to be, could not otherwise than interest Brown. Regarding the +money he received from Whitman as money due him from the National Kansas +Committee, he kept it; and disregarding the instructions concerning the +arms, he proceeded personally to Kansas, arriving at Mr. Whitman's home +about November 5th: too late, it will be observed, for him to +participate in the important council meeting of the 3d; but not too late +to take advantage of any public disturbance that might arise as a result +of the proceedings of the council. By messenger Tidd, Brown received one +hundred dollars from Mr. Adair, and upon his arrival at Lawrence, he +received from Mr. Whitman five hundred dollars for account of the +Massachusetts Kansas Committee. + +All the prospects for "trouble" in Kansas having vanished, Brown +promptly decided to "move eastward." Mr. Villard states that he +"remained two days with Mr. Whitman, obtaining tents and bedding." From +Topeka, when _en route_ to the East, on the 16th, he wrote to Mr. +Stearns that he had "been in Kansas for more than a week;" that he had +"found matters quite unsettled;" but was "decidedly of the opinion that +there will be no use for arms or ammunition before another Spring;" that +he had them all safe and meant "_to keep them so_." Also that he meant +"to be busily; but very quietly engaged in perfecting his arrangements +during the Winter." He further said: "Before getting your letter saying +to me not to draw on you for the $7,000 (by Mr. Whitman) I had fully +determined not to do so unless driven to the last extremity." In a +postscript he said: "If I do not use the arms and ammunition in _actual +service_; I intend to restore them unharmed; but you must not flatter +yourself on that score _too soon_." + +It will be observed that Brown did not call upon Governor Robinson, or +make any recommendations concerning Territorial affairs. To Mr. Adair he +wrote on the 17th: "I have been for some days in the territory but +keeping very quiet and looking about to see how the land lies ... I do +not wish to have any noise about me at present; as I do not mean to +'trouble Israel.' I may find it best to go back to Iowa."[268] + +The "failure" of Brown's plans to "trouble Israel," or the failure of +his hope for another opportunity to plunder Kansas settlers on a large +scale, lay in the simple fact that at the time he arrived at Tabor, +August 7, 1857, the Free-State leaders had worked out the Free-State +problem, and were then in position to make official declaration of the +fact at the polls; and to take over, into their own hands, by right of +the law of Squatter Sovereignty, the control of the Territorial +government. They had almost accomplished their mighty undertaking. Also, +they had established conditions of order, and security from violence, +that afforded neither encouragement nor opportunity for organized bands +of thieves, of the Brown type, to prey upon the settlements. The +activities of the marauder and his "Little Hornet" were barred. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE + +_He was the mildest manner'd man that ever scuttled ship +or cut a throat._ + + --DON JUAN + + +At Collinsville, Connecticut, about March 1, 1857, John Brown gave out +the first evidence that he contemplated inciting an insurrection in the +Southern States. He was there making his usual appeal for money. To a +group of citizens, among whom was a Mr. Charles Blair, he told the story +of Black Jack; and, as was his custom in such recitals, he drew from his +boot a trophy of the fight--a two-edged dirk-knife with a blade about +eight inches long--which he had taken from Captain Pate; and said, that +if he "had a lot of those things to attach to poles about six feet long, +they would be a capital weapon of defense for the settlers of Kansas to +keep in their log cabins to defend themselves against any sudden attack +that might be made upon them." And then turning to Blair, whom he knew +to be an edge-tool maker, asked him what it would "cost to make five +hundred or a thousand of those things" as he described them. To this +Blair replied that he would make "five hundred for a dollar and a +quarter apiece; or if he wanted a thousand, they might be made for a +dollar apiece." To this Brown replied that he would want them made. +March 30th, a contract for the thousand spears was signed. Brown +agreeing to pay five hundred dollars within ten days. At the time agreed +upon he paid three hundred dollars; but April 25th, he remitted two +hundred and fifty dollars more. This amount Blair expended in purchasing +material, and in making a part of the order; after which he suspended +work on it until such time as Brown would advance additional funds. +There was some correspondence between the parties in February and March, +1858, but nothing further was done in the matter until June 3, 1859, +when Brown again called upon Blair and made satisfactory arrangements +for payment of the remaining four hundred and fifty dollars; whereupon +Blair renewed work upon the order, and, on September 17th, delivered the +spears complete, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.[269] + +In New York City, Brown made the acquaintance of an Englishman who +entered into his life more largely, and gave greater direction to his +actions, than his biographers have acknowledged. This man was "Colonel" +Hugh Forbes. Brown called upon him, it is said, with a letter of +introduction from the Rev. Joshua Leavitt. The date of their meeting is +not given; but, since Brown is not reported as being in that city during +1857, after his visit there, January 23d-26th,[270] it may be assumed +that they met upon that occasion, and together planned to precipitate a +revolution in the South, through an insurrection of the slave +population. Forbes was a practical as well as a professional +revolutionist. He had served with Garibaldi. Mr. Villard refers to him +as "a suave adventurer of considerable ability." To Mr. Horace Greeley +he was "fanatical and mercenary and wholly wanting in common sense." +Gerrit Smith described him as a "handsome, soldierly-looking man, +skillful in the sword-exercise, and with some military experience picked +up under Garibaldi." Before entering the latter's service he had been a +"silk merchant at Sienna." In Mr. Sanborn's opinion he was a "brave, +vainglorious, undisciplined person, with little discretion, and quite +wanting in qualities that would fit him to be a leader of American +soldiers. Yet he was ambitious, eager to head a crusade against +slavery." In New York he taught fencing, and did some work on the +_Tribune_ as reporter and translator. + +It was not unnatural that these two adventurers should meet and unite +their fortunes in a revolutionary venture. Also, there was some +similarity in their lives. Both were "typical of the human flotsam and +jetsam washed up by every revolutionary movement." Forbes had been +washed up by Garibaldi's "revolution" in Italy, and Brown had been +washed up by Robinson's revolution in Kansas. Forbes was looking for an +adventure, and Brown had a make-believe one on hand, which, if prudently +handled, might be made to serve the purposes of their mutual ambitions. +The suave adventurer was the stronger character. He impressed Brown with +his knowledge of military science, and with the value his services would +be in their undertaking, and so fascinated the "grim, self-willed, +resolute chieftain" that he engaged his services at one hundred dollars +per month, and paid him six months' salary in advance. Mr. Villard +says:[271] + + John Brown, the reticent and self-contained, unbosomed + himself to this man as he had not to his Massachusetts + friends who advanced the money upon which he lived and + plotted. + +In relation to this Mr. Sanborn says:[272] + + It was about this time that Brown made the unlucky + acquaintance of Hugh Forbes, was pleased with him, and + engaged him to drill his soldiers at a salary of one + hundred dollars a month, even going so far as to pay him + six hundred dollars in advance. + +Both of these major transactions--the placing of the order for the +spears, and the employment of Forbes, as stated--are so discreditable to +ordinary intelligence, that they impeach Brown's sanity, except upon the +sole hypothesis, that these two men had, at that time, so matured their +plans for attempting a revolution, through an insurrection of the +slaves, that Brown felt justified in placing the order for the spears, +and in engaging the services of a man capable of directing large +military operations. It is impossible to believe that Brown contemplated +giving up a thousand dollars for a purpose so tame and absurd as the +distribution of a thousand spears among the Free-State settlers of +Kansas. They were already well armed with modern weapons--fire-arms--and +knew how to use them; while the proposal to employ a "drill-master" at +such a salary, in view of the state of his treasury, to drill such a lot +of nightriders as he could use in Kansas, is quite as preposterous. If +Brown needed the services of a drill-master, he knew where one could be +had for less money. There were plenty of men available who had served in +the volunteer army in Mexico, or had been discharged, or had deserted +from the regular army--men of the Aaron D. Stevens class--who were +competent to command as well as to drill. He also knew that many such +men were ready and anxious to engage in adventures in the Kansas field, +who would serve without compensation, other than a share of the +prospective plunder. + +From the time of his alliance with Forbes, Brown pressed forward +steadily, with a single definite ultimate purpose. The conquest of the +Southern States was on; and the Osawatomie Guerrilla had become the +Soldier of Fortune. + +Brown and Forbes moved upon the theory that the slaves were the rightful +owners of their masters' property. They believed that every slave +regarded his master as an enemy, who denied him a right to his family, +and appropriated to himself the fruits of his labor; that freedom was +the hope and the dream of every slave; that each lived in a state of +expectancy, awaiting the coming of a "Liberator" who would lead them in +a crusade for liberty. Also, they believed that every slave would fight +for his freedom. Self-constituting themselves "Liberators," they +regarded each slave as already enrolled in their service. The problems +before them were how to arouse these units of energy; how to incite the +slaves to simultaneous activity, and how to organize and direct them as +an operating force. The man who had killed his friendly neighbors with +nonchalance, and had taken their horses, could not understand why +another man, a slave, should hesitate to kill an enemy, such as has been +described, and take his horses and lands, and be further rewarded by the +benefaction of liberty. + +As results of their plotting, and planning, and scheming, they seem to +have figured out to their entire satisfaction, how they could destroy +the slave-holding population of the Southern States and confiscate their +property; and then, with the aid of their negro allies, thus liberated +from slavery, and with the assistance of the non-slave-holding whites in +the South and the ambitious and daring in the North, who would be lured +to join them, they could create an army; invade the South; take +possession of the several State governments, and reorganize them under +the jurisdiction of a Provisional Government. + +Brown was a disunionist,[273] and believed his revolution would result +in a dissolution of the Union. His friends--Redpath, Sanborn, Higginson, +Smith _et al._, were disunionists, and he lived in an atmosphere +saturated with the toxin of disunion sentiment. Also, he was an +optimist, and believed that while he ravaged the South with his bloody +scourge, the disunion propaganda in the North would assert itself to his +advantage, and create such a diversion in his favor, as would leave him +and Forbes free to deal with the South and its problems in their own +way. Only under such conditions could he hope to seize the property of +slave-holders, "personal and real, wherever and whenever it may be found +in either Free or Slave States." From their point of view, or as they +hoped to make it appear, their revolution was to be an affair between +the citizens of a block of sovereign States, in the result of which the +Federal Government would not be especially concerned. They would act +within the limits of the States involved for revolutionary purposes, +and not in unnecessarily aggressive hostility toward the United States. +At the same time, these adventurers well understood that no matter how +successful they might be in starting their revolution, there would +probably come a time when the Federal army would have to be reckoned +with; that the General Government would attempt to intervene in behalf +of local order, at least, and might seriously embarrass their operations +or wholly defeat them. This visible menace they not only planned to +overcome, or eliminate from the problem, but actually to turn it into a +valuable asset, by transposing it bodily to their side of the military +equation. They planned, in apparent sincerity of purpose, to accomplish +what appears to be the most colossal of all imaginable absurdities: to +have the men of the United States army abandon their colors and accept +service in their army; or, as Brown expressed it, to make an "actual +exchange of service from that of Satan to the service of God." + +To poison the minds of the soldiery of the Union and to ripen them for +revolt against their colors, they planned to begin a campaign of +education; to publish and distribute in the army, a series of tracts, +for the instruction of the officers and enlisted men in public morals +and in patriotism. In the division of their labors, to Forbes was +assigned the Department of Literature. In pursuance of his duties, he +proceeded to prepare a "Manual of the Patriotic Volunteer," and a tract, +which was the first of what was to be a series of tracts, entitled "The +Duty of the Soldier."[274] The tract was headed in small type: +"Presented with respectful and kind feelings, to the Officers and +Soldiers of the United States Army in Kansas." Mr. Villard says[275] the +object of the tract was to win them from their allegiance to their +colors. That it does this indirectly by asking whether the "Soldiers of +the Republic" should be "vile living machines and thus sustain Wrong +against Right." That it contained "three printed pages of rambling and +discursive discussion of the soldiery of the ancient Republics and of +the princes of Antiquity, and a consideration of Authority, legitimate +and illegitimate--as ill-fitted as possible an appeal to the regular +soldier of 1857." Appended to the copy in his possession is a closing +remark in Brown's handwriting as follows: + + It is as much the duty of the common soldier of the U. S. + Army according to his ability and opportunity, to be + informed _upon all subjects_ in any way affecting the + political or general welfare of his country; and to watch + with jealous vigilance, the course and management of all + public functionaries both civil and military: and to govern + his actions as a citizen Soldier accordingly: as though he + were President of the United States. + + Respectfully yours, + A SOLDIER. + +To one person at least, this literary performance was a serious matter. +In the promotion of it, John Brown was deeply, deadly in earnest. The +statement that "Forbes and not Brown, was the author of the tract"[276] +is not correct, and to characterize the paper as Forbes's attempt to +seduce the soldiery of the Union,[277] is equally misleading. The scheme +originated with Brown; he furnished the subject. To Forbes he assigned +the duty of preparing the text for publication. Writing to Rev. Theodore +Parker, from Boston, March 7, 1858, he said: + + ... I want you to undertake to provide a substitute for an + address you saw last season, directed to the officers and + soldiers of the United States Army. The ideas contained in + that address I, of course, like for I furnished the + skeleton. I never had the ability to clothe those ideas in + language at all, to satisfy myself.... In the first place + it must be short or it will not be generally read. It must + be in the simplest or plainest language, without the least + affectation of the scholar about it, and yet be worded + with great clearness and power.... The address should be + appropriate, and particularly adapted to the peculiar + circumstances we anticipate, and should look to the actual + change of service from that of Satan to the service of God. + It should be in short, a most earnest and powerful appeal + to men's sense of right and to their feelings of humanity. + Soldiers are men, and no man can certainly calculate the + value and importance of getting a single "nail into old + Captain Kidd's chest." It should be provided beforehand, + and be ready in advance to distribute by all persons, male + and female, who may be disposed to favor the right.... Now, + my dear sir, I have told you about as well as I know how, + what I am anxious at once to secure. Will you write the + tracts, or get them written, so that I may commence + colporteur?[278] + +There can be no doubt that Brown placed a high estimate upon the value +of this tract, but we know from the postscript thereto, that, although +the tract was dedicated to the "Officers and Soldiers" of the army, it +was the "common soldier" that he hoped to arouse and incite. His effort +to convert the army to his service, by means of a tract, may be called +madness, but it may also be said there was "method" in the madness. If +he had been criticised in relation to this matter, he would probably +have said in reply what he said to Mr. Sanborn, defending his action in +ordering the thousand spears: "Wise men may ridicule the idea; but I +take the whole responsibility of that job;" which was equivalent to +saying: "You do not comprehend the scope of my scheme, or the use which +I intend to make of these spears. When they have accomplished their +silent but deadly work, the wisdom of my conduct concerning them will +appear." The trouble in this case was how to obtain an opportunity to +inject the virus of revolt into the ranks of the army--how to start the +contagion--how to get his proposition before the troops, and to explain +what he intended to do; and what he would have at his disposal to offer +in the way of rewards for services in his army, without putting himself +and his plans in peril. How he intended to use the tract can only be +surmised. But the fact remains that he had to begin this all important +move somehow or somewhere, and the tract was, probably, evolved from his +inner consciousness to meet that necessity. It may therefore be assumed +that, under cover of discussing the generalities contained in the tract, +Brown hoped to make acquaintances among the enlisted men of the army in +whom he could confide, and who would serve his purpose by fomenting the +revolt. + +In projecting his campaign, Brown was a law unto himself, untrammelled +by the accepted usages of war. The excess of his ardor and enthusiasm +led him to believe that he could corrupt the rank and file of the army. +In his philosophy, the daring, dangerous, adventurous men who largely +composed the enlisted men of the army at that time, having no hope of +promotion in the service, would become eager listeners to his proposal. +Before them, he would throw open the storehouses of his prospective +empire, that they might behold the volume of his treasures, and select +that which they desired. His army was to be created; he had the men in +view--the slaves whom he would set free--but not the officers to command +them. If the enlisted men would desert from their service singly or _en +masse_, and thus temporarily paralyze the United States forces, and join +him, they could immediately become commissioned officers in his army and +share with him the honors, the booty, and the beauty of the rich country +he intended to ravage. By means of these "mighty and soul satisfying +rewards" he hoped to "seduce the soldiery of the Union." The campaign of +education was a stratagem. + +It is not apparent that Forbes, at any time, showed a desire to quit +Brown's service, or any disinclination to follow him westward. It is +true that he was in arrears at one time with his literary work, but +that was due to an incidental diversion of his activities in other +directions--soliciting contributions and collecting money from various +benevolent persons, including Mr. Greeley and Mr. Gerrit Smith. Forbes +also had been making necessary arrangements for the comfort of his +family--a wife and a daughter. The former being in Paris, and the latter +in New York, he wisely decided, in view of the character of the pending +military operations, to have the latter return to the care of her +mother. Brown, who was paying the price, required results rather than +explanations. It appears that Forbes had not prepared the "Manual" +within the time in which he had led his impetuous chief to believe it +would be forthcoming; and this had aroused an unwarranted suspicion in +his mind that his subordinate was lagging. It is also true that Forbes +had been indiscreet from a "military" point of view. He had talked, as +one having authority, or knowingly, about the situation in Kansas, and +had committed the very serious mistake of expressing a doubt that their +services would be needed there before winter, which would have a +tendency to discourage contributions to the "cause of freedom." In +addition to all this, Brown became suspicious that the "Colonel" was +ambitious, and aspired to supersede him in command; or, it may be that +he became jealous because of his subordinate's brilliant +accomplishments--his "military bearing" and qualifications. Mr. Sanborn +confirmed Brown's distrust of him. He says that "Forbes was ambitious +and apparently desirous of taking Brown's place in command." It may, +however, be nearer the truth to assume that the depleted condition of +the exchequer had much to do with Brown's "dissatisfaction" with Forbes. + +There is no apparent reason why Forbes should have preceded Brown into +Kansas, and the fact that he arrived at Tabor August 9th, two days after +the arrival of his chief, is proof of commendable alacrity on his part +to take up and continue his duties. Besides, Forbes brought with him +copies of the "Manual," and copies of Brown's specialty: "The Duty of +the Soldier." With these evidences of his ability, fidelity, and +loyalty, the shadows of distrust were all dispelled, and Forbes's +restoration to Brown's confidence and favor resulted immediately. The +next day Brown was in a hopeful mood, and wrote very encouragingly to +Mr. Stearns, sending him copies of the tracts and, incidentally, +impressing upon his attention the important fact that he was "in +immediate want of Five Hundred to One Thousand Dollars for secret +service and no questions asked." + +There can be no doubt that in their poverty, but dreaming of the +splendors of war, of marching armies, and the possibilities of empire, +these two bankrupt but hopeful speculators in destiny gazed wistfully +upon the order for the seven thousand dollars that Stearns had given to +Brown after his "Farewell to the Plymouth Rocks" effort. The question +was, how to get some of it. Unfortunately for their purpose, Mars was +not doing a thing for them; they were unable to detect even so much as a +_trace_ of a war-cloud upon the Kansas sky; and the $7,000 could only be +used for the subsistence of the make-believe troopers when in "active +service." Under these circumstances they did the best they could; they +made as much as possible out of nothing. They wrote Mr. Stearns what he +already knew; that there was no fighting in Kansas "just then"; and, +that while "Rather interesting times were expected, no great excitement +is reported." But "Our next advices may entirely change the aspect of +things." From this, Mr. Stearns was to be led to infer that imminent +danger to the Free-State cause was lurking somewhere, and that the +sagacious leader was already upon the trail of it. Also, the hope that +Brown earnestly expressed that the "Friends of Freedom" would respond to +his call and "prove me now herewith," was intended to move Mr. Stearns +to authorize Brown to draw upon him for a part of the seven thousand +dollars for their immediate necessities. But, although the request was +wisely framed and neatly but urgently pressed, it failed to raise any +money. To Theodore Parker Brown wrote September 11th:[279] + + MY DEAR SIR: Please find on other side, first number of a + series of tracts lately gotten up here. I need not say I + did not prepare it; but I would be glad to know what you + think of it, and much obliged for any suggestions you see + proper to make. My particular object in writing is to say, + that I am in immediate want of some five hundred or one + thousand dollars for secret service, and no questions + asked. I want the friends of freedom to "prove me now + herewith."... Have no news to send by _letter_. + +Stranded at Tabor, without means to go anywhere, or with which to do +anything, the two leaders of the revolution had abundant leisure to +compare their respective plans of operation, and their views upon +methods of procedure, as well as to formulate and agree upon final plans +for the invasion and conquest. Forbes, later, disclaimed any intention +to participate in "Brown's" purpose to overthrow the State Governments, +and establish a provisional government; but that disclaimer came as an +incident in his effort to supersede Brown, after his name had been +dropped from the muster and pay-roll. November 1st, the financial +embargo was raised by the receipt of two hundred and fifty dollars: one +hundred and fifty from Lane, and one hundred from Mr. Adair. It was not +a large sum of money, when compared with the expenses usually incurred +in "mobilizing" even a small army, or, as compared with the magnitude of +the operations they intended to inaugurate; but it was large enough to +enable the filibusters to start doing something. + +In their dreams of the Provisional Government and in their planning for +the Provisional army, they decided to open a school for instruction in +the science of war and in the science of civil government, at some point +convenient to the scene of the prospective conflict; whereat the persons +whom Brown had in view for his subordinate commanders--general +officers, division and military district commanders--could be swiftly +educated and fitted for their respective duties and responsibilities. +Forbes, whose position was that of a chief of staff, was to have charge +of the school. November 2d, he took passage from Nebraska City for the +East to find a suitable location, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, for the War +College which was to be improvised; and Brown, as we have seen, +proceeded to Kansas to further finance their venture if local +conditions--"disturbances"--became favorable for fiscal operations; and +to matriculate the tyros. + +He had been in correspondence with Holmes--the "Little Hornet"--and +other adventurers whom he thought would engage in his enterprises. Cook +agreed to join him and recommended others--Richard Realf, Luke F. +Parsons, and Richard J. Hinton.[280] On Sunday, November 8th, Brown met +Cook and Parsons, near Lawrence, and came to an understanding with them +for organizing a party to steal some horses; or, as Mr. Villard puts it: +"To organize a company for the purpose of putting a stop to the +aggressions of the pro-slavery forces." A few days later he notified the +members of the party to meet at the appointed rendezvous. Cook met him +on the 16th, at Mrs. Sheridan's, near Topeka. The next day Aaron D. +Stevens, Charles W. Moffet, and John H. Kagi joined them, and the party +set out on the contemplated expedition. + +In their camp north of Topeka that evening. Brown took the men into his +confidence, and disclosed to them his intention to attempt the conquest +of the Southern States.[281] "Here," says Cook in his confession, "for +the first time I learned that we were to leave Kansas to attend a +military school during the winter." It is for the reader to decide for +himself whether or not the party stole any horses that night, or what +other steps they took, if any, to put "a stop to the aggressions of the +pro-slavery forces." Their destination was Tabor, Iowa; they were horse +thieves, and were in a secret camp, north of Topeka. Continuing his +narrative Cook says: "Next morning I was sent back to Lawrence to get a +draft of $80 cashed, and to get Parsons, Realf and Hinton, to go back +with me." He relates how he with Realf and Parsons, made the trip to +Tabor; but the route traveled by Brown, Stevens, Moffet, and Kagi, and +the incidents of their journey, if any, are not given. + +December 2d, there were assembled at Tabor, John Brown, Owen Brown, A. +D. Stevens, Charles W. Moffett, C. P. Tidd, John H. Kagi, Richard Realf, +Luke F. Parsons, John E. Cook, and W. M. Leeman; also Richard +Richardson, a runaway slave whom Brown had picked up at Tabor. "Here," +Cook says, "we found that Captain Brown's ultimate destination was the +State of Virginia"; and these were the men he had selected for his +commanders in the Army of the Invasion. They were not a coterie of +humanitarians or sentimentalists whom he had picked up, mooning about in +Kansas; but a lot of care-free, reckless, ambitious young men who had +parted their moorings to an orderly life. Of them Senator Doolittle, +speaking for the minority of the Mason Committee said: "It was from such +elements [lawless] that John Brown concocted his conspiracy consisting +of young men and boys over whom he had entire control, many of them +foreigners and none of substance or position in the country."[282] It is +not in the "dominating spirit of John Brown himself must be found the +true reason for their readiness to join in so desperate a venture as +Brown outlined to them or because of their readiness to go any lengths +to undermine slavery."[283] Cook knew Brown's career from the +Pottawatomie to Osawatomie, and approved of his system for undermining +things. Parsons was with him in the Osawatomie cattle raid. Stevens had +graduated from a volunteer in the Mexican War, to a private in the +First Dragoons, United States army. He was insubordinate, and had been +tried for mutiny and for assaulting an officer--Major George A. H. +Blake, First Dragoons--and sentenced to death. The sentence had been +commuted to confinement, for three years at hard labor, in the military +prison at Fort Leavenworth, from which he escaped and joined the +Free-State forces in Kansas. He became colonel of the Second Regiment in +the Free-State army under the name of Charles Whipple. It was not Brown +and his magnetism or any insipid nonsense about "philanthropy or love +for the slave" that appealed to these adventurers, but the scheme which +he unfolded before them. It was the charm of the glittering expanse of +opportunity which he pressed upon their mental conceptions, that won, +and enlisted them in the venture. + +On December 4th, with their plunder, ordnance stores and camp and +garrison equipment, Brown and his staff set out from Tabor for +Ashtabula. There had been argument, disagreement, and some wrangling at +Tabor about the practicability of the undertaking; but yielding to the +force of Brown's exposition of it, opposition was silenced and +confidence of success supplanted doubt in the minds of all. Of the march +across Iowa to Iowa City and Springdale, Mr. Villard, quoting from +fragments of Owen Brown's diary, that survived the wreck at Harper's +Ferry, says: "Progress was slow, for all of the men walked and the +weather was bitter cold. On December 8, the entry reads: 'Cold, wet and +snowy; hot discussion about the Bible and war--warm argument about the +effects of the abolition of slavery upon the Southern States, Northern +States Commerce and manufactures, also upon the British provinces and +the civilized world; whence came our civilization and origin? Talk about +prejudices against color; question proposed for debate,--greatest +general, Washington or Napoleon.'" The party arrived at Springdale, +Iowa, on the 28th or 29th of December. Early in January, 1858, Brown +changed his plans about going to Ashtabula County, and for opening there +the School of Instruction. On January 11th, he located his men for the +winter at the home of Mr. William Maxson, the latter agreeing to take +the wagons and horses from Brown on account for boarding. The War +College was then opened at Springdale, instead of in Ashtabula County; +and with Stevens in charge instead of Forbes. Continuing his narrative +about the doings of the school, Mr. Villard says:[284] "On the 12th +(February) there was 'talk about our adventures and plans.' In the main, +discussion ranged from theology and spiritualism to caloric engines, and +covered every imaginable subject between them. Much talk of war and +fighting there was, and drilling with wooden swords. Stevens, by reason +of his service in the Mexican War, and subsequently in the United States +Dragoons, was drill-master in default of Forbes. Sometimes they went +into the woods to look for natural fortifications; again they discussed +dislodging the enemy from a hill-top by means of zig-zag trenches. +Forbes manual was diligently perused." Also they organized a "moot +legislature and beguiled the long winter evenings, drafting laws for an +ideal 'State of Topeka.' It followed the regulation procedure with its +bills and debates." The curriculum in this school is evidence of the +character of the duties the students therein were being fitted to +perform; they were being instructed in the higher strategy of war, in +the command of troops and in the science of government. Writing to Mr. +Sanborn from Brooklyn, February 26th, Brown said:[285] + + I want to put into the hands of my young men, copies of + Plutarch's "Lives," Irving's "Life of Washington," the best + written Life of Napoleon, and other similar books, together + with maps and statistics of States ... I also want to get a + quantity of best white cotton drilling--some hundred + pieces, if I can get it. The use of this article I will + explain hereafter. + +About January 1st, the two Soldiers of Fortune--Brown and +Forbes--arrived at the parting of their ways. They seem to have been in +agreement and in full sympathy with each other when they separated +November 2d; for Brown at that time gave Forbes a letter to Mr. +Frederick Douglass, commending him to his confidence and asking Douglass +to assist him. The letter Forbes lost no time in presenting. He stopped +at Rochester, as he went east, and got what money he could. Mr. Douglass +says[286] that he was not favorably impressed with Forbes at first, but +took him to a hotel and paid his board while he remained, and gave him +some money for his family in Europe, then in destitute circumstances. He +introduced him to some of his German friends whom Forbes "soon wore out +with his endless begging." + +Failing to collect money for the cause, as fast as he thought he was +entitled to, or as fast as he needed it, Forbes began to try to force +contributions from Brown's friends, claiming that he had been employed +by him, and that sums of money were due him on account of arrears of +salary. Later he threatened to expose Brown's plans of invasion, +believing, or assuming to believe, that such plans were a part of a +general conspiracy, among the northern Abolitionists, to overthrow +slavery. Information relating to his conduct was received by Brown at +Springdale, and caused him to halt there until he could ascertain the +extent of Forbes's defection. Upon confirmation of his advices, and +being unable to pay Forbes's salary, he dropped him; refused to answer +his letters, and changed his plans of procedure. Pressed by his +necessities, Forbes became aggressive, and, carrying his case to Mr. +Charles Sumner and to Mr. Henry Wilson, and to Mr. William H. Seward, +denounced Brown as "reckless, unreliable and vicious." He approached +Mr. Wilson in the Senate chamber at Washington and demanded that Brown +and his men be disarmed. + +While Forbes caused Brown no end of trouble, the case was not nearly so +serious as it would have been, if his eastern patrons had known what +Forbes was talking about. Brown, whose "sincerity of purpose was above +suspicion," and who "was so transparent that all men can see him +through," had led them, throughout the whole extent of their +intercourse, to think and believe that his operations were to be +undertaken solely for the defense of the Free-State settlers in Kansas; +they knew nothing about his plans for operations in Virginia. In the +face of this condition of affairs, Forbes could make no progress, by +means of his threats to make exposures, and was immediately discredited; +for, as Mr. Douglass said, "Nobody believed him although the scoundrel +told the truth." He was discreet however, in his controversy with Brown +and in his denunciation of him, in this respect: he was careful not to +give his troubles publicity, or to do anything that would otherwise +imperil or wreck the general proposition. + +Forbes did not, at first, comprehend Brown's autocracy in the +scheme--that he had no associates--and, that while he depended upon his +generous friends to finance the enterprise, he had not taken them into +his confidence, but was in reality practicing a deception upon them. +When the facts of the situation finally became apparent to his +understanding, he then sought to discredit Brown and his plans, and to +ingratiate himself with his clientage, so as to supersede him in +leadership, and in control of any general plan of action, in relation to +slavery, that might thereafter be agreed upon and undertaken. With this +purpose in view, Forbes addressed a letter to Dr. Samuel G. Howe, May +14, 1858, submitting to him a very weak statement of the violent and +dangerous things which Brown intended to do, for comparison with a +statement of the safe and sane things, that, in his judgment, could be +done: claiming that he had urged his plan upon Brown, and that he had, +at one time, succeeded in obtaining Brown's consent thereto: and that it +had been adopted by them under the name of "The Well-Matured Plan." +Extracts from this letter are published by Mr. Villard on pages 313-314. +Forbes, setting up a straw man for the purpose of knocking him down, +stated that Brown proposed, with from twenty-five to fifty colored and +white men, well armed and taking with them a quantity of spare arms, "to +beat up a slave quarter in Virginia." To this Forbes offered objections +as follows: "No preparatory notice having been given to the slaves [no +notice could go or with prudence be given to them] the invitation to +rise might, unless they were already in a state of agitation, meet with +no response or a feeble one." To this Brown had replied, that he "was +sure of a response." He calculated that he could get "on the first night +from 200 to 500. Half, or thereabouts, of this first lot, he proposed to +keep with him, amounting to a hundred or so of them, and make a dash at +the Harper's Ferry manufactory, destroying what he could not carry off. +The other men, not of this party, were to be subdivided into three, +four, or five distinct parties, each under two or three of the original +band, and would beat up other slave quarters whence more men would be +sent to join him." "He [Brown] argued that were he pressed by the U. S. +Troops, which, after a few weeks, might concentrate, he could easily +maintain himself in the Alleghenies and that his New England partisans +would in the meantime, call a Northern Convention, restore tranquility +and overthrow the pro-slavery administration." This, Forbes contended, +could at most be "a mere local explosion. A slave insurrection, being +from the very nature of things deficient in men of education and +experience, would under such a system as B. proposed, be either a flash +in the pan or would leap beyond his control, or any control, when it +would become a scene of anarchy and would assuredly be suppressed." On +the other hand Brown considered "foreign intervention as not +impossible." As to the dream of a Northern convention, Forbes +"considered it as a settled fallacy. Brown's New England friends would +not have courage to show themselves as long as the issue was doubtful," +and added: "see my letter to J. B. dated 23rd February." + +Since Forbes's letters to Brown deal directly, and without +dissimulation, with the matters under consideration, it is exceedingly +regrettable that they have been withheld from publication. They would +expose the flimsy fictions which have been put forth concerning the +fictitious company of "volunteer-regulars": and that Forbes had been +employed as a drill-master for it. Also, it is especially regrettable +that his letter of February 23d has been suppressed. For there can be no +doubt that it would disclose their plans for the invasion; the means +they relied upon for success, and the broad lines which they expected to +operate upon. It contained, in all probability, a discussion, from +Forbes's point of view, of the insurrection; of armies and conquest; of +government, and relations with foreign States; of northern conventions, +and of international complications. This correspondence was suppressed, +doubtless, because the publication of it would dissipate the theory that +it was an altruistic "Foray into Virginia" that Brown had in view, or an +illogical guerrilla "raid." + +The passing of Forbes came with an "adroit and stinging" reply from Dr. +Howe to his letter of May 14th, who, among other things said: "I infer +from your language that you have obtained (in confidence) some +information concerning an expedition which you think to be commendable, +provided _you_ could manage it, but which you will _betray_ and +_denounce_ if he does not give it up! You are, sir, the guardian of your +own honor--but I trust that for your children's sake, at least, you will +never let your passion lead you to a course that might make them +blush."[287] + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT + +_Fear made the Gods; audacity, has made kings._ + + --CREBILLON + + +Before leaving Springdale for the East, Brown forwarded the ordnance +stores to his son John, at Conneaut, Ohio, who carefully concealed them. +Proceeding to Rochester, New York, he stopped at the home of Mr. +Douglass, where he remained until February 15th. From there he commenced +his correspondence with the men whom he hoped he could induce to advance +the necessary money to float, or to initiate, the revolution; and it was +at the Douglass home that he wrote and revised the constitution for the +Provisional Government which he intended to attempt to set up in the +Southern States. Mr. Douglass stated to Mr. Sanborn[288] that he had a +copy of this Constitution in Brown's own hand writing, "prepared by +himself at my house." + +February 2d, he wrote to the Rev. Theodore Parker that he had nearly +perfected arrangements for carrying out an important measure in which +the "world had a deep interest, as well as Kansas," and that he only +lacked from five hundred to eight hundred dollars to enable him "to do +it." Also that it was the "same object for which he had asked for secret +service money last fall"; that he had written to some of their mutual +friends concerning the matter but that none of them understood his +"views as well as you do"; and that he could not explain them without +their committing themselves further than he knew of their doing, closing +with the question, "Do you know some parties whom you could induce to +give their abolition theories a thoroughly practical shape?... Do you +think any of my Garrisonian friends at Boston, Worcester, or any other +place, can be induced to supply a little 'straw' if I will absolutely +make 'bricks'?"[289] + +He wrote letters in a similar vein to Gerrit Smith, to Mr. Stearns, to +Mr. Sanborn, and to Mr. Higginson, and sought to have a meeting with +these gentlemen at Mr. Smith's home on February 23d, at which he +intended to submit to them as much of his plans as he thought it +advisable for them to know, for their consideration and approval. Mr. +Sanborn alone responded to his call; he arrived at Peterboro on Monday +evening, February 22d. Brown had arrived there on the preceding +Thursday, and had gone over the scheme with Mr. Smith. During the night +of the 22d, Mr. Sanborn says, the whole outline of the campaign in +Virginia was laid before the little council. "In astonishment and almost +in dismay," they listened to the reading of the constitution that he had +prepared for the government of the territory which he proposed to +conquer; and to a recital of the details of the hazardous adventure. In +the discussion, he explained his "plan of organization, of +fortification, of occupation, and of settlement in the South" and of his +"retreat through the North," if retreat became necessary. He had +foreseen every difficulty they could suggest, and had provided for it +"in some manner." And then he had "God on his side." "If God be for us +who can be against us." All he asked for, in addition to the equipment +which he then had, was "but eight hundred dollars, and would think +himself rich with a thousand." With that he would open his campaign in +the spring, and he had no doubt that the enterprise "would _pay_" as he +said.[290] + +The next day Mr. Smith and Mr. Sanborn took up Brown's proposition for +final consideration and agreed to sustain him in it. They reasoned in +this way: + + To withhold aid would only delay, not prevent him; nothing + short of betraying him to the enemy would do that. Mr. + Smith restated in his eloquent way the daring propositions + of Brown, the import of which he understood fully; and then + said in substance: "You see how it is; our dear old friend + has made up his mind to this course and cannot be turned + from it. We cannot give him up to die alone; we must + support him. I will raise so many hundred dollars for him; + you must lay the case before your friends in Massachusetts, + and perhaps they will do the same. I see no other + way."[291] For myself I had reached the same conclusion, + and engaged to bring the scheme at once to the attention of + the three Massachusetts men to whom Brown had written, and + also to Dr. S. G. Howe, who had sometimes favored action + almost as extreme as this proposed by Brown. + +As to Mr. Smith, he had approved of Colonel Forbes, to whom he gave one +hundred and fifty dollars, and thought that he would "make himself very +useful in our sacred Kansas work." He approved of Brown's "effort to +seduce the soldiers of the Union" and thought his tract, "The Duty of +the Soldier," very well written. After his declaration to Thaddeus +Hyatt:[292] "We must not shrink from fighting for Liberty--& if the +Federal troops fight against her we must fight against them," he had not +far to go to approve of the insurrection and invasion which Brown now +contemplated. + +The outcome of the Peterboro conference was satisfactory. Brown +skillfully put his public affairs in the hands of a committee--a war +committee, composed of friends who, he had reason to believe, would +finance his adventure. He therefore directed his energies to the task of +strengthening his organization for the work before him. Among those whom +he sought to enlist under his banner was Mr. Sanborn. To him he wrote +from Peterboro February 24th:[293] + + MY DEAR FRIEND: Mr. Morton[294] has taken the liberty of + saying to me that you felt half inclined to make a common + cause with me. I greatly rejoiced for I believe when you + come to look at the ample field I labor in, and the rich + harvest which not only this entire country but the whole + world during the present and future generations may reap + from its successful cultivation, you will feel that you are + out of your element until you find that you are in it, an + entire unit. What an inconceivable amount of good you might + so effect by your counsel, your example, your + encouragement, your natural and acquired ability for active + service! And then how very little we can possibly lose! + Certainly the cause is enough to _live_ for, if not + to--for. I have only had this one opportunity, in a life of + nearly sixty years; and could I be continued ten times as + long again, I might not have again an equal opportunity. + God has honored but comparatively a very small part of + mankind with any possible chance for such mighty and soul + satisfying rewards. But my dear friend if you should make + up your mind to do so, I trust it will be wholly from the + prompting of your own spirit after you have thoroughly + counted the cost. I would flatter no man into such a + measure, if I could do so ever so easily. + + I expect nothing but to "endure hardness"; but I expect to + effect a mighty conquest, even though it be like the last + victory of Samson. I felt for a number of years in earlier + life, a steady, strong desire to die; but since I saw any + prospect of becoming a reaper in the great harvest, I have + not only felt quite willing to live, but have enjoyed life + much; and am now rather anxious to live for a few years + more. + +It is inconsistent with the tenor of this letter, to draw from it the +conclusion that the "mighty conquest" was a profitless "foray," or a +"raid," that Brown thus invited Mr. Sanborn to engage in; nor did the +latter so understand it. On the contrary he took the proposal seriously, +and was deeply impressed with the broad significance of the undertaking +herein dimly foreshadowed. Commenting thereon he, consistently, said: + + Till I follow my noble friend to the other world, on which + his hopes were fixed, I can never read this letter without + emotion. Yet it did not persuade me to comply with his + wish. Long accustomed to guide my life by leadings and + omens from that shrine whose oracles may destroy but can + never deceive, I listened in vain, through months of doubt + and anxiety, for a clear and certain call. But it was + revealed to me that no confidence could be too great, no + trust or affection too extreme toward this aged, poor man + whom the Lord had chosen as his champion. + +One might venture to suggest, in this connection, that Mr. Sanborn's +failure to catch any note of a "clear and certain call" during his +months of doubt and anxiety, might be due, possibly, to facts or +conditions existing in the Omnipotent economy. God, "whose mercy +endureth forever," may not have desired that a "generation should pass +off the face of the earth," at that time, "by a violent death." Also, +the absence of any evidence of the Divine approval of Brown's scheme, +raises a question of doubt, that the Lord had really appointed "this +aged poor man as his chosen champion." While, on the other hand, the +lamentable failure of the expedition undertaken in the accomplishment of +this enterprise; and the overwhelming wreck and ruin of those who +engaged in it, point to the theory that God, if he took any active +participation in the matter at all, was opposed to Brown--that he was on +the other side--on the side of the generation of men, women, and +children, who, trusting in His mercy, lived in innocent ignorance of +Brown's plot to destroy them. + +Leaving Peterboro on the 24th, Brown began a tour among the colored +people to unite them in support of his campaign. February 26th, to March +3d, he was at Brooklyn at the home of Dr. and Mrs. J. N. Gloucester, +wealthy colored people, and sought their assistance. From Brooklyn he +went to Boston. From there, March 4th, he wrote to his son John:[295] +"As it may require some time to hunt out friends at Bedford, +Chambersburg, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, Md. _or even Harper's Ferry, Va._, +I would like to have you arrange your business so as to set out very +soon." March 6th, he was again at Boston, and on the 15th, at +Philadelphia again, where he met Rev. Stephen Smith, Frederick Douglass, +Rev. Henry H. Garnett, William Sill, and other colored men. His son John +met him there by appointment and thence they went to New York, New +Haven, and to North Elba, where they arrived March 23d. April 2d, they +were at Peterboro for consultation with Gerrit Smith, and from there +they went to Rochester, where they separated. From Rochester, Brown went +to St. Catherine, Canada, in company with a colored man--J. W. +Loguen--where they met, by appointment, Mrs. Harriet Tubman, colored, +known as the "Moses of her People." Brown was cordially received by the +Canadian negroes. They listened to his statement of the things that he +intended to do for their race, and gave him encouragement to believe +that many of them would enter his service. + +Believing the money which had been pledged would be promptly furnished, +Brown launched his enterprise, and called a constitutional convention to +meet at Chatham, Canada, to formally adopt a "Provisional Constitution +and Ordinances, for the people of the United States." He then proceeded +to Springdale to report the situation to his captains. + +The war party left Springdale April 27th, and arrived at Chatham on the +29th, Brown stopping at the home of James M. Bell, a colored man. +Notices calling the convention were immediately sent out; the form, as +drawn by Cook, was as follows: + + Chatham, May -- 1859. + + Mr. ----.: Dear Sir:--We have issued a call for a very + _quiet_ Convention at this place, to which we shall be + very happy to see any true friends of freedom and to which + you are most earnestly invited to give your attendance. + + Yours respectfully, + JOHN BROWN. + +The convention was represented, at Chatham, as being a meeting for the +purpose of organizing a Masonic (colored) lodge; it met May 8th, at 10 +o'clock A. M. Only Brown's party and thirty-four colored men were +present. Richard Realf, in his testimony before the Mason Committee, +said that Brown opened the convention with an explanation of the +purposes for which it had been called. That he spoke of the manner in +which he had qualified himself for leadership--by a tour of the European +continent, inspecting all fortifications, especially all earthwork +forts, that he could find, intending to apply such knowledge, with +modifications and inventions of his own, to the warfare he now proposed +to undertake. "He spoke of his studies of Roman warfare, and of Schamyal +the Circassian chief, and of his knowledge of conditions in Hayti, and +of Toussaint L'Ouverture." He said that he expected all the free negroes +in the Northern States to flock to his standard, as well as the negroes +of the Southern States. Mr. Realf further stated that "no salaries were +to be paid to the officers" under this constitution. That it was "purely +out of that which we supposed to be philanthropy--love for the +slave."[296] + +After the address Brown produced a copy of the "Provisional +Constitution." The articles were read and adopted unanimously. Each +person present then signed the constitution, and swore allegiance to the +Provisional Government.[297] The nature and purposes of Brown's invasion +of Virginia, in October, 1859, are disclosed in the forty-eight articles +contained in this remarkable historical document.[298] + +At a meeting held in the evening, John Brown was elected +commander-in-chief and John H. Kagi. secretary of war. The balloting +for offices was continued on Monday, May 10th, and Richard Realf was +elected secretary of state, George B. Gill, secretary of the treasury, +Owen Brown, treasurer, and Osborn P. Anderson and Alfred M. Ellsworth, +colored, were elected members of Congress. + +Article I, of the constitution, provides for qualification of +membership, and includes "all persons of mature age whether proscribed, +oppressed, and enslaved citizens, or of proscribed and oppressed races +of the United States, who shall agree to sustain and enforce the +Provisional Constitution and ordinances of organization, together with +all minor children of such persons, shall be held to be fully entitled +to protection under the same." Articles II, III, IV, and V relate to the +branches of government: Legislative, executive and judicial. A number of +articles relate to the trial of officers, impeachment, or recall of +judges, army appointments, etc., etc. Article XXVIII treats of +"Property." It recites that "All captured or confiscated property, and +all property the product of the labor of those belonging to this +organization and of their families, shall be held as the property of the +whole, equally, without distinction and may be used for the common +benefit, or disposed of for the same object." Article XXXVI is +especially instructive. It reads as follows: + +"The entire personal and real property of all persons known to be +acting, either directly or indirectly, with or for the enemy, or found +in arms with them, or found willfully holding slaves, shall be +confiscated and taken whenever and wherever it may be found, in either +Free or Slave States." + +Mr. Sanborn says this constitution will be found "well suited to its +purpose--the government of a territory in revolt, of which the chief +occupants should be escaped slaves," an opinion which assumes that the +white population had, in some manner, been eliminated from the +"territory in revolt." + +The plan of government was written by Brown, and was adopted in a +solemn manner by sane men, who signed it; and copies of this +Constitution and Ordinances, Brown took with him to Harper's Ferry; and +on the 18th of October, 1859, personally referred to it as an exhibit of +his purposes for being there; and stated that it had been his intention +to have a large number of copies of it printed, and distributed "at +large," so that all might know the character of his invasion. And yet, +after the lapse of fifty years, comes an oracular disquisitor, who, with +an assurance de luxe, asserts that Brown and his followers did not +intend to establish a Provisional Government in the South, or to do any +of the things provided for in this infallible utterance; that his +invasion of Virginia was not an invasion, but a "raid" to carry off some +slaves, which, if successful, would be followed by further guerrilla +warfare in the mountains of Virginia. + +Referring, with undisguised impatience, to the irrelation of the +"Constitution and Ordinances" to his conception of what Brown's purposes +were, or to what he desires the historian to declare Brown's purposes to +have been, he says, that "it actually contemplates not merely the +government of forces in armed insurrection against sovereign States," +but that it "actually goes so far as to establish courts, a regular +judiciary and a Congress." And, "as if that were not enough it provides +for" such heresies in guerrilla warfare as "schools for that same +training of the freed slaves in manual labor which is today so widely +hailed as the readiest solution of the negro problem. Churches too were +to be 'established as soon as may be'--as if anything could be more +inconsistent with his fundamental plan"; which Mr. Villard then +magisterially states was to "break his forces up into small bands hidden +in mountain fastnesses, subsisting as well as possible off the land, and +probably unable to communicate with each other. At this and at other +points," he says, "the whole scheme forbids discussion as a practical +plan of government for such an uprising as was to be carried out by a +handful of whites and droves of utterly illiterate and ignorant blacks, +and may stand as a chief indictment of Brown's saneness of judgment and +of his reasoning powers"; admitting however, that "as a chart for the +course of a State about to secede from the Union and to maintain itself +during a regular revolution, the document was also not without its +admirable features." + +Commenting upon the condition of Brown's mind at the time he wrote this +paper, Mr. Villard says that it was "fanatical, concentrated on one idea +to the danger point, but still it remained a mind capable of expressing +itself with rare clearness and force, focussing itself with intense +vigor on the business in hand and going straight to the end in +view."[299] + +The preceding clause is in itself a refutation of the author's +criticism. If it be true that when Brown drew up this paper "his mind +was capable of expressing itself with clearness, focussing itself with +vigor on the business in hand and of going straight to the end in view," +then it must be admitted that the document which he penned was not +intended to serve a purpose so trifling as a _raid_, but that it was +what it purported to be--a form of government or charter for a state +during a period of revolution. + +It will be observed that it is not the practicability of a revolution, +such as the provisions of this document would be consistent with, that +constitutes the indictment of Brown's saneness and reasoning powers; but +the fact that the provisions of the constitution are inconsistent with +this author's invention of what Brown's plans were: "A plan of +government for small forces of whites and runaway slaves acting +separately as guerilla bands in mountain fastnesses." It is strictly +true that the provisions of the constitution are so inconsistent with +this fiction as to forbid discussion; but that fact should not +constitute an indictment of _Brown's_ sanity. It merely emphasizes the +fact that there is disagreement between John Brown and his biographer +of fifty years after, concerning the purpose for which Brown wrote the +provisional constitution and ordinances, and suggests, as a bare +possibility of the case, that the assumptions of the biographer as to +what that purpose was may be inconsistent with the tenor of the +constitution. If this biographer had been less eager to confirm in +history the theory that it was a foray or a raid that Brown sought to +execute at Harper's Ferry, he would have discovered that Brown intended +to organize a thorough-going army there,[300] instead of sporadic +guerrilla bands; and that he intended to extend the jurisdiction of this +Provisional Government over the State of Virginia and the South. + +It was Brown's intention to begin his campaign at once, May 15th being +the date named; and something, probably, would have happened if he had +received the one thousand dollars promptly, that had been pledged in his +support. Realf, on his arrival at Chatham, wrote that they would remain +there until they had perfected their plans, "which will be in about ten +days or two weeks," after which they would "start for China."[301] Cook +also had something to say. He wrote to some young ladies at Springdale: + + ... I long for the 10th of May to come. I am anxious to + leave this place, to have my mind occupied with the great + work of our mission.... Through the dark gloom of the + future, I fancy I can almost see the dawning of light of + Freedom.... That I can almost hear the swelling Anthem of + Liberty rising from the millions who have but just cast + aside the fetters and the shackles that bound them. But ere + that day arrives, I fear that we shall hear the crash of + the battle shock and see the red gleaming of the cannon's + lightning.[302] + +The seance closed abruptly on the 10th, owing to a collapse of the +exchequer; whereupon the cabinet officials and officers of the general +staff were furloughed, without pay, until such time as they would be +called upon to report to the commander-in-chief for service. They went +to Cleveland, Ohio, and it is said that some of them chafed under the +hardships and inconveniences of earning a living; with the result that a +spasm of "philanthropy and love for the slave" became imminent among +them. So pronounced were the symptoms that the honorable secretary of +state, Mr. Realf, on May 23d, in an official note to the +commander-in-chief, declared that unless "relief" were provided +speedily, those affected might be so inspired by philanthropy and love +for the slave as to "go South and raid by themselves."[303] + +The failure to finance the Provisional Government was a result of a +flurry on the bourse, that had its origin in the activities of Colonel +Forbes. He was threatening the rear of Brown's communications. About the +last of April, he wrote from Washington to Mr. Sanborn and to Dr. Howe, +declaring his intention to give publicity to Brown's scheme. A "hurry +call" was accordingly sent out for a meeting of the war committee. At a +conference, May 2d, Mr. Parker and Mr. Steams thought "the plan" should +be "deferred till another year." Dr. Howe thought differently, while Mr. +Sanborn, whose mind was not working forcefully, was in a state of doubt, +which he expressed, May 5th, in a letter to Mr. Higginson.[304] Gerrit +Smith voted with Stearns and Parker. He wrote May 7th: "It seems to me +that in these circumstances Brown must go no further; and I so write +him."[305] May 9th, Higginson voted with Howe. He wrote: "I regard any +postponement as simply abandoning the project." A letter of the 9th from +Hon. Henry Wilson to Dr. Howe, settled the question. He went into the +matter a little deeper, and suggested that their actions might involve +others. He pointed out that if the arms in Brown's possession were used +for any other purpose than to "arm some force in Kansas for defense, _it +might be of disadvantage to the men who were induced to contribute to +that very foolish movement_"; and advised them to "get the arms out of +Brown's control, and keep clear of him, at least for the present."[306] +To this letter Dr. Howe replied on the 12th: + + I understand perfectly your meaning. No countenance has + been given Brown for any operations outside of Kansas _by + the Kansas Committee_. I had occasion a few days ago to + send him an earnest message from his friends here, urging + him at once to go to Kansas and take part in the coming + election, and throw the weight of his influence upon the + side of right.... There is in Washington a disappointed and + malicious man working with all the activity which hate and + revenge can inspire to harm Brown, and to cast odium upon + the friends of Kansas in Massachusetts. You probably know + him. He has been to see Mr. Seward. Mr. Hale also can tell + you something about him. God speed the right.[307] + +May 15th, he wrote Mr. Wilson, relating to the arms, that "prompt +measures have been taken and will be resolutely followed up to prevent +any such monstrous perversion of a trust as would be the application of +means raised for the defense of Kansas, to a purpose which the +subscribers of the fund would disapprove and violently condemn."[308] + +Because of these letters Dr. Howe has been severely criticised; and by +Rear Admiral Chadwick unjustly charged with "gross prevarication."[309] +But, in a time of war, would the distinguished admiral hesitate to +deceive the enemy in a similar manner? The things which the Doctor said +were, of course, untrue, but in saying them he did not intend to wrong +the Senator or to deceive him to his disadvantage. The correspondence +was not personal; Senator Wilson was an intermediary, or a medium of +communication between Colonel Forbes and Brown's war committee. Howe, +acting-for the committee, had the right to deceive the enemy--Forbes--in +this manner. The letters he wrote were a stratagem of the war it was +promoting. Brown would have disposed of Forbes in a more heroic manner. +He wrote from Chatham: "We have those who are thoroughly posted up" +(professional assassins) "to put upon his track and we beg to be allowed +to do so."[310] + +On May 14th, Mr. Stearns wrote to Brown enclosing a copy of Senator +Wilson's letter, also notifying him officially, as chairman of the +Massachusetts State Kansas Committee, that the arms in his care +belonging to the committee must not be used for any other purpose than +for the defense of Kansas.[311] He then forestalled any possibility of +future complication relating to the arms by foreclosing a lien, which he +is said to have held, on all the property of the committee; and having +thus obtained the title to the arms, he placed them in Brown's +possession as his personal agent. By this arrangement, Mr. Sanborn says, + + The business of the Kansas Committee was put in such shape + that its responsibility for the arms in Brown's possession + should no longer fetter his friends in aiding his main + design. + +But as to the character of the transaction he was not quite assured. "It +is still a little difficult," he said, "to explain this transaction +without leaving a suspicion that there was somewhere a breach of trust." +It was also agreed between them that Brown should not further inform the +members of the war committee of his plans in detail, nor "burden +them with knowledge that would be to them both needless and +inconvenient."[312] May 15th, Mr. Stearns wrote to Brown asking him to +come to New York during the next week for consultation; but for reasons +that have not been stated the meeting did not take place; it was +probably called off because arrangements were made for a more +interesting function. + +Then as now, there was a Peace Society in existence. Mr. Gerrit Smith +was coming to Boston to deliver an address at its anniversary; and it +was decided to take advantage of his presence in the city, to have a +full meeting of the secret war committee which, Mr. Sanborn says, had +been organized in March, and consisted of Gerrit Smith, Theodore Parker, +Doctor Howe, T. W. Higginson, George L. Stearns, and himself. Mr. Smith +arrived and took lodgings at the Revere House. The committee held its +meeting, at his rooms, on the 24th of May. At this council it was +finally decided to postpone the campaign until the winter or spring of +1859, when the committee would raise for Brown "two or three thousand +dollars."[313] + +Mr. Smith, because of his great zeal in the promotion of peace, had the +honor of being chosen to deliver the address at the anniversary of the +Peace Society, and, because of a similar zeal in the promotion of war, +he had the honor of being chosen to preside, as chairman, over the +Revere House deliberations of the war committee. It may be assumed, +because of his versatility, that he acquitted himself creditably in both +of these positions. + +The impossibility of harmonizing the public professions of these +apostles of peace, with their secret undertakings as ministers of war, +discourages analyzation of their philosophy; and for the same reason, +discussion of questions of moral obliquity, or of commercial +irregularity in their actions or in the actions of any of them, in +juggling with the liability for Brown's war equipment, and in financing +an assault upon a State of this Union, may be dismissed as being without +profit. + +May 31st, Brown returned to Boston full of regret because of the +postponement of the invasion; but with the arms securely in his +possession and with the $500 in gold in his pockets, which his committee +gave him as a salve to soothe his wounded hope; and with the decision of +the Revere House council to raise "two or three thousand dollars" for +his campaign the next spring, his spirits rose, and he left Boston for +North Elba well satisfied with the outcome of the flurry. + +June 20th, he went to Cleveland and disposed of the staff, dividing with +them the $500, and making such arrangements for them as circumstances +permitted. Cook was sent to Harper's Ferry, to reconnoiter the field, +and obtain statistics and other information. It is also probable that +Brown would have joined him and begun the work of agitating the slaves +for the coming revolt, if the news from Kansas had not offered an +opportunity for "other occupations." The "disturbances" there, +culminating in the tragedy on the Marias des Cygnes, May 19th, appealed +to him with irresistible force. They "were the immediate cause of his +return to Kansas."[314] + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SHUBEL MORGAN PLUNDER COMPANY + +_The angel wings were so dim and shadowy as to be scarcely +visible._--GEORGE B. GILL + + +In company with Kagi and Tidd, Brown arrived at Lawrence on the night of +June 27th, and, under the name of "Shubel Morgan" left the next day for +the zone of opportunity. The political situation in Kansas, or the +progress which the Free-State cause was making at that time, was no part +of his concern; and to so much as mention his name in connection +therewith, is to trifle with history. Writing to Mr. Sanborn from +Lawrence on the 28th, announcing his arrival in the Territory, he sent a +quick delivery order for some whistles. He said:[315] + + ... Can you send me by Express; Care of E. B. Whitman, + Esqr. half a Doz; or a full Doz whistles such as I + described? at once? + +The above is the sole reference to Territorial affairs contained in this +letter; it may therefore be regarded as an epitome of his interest +therein; it is also an index to the character of the operations he +intended to engage in. + +On July 9th, he wrote to his son John that he was now in the log cabin +of the "notorious James Montgomery" whom he deemed a very "brave and +talented officer." Montgomery was the author of the recrudescence, in +Linn and Bourbon counties, of the lawlessness of 1856. Disapproving of +the election, January 4, 1858, under the Lecompton Constitution, he +destroyed the ballot boxes in his district. His political relations with +the pro-slavery settlers in Linn County becoming strained, he served +notice on them to leave the Territory, and compelled them to seek refuge +in Missouri. A troop of cavalry being sent to arrest him, he, with seven +others, opened fire upon it from the timber, killing one enlisted man +and wounding the captain--George T. Anderson, First United States +Cavalry--and two others. + +While the Free-State men greatly admired Montgomery's prowess, they +balked at the retaliatory operations his actions provoked. The +deliberate killing of five Free-State men and the wounding of five more +on the Marias des Cygnes May 19th, by Charles A. Hamilton, caused them +to reflect, seriously, upon the situation. Even if Montgomery had +succeeded in burning Fort Scott, in retaliation for these murders, it +could not have brought the dead back to life. The settlers therefore, +regardless of political sentiment, united in an effort to tranquilize +matters. Governor Denver appeared upon the scene in company with Charles +Robinson and Judge J. W. Wright, in an earnest effort to secure a +general pacification. June 14th, at a mass-meeting held at Fort Scott, a +treaty of peace was negotiated. It was called the Denver Treaty. It +provided that "by-gones should be by-gones" as far as possible; that the +Federal troops at Fort Scott should be removed; that militia should be +stationed along the border, to prevent further invasions from Missouri; +and that all other armed companies should withdraw from the field. "This +compact was religiously adhered to during the summer and fall."[316] + +Brown found upon his arrival in the recently distracted district that +the Free-State settlers desired peace, and had so publicly declared, and +that in response to their wishes Montgomery had disbanded his band of +raiders. But with the Free-State settlers' wishes, and with their +material and political welfare Brown had no concern. His interests were +distinct from theirs. He came not to serve them, nor to serve the +Free-State cause, but to use them and the Free-State sentiment, as a +shield to protect him from violence while in pursuit of the criminal +operations in which he intended to engage. It was a continuation of the +graft, upon the Free-State cause, which he was professionally working. +Stealthily and in disguise he came into this settlement, and by stealth +he proceeded to execute the purposes for which he came. + +Disregarding the settlers' peace treaty and Montgomery's example, Brown +proceeded to organize a company, or pretended that he organized one, and +drew up a paper entitled "Articles of Agreement" for Shubel Morgan's +Company. However, in view of the character of some of the men whose +names appear upon the roll of its membership, and because of the nature +of the business which Brown actually engaged in thereafter, as well as +the personality of the men whom he really directed, it probably was +merely a paper organization gotten up for the delectation of his Eastern +friends, male and female. The articles are as follows: + + We, the undersigned members of Shubel Morgan's Company, + hereby agree to be governed by the following Rules: + + 1. A gentlemanly and respectful deportment shall at all + times and places be maintained toward all persons; and all + profane or indecent language shall be avoided in all cases. + + 2. No intoxicating drinks shall be used as a beverage by + any member or be suffered in camp for such purpose. + + 3. No member shall leave camp without leave of the + Commander. + + 4. All property captured in any manner shall be subjected + to equal distribution among the members. + + 5. All acts of petty or other thefts shall be promptly and + properly punished, and restitution made as far as possible. + + 6. All members shall, so far as able, contribute equally to + all necessary labor in or out of camp. + + 7. All prisoners who shall properly demean themselves shall + be treated with kindness and respect, and shall be + punished for crime only after trial and conviction, being + allowed a hearing in defense. + + 8. Implicit obedience shall be yielded to all proper orders + of the commander or other superior officer. + + 9. All arms, ammunition, etc., not strictly private + property shall ever be subject to, and delivered up, on the + order of the commander. + + Names Date 1858 + Shubel Morgan July 12 + C. P. Tidd " 12 + J. H. Kagi " 12 + A. Wattles " 12 + Samuelson Stevenson " 12 + J. Montgomery " 12 + T. Homyr " 12 + Simon Snyder " 14 + E. W. Snyder " 15 + Elias Snyder " 15 + John H. Snyder " 15 + Adam Bishop " 15 + William Hairgrove " 15 + John Mikel " 15 + William Partridge " 15 + +After his arrival, Brown spent some time upon the tract of land upon +which the Hamilton massacre had taken place. It belonged to Mr. Eli +Snyder, a blacksmith, and Brown entered into negotiations with him to +purchase his claim to it. Nothing came of the dealings, and it is not +probable that Brown was very much in earnest upon the subject. While he +remained with Snyder he made a reconnoissance into Missouri for the +purpose of obtaining information that would be of use to him in his +planning for future operations.[317] + +In the meantime, Stevens and Gill reported for duty. The following named +persons then comprised his band: Kagi, Tidd, Owen Brown, Gill, and +Stevens; Albert Hazlett and Jeremiah G. Anderson joined later. + +Just what Brown and his captains did during the first five months of +their sojourn in the Territory has not been made public. Many pages of +very irrelevant matter, containing very few facts, have been put forth +upon the subject; but from the scraps of evidence occurring in the +garbled accounts that have been published concerning their doings, they +seem to have been engaged in stealing horses; but no big robbery was +undertaken until in December. + +On July 20th, Brown began a letter to Mr. Sanborn which he completed +August 6th, in which he said[318] that they would soon be in want of a +small amount of money "_to feed us_. We cannot," he said, "work _for +wages_; & provisions _are not_ easily obtained on the frontier." He also +gave out the information that a portion of his men were "in other +neighborhoods." In response to this request for money, Mr. Sanborn, on +August 25th, sent him Gerrit Smith's check for fifty dollars. This check +Brown enclosed to his wife, endorsed to Watson Brown, in a letter to her +September 17th.[319] Because Brown returned this money to the East, it +may be inferred that the urgency for money had been tided over; that the +crisis had passed by the time Mr. Sanborn's letter with the check +arrived; that money had been received from some other source, and that +he did not need it then, "_to feed us_." It is also noticeable that his +men, who were "in other neighborhoods," and could "not work for wages," +managed to obtain a sufficient amount of money to supply their personal +needs in some other way. The exact character of these pursuits has not +been stated, but the conditions under which they acquired their living +have been made public, in an incidental way, and they were by no means +ideal. They seem to have worked the Territory in pairs. Mr. Gill, +speaking for himself and Mr. Kagi, said,[320] equivocally: "Sometimes +one had the ague, sometimes both. Sometimes we fished, sometimes we had +our supper and beds; at other times we went supperless and took the +prairie for our bed with the blue arch for our covering." + +It would perhaps be called harshness to say, at this time, that John +Brown and his men were a band of horse thieves, although Mr. Villard +does say that one of them, "Pickles, was a well known horse thief;" and +it has been more than intimated, within the writer's hearing, that +Charles Jennison, who joined the band temporarily, while indulging a +_penchant_ for horses generally, was neither solicitous about his title +to them, nor about the manner of getting possession of them. As a story +tells it, one of the "psalms" sung by these humanitarians had special +reference to Jennison; it ran in this way: + + Am I soldier of the boss-- + A follower of Jim Lane? + And shall I fear to steal a hoss + Or blush to ride the same? + +We are also told that Mr. Albert Hazlett "picked up a fine stallion down +in Missouri."[321] And Mr. Gill, in a letter to Colonel Hinton,[322] +speaks of a trip which he and Brown were on during several days, but +does not state the nature of their adventures. Brown was ill a part of +the summer; and for several weeks was seriously so, in the home of Mr. +Adair at Osawatomie, where he was cared for by the faithful Kagi. The +latter wrote to his sister that he was compelled to "lay off" at +Osawatomie, for a month, on account of this. He laid off from "fishing," +and from sleeping on the prairie, with the "blue arch for a covering." +It seems, however, that before Brown was taken ill, he had been doing +some of this speculative or professional business himself; in fact he +attributed his illness to the exposure which he had been subjected to, +while engaged in it, whatever it may have been--"fishing" or other +employment. He related to Mr. Sanborn, in his letter of July 20th-August +6th: "Have been down with ague since last date, and had no safe way to +get off my letter. I had lain every night without shelter, suffering +from cold rains and heavy dews, together with the oppressive heat of the +day." It appears, from this statement, that Brown also had had +engagements in other neighborhoods, for, in his own neighborhood, +"deserted farms and dwellings lay in all directions for some +miles,"[323] and he could easily have taken shelter in some of them. It +is evident, too, that wherever he may have been, his circumstances were +such that he could not call upon the settlers, in such neighborhoods, +and ask for shelter and accept from them such hospitality and +entertainment as settlers are wont to give, or he would have done so. +His condition seems to have been similar to the condition which horse +thieves are in, when they have stolen horses in their possession: they +cannot safely ask for shelter and other entertainment and have to lie +out at night, and suffer from cold rains, if there happen to be any, and +from heavy dews. It is to be regretted that Brown's later biographer did +not secure from Salmon Brown a statement concerning the doings of Brown +and his captains, while they were operating in Kansas. It transpired, +however, that Brown encouraged horse stealing by his subordinates. +Reference has been made to the fine stallion which Hazlett had "picked +up" down in Missouri. Mr. Gill, in his narrative about this matter, +states that Brown bought this fine horse from Hazlett; giving him, in +exchange for it, a United States land warrant for forty acres of land, +that had been donated to Brown by Gerrit Smith; and that he afterward +sold the horse, by auction, at Cleveland. + +After recovering from his illness, Brown made a number of trips to +Lawrence, where he had some controversy with the National Kansas +Committee, for which he assumed to act as agent; not only without +authority from it to do so, but in opposition to its expressed wishes. +The committee, through its agent, Mr. E. B. Whitman, at Lawrence, had +made advances, for necessary supplies, to many Kansas settlers, taking +their notes for account of the same. Some of these notes had been given +to Mr. Stearns, as security for money which he had advanced to the +committee, and Stearns had given them to Brown, or sent them to him, for +collection. It appears that the notes had not been endorsed and made +payable to Mr. Stearns, and that the ownership of them was still in the +committee. But Brown, when surrendering the notes to the makers, upon +payment to him, cured that defect and extinguished the committee's title +by acknowledging payment to him, as its agent. October 26th, Mr. H. B. +Hurd repudiated Brown's agency in a letter to Mr. Whitman. He said: +"Capt. John Brown has no authority to take, receive, collect or transfer +any notes or accounts belonging to the National Kansas Committee, nor +ever has had, nor will such dealings be recognized or sanctioned by our +committee."[324] Of course, Brown kept the money he thus collected. He +had an offset against the committee. He claimed that it owed him five +thousand dollars. Under its resolution of January 24, 1857, it had +"voted $5000 in aid of Capt. John Brown in any defensive measures that +become necessary" in Kansas. Brown was then engaged in "defensive" +measures or operations, as has been related, and from his point of view +he had earned the right to claim this money. + +During the latter part of October, Montgomery again made things +interesting for his neighborhood. Alleging violation of the Denver Peace +Treaty, he entered the court-house at Fort Scott, while the grand jury +was in session, took possession of the papers it was considering, +destroyed them, and compelled it to adjourn. On the night of October +30th, a very weak attempt, or an alleged attempt, was made to +assassinate Montgomery; a party, supposed to be pro-slavery men firing a +volley into his cabin. Because of this it was decided to fortify it; +Gill, Tidd, and Stevens doing most of the work. Brown "indulging in his +favorite occupation of cooking."[325] The incident may have been a +_ruse-de-guerre_. Having heard that he had been indicted by a +pro-slavery jury, at Paris, for the ballot-box affair in January, +Montgomery, on November 13th, went there with a party and made an +unsuccessful search for the records. He invited Brown to join him. The +latter did so, but remained "on the outskirts of the town" while the +searching was being done. After this adventure, Acting Governor Walsh +wrote the department suggesting that a reward of $300 and $500 be +offered respectively, for the arrest of Montgomery and Brown; such a +reward, he thought, "would either effect their arrest or drive them from +the Territory."[326] + +On December 6th, a joint meeting of Free-State and pro-slavery men was +held at Sugar Mound, in Linn County, to adopt a peace agreement to +replace the Denver Treaty, which the Free-State men claimed had been +violated by the court proceedings against Montgomery; the attack upon +his life on the night of October 30th, etc. The resolutions were drafted +by Brown, and Montgomery presented them to the meeting. They were +adopted, after some modification.[327] The preamble recites that "the +citizens of Linn County, assembled in mass meeting at Mound City, being +greatly desirous of securing a permanent peace to the people of the +Territory generally, and to those along the border of Missouri in +particular, have this day entered into the following agreement and +understanding, for our future guidance and actions." The articles +provide that all criminal processes, pending against Free-State men, +growing out of difficulties with pro-slavery parties, shall be forever +discontinued and quashed; that all Free-State men held in confinement, +on account of similar difficulties, shall be immediately released. +Article 4 covered a very wide range. It provided that "No troops, +marshal or other officers of the General Government, shall be either +sent or called in, to enforce or serve criminal processes against any +Free-State man or men on account of troubles heretofore existing for any +act prior to this date." A "recommendation" that was unanimously agreed +to was, "that we earnestly recommend that all those who have recently +taken money, or other property, from _peaceable_ citizens within this +county, immediately restore the same to their proper owners." + +Brown was not sincere in his participation in this meeting as an +advocate for peace. His plans were already formed for a grand _coup_, to +raise money. He intended to do something spectacular--something that +would be worthy of his name and of his reputation. The homes that he +intended to plunder had been selected long before, and the premises in +each case thoroughly reconnoitered. All the essential details had been +provided for. He was simply waiting, at this time, in a state of +expectancy, for the psychological moment to arrive: then he intended to +strike. September 10th, he wrote to Mr. Sanborn: + + Before I was taken sick there was every prospect of some + business very soon, and there is some now that requires + doing. I have but fourteen regularly employed hands, the + most of whom are now at common work, and some are sick. How + we travel may not be best to write. I have met the + notorious Montgomery and think very favorably of him.[328] + +October 11th, he wrote to his wife from Osawatomie: "... I can now see +no good reason why I should not be located nearer home, as soon as I can +collect the means for defraying the expenses. I still intend sending you +some further help, as soon as I can. Will write you how to direct to me +hereafter."[329] November 1st, he wrote to her from Moneka: "I shall +write you where to direct when I know where to do so." From these +letters it appears that his plans were complete except as to the date +for the execution of them. December 2d, he wrote to his family as +follows:[330] + + I have just this moment returned from the South where the + prospect of quiet was probably never so poor. Other parts + of the Territory are undisturbed and may very likely remain + so; unless drawn into the quarrel of the border counties. I + expect to go South again immediately.... When I wrote you + last I thought the prospect was that I should soon shift my + quarters somewhat. I still have the same prospect, but am + wholly at a loss as to the exact time. + +His opportunity came December 16th,[331] when Montgomery, with a force +of nearly one hundred men, marched upon Fort Scott, to effect the +release of Mr. Benjamin Rice, who had been arrested November 16th, in +violation of the by-gones-to-be-by-gones provision of the treaty of June +15th; and had not been released after the adoption of the Sugar Mound +Treaty of December 6th. In this exploit a merchant of Fort Scott, Mr. J. +H. Little, was killed, and his store robbed of goods amounting to about +seven thousand dollars. Montgomery organized his company for this raid +December 14th, and, upon invitation, Brown, Stevens, and Kagi joined in +the expedition. Stevens and Kagi took part in the affair; Stevens being +charged, by some writers, with having killed Little. But Brown, "with +his customary dislike to serve under another," or probably, because of +his higher responsibilities, took no part in the attack. He went "only +as far as the rendezvous" at the Wimsett farm, where he probably +received his share of the loot. + +Returning on the 19th, he collected his men, and on the night of the +20th, executed his famous raid into Missouri. The party operated in two +divisions--one under Brown's direction and the other under Stevens's +orders. With Brown were Charles Jennison, Jeremiah Anderson, Geo. B. +Gill, Kagi, and three or four others. This party was to rob the +plantations of Mr. Harvey B. Hicklan and Mr. John Larue. The latter +lived about three-fourths of a mile from the Hicklan home. With the +Stevens party were Tidd, Hazlett, and five others. This band was to rob +the places of David Cruise and Hugh Martin. Cruise, in addition to his +other possessions, had a slave girl that Stevens wanted--and got--but +not until after he had killed Cruise. A statement by Stevens, made at +the Kennedy farm, in Maryland, furnishes all the information that exists +concerning the details of the murder. He is reported as saying[332] that +he went to the cabin and demanded the girl; that the old man asked him +to come inside, which he thoughtlessly did, and that then the old man +slipped behind him and "pulled a gun." That it then became a case of +"shoot first. You might call it a case of self defense, or you might say +that I had no business in there and that the old man was right." + +Brown's party arrived at the Hicklan home at midnight, forced the door +open, and with pointed revolvers intimidated Hicklan, and proceeded to +plunder the establishment. Mr. Gill, who appears to have been in charge +of the ethics of the occasion, says, that in spite of his efforts to +restrain the men, they took practically everything that was in sight. +"Some of our men," he said, "proved to be mere adventurers, ready to +take from friend or foe as opportunity offered." This statement, by one +who knew whereof he spoke, is the clearest exposition of the character +of Brown's thefts that has been made. The robbery on the night of +December 20, 1858, was his final transaction of that character. All of +the property stolen by him during that night belonged to pro-slavery +men. Therefore, Mr. Gill's knowledge that "some of their number were +mere adventurers, ready to take from friend or foe as opportunity +offered" could not have been derived from their conduct on this +occasion. The statement is explicit evidence that Brown and his men were +not moved or controlled by any sentiment relating to slavery; or by any +political bias in their thefts, but that they were common thieves, +operating under the protection of Free-State sentiment while they robbed +and plundered Free-State men and pro-slavery men, without discrimination +as opportunity offered. It may be said, in general terms, that all +horses look alike to a horse thief. It is the horse, _per se_, that +appeals to the thief, rather than the political affiliations of the +owner. In the absence of competent testimony to the contrary, it would +be said, promptly, of Brown, that he was an exception to this rule, as +well as to all other rules, that control human actions; that he was +moved by loftier motives than those which control the actions of the +ordinary horse thief; that he confined his plundering to pro-slavery +men, and robbed them, only, as a private duty, by and with the consent +of the Almighty. But this direct evidence against him, and the men whom +he controlled, is competent and quite conclusive. + +It has been said that Brown made restitution to Hicklan of some of his +property. But that statement belongs in the class of a long line of +personal statements, that have been put forward from time to time, in +palliation of the enormity of Brown's crimes, or in attempts to justify +them, or in efforts to make it appear that he was engaged in an +unselfish warfare against slavery. Mr. Villard swept away a lot of this +rubbish by the keen logic of his exposition concerning many of the +stories which were made current about the Pottawatomie matter. So this +statement, about returning to Hicklan some of his property, and Mr. +Gill's statement that the raid on the night of the 20th, was inspired by +the "Jim Daniels story," belong in the same general class of rubbish. +Mr. Hicklan stated, in 1888, that nothing that was taken was ever +recovered. He said: + + They did not give anything back. Brown said to me that we + might get our property if we could; that he defied us and + the whole United States to follow him. He and his men + seemed anxious to take more from me than they did for they + ransacked the house in search of money, and I suppose they + would have taken it if they had found it.... What I have + stated is the truth and I am willing to swear to it. I do + not hold any particular malice or prejudice on account of + these old transactions. Old things have passed away, but + the truth can never pass away.[333] + +Along with the plunder of the Hicklan home, five slaves were taken; +these are said to have belonged to the "Lawrence estate" then in +Hicklan's care, as administrator. Besides the negroes, he took from the +Lawrence estate two good horses, a yoke of oxen, a good wagon, harness, +saddles, a considerable quantity of provisions, bacon, flour, meal, +coffee, sugar, etc.; all of the bedding and clothing of the negroes, +Hicklan's shot-gun, overcoat, boots, and many other articles belonging +to the whites. From Larue were taken five negroes, six head of horses, +harness, a wagon, a lot of bedding and clothing, provisions, and, in +short, all the loot available and portable.[334] Besides killing Cruise +and looting the home, Stevens took, as claimed by the family, two yoke +of oxen, a wagon load of provisions, eleven mules, and two horses. A +mule was also taken from the Hugh Martin home. + +After the robberies the two parties united at a point theretofore agreed +upon, and started on the return trip to Kansas. At daylight they +secreted themselves in a deep wooded ravine, where they remained until +after dark, when they continued their march, arriving at Mr. Wattles's +home, two miles north of Mound City, at midnight of Wednesday the 22d. +Here Brown stopped until morning, having with him the slaves, one wagon, +and two or three of his men; the others pushing on northward with the +swag, to get it beyond danger of recovery, and to divide it or sell it +for the benefit of all concerned. + +The liberation of the slaves was a cumbersome and dangerous experiment, +but it was as necessary as it was dangerous. To have taken all this +plunder and carried it off without the diversion of taking the slaves +with him, would have been a case of such plain stealing, that Brown +would have been completely discredited therefor; even the "Secret War +Committee" might have joined in the general repudiation of him that +would have followed. But the carrying off of the slaves to freedom, in +this wholesale spectacular way, was great advertising; it distracted +attention from the basic motive of the raid, and secured creditable +notoriety for Brown in the North. It seems, however, that after arriving +at the Wattles home with the slaves, Brown practically, or personally at +least, abandoned them to their fate. The narrative states:[335] + + At dawn on Thursday, the caravan started again, and this + time without Brown. Two of his men accompanied the one + ox-team, which was sent forward, one going ahead to act as + pilot. + +This man, however, turned back, leaving the negroes to make their way to +Osawatomie alone. They arrived, without any mishap, at the home of Mr. +Adair, near Osawatomie, on Christmas Eve, where, it seems, no +arrangements had been made to receive them. On the arrival of the slaves +at his home, Mr. Adair says he referred the matter of sheltering them to +his wife, calling her attention to the responsibility it would involve. +"She considered the matter a few moments and then said: 'I cannot turn +them away.' They were taken around to the back yard, and the colored +people were brought into the back kitchen and kept there that +night."[336] Continuing the narrative Mr. Villard says that at two A. M. +of the morning after Christmas, the fugitives were finally placed in an +old abandoned preëmption cabin on the south fork of the Pottawatomie, +where kind neighbors brought them food and gave them encouragement.[337] +In this location they remained until they were taken north. It is +probable that Brown, in his selfishness, cared but little whether these +negroes were returned to slavery or not. He had done his stunt in +liberating them, and made no pretense of defending them or of caring for +them until in January, and took care not to be near the fugitives while +the pursuing bands were scouring the country in search of them. + +Naturally no public accounting was ever made of the property taken by +the Shubel Morgan Plunder Company, nor has any statement ever been made +as to the division of the plunder, or of a division of the proceeds, +among the members of it. But it is known that it was the raid and the +robbery, that Brown had in view, whereby he expected to raise the money +to defray the expense of the return of the party to the East. January +11, 1859, he wrote to his family that he had been unable to finish up +his business as rapidly as he had hoped to when he wrote +previously--December 2d--and the delay of his departure from Kansas +until about January 20th, was probably due to the fact that it required +that length of time to close out the company property and make +distribution of the proceeds. Final settlement was probably made at or +near Lawrence. Mr. Villard says on page 380: + + Somehow or other Brown recruited his finances while near + Lawrence, and his wagons, when he drove away, were creaking + with the weight of provisions contributed by Major Abbott + and Mr. Grover. + +Pending the sale of the plunder and final settlement for it, Brown +remained an unwelcome prowler, in the neighborhood of Moneka, amid a +storm of indignation against him that was as general as it was severe. +Even his "staunch friend Wattles" severely censured him "for going into +Missouri, contrary to our agreement, and getting these slaves." On +January 2d, Brown wrote a formal letter to Montgomery "asking him to +hold himself in readiness to call out reënforcements at a moment's +notice, to prevent a possible invasion because of a raid into Missouri." +But Montgomery was not holding himself in readiness to defend Brown, or +to repel the retaliatory invasion he had invited; but "was eagerly at +work for peace;" seeking to prevent a retaliatory blow from falling +upon the Free-State settlement. What Montgomery wrote to Brown in reply +to this letter, if he answered it at all, has never been published. He +denied having any complicity with Brown, and joined in the general +denunciation of him, and in the condemnation of his action. It was this +denunciation of him by Montgomery and the Free-State men generally that +called forth Brown's personal defense of his conduct, in what he called +his "Parallels"; a paper conspicuous in Brown literature. + +The Lawrence _Herald of Freedom_ on January 8, 1859, published a letter +from a clergyman at Moneka, from which the following paragraphs are +extracts:[338] + + I have watched the progress of these troubles here until I + am sick-heart-sick with humanity. Here are men claiming to + be Christians, and even ministers of the Gospel, who + profess to be guided in their actions by the teachings of + the Prince of Peace, who have organized a body of + murderers, robbers, gamblers and horse-thieves, and + subsisting by plunder. They are riding over the country and + committing the basest of crimes. If this is Christianity + anything would be preferable to it. + + The strangest of all is to see peace men, those in the + States who were members of peace societies, and who were + sending delegates to peace congresses, laboring to + inaugurate civil war, with the expressed object of working + a revolution throughout the nation, ultimating in a + dissolution of the Union; and all to procure the + emancipation of the slave. Simple men! They should learn + that revolutions involving such grave consequences are not + usually set on foot by murderers and thieves. Though Brutus + triumphed over the dead corpse of Cæsar, yet it is not + believed that in this age of enlightment a few ignoramuses + and desperadoes of the character of those in this country + can succeed in crushing out slavery and with it American + freedom. + +But Brown's band was the only band of thieves operating in that +neighborhood after July 15, 1858. The Shubel Morgan Company, then, was +the "organized body of murderers, robbers, gamblers and horse thieves" +described and complained of by the Moneka clergyman--"Men who prosecute +their nefarious business in the name of God and Humanity." The _Herald +of Freedom_ seems to have fallen under Brown's displeasure. He thought +"all honest, sensible Free-State men in Kansas consider George +Washington Brown's 'Herald of Freedom' one of the most traitorous +publications in the whole country."[339] + +On January 11, 1859, Governor Medary asked the Territorial Legislature, +then in session, to appropriate $250 as a reward for the arrest of +Montgomery, and a similar amount for the arrest of Brown. In response to +this, Montgomery wrote a letter to the Lawrence _Republican_, saying, +among other things: "For Brown's doings in Missouri, I am not +responsible. I know nothing of either his plans or intentions. Brown +keeps his own counsels, and acts on his own responsibility. I hear much +said about Montgomery and his company. I have no company. We have had no +organization since the 5th day of July."[340] Continuing, Mr. Villard +says that Montgomery came to Lawrence on January 18th, and delivered +himself up to Judge Elmore, who placed him in the custody of the +sheriff. There being but one indictment against him, and that for +robbing a post-office, he was released on bail, in the sum of $4,000. +Three days later he returned home and continued his efforts in behalf of +peace. He came back to Lawrence on February 2d, with six of his men, who +also surrendered themselves to the Territorial officers. + +About this time Brown received a visit from George A. Crawford, a +Free-State Democrat residing at Fort Scott, who said some things to +Brown at the request of Governor Medary. In a letter to Hon. Eli Thayer +of August 4, 1879, Crawford states the substance of this conversation. +Some extracts from the letter are as follows:[341] + + ... I protested to the Captain against this violence. We + were settlers, he was not. He could strike a blow and + leave. The retaliatory blow would fall on us. Being a + Free-State man, I myself was held personally responsible by + pro-slavery ruffians in Fort Scott for the acts of Captain + Brown. One of these ruffians, Brockett, when they gave me + notice to leave the town said, "When a snake bites me, I + don't go hunting for that particular snake. I kill the + first snake I come to." + + I called Captain Brown's attention to the facts that we + were at peace with Missouri; that our Legislature was then + in the hands of Free-State men to make the laws; that even + in our disturbed counties of Bourbon and Linn we were in a + majority and had elected the officers both to make and + execute the laws; that without peace we could have no + immigration; that no Southern immigration was coming; that + agitation such as his was only keeping Northern friends + away, etc. The old man replied that it was no pleasure to + him, an old man, to be living in the saddle, away from home + and family and exposing his life; and if the Free-State men + of Kansas felt they no longer needed him, he would be glad + to go.... + +On account of the unfriendly criticism of his conduct, Brown left the +neighborhood of Moneka January 11th and went to Osawatomie, and about +the 20th, in company with Gill and Kagi, convoying the slaves, set out +on the journey to the North. Stevens and Tidd were with the party at +Osawatomie, but they were detailed to steal "a span of horses" the day +the caravan moved, which made it necessary for them to scurry out of the +neighborhood as rapidly as the horses which they had stolen could +travel. + +Concerning this transaction Mr. Gill says,[342] that a day or two +before starting he found out that a Missourian, with a span of horses, +was stopping _temporarily_ a few miles from Osawatomie; also that he had +a well grounded _suspicion_ that they had been stolen from Free-State +men. At Garnett, he says, he communicated his suspicion "to Stevens and +Tidd, who set out, the same evening that we did, to replevin these +horses. After doing so they proceeded to Topeka to await us; Kagi also," +he says, "scouted ahead for some purpose, most probably to arrange +stopping-places for us, leaving Brown and myself alone with the colored +folks." + +With the stealing of these horses "Brown's men wound up their business +in South Eastern Kansas." It was probably their last theft in the +Territory. What their first one was, and what their intermediate acts +were, can only be surmised. Summarizing his work in Kansas during 1858 +Mr. Villard says:[343] + + As for John Brown, he was ready to leave the Territory for + the last time. Of constructive work there was no more to + his credit than when he left the Territory in 1856.... The + sole act of any significance to be credited to him during + these six months in Southern Kansas is the capture of the + slaves.... Certain it is that the Missouri raid, in + violation of his agreement, caused many peaceful Free-State + settlers to flee their homes for fear of violence, and + might have resulted seriously but for the efforts of + certain Missourians to keep the peace.... + +Brown's successful trip across the country, from Kansas to Canada, in +the rigor of winter, with these colored fugitives, will always stand to +the credit of his courage, his sagacity, and his perseverance. The +initial drive from Osawatomie to Major Abbott's place near Lawrence, +where they arrived January 24th, had its discomforts. Mr. Villard, +quoting from Gill's narrative says: "Through mud, and then over frozen +ground, without a dollar in their pockets, their shoes all but falling +apart, Gill and Brown, resolutely drove the slow-going ox-team with its +load of women and children. Gill's feet were frozen, and the 'old man's +fingers, nose and ears frozen.'" From Abbott's hospitable home they sent +the ox-team to Lawrence to be sold, and in its place obtained horses and +wagons. On the 28th, the narrative states, they arrived at Holton "amid +all the discomforts of a driving prairie snow storm." But the storm +could not have been very severe, because upon their arrival next day at +Spring Creek, six miles distant, that stream "was too high to ford" and +they were compelled to remain there over Sunday. The storm therefore +must have been a rain storm rather than a prairie blizzard. + +About this time Brown's movements were discovered and his location had +become known; also the Territorial authorities became active in an +effort to arrest him. On Saturday, as the story goes, a volunteer posse +from Atchison, under Mr. A. P. Wood, arrived upon the scene, and took up +a position on the north side of Spring Creek, barring Brown's further +progress northward. It looked as though the "chase was trapped"; and +Governor Medary with evident satisfaction announced the fact to +President Buchanan. The Governor also sent a special messenger--Deputy +Marshal Colby--to Colonel Sumner, commanding at Fort Leavenworth, +informing that officer as to the situation, and requesting that troops +be sent to capture him. But Brown, in anticipation of hostilities, had +sent to Topeka for assistance, and Colonel John Ritchie, with about +twenty men, responded to his call, arriving at his camp about noon on +Monday. Upon the arrival of these reënforcements, Brown promptly moved +toward the crossing of the creek, and quite as promptly the Atchison +party abandoned its position. The engagement that followed seems to have +been a contest for speed, and was appropriately named "The Battle of the +Spurs."[344] The Leavenworth _Times_ had this to say about the +battle:[345] + + The chase was a merry one, and closed by Brown's taking off + three of his pursuers as prisoners; with four horses, + pistols, guns, etc., as legitimate plunder. + +February 10th, Brown was at Tabor, Iowa. From there he wrote to his +wife:[346] + + I am once more in Iowa, through the great mercy of God. + Those with me and _other_ friends are well. I hope soon to + be at a point where I can learn of _your welfare_ & perhaps + send you something besides my good wishes. I suppose you + get the common news. May the God of my _fathers_ be your + God. + +Brown's reception by the people of Tabor was a disappointment. He +arrived on Saturday and hoped to receive an ovation at the church next +day; and that a "collection" would be taken up for his benefit. To bring +this about he prepared the following notice, which he handed to the Rev. +John Todd, as the latter entered his church Sunday morning, which he +desired should be read to the congregation:[347] + + John Brown respectfully requests the church at Tabor to + offer public thanksgiving to Almighty God in behalf of + himself, & company: & _of their rescued captives in + particular_ for his gracious preservation of their lives, & + health; & his signal deliverance of all out of the hand of + the wicked, hitherto. "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord; for + he is good; for his mercy endureth forever." + +But there was objection and the note was not read. The fame of Browns +actions, or the infamy of them, had preceded him at Tabor, which was +probably confirmed by the swaggering and boasting of his men. At any +rate, after conferring with Dr. H. D. King, who occupied the pulpit with +Mr. Todd, the latter declined to read the note, or to take up the +collection.[348] Dr. King is reported to have said: + + Brother Todd, this is your church, but if I were you I + would not make a prayer for them. Inasmuch as it is said + they have destroyed life, and stolen horses, I should want + to take the charge under examination before I made a public + prayer.[349] + +Brown was equally unfortunate at a public meeting which he called for +Monday. It resolved that "we have no Sympathy with those who go to Slave +States to entice away Slaves, & take property or life when necessary to +attain that end."[350] + +At Grinnell Brown held two night meetings, with full houses, at which he +and Kagi spoke. Both were loudly cheered. The collections, too, were +satisfactory: "$26.50 and whole party and teams kept for Two days +without cost. Sundry articles of clothing given to captives. Bread, +Meat, Cakes, Pies, etc., prepared for our journey."[351] + +In justification of his Missouri raid, Brown, in March, wrote to Mr. +John Teesdale of the Des Moines _Register_:[352] + + First, it has been my deliberate judgment, since 1855, that + the most ready and effectual way to retrieve Kansas would + be to meddle directly with the peculiar institution. Next, + we had no means of moving the rescued captives without + taking a portion of their lawfully acquired earnings, all + we took has been held sacred to that object and will be. + +The last clause of the latter statement would move Jennison's ghost to +smile if it were read to it.[353] + +The caravan arrived at Springdale February 25th, and remained there +until March 10th, when the colored people and their traps were loaded +into a box car, at West Liberty, and taken by an express train to +Chicago. The use of a box car, and the transportation of the fugitives +to Chicago, was quietly arranged by Mr. Grinnell with Superintendent +Tracey, of the railroad. The latter refused to accept payment for the +service, saying: "We might be held for the value of every one of those +niggers." + +Arriving at Chicago, March 11th, at 4:40 A. M., Brown reported his case +to Allen Pinkerton, who took charge of the party. Pinkerton also raised +a fund of about six hundred dollars for Brown; and arranged with General +Superintendent Hammond, of the Michigan Central Railway, for a car and +transportation for the outfit to Detroit. Kagi had charge of the party +from Chicago to Detroit where they arrived March 12th, at 10 o'clock A. +M., Brown having preceded them on an earlier train to arrange for their +reception at Windsor, Canada. He met them on the ferry boat and escorted +them across the river to freedom.[354] + +The liberation of these slaves in Missouri, and the safe delivery of +them in Canada was a capable performance. But it is not believable that +the department of justice at any time contemplated any interference with +Brown, or that it made any attempt to arrest him, or had any desire to +effect his arrest. That it had him under surveillance, and had reports +of his movements, from the time he arrived at Holton until he +disembarked the fugitives at Windsor, there can be no reasonable doubt; +and that it had the power to arrest him, if it desired to do so, will +not be denied. But the fugitive slave law, at this time, had become a +grievous thorn in the political flesh of the northern Democracy. The +Administration had troubles enough, already, in the distracted condition +of the country, without further antagonizing Northern public sentiment, +and turning loose upon itself the tempest of criticism and censure that +would surely follow if Brown were arrested, and a heartless judge should +remand back to slavery and punishment these timid, shrinking, friendless +women and children. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +MOBILIZING THE PROVISIONAL ARMY + +_Confusion on thy banners wait! +Though fann'd by Conquest's crimson wing_.--GRAY + + +Released from further responsibility for his fugitive wards, and wearing +the laurels of his recent adventures, Brown began the reorganization of +his forces for the final hazard. Arriving at Cleveland March 15th, he +proceeded to sell, publicly, what remained of his share of the +Kansas-Missouri plunder which had been forwarded to that point from +Springdale: two horses and a mule. Brown announced that, notwithstanding +the Missouri origin of the stock, they were now "Abolition" animals; +explaining his metaphor by the statement that he had "converted" them. A +pen picture of Brown by _Artemus Ward_, reads as follows:[355] + + He is a medium sized, compactly-built and wiry man, as + quick as a cat in his movements. His hair is of a salt and + pepper hue and as stiff as bristles; he has a long, waving, + milk white goatee which gives him a somewhat patriarchal + appearance. A man of pluck, is Brown. You may bet on that. + He shows it in his walk, talk and actions. He must be + rising sixty and yet we believe he could lick a yard full + of wild cats before breakfast and without taking off his + coat. Turn him into a ring with nine Border ruffians, four + bears, six injuns and a brace of bull pups and we opine + that "the eagles of victory would perch on his banner." We + don't mean by this that he looks like a professional + bruiser, who hits from the shoulder, but he looks like a + man of iron and one that few men would like to "sail into." + + +Kagi appeared to him "like a melancholy brigand, some of whose +statements were no doubt false and some shamefully true." A summary of +the lecture Brown delivered at Cleveland reads as follows:[356] + + Brown's description of his trip to Westport and capture of + eleven niggers was refreshingly cool, and it struck us, + while he was giving it, that he would make his jolly + fortune by letting himself out as an Ice Cream Freezer. He + meant this invasion as a direct blow at slavery. He did not + disguise it--he wanted the audience to distinctly + understand it. With a few picked men, he visited Westport + in the night and liberated eleven slaves. He also + "liberated" a large number of horses, oxen, mules and + furniture at the same time. + +In this speech Brown made the only acknowledgment of record, of his +relation to the Pottawatomie assassinations. The _Leader_, which was +friendly to Brown, quoted him as saying,[357] that "he had never killed +anybody, although on some occasions he had _shown his young men with +him_, how some things might be done as well as others and they had done +the business." Brown also impressed Mr. Alcott, who said of him after +hearing his lecture at Concord, May 8th:[358] + + He tells his story with surprising simplicity and sense, + impressing us all deeply with his courage and religious + earnestness.... I had a few words with him after his + speech, and find him superior to legal traditions and a + disciple of the Right in ideality and the affairs of state. + A young man named Anderson accompanies him. They go armed, + I am told, and will defend themselves if necessary. He does + not conceal his hatred of slavery, nor his readiness to + strike a blow for freedom at the proper moment. He is of + imposing appearance.... I think him about the manliest man + I have ever seen. + +The principal matter in hand now was to finance the initial movement of +the campaign. All the skies were clear. Time and the Kansas diversion +had discredited Forbes's truthful statements and eliminated him from the +problem. There was to be no further shifting of the scene, or hesitation +or faltering. The flood in his affairs was rising, carrying him on its +crest, to his fate. To the intelligent and insistent perseverence of Mr. +Sanborn belongs the credit, or the discredit, as the reader may elect, +for making Brown's operations possible. He stood, or became sponsor for +Brown's integrity of purpose in January, 1857, and financed his +subsequent career. May 30th, he wrote Colonel Higginson: + + Capt. B. has been here for three weeks, and is soon to + leave--having got his $2000 secured. He is at the U. S. + Hotel; and you ought to see him before he goes, for now he + is to begin.[359] + +Mr. Sanborn states[360] that in all, a little more than four thousand +dollars passed through the hands of the secret committee or was known to +it, as having been contributed in aid of the "Virginia enterprise:" and +that those who contributed thirty-eight hundred dollars of this sum, did +so "with a clear knowledge of the use to which it would be put." + +At North Elba, about June 16th, Brown bid his family farewell and went +to West Andover where he made arrangements with his son John to take +upon himself the combined duties of quartermaster general, and +recruiting and mustering officer. From Ohio he went to Pennsylvania, +writing to Kagi, from Pittsburgh, under the name of S. Monroe. He was at +Bedford on June 26th, and at Chambersburg on the 28th. From Chamberburg, +on June 30th, in company with two of his sons, Owen and Oliver, and +Jeremiah G. Anderson. Brown left for the "front." On that day he wrote +Kagi under the name of "I Smith & Sons" saying that they were leaving +for Harper's Ferry and would be looking for "cheap lands near the +railroad in all probability." July 3d, they arrived at Sandy Hook, +Maryland, and spent the next day reconnoitering the country on the +Maryland side of the Potomac above Harper's Ferry. + +To a Mr. Unseld, whom they met during the morning, Brown stated that +they were farmers from northern New York and because of late frosts and +other disadvantages, they had decided to seek a new location; that they +had a little money and intended to buy a farm, but would prefer to rent +a place until they became better acquainted with farm values in the +neighborhood. He also told him that his business would be buying fat +cattle for the New York market. Unseld suggested to them a farm +belonging to the heirs of a Dr. Kennedy, recently deceased, which was +then for sale. This farm was located about five miles from Harpers Ferry +on the Boonsboro road. It had probably been selected for headquarters +for the "Provisional Army" by Cook, who had been stationed at Harper's +Ferry for more than a year. + +The Kennedy farm suited Brown "exactly." He went to Sharpsburg +immediately and leased two houses that were on the place, with firewood, +and pasture for a horse and a cow, until March 1, 1860; the total +consideration being thirty-five dollars. The main house stands about +three hundred yards from the road on the south side. "There was a +basement, kitchen and a storeroom, a living room and bed rooms on the +second story, and an attic." The "cabin" stood about the same distance +from the road on the north side of it. Notwithstanding the distance from +the road. Brown was constantly in danger of being brought under +suspicion by the friendly but inquisitive neighbors, who were constantly +dropping in to see the newcomers; but who were never invited to come +into the house. To further disarm suspicion Brown, on July 5th, sent for +his wife and daughter Anne, to report at headquarters. Mrs. "Smith," +however, seemed to think she could not so readily abandon her home and +her young children. But Oliver Brown's young wife came instead: she and +"Annie" arrived about the middle of July. On the 10th of this month, +Brown wrote to Kagi, who was at Chambersburg, that it would be +"distressing _in many ways_, to have a lot of hands for many days, out +of employ. We must make up our lot of hands as nearly _at one & the +same_ time as possible."[361] + +August 11th, there was a panic on the bourse of the Provisional +Government. Kagi reported the arrival of fifteen boxes of arms with +freight charges amounting to $85.00, which caused Brown to ask his son +John to solicit for him "a little more assistance, say two or three +hundred dollars." Continuing he said: + + It is terribly humiliating to me to begin soliciting of + friends again; but as the harvest opens before me with + increasing encouragements, I may not allow a feeling of + delicacy to deter me from asking the little further I + expect to need.[362] + +In due time his requisition for funds was honored from the never-failing +purse of Gerrit Smith. Brown's means of transportation consisted of a +horse and a wagon, but a contract for moving the arms from Chambersburg +to the Kennedy farm was awarded to a "Pennsylvania Dutchman" who had a +large freight wagon.[363] + +Meanwhile the movement progressed in a systematic and orderly manner. +There was grave danger, however, that the secret of the contemplated +insurrection would transpire through the loquacity of the many persons, +estimated by Mr. Villard at possibly, eighty, who had more or less +knowledge of the enterprise. Brown seems to have feared that Cook, +especially, might give up information that would work disaster. It was +not that he held his loyalty in doubt, but he had been reported to the +commander-in-chief on a previous occasion, by the honorable secretary of +state, Mr. Realf, for "cacoethes loquendi," and Brown feared a +recrudescence of the malady. In a letter to Kagi at Chambersburg, +August 11th, he severely reproved those who had made their business in +Maryland a subject for general correspondence. But his expressions of +displeasure, did not prevent Leeman from writing to his mother, a month +and a half later, as follows:[364] + + I am now in a Southern _Slave State_ and before I leave it + it will be a free State, Mother.... Yes, mother I am waring + with Slavery the greatest Curse that ever infested America; + In Explanation of my Absence from you for so long a time I + would tell you that for three years I have been Engaged in + a Secret Association of as gallant fellows as ever puled a + trigger with the sole purpose of the _Extermination of + Slavery_. + +A warning, which was received by the Honorable Secretary of War, August +25th, notifying the department that Brown was then promoting a general +insurrection among the slaves, probably had its origin in Cook's +indiscreet volubility. The letter, addressed to "J. B. Floyd, Sec'y of +War," "Private" is as follows:[365] + + Cincinnati, August 20. + + SIR: I have lately received information of a movement of so + great importance that I feel it my duty to impart it to you + without delay. + + I have discovered the existence of a secret association, + having for its object the liberation of the slaves at the + South, by a general insurrection. The leader of the + movement is _old John Brown_, late of Kansas. He has been + in Canada during the winter, drilling the negroes there, + and they are only waiting for his word to start for the + South to assist the slaves. They have one of their leading + men (a white man) in an armory in Maryland--where it is + situated, I have not been able to learn. As soon as every + thing is ready, those of their number who are in the + Northern States and Canada are to come in small companies + to their rendezvous, which is in the mountains in + Virginia. They will pass down through Pennsylvania and + Maryland and enter Virginia at Harper's Ferry. Brown left + the North about three or four weeks ago, and will arm the + negroes and strike a blow in a few weeks; so that whatever + is done must be done at once. They have a large quantity of + arms at their rendezvous and are probably distributing them + already. As I am not fully in their confidence, this is all + the information I can give you. I dare not sign my name to + this, but trust that you will not disregard the warning on + that account. + +This letter, which should have led to the immediate overthrow and wreck +of the Provisional Government of the United States, had been enclosed in +an envelope addressed to the postmaster at Cincinnati, and mailed at Big +Rock, Iowa. At Cincinnati, August 23d, it was remailed to the Honorable +Secretary. Mr. Floyd received it at Red Sweet Springs, Virginia, August +25th, and while not attaching sufficient importance to the subject of +the communication to read it a second time, he preserved the letter, +and, after the denouement, published it. In explanation of his +indifference to the contents of this letter, he stated to the Mason +Committee, that the reference to the arsenal in Maryland misled him, +there being no armory in that state. He therefore, supposed the whole +thing was a hoax, and gave it no further attention. The history of the +letter was revealed in later years by its author, David J. Gue, of Scott +County, Iowa, who obtained his information from Mr. Moses Varney, of +Springdale.[366] + +As the days passed, the men, who were to form the nucleus of the army of +invasion, straggled into Harper's Ferry and reported at headquarters for +duty. August 6th, Watson Brown arrived, and with him came the Thompson +brothers, William and Dauphin. They were brothers to Henry Thompson, who +had been with Brown in Kansas in 1856. Then came Tidd and Stevens, _et +al._, and last of all, but one of the most welcome of all the recruits, +came Francis J. Merriam. He arrived at the Kenneday farm October 15th, +with six hundred dollars in gold in his pockets, which he covered into +the Provisional Treasury. The arrival of Merriam with his gold relieved +the strain upon Brown's exchequer. The commander-in-chief had been +compelled to negotiate a loan of forty dollars from Lieutenant Coppoc, +upon the credit of the Provisional Government, to meet the current +expenses of the expedition. That deficit was now made good, leaving a +handsome surplus on hand. When Brown was taken into custody three days +later, he had with him two hundred and fifty or sixty dollars in gold +and silver. Mrs. Anne Brown Adams said:[367] "The good Father in Heaven +who furnishes daily bread sent Francis J. Merriam down there with his +money to help them just at the moment it was needed." But it may also be +said that in the varying vicissitudes of Brown's fortunes, almost any +moment was just such a moment as this. "His money," Mr. Villard states, +was Merriam's "only contribution of value to the cause.... In addition +to his other physical frailties he had lost the sight of one of his +eyes." After looking him over, Stevens assigned him to duty as guard +over the arms which were to be left at the Kennedy farm. + +On the 29th of September, the two young women left army headquarters to +return to their homes. They had rendered faithful and valuable services +during the months of their stay. If the Provisional Government had +succeeded, these two women would have taken rank with the +immortals--Betsy Ross and Mollie Stark. Mrs. Adams relates[368] that one +day, while "we were alone in the yard Owen remarked, as he looked up at +the house: 'If we succeed, some day there will be a United States flag +over this house. If we do not, it will be considered a den of land +pirates and thieves.'" In the division of their labors Anne, and not +"Martha," seems to have "chosen the better part"; the latter did the +cooking for the company, and was the general head of the department of +domestic economy; while Anne, from the watch towers of the rude farm +house, kept vigils over all the approaches thereto. She was the faithful +sentinel that sounded the alarm at every sign of danger--the vestal +virgin, keeping alive the sacred fires upon their altar of liberty. The +approach of any human being was cause for alarm, lest the presence of +the invading army might be discovered and divulged. An interesting +account of the daily life at headquarters, by Mrs. Anne Brown Adams is +published by Mr. Villard.[369] Of the personnel of the field and staff, +she says: + + It is claimed by many that they were a wild, ignorant, + fanatical or adventurous lot of rough men. _This is not + so_, they were sons from good families, well trained by + orthodox religious parents, too young to have settled views + on many subjects, impulsive, generous, too good themselves + to believe that God could possibly be the harsh unforgiving + being He was at that day usually represented to be. Judging + them by the rules laid down by Christ, I think they were + uncommonly good and sincere Christians, if the term + Christian means follower of Christ's example, and too great + lovers of freedom to endure to be trammeled by church or + creed. + +No doubt the conduct of these free-booters, in the presence of the young +women, at the Kennedy farm, was circumspect and commendable, and +justified the estimate herein expressed of their exemplary characters, +and of the Christian lives that she supposed they had led, and were +living. + +Little indeed did this pure minded girl know of the reckless careers and +the lives of violence these adventurers represented, or of the motives +that prompted them to undertake their present enterprise. Measuring them +by the standards put forth by Christ, it will have to be admitted that +they were a collection of "mis-fit" Christians--as "mild mannered men as +ever scuttled ship or cut a throat." Leeman, for instance, may be taken +as an illustration of one of these ideal "followers of Christ's +example." "For three years," he had been secretly placing the example of +his exalted character before the world, warring with slavery, in an +association of as gallant fellows as ever "puled" a trigger. Who these +gallant trigger "puling" fellows were, and what they did to earn their +reputations as trigger "pulers," during these three years, is more or +less conjectural. Mrs. Adams turns the light upon Leeman's Christian +character a little further, by the statement, that "he smoked a good +deal and drank sometimes." Mr. Villard states that he went to Kansas in +1856 with the second Massachusetts colony of that year, and became a +member of John Brown's "Volunteer-Regulars," September 9, 1856. Also, +that he fought well at Osawatomie. But since he is reported as having +enlisted ten days after the battle of Osawatomie there may be some +mistake as to that. George B. Gill, who knew a good bit about him and +who may have been a trigger "puler" himself, says that he "had a good +intellect with great ingenuity." Anne heard Hazlett and Leeman, one day, +saying that "Barclay Coppoc and Dauphin Thompson were too nearly like +good girls to make soldiers: that they ought to have gone to Kansas and +roughed it awhile, to toughen them, before coming down there." Cook, it +may be said, was less Christ-like than Leeman. He was disposed to +"swagger," also he "was indiscreet" and "boastful." Once, when in a +boastful mood, at Cleveland, he boasted that he had "killed five men in +Kansas." Then too he "swaggered openly in his boarding house" which was +bad form, from a Christian point of view. Also it is said that he +"revealed too much to a woman acquaintance."[370] Then there was +Hazlett; but the record as to his actions is so meager that one cannot +estimate with any degree of accuracy how "Christ-like" he really was. +About all that is known of him is that he stole a horse--a very fine +stallion--from somebody in Missouri, which, as has been stated, he +traded to Brown for a forty-acre United States land warrant. Also, he +was with Stevens when the latter killed Cruise, to get possession of the +slave girl. As to Stevens, it cannot truthfully be said that he was a +follower of Christ's example, in the stricter interpretation of that +expression. One of Christ's disciples--Peter--it is said, followed the +Master "afar off." In that respect Stevens resembles the disciple rather +than the Master. As a matter of fact, if Stevens followed Christ's +example at all, it was at very long range. From what is known of the +lives of these men, it may be assumed also, that if Charles Jennison had +been under Anne's observation at the Kennedy farm, he too would have +secured absolution for his crimes and would have received at her hands a +certificate of Christianity.[371] + +The details that Brown's biographers have published concerning the +concentration of the military stores at his headquarters; his +correspondence with his men; the assembling of them in Maryland; his +constantly recurring financial embarrassments, and the edited statements +concerning the daily life which he and his men led after their arrival +at the seat of war, are of little or no public interest or value. They +fail to touch upon the vital purpose that led Brown, in the disguise of +a farmer or cattle buyer, to take up his residence at the Kennedy farm +house. They fail to even hint at the broad purpose of his being there, +or of the commanding things which he strenuously sought to promote +during the months that he occupied the ground. They trifle with their +theme and with their characters. These men had not dedicated their lives +to martyrdom "that others might live." Their impromptu metamorphosis +from "soiled lives" to consecrated lives is gratuitous. They were +_capitalized_ upon "the monstrous wrong which they beheld," and +intended to turn it, through a wrong still more monstrous, to a +monstrous personal advantage. No maudlin sentiment inspired these men, +"with soiled lives behind them" to dare as few ever dared before. Their +"hearts throbbed" with a single mighty purpose--an ambition worthy of +the desperation of their adventure. Their goal was an empire and its +emoluments: their rewards the spoils of conquest of the most promising +field that marauders ever planned to plunder. + +The time finally agreed upon and fixed for the great catastrophe was the +night of October 16th. The party consisted of the following persons: + + WHITE: COLORED: + John Brown J. A. Copeland, Jr. + J. H. Kagi L. S. Leary + A. D. Stevens O. P. Anderson + J. E. Cook Dangerfield Newby + C. P. Tidd Shields Green + Albert Hazlett + J. G. Anderson + William Thompson + D. O. Thompson + Edwin Coppoc + Barclay Coppoc + W. H. Leeman + Owen Brown + Oliver Brown + Watson Brown + F. J. Merriam + Stewart Taylor + +The extent of the conspiracy among the slaves and the confidential +arrangements and agreements which Brown made and entered into with +them--his co-conspirators--during the months he spent in secret +negotiations with them; and the pledges and promises that had been +exchanged between them will, of course, never be known. But so far as +the plans agreed upon related to the initial movements, the general +outline of them was simple enough for the comprehension of every one, +the untutored slaves included. Brown and his men were to occupy Harper's +Ferry. They were to cut the telegraph wires and take possession of the +public buildings located there--the armory, the arsenal, and the rifle +works--and the military stores contained in them. The slaves, on their +part, were to revolt against their masters; murder them and their +families, and then report to Brown at Harper's Ferry, where they would +be organized into companies, regiments, and brigades, and be armed and +equipped from the stock of war material which he would have in his +possession. + +The war department was doing some business. Stevens, Kagi, Cook, Owen +Brown, Oliver Brown, Watson Brown, Leeman, William Thompson, J. G. +Anderson, Tidd, and Hazlett had been appointed captains in the +provisional army, and Edwin Coppoc and Dauphin Thompson first +lieutenants. The privates were Taylor, Barclay Coppoc and Merriam, +_white_; and Green, Leary, Copeland, Osborn P. Anderson, and Newby, +_colored_. There is conflict of testimony as to whether Hazlett was a +captain or a lieutenant. Colonel Lee reported him and Leeman as +lieutenants. A captain's commission, however, was found on Leeman's +body. William Thompson and J. G. Anderson were probably captains.[372] +In his confession Cook says: + + There were six or seven in the party who did not know + anything about our Constitution, and were also ignorant of + the plan of operations until Saturday morning October 16th. + Among this number were Edwin and Barclay Coppoc, Merriam, + Shields Green, Copeland and Leary. The Constitution was + then read to them by Stevens, and the oath, afterward, + administered by Captain Brown. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE FIASCO + +_The best laid schemes o' mice and men +Gang aft a gley._ + + --BURNS + + +On Sunday morning, October 16th, 1859, Captain Owen Brown and Privates +Coppoc and Merriam were detailed for duty at the Kennedy farm; the +others were under marching orders during the day, awaiting the signal to +"fall in," and move to the scene of active operations. "The night was +dark, ending in rain." About eight o'clock Brown is reported to have +said: "Men, get your arms, we will proceed to the Ferry." The column was +soon in motion. It does not require a long time for eighteen men, who +are otherwise in readiness to move, to put on their accoutrements and +pick up their arms. In addition to a rifle, two revolvers, and forty +rounds of ball cartridges, each man carried, in lieu of an overcoat, a +long gray shawl, of the kind which was fashionable for men's wear at +that time. The headquarters train--a horse and wagon--was brought to the +door of the Kennedy farm house, and "some pikes, a crow-bar, and a +sledge-hammer, were quickly thrown into the wagon." A recent biographer +says, dramatically: + + In a moment more, the commander-in-chief donned his old + battle-worn Kansas cap, mounted the wagon, and began the + solemn march. + +Knowledge of the condition, as to wear and tear, of the cap worn by the +commander-in-chief on this occasion, is not essential to a true +understanding of the purposes of the movement. But knowledge of the fact +that the historian drew upon his active and resourceful imagination, +when writing the history of these operations, and that it contributed, +immoderately, to the character of the writings which he put forth, is +essential to such understanding. It is therefore pointed out, that the +statement, while purporting to be one of fact, is altogether fanciful. +Also, that the biographer's treatment of this trifling incident is +characteristic of the coloring which embellishes his exposition of the +general subject. But to return to the cap. The Kansas origin of it will +not be denied; it may have been bought or stolen in the Territory; but +it was not "battle-worn." It will be remembered that Brown had but two +"battles" in Kansas, so far as the record shows, and that in the last +one--the Battle of Osawatomie, August 30, 1856--Brown "lost his hat" or +his cap or whatever his head gear may have been.[373] + +A special order, "drawn up and carefully read to all" set forth the +details of the movement to be executed. In the line of march Captains +Cook and Tidd walked ahead of the wagon. The others, in files of two, +followed it. At 10:30, after a lonesome but uninterrupted march of more +than five miles, they arrived at the bridge which spanned the Potomac at +Harper's Ferry. It was used for both railroad and wagon road purposes. +Cook and Tidd, in the meantime, had detoured to cut the telegraph wires +leading into the town, and Kagi and Stevens had the head of the column. +While crossing the bridge, they took William Williams, the bridge +watchman, into custody as a prisoner. Then, after posting Captain Watson +Brown and Private Taylor at the bridge, the company proceeded to the +Harper's Ferry end of the Shenandoah bridge, a few yards distant, where +Captain Oliver Brown, Captain William Thompson, and Private Newby were +placed on duty. From there they went to the United States Armory, +located up the Potomac, about sixty yards from the ends of the two +bridges. At the armory gate the watchman on duty, Daniel Wheelan, was +taken into custody. Of this incident Wheelan said:[374] + + One fellow took me; they all gathered about me and looked + in my face; I was nearly scared to death, so many guns + about; I did not know the minute or the hour I should drop; + they told me to be very quiet and still, and make no noise + or else they would put me to eternity. + +Addressing the two prisoners--Wheelan and Williams--Brown made the +following declaration of his intentions:[375] + + I came here from Kansas, and this is a slave State; I want + to free all the negroes in this State; I have possession + now of the United States armory, and if the citizens + interfere with me, I must only burn the town and have + blood. + +Brown then crossed the street to the arsenal building, where arms and +military equipment, valued at several millions of dollars, were stored, +and took possession of it, placing Captain Hazlett and Lieutenant Coppoc +in charge of the property. From there, with the remainder of the party, +he proceeded to the rifle works, located about a half mile up the +Shenandoah. Here the watchman was made a prisoner and Captain Kagi and +Private Copeland were placed on duty. Private Leary was also assigned to +duty at this post and later reported to Kagi. + +These dispositions of his forces having been made, Brown's occupation of +Harper's Ferry was complete. All of the United States property--the +military stores accumulated at the arsenal; the armory and the rifle +works; and the principal highways entering the town, were in his +possession. The plans for the occupation of the place had been +accomplished without the firing of a shot. The initial movement of the +invasion had been successfully executed. + +After the occupation. Brown sent a detail into the country to bring in +Colonel Lewis T. Washington and Mr. John H. Allstadt, whom he intended +to hold as hostages for the proper treatment of any of his men who might +happen to fall into the hands of the "enemy." The party was made up of +Captains Stevens, Cook, and Tidd, and Privates O. P. Anderson, Leary, +and Green. The Washington home was four or five miles from the town. +Colonel Washington was a great-grandnephew of George Washington. Of this +raid into the country, Mr. Villard says:[376] + + In Colonel Washington's possession was a pistol presented + to General Washington by Lafayette, as well as a sword now + in possession of the State of New York, which, according to + an unverified legend, was the gift of Frederick the Great + to George Washington. John E. Cook had seen these weapons + in Colonel Washington's home, and John Brown, beginner of a + new American revolution, wished to strike his first blow + for the freedom of a race with them in his hands. + +The closing sentence of this quotation is dramatic and rings true; but +it is inconsistent with the author's theory of the movement, which is, +that Brown intended to do trifling things instead of heroic things. + +The raiders entered the house by breaking down the back door with a +fence rail; and Washington was awakened by hearing his "name called in +an undertone." He opened the bed-chamber door and was met by "four armed +men, one, with a revolver, carrying a burning flambeau, and the others +with their guns drawn upon him." Stevens was in command. Cook had +reconnoitered the Washington home a month or so before and had been +shown the historic weapons herein referred to. These Stevens now +demanded and received. He also demanded the Colonel's money and his +watch, but on the refusal of the latter to deliver them, the demand was +not pressed. When asked by Washington what the performance meant, they +said, "We have come here for the purpose of liberating all the slaves of +the South, and we are able (or propose to do it) or words to that +effect." While matters were progressing in-doors, Tidd had been busy +hitching up the Colonel's two-horse carriage and four-horse farm wagon. +After putting Colonel Washington into the carriage and loading the +slaves, four men, into the wagon, the caravan moved to the Allstadt +home, where the front door was broken down with a fence rail, as before, +and Allstadt and his son, together with his adult male slaves, were +taken into custody. Father and son were put into the seat of the wagon +with the negroes and all were driven to Harper's Ferry and delivered to +Brown at the armory. Brown told Colonel Washington that he had taken him +for the "moral effect it would give his cause to have one of the name a +prisoner." With the sword of Frederick the Great, and Washington, in his +hand, Brown now directed his desperate defense. Tuesday morning +Washington recovered the sword.[377] + +In the meantime, at 12 o'clock, Patrick Higgins--also a +night-watchman--went to the Potomac bridge to relieve Night-Watchman +Williams who had been taken prisoner. As he approached he was "halted" +by Oliver Brown, at the Shenandoah bridge, and upon refusing to obey the +order, was fired upon, the bullet making a wound in his scalp.[378] Upon +the arrival at Harper's Ferry, of the east-bound Baltimore and Ohio +train, Higgins reported to the conductor--Phelps--what had happened to +him. The engineer of the train and the baggage-master, on going forward +toward the bridge to investigate, were also fired upon. At or about the +time this incident occurred, Shephard Hayward, the station +baggage-master, a free negro, went from the station toward the Potomac +bridge to look for Watchman Williams. Upon being ordered to halt, he +turned to retrace his steps to the station and was fired upon with fatal +effect, by Watson Brown's party, "A bullet passing through his body a +little below the heart," from the effect of which he died during the +afternoon, about 4 o'clock. The arrival of the train being reported to +Brown, he personally informed Conductor Phelps why it was being held, +saying: + + We have come to free the slaves and intend to do it at all + hazards. + +Later, at 3 A. M., Brown notified Phelps that he could now proceed with +his train and directed him to say to the management of the road: "This +is the last train that shall pass the bridge either East or West; if it +is attempted, it will be at the peril of the lives of those having them +in charge."[379] Phelps however, decided not to move until daylight. +From Monocacy, at 7:05 A. M., he wired the situation to Master of +Transportation Smith, at Baltimore; repeating what Brown had said to +him, and suggesting that he notify the Secretary of War at once; +concluding his dispatch with this statement: "The telegraph wires are +cut East and West of Harper's Ferry and this is the first station that I +could send a dispatch from." + +The first alarm of what was occurring in the town was given out by a +resident physician, Dr. John D. Starry. But the note which he sounded +was not of the "Paul Revere" variety. The Doctor was aroused from his +slumbers by the firing of the shot that struck Hayward, and went to his +relief. The remainder of the night he spent in observing what was going +on but gave out no information concerning it. "At daylight," it is said, +"he could stand it no longer; he saddled his horse, rode to the +residence of Mr. A. M. Kitzmiller, who was in charge of the arsenal +during the absence of the superintendent, Mr. Barbour; acquainted him, +and a number of other officials and workmen with the story of the night. +He then put spurs to his horse, and ascended the hill to Bolivar +Heights, where he awoke some more sleepers."[380] After arousing the +town, the Doctor rode to Charlestown, eight miles distant, where the +alarm was given by ringing all the bells. The local military +company--the Jefferson Guards--fell in promptly; also a second company, +composed of men and boys, was organized on the spot, both companies +taking a train at 10 o'clock for the scene of the trouble. + +By 10:30 President Garrett of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, +had informed the President of the United States of the conditions +existing at Harper's Ferry. He also wired the information to Governor +Wise, of Virginia; and to Major General Stewart, commanding First +Division Maryland Volunteers, at Baltimore.[381] The news soon became +general. From Monocracy it was wired to Frederick, and by 10 A. M. the +Frederick companies were under arms and had marching orders. A +Martinsburg company, under Captain E. G. Alburtis, arrived at Harper's +Ferry during the afternoon, and shortly thereafter a company from +Winchester reported for duty. Earlier in the day two local companies +were "mustered into service;" one under command of Captain Botts and the +other under Captain John Avis. Two companies from Shepherdstown also +arrived--the "Hamtrack Guards" and the "Shepherdstown Troop." During the +evening three companies arrived from Frederick, and five companies from +Baltimore. In all sixteen companies of State Volunteers were assembled +at Harper's Ferry within twelve hours from the time the first alarm was +given out. + +The second casualty of the day occurred about 7 o'clock A. M., when Mr. +Thomas Boerly, an Irishman and a resident of Harper's Ferry, was fatally +shot by one of Brown's men. From that time until after 10 o'clock +nothing of importance occurred in the town, except that Brown ordered +breakfast for his war party and his prisoners, forty-five in all. The +meals were prepared and served from a nearby hotel--the Wagner House. + +In the early morning, after the prisoners--Colonel Washington and the +Allstadts--had been delivered to Brown at the armory gate, Cook and +Leeman proceeded to the Kennedy farm with the teams that they had taken +from Colonel Washington, and began moving the military equipment, which +had been left there, in care of Owen Brown, to a school-house, that was +located about a mile from the Ferry. Later, Brown dispatched William +Thompson to the school-house with a message to Owen, saying that "all +was going well." Between 9 and 10 o'clock Leeman and Thompson returned +to Harper's Ferry, bringing with them another prisoner, Mr. Terence +Brown, a Maryland farmer of the neighborhood. After 10 o'clock Brown's +position became critical. It was fast becoming evident that his plans +had miscarried; that the slaves had failed to strike for their freedom; +that the fundamental movement of the campaign--_the insurrection of the +slaves_--had not been executed. "THE BLOW" which he planned to strike +had not been delivered. The attempt to "assail the Slave Power with the +only weapons that it fears," had "flashed in the pan." + +It was not important that the Potomac and the Shenandoah bridges were +still in his possession and that access to the Maryland mountains was +free; for Brown was not equipped for flight, and there are limitations +upon physical endurance. Besides, these Southern mountains were, to him, +inhospitable, and would furnish neither subsistence nor shelter. Also +the inhabitants of the vicinity were rising in arms against him, their +passions inflamed to a condition of frenzy because of the assault which +he had made upon their lives and property. He well knew the excited mob +would be upon his trail from the start; and that escape, except for a +possible straggler or two, was impossible. But there still existed the +possibility that the fifteen hundred self-emancipated slaves, whom he +hoped to have under arms by 12 o'clock,[382] would begin to arrive. + +Details of the subsequent occurrences are given in a very interesting +manner by Mr. Villard, on pages 429 to 454. He relates that after 10 +o'clock, the citizens of Harper's Ferry became aggressive, and opened a +scattering or desultory fire upon Brown's position at the armory +building. The "Jefferson Guards," upon their arrival at Bolivar Heights, +marched to a point about a mile above the town, where they crossed the +Potomac in boats, and came down the Maryland side of the river to the +Potomac bridge, driving Watson Brown and Taylor from their post. This +movement compelled William Thompson and Newby to abandon their station +at the Shenandoah bridge, and seek shelter in the armory. The Galt House +was then occupied by Captain Botts's company, while Captain Avis took a +position near the crest of Bolivar Heights, overlooking the town, from +where he opened fire upon the armory. Newby was killed by this fire +before he reached the armory enclosure. It is said that his body was +shockingly mutilated. About 1 o'clock Leeman sought to effect his +escape. He left the arsenal and attempted to cross the Potomac, a short +distance above the bridge, and succeeded in getting as far as a small +island in the river, where he was overtaken and killed by a Mr. A. G. +Schoppert. The body of the late captain, his commission in his pocket, +as it lay upon the rocks in the river, became an object for target +practice, by citizens, and by members of the volunteer military +companies then assembling. + +During the afternoon Brown sought to have the firing cease by +negotiating with the citizens for a truce; and sent out a prisoner, Mr. +Cross, and William Thompson, to make the arrangement. Thompson was +immediately taken and held as a prisoner, for a time, at the Galt House. +Later he was led out upon the trestle leading to the Shenandoah bridge, +where he was shot by a mob under the leadership of George W. Chambers +and Harry Hunter; his body falling into the shallow water below, where +it became a general target for the mob, in mob fashion. Still later, +Brown sent Stevens and Watson Brown out, accompanied by Mr. Kitzmiller, +under a flag of truce. This flag was fired upon from the windows of the +Galt House with the result that both Stevens and Brown received severe +wounds. Brown succeeded in dragging himself back to the armory +engine-house, where he died thirty hours later. One of the prisoners, a +Mr. Brua, went out and had Stevens carried into the Wager House. + +Between 2 and 3 o'clock a small party, under the command of a young man +by the name of Irwin, made an attack upon the rifle-works on the +Shenandoah, where Kagi and his men were stationed. The latter sought to +escape across the river, but were shot down before reaching the middle +of the stream. Kagi fell and died in the water. Leary was mortally +wounded, and died the following night. Copeland was taken prisoner by +Mr. James H. Holt, of Harper's Ferry, and by him delivered to the +Virginia authorities. In the confusion, the detail at the +arsenal--Hazlett and O. P. Anderson--managed to escape unnoticed. They +probably abandoned their post as soon as it became evident to them that +the insurrection feature of the venture had miscarried. It is said they +first went to the Kennedy farm, where they got supplies of provisions, +and from there they made their way into Pennsylvania. Five days later +Hazlett was captured at Carlisle, and taken back to Virginia under +extradition papers, issued by the Governor of the State. His trial was +had at Charlestown, and he was hanged there, with Stevens, March 16, +1860. Anderson fared better: he managed to reach Canada, and lived to +write a marvelous story of his adventures. + +Cook's party, and the detail under Owen Brown, met with better success, +Cook alone being arrested. He was taken at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, +October 25th, and returned to Charlestown, Virginia, where he was hanged +December 16th. E. Coppoc, Green, and Copeland were hanged at the same +time. The others: Tidd, Barclay Coppoc, Merriam and Owen Brown all +succeeded in making good their escape. The negroes who had been taken +returned to their masters. + +About 2 o'clock, George W. Turner was killed. Turner was a prosperous +farmer of the vicinity. He had been graduated from West Point, and had +served creditably with the army, in Florida. Riding into town, with his +shot-gun on his shoulder, he became a target for one of Brown's rifles. +A shot struck him in the neck and killed him instantly. About 4 o'clock +Mr. Fontaine Beckham, the mayor of the town, was killed. Beckham was the +station agent for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. He stepped +out of the station-house to observe what was going on, when he was +fired upon by Edward Coppoc, from the engine-house, with fatal effect. +He also died instantly. + +The beginning of the final collapse came about 4 o'clock, with the +arrival of the Martinsburg company. Alburtis attacked the armory +enclosure and drove Brown, with his most prominent prisoners--Colonel +Washington, the Allstadts, Brua, Byrne, Wells, the armorer, Ball, +master-machinist, and J. E. Daingerfield, pay-master's clerk--into the +engine-house. Of his attack Captain Alburtis said:[383] + + During the fight, we found, in the room adjoining the + engine-house, some thirty or forty prisoners, who had been + captured and confined by the outlaws. The windows were + broken open by our party and these men escaped. The whole + of the outlaws were now driven into the engine-house, and + owing to the great number of wounded requiring our care, + and not being supported by the other companies, as we + expected, we were obliged to return.... Immediately after + we drew off, there was a flag of truce sent out to propose + terms, which were that they were to be permitted to retire + with their arms, and, I think, proceed as far as some lock + on the canal, there to release their prisoners. The terms + were not acceded to. + +There were troops enough on the ground at this time to have carried +Brown's position by assault; and it is probable that an attack upon the +armory would have been ordered, had such extreme measures been deemed +necessary, which was not the case. Besides, if an assault had been made +by these undisciplined men, it would have been attended with the loss of +many lives, which, under the circumstances, would have been without +justification. Brown and his party were in a position from which they +could not escape; neither could his surrender be long deferred. A +prevailing report, too, that a detachment of United States +troops--marines--would soon arrive, under the command of an experienced +officer of the regular army, may have had some influence in determining +what should be done. However, before nightfall, a Mr. Samuel Strider +delivered a summons to Brown, demanding his surrender, to which Brown +replied as follows: + + Capt. John Brown Answers: + + In consideration of all my men, whether living or dead, or + wounded, being soon safely in and delivered up to me at + this point with all their arms and ammunition, we will then + take our prisoners and cross the Potomac bridge, a little + beyond which we will set them at liberty; after which we + can negotiate about the Government property as may be best. + Also we require the delivery of our horse and harness at + the hotel.[384] + +The terms of the note were promptly declined by Colonel Robert W. +Baylor, of the Virginia Cavalry, who seems to have been the ranking +officer present. He said that "under no conditions would he consent to a +removal of the citizen prisoners across the river." Still later in the +evening the three companies, in uniform, arrived from Frederick, +Maryland. One of these was under the command of Captain Sinn. This +officer proceeded to the engine-house and entered into a lengthy +conversation with Brown. During this interview Brown renewed his +proposal to leave the place, and complained of the treatment his men, +bearing a flag of truce, had received; that they "had been shot down +like dogs." Being told that men in his position must expect such +treatment, Brown replied that before coming there "he had weighed the +responsibility and should not shrink from it." He thought, however, that +he was entitled to better treatment from the people because of what he +had _not_ done to them; that he "had had full possession of the town and +could have massacred all the inhabitants had he thought proper to do +so." + +During afternoon of the 17th, President Buchanan ordered three companies +of artillery, from Fortress Monroe, to the scene of the trouble; also +the detachment of marines, at the Washington Navy Yard. The latter were +under the command of Lieutenant Israel Green, U. S. M. C. He also +ordered Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee, Second United States Cavalry, +brevet colonel United States army, to proceed to Harper's Ferry and +assume command of all the United States troops concentrating there. +General J. E. B. Stuart, at that time a first lieutenant in the First +United States Cavalry accompanied Lee as a volunteer aide. The artillery +from Fortress Monroe was detained at Baltimore by order of Colonel Lee. +With two howitzers and ninety men Green left Washington for Harper's +Ferry, at 3:30 P. M. En route he received orders from Colonel Lee to +stop at Sandy Hook, a station within a mile, nearly, of his destination. +At 10 o'clock Lee arrived at Sandy Hook on a special train. The marines +were then formed, and marched to Harper's Ferry, leaving the howitzers +aboard the cars. Arriving at the town, after consultation with the +volunteer commanders present, Lee ordered the militia to vacate the +armory grounds, and put the control, or care of the situation, in the +hands of Lieutenant Green. + +Before ordering the assault upon the engine-house, which, to save the +lives of Brown's prisoners, was to be executed with the bayonet, Lee +offered the honor of commanding the action to the regimental commanders +of the volunteers: Colonel Shriver of the Maryland troops and Colonel +Baylor of the Virginians; an offer which both of these officers, in +behalf of their men, had the moral courage to wisely and properly +decline. Colonel Shriver said, in effect, that they had come to help the +people of Harper's Ferry in an emergency: that the emergency, in view of +the United States troops present, was now passed; that his men had wives +and children at home, and since it was not necessary to expose them to +such risk as this attack involved, he would not voluntarily do so. +Colonel Baylor expressed similar views. But, later, there was trouble +over the matter. The pride of the Governor of Virginia, Henry E. Wise, +was hurt because the Virginia troops had not done on the 17th what Lee, +Stuart, Green, and the marines did so creditably on the morning of the +18th. As a result, charges of misconduct were preferred against Colonel +Baylor, by Mr. O. Jennings Wise, a son of the Governor; and a court of +inquiry was convened in June, 1860, to investigate the case. Mr. Villard +states that in a letter addressed to the court, by Mr. Wise, the latter +charged that Colonel Baylor had assumed command on the 17th, "contrary +to his grade and the nature of his commission." That he had acted +without orders; that he was guilty of cowardice in not storming the +engine-house, and of "unofficer-like conduct in assigning a false, +cowardly and insulting reason for not leading the attack on the +engine-house when the service was offered to him by Colonel Lee: +to-wit--that it was a duty which belonged to the _mercenaries_ of the +regular service--meaning the marines--who were paid for it"; and, +finally for using "violent and ungentlemanly language about his +Commander-in-Chief (Governor Wise)." + +After the militia officers had declined the command of the storming +party, it was offered to Lieutenant Green, who, of course, accepted it, +and, taking off his cap, thanked his commander for the honor, with +soldierly courtesy. + +Early on the morning of the 18th, Colonel Lee sent a demand upon Brown +to surrender, which was read to him at the door of the engine-house by +Lieutenant Stuart. The order read as follows:[385] + + Headquarters Harper's Ferry, + October 18, 1859. + + Colonel Lee, United States Army, commanding the troops, + sent by the United States to suppress the insurrection at + this place, demands the surrender of the persons in the + armory buildings. + + If they will peaceably surrender themselves and restore the + pillaged property, they shall be kept in safety to await + the orders of the President. Colonel Lee represents to + them, in all frankness, that it is impossible for them to + escape; that the armory is surrounded on all sides by + troops; and that if he is compelled to take them by force, + he cannot answer for their safety. + + R. E. LEE, + Colonel Commanding United States Troops. + +It had been agreed upon between Stuart and Green, that, after having +read the order to Brown, if he should refuse to surrender, as they +supposed he would, Stuart would then signal by a wave of his cap, at the +sight of which Green would order his company forward to the assault. His +plan of attack was to advance with twelve men, holding another twelve in +reserve to support them, if they should be disabled, and with a heavy +sledge-hammer break down the door of the engine-house, and if +successful, then, with the full command rush the insurgents with fixed +bayonets. Upon seeing the signal agreed upon, Green ordered the attack. +While being fired upon from within the engine-house, the marines, armed +with the sledge, attempted to beat down the doors, but without success; +then seeing a heavy ladder lying nearby, Green ordered some of the men +to take it up and use it against the doors as a battering-ram. This +expedient was successful. Two blows by the improvised engine of war +sufficed to break a ragged hole, low down, in the right-hand door. +Through the opening thus made, Green, and Major Russell, pay-master, +United States Marine Corps, sprang, followed by the enlisted men.[386] +Rising to his feet, Green ran back of the engine to the rear of the +room, where he saw Colonel Washington, who, pointing to Brown said, +"this is Osawatomie." Lieutenant Green states: + + When Colonel Washington said to me, "This is Osawatomie," + Brown turned his head to see who it was to whom Colonel + Washington was speaking. Quicker than thought, I brought my + sabre down with all my strength, upon his head. He was + moving as the blow fell, and I suppose I did not strike him + where I intended, for he received a deep sabre cut on the + back of his neck. He fell senseless on his side, then + rolled over on his back. He had in his hand a short Sharp's + Cavalry carbine. I think he had just fired as I reached + Colonel Washington, for the marine who followed me into the + aperture made by the ladder, received a bullet in the + abdomen from which he died in a few minutes. The shot might + have been fired by some one else in the party, but I think + it came from Brown. Instantly, as Brown fell, I gave him a + sabre thrust in the left breast. The sword I carried was a + light uniform weapon and either not having a point, or + striking something hard in Brown's accouterments, did not + penetrate. The blade bent double. By that time three or + four of my men were inside. They came rushing in like + tigers, as a storming assault is not a play-day sport. They + bayoneted one man, skulking under the engine, and pinned + another fellow up against the rear wall, both being killed + instantly. I ordered the men to spill no more blood. The + other insurgents were at once taken under arrest, and the + contest ended. The whole fight had not lasted over three + minutes.[387] + +Of Brown's eleven prisoners, whom he was holding as hostages, Lieutenant +Green says: + + They were the sorriest lot of people I ever saw. They had + been without food for over sixty hours, in constant dread + of being shot, and were huddled up in the corner where lay + the body of Brown's son and one or two others of the + insurgents who had been killed. + +The scrimmage being over, Green and Coppoc were taken into custody, and +the dead and wounded were carried from the engine-house and laid upon +the armory lawn, where they were protected from violence by a guard +detailed from the company of marines. Later, Mr. Villard states, Brown +was carried to the office of the pay-master of the armory and there +given medical attention, when it was found that his wounds were far less +serious than they were at first supposed to be. + +Of the twenty-two ambitious men who courageously undertook to organize +the "Provisional Army," ten had been killed: Kagi, Oliver Brown, Watson +Brown, William Thompson, Dauphin Thompson, Jeremiah G. Anderson, Leeman, +Newby, Leary, and Taylor. Five were prisoners: Brown, Stevens, E. +Coppoc, Green, and Copeland. Seven had got away: Cook, Hazlett, Tidd, +Owen Brown, Barclay Coppoc, Osborn P. Anderson, and Merriam. + +Those killed and wounded by the insurgents were as follows: Killed: G. +W. Turner, Thomas Boerley, Fontane Beckham, Heywood Shepherd, and +Private Quinn. Wounded: Mr. Murphy, Mr. Young, Mr. Richardson, Mr. +Hammond, Mr. McCabe, Mr. Dorsey, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Woolet, and Private +Rupert.[388] + +About noon, on the 18th, some notable persons of that period arrived at +Harper's Ferry, anxious to know the facts relating to the alarming +events which had taken place. An interview with Brown was accordingly +arranged, which was held at the office of the armory pay-master. The +wounded Stevens had, in the meantime, been carried into the office and +laid upon a mattress on the floor beside Brown. Those present were +Governor Wise, of Virginia, Colonel Robert E. Lee, Lieutenant Stuart, +Senator Mason of Virginia, Congressmen Vallandigham of Ohio and Faulkner +of Virginia, Colonel Lewis Washington, Andrew Hunter, special counsel +for the State of Virginia, and a half dozen citizens of the town and +vicinity. Brown was able to answer freely, and seemed anxious for an +opportunity to present his version of the situation to the public. He +was "glad," he said, "to make himself and his motives clearly +understood." Extracts from this interview are as follows:[389] + + _Senator Mason._ Can you tell us who furnished money for + your expedition? + + _John Brown._ I furnished most of it myself; I cannot + implicate others. It is my own folly that I have been + taken. I could easily have saved myself from it, had I + exercised my own better judgment rather than yielded to my + feelings. + + _Mason._ You mean if you had escaped immediately? + + _Brown._ No. I had the means to make myself secure without + any escape; but I allowed myself to be surrounded by a + force by being too tardy. I should have gone away; but I + had thirty odd prisoners, whose wives and daughters were in + tears for their safety, and I felt for them. Besides, I + wanted to allay the fears of those who believed we came + here to burn and kill. For this reason I allowed the train + to cross the bridge, and gave them full liberty to pass on. + I did it only to spare the feelings of those passengers and + their families, and to allay the apprehensions that you had + got here in your vicinity a band of men who had no regard + for life and property, nor any feelings of humanity. + + _Mason._ But you killed some people passing along the + streets quietly. + + _Brown._ Well, sir, if there was anything of that kind + done, it was without my knowledge. Your own citizens who + were my prisoners will tell you that every possible means + was taken to prevent it. I did not allow my men to fire + when there was danger of killing those we regarded as + innocent persons, if I could help it. They will tell you + that we allowed ourselves to be fired at repeatedly, and + did not return it. + + _A Bystander._ That is not so. You killed an unarmed man at + the corner of the house over there at the water-tank, and + another besides. + + _Brown._ See here, my friend; it is useless to dispute or + contradict the report of your own neighbors who were my + prisoners. + + * * * * * + + _Mr. Vallandigham (who had just entered.)_ Mr. Brown, who + sent you here? + + _Brown._ No man sent me here; it was my own prompting and + that of my Maker, or that of the Devil--whichever you + please to ascribe it to. I acknowledge no master in human + form. + + * * * * * + + _Vallandigham._ Did you get up this document that is called + a Constitution? + + _Brown._ I did. They are a constitution and ordinance of my + own striving and getting up. + + _Vallandigham._ How long have you been engaged in this + business? + + _Brown._ From the breaking out of the difficulties in + Kansas. Four of my sons had gone there to settle, and they + induced me to go. I did not go there to settle, but because + of the difficulties. + + * * * * * + + _Mason._ What was your object in coming? + + _Brown._ We came to free the slaves, and only that. + + * * * * * + + _A Volunteer._ What in the world did you suppose you could + do here in Virginia with that amount of men? + + _Brown._ Young man, I do not wish to discuss that question + here. + + _Volunteer._ You could not do anything. + + _Brown._ Well, perhaps your ideas and mine on military + subjects would differ materially. + + * * * * * + + _Mason._ Did you consider this a military organization in + this Constitution? I have not yet read it. + + _Brown._ I did in some sense. I wish you would give that + paper close attention. + + _Mason._ You consider yourself the commander-in-chief of + these "provisional" military forces? + + _Brown._ I was chosen, agreeably to the ordinance of a + certain document, commander-in-chief of that force. + + _Mason._ What wages did you offer? + + _Brown._ None. + + _Stuart._ "The wages of sin is death." + + _Brown._ I would not have made such a remark to you if you + had been a prisoner, and wounded, in my hands. + + * * * * * + + _A Bystander._ Do you consider this a religious movement? + + _Brown._ It is, in my opinion, the greatest service man can + render to God. + + _Bystander._ Do you consider yourself an instrument in the + hands of Providence? + + _Brown._ I do. + + _Bystander._ Upon what principle do you justify your acts? + + _Brown._ Upon the Golden Rule. I pity the poor in bondage + that have none to help them: that is why I am here; not to + gratify any personal animosity, revenge, or vindictive + spirit. It is my sympathy with the oppressed and the + wronged, that are as good as you and as precious in the + sight of God. + + _Bystander._ Certainly. But why take the slaves against + their will? + + _Brown._ I never did. + + _Bystander._ You did in one instance, at least. + + Stephens, the other wounded prisoner, here said, "You are + right. In one case I know the negro wanted to go back." + + * * * * * + + _Vallandigham._ How far did you live from Jefferson? + + _Brown._ Be cautious, Stephens, about any answers that + would commit any friend. I would not answer that. + + (Stephens turned partially over with a groan of pain, and + was silent.) + + _Vallandigham._ Who are your advisers in this movement? + + _Brown._ I cannot answer that. I have numerous sympathizers + throughout the entire North. + + _Vallandigham._ In northern Ohio? + + _Brown._ No more there than anywhere else; in all the free + States. + + * * * * * + + _Bystander._ Why did you do it secretly? + + _Brown._ Because I thought that necessary to success; no + other reason. + + _Bystander._ Have you read Gerrit Smith's last letter? + + _Brown._ What letter do you mean? + + _Bystander._ The "New York _Herald_" of yesterday, in + speaking of this affair, mentions a letter in this way: + + "Apropos of this exciting news, we recollect a very + significant passage in one of Gerrit Smith's letters, + published a month or two ago, in which he speaks of the + folly of attempting to strike the shackles off the slaves + by the force of moral suasion or legal agitation, and + predicts that the next movement made in the direction of + negro emancipation would be an insurrection in the South." + + _Brown._ I have not seen the "New York _Herald_" for some + days past; but I presume, from your remark about the gist + of the letter, that I should concur with it. I agree with + Mr. Smith that moral suasion is hopeless. I don't think the + people of the slave States will ever consider the subject + of slavery in its true light till some other argument is + resorted to than moral suasion. + + _Vallandigham._ Did you expect a general rising of the + slaves in case of your success? + + _Brown._ No, sir; nor did I wish it. I expected to gather + them up from time to time, and set them free. + + _Vallandigham._ Did you expect to hold possession here till + then? + + _Brown._ Well, probably I had quite a different idea. I do + not know that I ought to reveal my plans. I am here a + prisoner and wounded, because I foolishly allowed myself to + be so. You overrate your strength in supposing I could have + been taken if I had not allowed it. I was too tardy after + commencing the open attack--in delaying my movements + through Monday night, and up to the time I was attacked by + the Government troops. It was all occasioned by my desire + to spare the feelings of my prisoners and their families + and the community at large. I had no knowledge of the + shooting of the negro Heywood. + + * * * * * + + _Dr. Biggs._ Were you in the party at Dr. Kennedy's house? + + _Brown._ I was at the head of that party. I occupied the + house to mature my plans. I have not been in Baltimore to + purchase caps. + + * * * * * + + _Q._ Where did you get arms? _A._ I bought them. + + _Q._ In what State? _A._ That I will not state. + + _Q._ How many guns? _A._ Two hundred Sharpe's rifles and + two hundred revolvers,--what is called the Massachusetts + Arms Company's revolvers, a little under navy size. + + _Q._ Why did you not take that swivel you left in the + house? _A._ I had no occasion for it. It was given to me a + year or two ago. + + _Q._ In Kansas? _A._ No. I had nothing given to me in + Kansas. + + _Q._ By whom, and in what State? _A._ I decline to answer; + it is not properly a swivel; it is a very large rifle with + a pivot. The ball is larger than a musket ball; it is + intended for a slug. + + _Reporter._ I do not wish to annoy you; but if you have + anything further you would like to say, I will report it. + + _Brown._ I have nothing to say, only that I claim to be + here in carrying out a measure I believe perfectly + justifiable, and not to act the part of an incendiary or + ruffian, but to aid those suffering great wrong. I wish to + say, furthermore, that you had better--all you people at + the South--prepare yourselves for a settlement of this + question, that must come up for settlement sooner than you + are prepared for it. The sooner you are prepared the + better. You may dispose of me very easily,--I am nearly + disposed of now; but this question is still to be + settled,--this negro question I mean; the end of that is + not yet. These wounds were inflicted upon me--both sabre + cuts on my head and bayonet stabs in different parts of my + body--some minutes after I had ceased fighting and had + consented to surrender, for the benefit of others, not for + my own. I believe the Major would not have been alive; I + could have killed him just as easy as a mosquito when he + came in to receive our surrender. There had been loud and + long calls of "surrender" from us,--as loud as men could + yell; but in the confusion and excitement I suppose we were + not heard. I do not think the Major, or any one, meant to + butcher us after we had surrendered. + + _An Officer._ Why did you not surrender before the attack? + + _Brown._ I did not think it was my duty or interest to do + so. We assured the prisoners that we did not wish to harm + them, and they should be set at liberty. I exercised my + best judgment, not believing the people would wantonly + sacrifice their own fellow-citizens, when we offered to let + them go on condition of being allowed to change our + position about a quarter of a mile. The prisoners agreed by + a vote among themselves to pass across the bridge with us. + We wanted them only as a sort of guarantee of our own + safety,--that we should not be fired into. We took them, in + the first place, as hostages and to keep them from doing + any harm. We did kill some men in defending ourselves, but + I saw no one fire except directly in self-defense. Our + orders were strict not to harm any one not in arms against + us. + + _Q._ Brown, suppose you had every nigger in the United + States, what would you do with them? _A._ Set them free. + + _Q._ Your intention was to carry them off and free them? + _A._ Not at all. + + _A Bystander._ To set them free would sacrifice the life of + every man in this community. + + _Brown._ I do not think so. + + _Bystander._ I know it. I think you are fanatical. + + _Brown._ And I think you are fanatical. "Whom the gods + would destroy they first made mad," and you are mad. + + _Q._ Was your only object to free the negroes? _A._ + Absolutely our only object. + + _Q._ But you demanded and took Colonel Washington's silver + and watch? _A._ Yes; we intended freely to appropriate the + property of slave-holders to carry out our object. It was + for that, and only that, and with no design to enrich + ourselves with any plunder whatever. + + _Bystander._ Did you know Sherrod in Kansas? I understand + you killed him. + + _Brown._ I killed no man except in fair fight. I fought at + Black Jack Point and at Osawatomie; and if I killed + anybody, it was at one of these places. + +Mr. Sanborn publishes a conversation that Brown had with his jailer +concerning his interview with Governor Wise.[390] + +"'A Virginian,'" he says, "gives me this addition to Brown's +conversation with Wise": + + _Jailer._ I see in the papers that you told Governor Wise + you had promises of aid from Virginia, Tennessee, and the + Carolinas. Is that true, or did you make it up to "rile" + the old Governor? + + _Brown._ No; I did not tell Wise that. + + _Jailer._ What did you tell him that could have made that + impression on his mind? + + _Brown._ Wise said something about fanaticism, and + intimated that no man in full possession of his senses + could have expected to overcome a State with such a handful + of men as I had, backed only by struggling negroes; and I + replied that I had promises of ample assistance, and would + have received it too if I could only have set the ball in + motion. He then asked suddenly in a harsh voice, as you've + seen lawyers snap up a witness: "Assistance! From what + State, sir?" I was not thrown off my guard, and replied: + "From more than you'd believe if I should name them all; + but I _expected_ more from Virginia, Tennessee, and the + Carolinas than from any others." + + _Jailer._ You "expected" it. You did not say it was + promised from the States named? + + _Brown._ No; I knew, of course, that the negroes would + rally to my standard. If I had only got the thing fairly + started, you Virginians would have seen sights that would + have opened your eyes; and I tell you if I was free this + moment, and had five hundred negroes around me, I would + put these irons on Wise himself before Saturday night. + + _Jailer_. Then it was true about aid being promised? What + States promised it? + + _Brown (with a laugh)._ Well, you are about as smart a man + as Wise, and I'll give you the same answer I gave him. + +A reporter for the New York _Herald_ who was present said of Brown:[391] +"He converses freely, fluently and cheerfully, without the slightest +manifestation of fear or uneasiness, evidently weighing well his words, +and possessing a good command of language. His manner is courteous and +affable, while he appears to be making a favorable impression upon his +auditory." + +A reporter for the Baltimore _American_ who was present at the interview +said:[392] "No sign of weakness was exhibited by John Brown. In the +midst of his enemies, whose homes he had invaded; wounded and a +prisoner, surrounded by a small army of officials, and a more desperate +army of angry men; with the gallows staring him full in the face, he lay +on the floor, and, in reply to every question, gave answers that +betokened the spirit that animated him. The language of Gov. Wise well +expresses his boldness when he said, 'He is the gamest man I ever saw.'" + +During the afternoon of the 18th, while the interview with Brown was in +progress, Mr. John C. Unseld accompanied Lieutenant Green, with a +detachment of marines, to Brown's recent headquarters at the Kennedy +farm, where a quantity of war material was found, including bed +clothing, canvas for tents, some axes, two cast-iron hominy mills, a +good deal of clothing boxed up--new clothing for men, and some boots. +Here also they found Brown's trunk containing his official papers and +correspondence; copies of the constitution for the Provisional +Government and other important documents; also maps of Kentucky, +Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida, +and Georgia. Each map had a slip pasted on the side, evidently cut from +the census report of 1850, showing the number and kind of inhabitants +(whether free or slave, white or black, male or female) in each county +of the State or States which it represented. On the maps of South +Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, there were various +ink-marks in the shape of crosses at different points.[393] With the +consent of Brown, John E. Cook had taken a similar census of the +inhabitants living in the vicinity of Harper's Ferry.[394] + +On the morning of the 19th the military stores that had been transferred +to the school-house, on Monday, from the Kennedy farm, were taken +possession of by the "Baltimore Greys," a company belonging to the +Maryland regiment present, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel +Mills. Among them were the following articles:[395] + + 102 Sharp's Rifles 3 Gross Steel Pens + 10 Kegs Gunpowder 5 Ink Stands + 23000 Percussion Rifle Caps 21 Lead Pencils +100000 Percussion Pistol Caps 34 Pen Holders + 13000 Sharp's Rifle Cartridges 2 Boxes Wafers + 483 Pikes 47 Small Blank Books + 16 Picks + 40 Shovels (The railroad waybill called for several dozen, showing that +more were to come) + +On Wednesday morning, October 19th, the prisoners were safely +transferred to Charlestown, under an escort of marines commanded by +Lieutenant Green. Upon their arrival there they were delivered into the +custody of the sheriff of Jefferson County and the United States marshal +for the Western District of Virginia, and by them placed in the county +jail. Brown and Stevens, being unable to walk, were transferred to and +from the train, in a wagon. + +The comments of the press of the country, upon the occurrences herein, +however interesting they may be, are not especially valuable. The +writers of the time had but little correct information upon which to +base their opinion as to the scope of the undertaking. Even at the +present time, after the lapse of more than fifty years, opinion is +divided as to whether this incident in our history was just an +altruistic "_Foray into Virginia_"; or whether it was, practically, a +harmless and utterly senseless "_raid_," or whether it was an organized +reality--an invasion of the State of Virginia by Brown and his captains, +having for their object, the conquest of the Southern States. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A PERVERSION OF HISTORY + +_But many a man has committed his greatest blunder when +attempting to write a book._ + + --JOHN BROWN, JR. + + +Concerning the things which Brown intended to do, and the plans which he +made in pursuance thereof Mr. Redpath says:[396] + + It was the original intention of Captain Brown to seize the + Arsenal at Harpers Ferry on the night of the 24th of + October, and to take the arms there deposited to the + neighboring mountains, with a number of the wealthier + citizens of the vicinity, as hostages, until they should + redeem themselves by liberating an equal number of their + slaves. When at Baltimore, for satisfactory reasons, he + determined to strike the blow that was to shake the Slave + System to its foundations, on the night of the 17th. + + ... Harper's Ferry, by the admission of military men, was + admirably chosen as the spot at which to begin a war of + liberation. The neighboring mountains, with their + inaccessible fastnesses, with every one of which, and every + turning of their valleys, John Brown had been familiar for + seventeen years, would afford to guerrilla forces a + protection the most favorable, and a thousand opportunities + for a desperate defense or rapid retreats before + overwhelming numbers of an enemy. + +This is the conception of the Harper's Ferry episode that Brown's +family, and his partisans, decided should be put forth concerning an +incident which was to have been written in streams of blood, such as +never flowed upon the continent. That anything so irrational should have +been published, or should have been seriously considered by any one, is +beyond the comprehension of thoughtful persons; and yet, the foolish +fictions therein suggested were accepted as the truth in the Northern +States, and, with some modifications of the more grotesque absurdities +therein contained, have been approved by subsequent writers and +biographers and have been incorporated with the history of our country. + +Why Brown should have intended to abandon Harper's Ferry without a +struggle to retain it after having taken formal possession of the place +and of the war material stored there, if the position was admirably +chosen as the spot at which to begin a war of liberation; or how a +voluntary retreat into the mountains by a band of twenty-two men could +be regarded as a "blow" of any kind; or where the inaccessible fastness +which he intended to retreat to was located: or how he intended to +shelter and subsist his men and prisoners in an inaccessible fastness +that had not been supplied with subsistence stores or with camp and +garrison equipage of any description; or how he would be able to find +his way, if the night happened to be a dark night, up and through the +tangled obstructions upon which the fastness relied for its +inaccessibility; or how he intended to transport the military equipment +stored at Harper's Perry, to the fastness, without means of +transportation, or roads to travel on; or how he intended to prevent his +fastness from being surrounded and his communications with the world cut +off while the altruistic negotiations for the "exchange of the wealthier +citizen prisoners for an equal number of slaves," were progressing, +appear to have been matters of no concern to this biographer. It was +sufficient for his purpose to assume that these things, however +inconsistent they might be, were the things which Brown intended to do, +and that they constituted the blow which he had promised to strike. Mr. +Redpath, personally, knew what Brown intended to do. He knew that Brown, +pursuant to his pledges, planned to strike a blow that would shake the +center of the slave system; that he planned to precipitate a war of +surpassing atrocity; a war that was to begin with a carnival of +assassinations; that he intended "to assail slavery with the only weapon +that it fears":[397] a servile insurrection. + +Mr. Sanborn had been a valuable instrument in Brown's hands for the +practice of his Eastern impositions. Taking his cue from Mr. Redpath, +after describing what occurred on the night of the 16th of October, he +rises to the full height of his conception of the occasion to inquire: + + Why then did Brown attack Harper's Ferry, or having + captured it, why did he not leave it at once and push into + the mountains of Virginia, according to his original + plan?[398] + +It was to this Mr. Sanborn, that Brown first suggested his scheme to +raise $30,000 cash, to arm and equip a company of "fifty +volunteer-regulars" for the defense of Kansas settlers. Mr. Sanborn was +impressed, deeply so, and undertook to promote the proposition. Also, he +undertook to promote Brown's scheme to have the Legislatures of +Massachusetts and New York appropriate $100,000 each, to reimburse the +Brown family for losses its members had sustained while "fighting" in +Kansas; and ever thereafter had been Brown's faithful and efficient +servant. He was a member of the "Secret War Committee" of six, and had +reason to think, and probably did think, that Brown had taken him into +his full confidence. He says: + + Although Brown communicated freely to the four persons just + named,--Theodore Parker, Dr. Howe, Mr. Stearns and Col. + Higginson,--his plans of attack and defense in Virginia, it + is not known that he spoke to any but me of his purpose to + surprise the Arsenal and town of Harper's Ferry.... It is + probable that in 1858 Brown had not definitely resolved to + seize Harper's Ferry; yet he spoke of it to me beside his + coal fire in the American House, putting it as a question, + rather, without expressing his own purpose. I questioned + him a little about it; but it then passed from my mind, + and I did not think of it again until the attack had been + made a year and a half afterwards.[399] + +Thus Mr. Sanborn acknowledges that Brown had not entrusted to him the +secret of his intentions, and thereby disqualifies himself as an +authority upon Brown's plans, or as having correct information +concerning what he intended to do in Virginia. It is more than probable +that upon the occasion to which Mr. Sanborn refers, Brown contemplated +confiding to him his plans for the conquest of the South by means of an +insurrection of the slaves and the massacre of the slave-holding +population, and intended to offer him a position upon his staff. Brown +and Forbes had laid plans for their campaign, with Harper's Ferry as the +base of operations, as early as January, 1857, and in pursuance thereof +had ordered the thousand spears with which to arm the blacks for the +opening horror. + +Sitting beside his coal fire in the American House, his thoughts upon +his plans, and the hopes of his mighty conquest surging in his brain, +John Brown, the grim Soldier of Fortune, drew out his young companion by +indirection, and took the measure of his capacity for heroic +undertakings. Had the young man, at the close of that interview, +appealed for an omen "from that shrine whose oracles may destroy but can +never deceive," he might, in a spiritual vision, have seen upon the +invisible tablets, where Brown's mental records were kept, an +inscription, or word, similar to that which Belshazzar saw traced upon +the wall by the finger of an invisible hand. The man of "blood and iron" +had invited the interview in his letter to Mr. Sanborn of February +24th.[400] Brown's decision was adverse to Mr. Sanborn. The latter did +not suspect that he had passed through the fire of an examination, and +had been found deficient. The subject was never again taken up; the door +of opportunity closed against Mr. Sanborn. + +Following the trail blazed by a discredited predecessor, the writer of +_Fifty Years After_ abandons the teachings which the record discloses +concerning this episode, and, concurring with Mr. Redpath, tries to +confirm in our history that author's perversion of the facts relating to +it. He assumes to believe, and seeks to teach the public to believe, +that Brown's plans were, comparatively, crude, and that his movement in +execution of them was of a harmless nature: that he merely intended to +attempt to carry on a guerrilla warfare from some point in the nearby +mountains, and that his entrance to Harper's Ferry was not an occupation +of the place but a "raid" upon it, undertaken for the purpose of +advertising, in a spectacular way, the guerrilla warfare which he +intended to engage in. He says:[401] + + As for their general, he not only was the sole member of + the attacking force to believe in the assault on the + property of the United States at Harper's Ferry, but he + was, as they neared the all-unsuspecting town, without any + clear and definite plan of campaign. The general order + detailed the men who were to garrison various parts of the + town and hold the bridges, but beyond that, little had been + mapped out. It was all to depend upon the orders of the + commander-in-chief, who seemed bent on violating every + military principle. Thus, he had appointed no definite + place for the men to retreat to, and fixed no hour for the + withdrawal from the town. He, moreover, proceeded at once + to defy the canons by placing a river between himself and + his base of supplies,--the Kennedy Farm,--and then left no + adequate force on the river-bank to insure his being able + to fall back to that base. Hardly had he entered the town + when, by dispersing his men here and there, he made his + defeat as easy as possible. Moreover, he had in mind no + well-defined purpose in attacking Harpers Ferry, save to + begin his revolution in a spectacular way, capture a few + slave-holders and release some slaves. So far as he had + thought anything out, he expected to alarm the town and + then, with the slaves that had rallied to him, to march + back to the school-house near the Kennedy Farm, arm his + recruits and take to the hills. Another general, with the + same purpose in view would have established his mountain + camp first, swooped down upon the town in order to spread + terror throughout the State, and in an hour or two, at + most, have started back to his hill-top fastness.... Hence, + he confidently hoped to retire to the mountains before + catching sight of a soldier of the regular army or of the + militia,--by no means an unjustifiable expectation.... + + The danger to any raiding force would come from losing + possession of these bridges, in which case the sole means + of escape would be by swimming the rivers or climbing up + through the town toward Bolivar Heights, in the direction + of Charlestown, eight miles away. + +By the gratuitous and irrelevant assumptions herein, this biographer +discredits Brown's intelligence; and by unjust, unfair, and illogical +criticisms of his conduct, seeks to conceal and to emasculate his +intentions. Authenticated facts place limitations upon the presumptions +of historians, which challenge the consistency of reckless statements, +and the logic of their conclusions concerning them. There is not an +authenticated line in this history which justifies a belief that Brown +contemplated doing the things which this author assumes that he intended +to do. His theory that the occupation of Harper's Ferry was merely an +incident in a raid, the first one of a series of undertakings in +guerrilla warfare, which he represents Brown as intending to execute +from a location within walking distance of the town, is a reflection +upon the sanity of every person connected with the movement. It is an +assumption that Brown and his men believed that they could maintain a +headquarters for such warfare in the Maryland hills--at a "hill-top +fastness," if you please--and not be "run to earth at once," as the +author states Cook would have been, if he had attempted to hide in these +inhospitable hills.[402] It is also a general denial of the historical +truth that Brown intended to invade Virginia and the Southern States, +and to establish over them the jurisdiction of a provisional government. +Moreover, it is so divergent from the lessons taught by the vast +accumulation of authenticated facts which relate to the matter, that it +constitutes a contradiction of the facts, and raises a question as to +the integrity of the author's purpose in putting it forth. + +There is no room in historical literature for the indulgence of poetic +license. If Brown was a man of "_blood_ and _iron_" and his men +"hard-headed Americans" one day, they must be regarded as being such the +next day, and every day. It may be said, upon the authority of this +author, that Brown and his men were not the stupids which they are, in +this instance, represented as being. "Captains John H. Kagi and A. D. +Stevens, bravest of the brave"[403] were not words idly spoken. "The +hard-headed able Americans like Stevens, Kagi, Cook, and Gill, who lived +with John Brown month in and month out worshipped no lunatic."[404] +Grafter! Hypocrite! _Fiend!_ MONSTER! Brown was, but never a trifler. If +he ever engaged in a trifling enterprise or attempted to do anything in +a trifling manner or upon a trifling scale, it has not been recorded. +First, last, and all the time he played the limit of his resources. And +in the execution of this venture--the climax of all his undertakings--he +was neither trifling nor juggling with its details, as his biographers +have persisted in doing with his motives, and with what his intentions +and his plans were, in these premises. + +Brown was not advertising his revolution when he secretly entered +Harper's Ferry. These men were not baiting Death for spectacular effect. +They had a well defined purpose in view, but it was not to "capture a +few slave-holders and release _some_ slaves." To Daniel Wheelan, Brown +stated the purpose of his coming: "I want to free all the Negroes in +this State; I have possession now of the United States Armory, and if +the citizens interfere with me I must only burn the town and have +blood." Conductor Phelps said: "They say they have come to free the +slaves and intend to do it at all hazards." Mr. W. H. Seibert states +that Kagi told him personally, that their purpose was "not the +expatriation of one slave or a thousand slaves, but their liberation in +the states wherein they were born and were now held in bondage."[405] + +To Governor Wise and others, on the afternoon of October 18th, Brown +stated that his purpose in being at Harper's Ferry Would be found in the +constitution for the Provisional Government. A copy of the document +being produced, he requested Governor Wise to read it, and said that +"within a fortnight he intended to have it published at large and +distributed": an act which he could not have intended to execute from a +location in any "hill-top fastness." In reply to questions, he stated +that he intended to put the Provisional Government into operation "here, +in Virginia, where I commenced operations": that he expected to have +"three or five thousand" men or as many as he wanted to assist him. He +stated "distinctly" that he did not intend to run off any slaves, but +that he "designed to put arms in their hands to defend themselves +against their masters, and to maintain their position in Virginia and in +the South." That in the first instance he expected they and non-slave +holding whites would flock to his standard as soon as he got a footing +there at Harper's Ferry: and, as his strength increased, he would +gradually enlarge the area under his control, "furnishing a refuge for +the slaves and a rendezvous for all whites who were disposed to aid him, +until eventually he over-ran the whole South."[406] + +January 5, 1860, Mr. John C. Unseld, one of Brown's prisoners testified: + + I asked him why he made his attack on Virginia and at the + place he did? His answer was: "I knew there were a great + many guns there that would be of service to me, and, if I + could conquer Virginia, the balance of the Southern States + would nearly conquer themselves, there being such a large + number of slaves in them."[407] + +Brown abandoned the Kennedy farm on October 16th and gave orders to Cook +to remove the supplies to a school-house which was located within about +a mile of Harper's Ferry. On the morning of the 17th the latter +peremptorily dismissed the school and took possession of the building. +To the teacher, Mr. L. F. Currie, Cook explained what they were doing +and how they intended to do it. Mr. Currie, in his testimony before the +Mason Committee stated that Cook, Tidd, and Leeman, having a Mr. Byrne +in charge as a prisoner, came to the school-house about 10 o'clock and +demanded possession of it. They then with the aid of some negroes +unloaded several boxes and a large black trunk from a wagon and carried +them into the school-house. Continuing he said: + + Cook said their intention was to free the negroes; that + they intended to adopt such measures as would effectually + free them, though he said nothing about running them off, + or anything of that kind. He said this too: That those + slave-holders who would give up their slaves voluntarily, + would meet with protection; but those who refused to give + them up would be quartered upon and their property + confiscated,--used in such a way as they might think + proper,--at least they would receive no protection from + their organization or party. + +Currie remained at the school-house until evening. Between 2 and 3 +o'clock the firing at Harper's Ferry became "very rapid and continuous," +and Currie asked Cook what it meant; to which he replied: "Well it +simply means that those people down there are resisting our men, and we +are shooting them down." In answer to a question as to how many men were +engaged down there Cook replied: "I do not know how many men are there +now; there may be 5,000 or there may be 10,000 for aught I know."[408] + +These exhibits are but a trifling fraction of the direct testimony +relating to the subject; yet Mr. Villard, in wanton disregard of such +testimony, and of the overwhelming preponderance of historical facts +which corroborate it, puts forth his violent assumptions as to the +truth; and asks the public to believe this great undertaking to have +been merely a poorly planned raid which another general with the same +purpose in view would have conducted differently: "established his +mountain camp first; swooped down upon the town in order to spread +terror throughout the state, and in an hour or two at most, have started +back to his hill-top fastness." + +"First a soldier then a citizen was Brown's plan" for the uplift of the +"emancipated blacks." "There is no doubt," says this author,[409] "that +he still expected the negroes to rise and swell his force to +irresistible proportions." Numbers are not irresistible unless they be +armed and organized. Why should "the leader of a new revolution," with +the sword of Frederick the Great in his hand, plan "to take to the +hills" in a trifling retreat, and abandon the military stores at +Harper's Ferry--the stores that were necessary to equip the irresistible +numbers for irresistible operations? The assumption that he intended to +do so is not only illogical; it is absurd. + +The declaration that Brown was the sole member of the "attacking" force +to believe in the assault upon the property of the United States at +Harper's Ferry is contradicted by competent testimony, and by the +significance of the general order that provided for the occupation of +the town, and that designated the officers and men who were to take +charge of this same property. As to the unanimity of sentiment that +prevailed in relation to the matter, Mr. Redpath says:[410] "On Saturday +a meeting of the Liberators was held and the plan of operations +discussed. On Sunday evening a council was again convened and the +programme of the Captain unanimously approved." + +Other documents disclose the facts that the "Captain" and his men not +only intended to seize this United States property--the arms in the +arsenal and in the rifle works--but that they intended to keep them and +to use them. A general order issued from the headquarters of their war +department provided for the organization of an army. + +Jeremiah G. Anderson was one of Brown's veterans, who, with full +confidence in the final success of their venture, approved of this +movement. Late in September, writing from "near Harper's Ferry" he +said:[411] + + Everything seems to work to our hand and victory will + surely perch upon our banner.... This is not a large place + but a very precious one to Uncle Sam, he has a great many + tools here. + +A victor is one who conquers--who defeats an enemy. In its relation to +war, victory means the defeat of the enemy in battle. Anderson had an +army in his mind, and battles and conquest, and the establishment of the +Provisional Government, when he referred to victory, and used the word +advisedly. A "raid" upon a place may be successfully executed but it +cannot be, properly, called a victory over anything. John E. Cook +believed the arms would be used and approved of the use of them. "But +ere that day arrives," he said, "I fear that we shall hear the crash of +the battle shock and see the red gleaming of the cannon's +lightning."[412] + +Brown leased the Kennedy farm because the location was suitable for his +purposes in the furtherance of his plans. From there he conducted his +secret negotiations, with the slaves, for the insurrection, and +distributed the pikes, probably 500, which his co-conspirators were to +use in their secret assassinations; but when he launched the invasion, +and debouched his command, he abandoned it. Therefore, it was not +necessary for him to leave a force "adequate" or inadequate "on the +river bank to insure his being able to fall back to that base," or to +cover a retreat still more illogical: a retreat of his little band, with +a lot of slaves, and prisoners as hostages, "to the hills" where barren +rocks afforded no shelter and "where starvation would have met him at +the threshold of his eyrie."[413] + +Aside from what the record contains relating to the subject, it is +illogical to assume that the veterans of Brown's band would imperil +their lives in a scheme so dangerous--a scheme involving death upon the +gallows for every one of them if they failed--unless they approved of it +with the fullest possible degree of confidence; only absolute confidence +in the feasibility of their plans, and the hope of reward without a +parallel, could have induced these men "with soiled lives behind +them."[414] to undertake this conquest. Their arrogance upon entering +the town is evidence of their enthusiasm, and confidence in the success +of what they were doing, and of their approval of it. Their conduct was +of the swaggering, domineering kind. It was of the: Halt! or I'll kill +you! kind; conduct bred by contamination in an environment supercharged +with the scheming for murderous deeds, reeking with the planning for +assassinations, and nourished by the belief that they were not +accountable to any power upon earth for their actions. Men do not shoot +down their fellows-men for trivial causes, unless they believe they are +in control of the situation, and are immune from punishment. These men +were expecting trouble. They had come to Harper's Ferry believing they +were about to write the bloodiest chapter in history; that the most +desperate struggle in all history was imminent, and they were impatient +to have it begin. They cut the telegraph wires; made prisoners of +whomever they met; stopped the railway train carrying passengers and +mails: shot at Watchman Higgins; shot and killed the baggage-porter, +Hayward, because he did not obey the command to halt; and killed Mr. +Boerly without any apparent provocation. Men who have no confidence in +their supremacy; who do not believe they will succeed in what they are +doing, but intend to run away, and laboriously "take to the hills" and +act upon the defensive without facilities for defense, do not thus +demean themselves. The logic of Mr. Villard's theory of Brown's plans +is: That this score of "hard-headed Americans" believed they could shoot +down and kill their fellow-citizens upon the streets of Harper's Ferry +with impunity; that they could rob the homes of that neighborhood and +not be held accountable therefor; that they could carry off property: +watches, money, horses, carriages, wagons, and slaves, into the hills +adjoining the town, and not be pursued by the local authorities; that +they could take citizens of the United States into custody as prisoners, +and carry them to a "hill-top fastness," and maintain themselves there +without supplies of either food, water, shelter, or munitions of war, +other than what they carried upon their persons. + +They know little of Brown's plans and of his intentions, who criticize +his strategy, in occupying Harper's Ferry, and his tenacious defense of +the position. And they know nothing of the agreements at which he had +arrived, and the engagements which he had entered into with the slaves +of that section, whom he had taken into his confidence, during the +preceding three months, and who were to launch the insurrection he had +planned, and who were to constitute the rank and file of his army of +invasion. The author of _Fifty Years After_ seems to have no clearer +conception of the subject herein, than the author of fifty years before +assumed to have. Accepting, almost at par, Mr. Redpath's deceptive +vagaries, he formulates a plan of campaign to conform with the +conditions of his absurd conclusions; and then criticizes Brown because +he did not execute his conceptions. The plans for their operations, +whatever they may have been, were satisfactory to Brown and to the +veteran adventurers who followed his flag. "The man of blood and iron" +and the "hard-headed Americans" had the plans under consideration during +the two years preceding, and had placed the seal of their approval upon +them. If they were satisfactory to those who made them, and understood +them, and staked their lives upon the successful execution of them, they +should not be denounced too confidently, not to say flippantly, by those +who do not know, or who assume not to know, what the plans were. + +The details which Brown made from his command were not to "garrison +various parts of the town" and "hold the bridges"; the assignments were +made in pursuance of his well defined plan to organize and equip there +the _army_ which was to garrison the town and which was thereafter to +_burn_ the bridges and hold the approaches to it; the army that was to +invade the Southern States; the army that was to "start from here" +(Harper's Ferry) "and go through the State of Virginia and on South," +conquering and to conquer. + +The dispositions that he made of his forces were in harmony with the +theory of the insurrection, which was the key-note of the invasion. The +slaves from the east side of the Potomac--the neighborhoods of +Sharpsburg, Boonsboro, and Hagerstown--after declaring their right to +freedom, by assassinating their owners, were to report to Owen Brown at +the "school-house," there to be organized into a battalion under his +command, and, be armed with the rifles and supplied with the ammunition +that were to be deposited there for that purpose. In the same way the +slaves who were to arrive from the Middletown Valley, and from the +Frederick country, through Pleasant Valley and Sandy Hook, were to +report to Watson Brown at the Potomac bridge and by him, or by Taylor +who was stationed there with him, taken to the arsenal, where Hazlett +was in charge as quartermaster and ordnance officer, and there be armed +and equipped from the "precious tools stored there," belonging to the +United States, which were to be seized for this purpose. In a similar +manner, the slaves from Loudoun Valley and the west side of the +Shenandoah were to report to Oliver Brown and William Thompson and Newby +at the Shenandoah bridge; while the slaves coming from the country lying +between the Shenandoah and the Potomac were to report to Kagi, at the +rifle-works, and by him and his assistants--Copeland and Leary--taken to +the arsenal for their equipment. Brown had said to his friend Douglass: +"When I strike the bees will swarm and I shall want you to help me hive +them." In this manner they were to be hived, _and furnished with +stings_. + +This being true, Brown defied no canons when he crossed the Potomac nor +did he thereby place a river between himself and his base of supplies. +He had, in general orders, designated Harper's Ferry as his +headquarters. _Harper's Ferry_, with its millions of dollars' worth of +military stores, was thenceforth to be his base of supplies, and the +State of Virginia and the South the field of his operations. Having +paralyzed the South with the insurrection, the Potomac was to be his +front, and behind its banks he intended to entrench his army. He +appointed no place for his men to _retreat_ to, nor made any provisions +for retreating, for the word had no place in his vocabulary. He fixed no +hour for his withdrawal from the town, because he did not intend to +withdraw from it. He was not executing a raid. Why should his captains +proudly march to Harper's Ferry; "their Sharp's rifles hung from their +shoulders, their commissions duly signed and officially sealed in their +pockets," if they were to trudge back again to the Kennedy farm in +demoralizing retreat, with no booty, and without having seen an enemy, +and before a hostile shot had been fired; and then "take to the hills," +there to be hunted by dogs and men, as wild beasts are hunted, and be +shot down as wild beasts are shot, by slave-catchers, patrols, and +marshals. Their campaign was serious, heroic, and desperate beyond the +comprehension of Brown's biographers. Rarely in history have men +voluntarily stood to win or die as these men stood at Harper's Ferry. +There was no place on the earth where they could retreat to and live. +When Brown and his captains crossed the Potomac, the die was cast; the +_invasion_ was on. Thenceforth they might advance but not retreat; they +might fight but not run. If they came back, it would have to be "with +their shields or upon them." + +There was no violation of military principles in Brown's occupation of +Harper's Ferry, or in the dispositions which he made of his men, nor in +his tenacious defense of his position. The military principles which he +violated are not referred to in the charges and specifications preferred +against him by this recent biographer. These violations were fatal to +his enterprise, but they all antedate the night of October 16, 1859. If +the hundreds of slaves whom Brown secretly armed with the Collinsville +spears, with which to assassinate their masters and their masters' +families, had done their bloody work as they had promised to do; then +the fifteen hundred men that Brown believed would report to him for duty +by 12 o'clock on the 17th,[415] and the 5,000 men whom Cook, at 4 +o'clock, thought had already reported and were in action, would have +arrived, and the story of Harper's Ferry would have been different. +There would have been no violations of military principles then in +Brown's tactics and strategy, to criticise by any authority whatever. +"Another general, with the same purpose in view," and with the same +forces at his disposal, would not have improved very much upon Brown's +plans. + +The hint at a hill-top fastness, where another general would have +established his camp before he "swooped" down upon the town, is a +modification of Mr. Redpath's invention of an "inaccessible fastness." +It is a delusion none the less, a delusion that was shot to pieces +within two years after Mr. Redpath framed it. Such a position has no +existence, except it be in authors' imaginations. There is not now, and +there never was a position upon either Maryland Heights or Loudoun +Heights that cannot be "stormed at with shot and shell." + +During the war between the States, the Union generals fortified Mr. +Redpath's inaccessible fastness. Half way up the tangled steeps of +Maryland Heights, on a small bit of plateau--less than an acre--they +placed a battery of siege guns: two 9-inch Columbiads, a 50-pounder +Parrott, and two or three field pieces. Also, they reënforced the +natural defenses of the "hill-top fastness" by formidable breastworks, +built of rocks and trunks of trees, and protected them by abatis. On the +12th of September, 1862, the Confederate infantry swarmed all over these +inacessible fastnesses. During the 13th and 14th, the front of the +"hill-top fastness," on the summit of Maryland Heights, was a sheet of +flame and lead, enveloped in clouds of smoke. The rifle fire from the +opposing lines stripped the bark from the trunks of all the trees, +within a hundred and fifty yards of the front of these breastworks, as +clean as though they had been girdled with an ax. Not only did Jackson's +infantry penetrate these fastnesses, but during the morning of the 14th +they took two pieces of artillery to the top of these "inaccessible" +heights and "turned loose" with shot and shell upon the hill-top +fastness. During the night of the 14th, the Union commander abandoned +the inaccessible fastness, dismounted and spiked the guns on the +mountain side, and joined the forces at Harper's Ferry, on Bolivar +Heights. + +On the 20th, a detachment from what had been Mansfield's Corps, of +McClellan's Army--Crawford's Brigade[416]--then in command of Col. +Joseph F. Knipe of the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania, with a section of +artillery, also climbed these inaccessible heights to drive the +Confederates from the position.[417] + +There are many persons living who remember having marched or "tramped" +or "climbed" or "trudged" or "stumbled" or "hoofed it" up and down and +over these mountains, on campaign and on picket duty, during the years +of the great war; but it is doubtful if any of them ever heard of a +detachment that executed such maneuvers by "swooping." The real movement +is different, especially so if it be executed at night. + +In behalf of a patient public that has long been grievously imposed upon +by partisan biographers, the writer asks unanimous consent that +references to "fastnesses," with which Brown is said to have been +"familiar for seventeen years" be barred, henceforth, from the +literature of this subject; the inhibition to include all the patterns +of fastnesses which have been exploited; from the inaccessible kind of +1859 down through the intervening years, ending with the hill-top +variety of fifty years after. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +HIS GREAT ADVENTURE + + _All merit comes_ + _From daring the unequal,_ + _All glory comes from daring to begin._ + + --EUGENE WARE + + +Beginning with January, 1857, one thing is clearly disclosed and made +conclusive by the record of Brown's subsequent activities: that he +contemplated an armed invasion and conquest of the Southern States. His +correspondence, and the long line of historical incidents which touch +his life, during the time intervening between that date and the collapse +of his fortunes at Harper's Ferry, show that his mind was preoccupied +with plans for the accomplishment of that stupendous purpose. He +believed that the slaves could be induced to rise against their masters; +assassinate them and their families, and declare their freedom. From the +ranks of the freedmen, he planned to recruit an army for the occupation +of the territory affected by the insurrection, and for further invasion; +and to establish and maintain the authority of a provisional government. + +His scheme for conquest was probably a result of his relations with Hugh +Forbes. Together the two adventurers planned the details for the +undertaking. It was in pursuance of their plans for this purpose that +Brown engaged Forbes's services, at a salary of a hundred dollars a +month; ordered the thousand spears; published the _Manual of the +Patriotic Volunteer_; planned to lure the soldiery of the Union from +their "service with Satan to the service of God"; planned to drive a +nail into Captain Kidd's treasure-chest--whatever that meant; planned +the War College, whereat the prospective generals for the prospective +army, and the prospective members for the prospective cabinet of the +prospective Provisional Government, were to be instructed, under the +direction of Forbes, in the science of war, and in the science of civil +government. It was for his civil and military leaders that he engaged +Stevens, Cook, Kagi, Tidd, Parsons, Realf, Gill, and others, and placed +them in the school of instruction. + +To hedge against treason, he met with his embryonic generals and +secretaries at Chatham, Canada, and in convention assembled adopted a +"Constitution and Ordinances" for the Provisional Government, which, +among its provisions, declared the confiscation of the "entire personal +and real property of all persons known to be acting with or for the +enemy, or found wilfully holding slaves." This constitution had been +printed and copies of it were available at the Kennedy farm. Every man +who marched with Brown to Harper's Ferry had read it, or had heard it +read, and had sworn allegiance to the government it represented. + +December 23, 1858, Merriam wrote to Brown: "I have heard vaguely of your +contemplated action and now Mr. Redpath and Mr. Hinton have told me your +contemplated action, in which I earnestly wish to join you in any +capacity you wish to place me as far as my small capacities go."[418] He +spent the winter in Hayti in company with Redpath, and knew how Brown +intended to "assail the Slave Power."[419] + +The message that Brown requested Conductor Phelps to communicate to the +management of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, interdicting further +traffic over the road, was a declaration of war. It was the first and +only "Proclamation" issued by the commander-in-chief of the army of the +Provisional Government. At the time he gave out this declaration--1:25 +A. M., October 17, 1859--he and his captains confidently believed their +insurrection to be in the full tide of successful initiation; that the +country in the vicinity was then in the throes of a slaughter that +spared neither sex nor age; that hordes of black fiends, like furies, +were surging over the land in a riot of unimaginable proportions. These +adventurers believed that their dreams of conquest were about to be +realized; and that the rioting thousands, excited into a frenzy by the +bloody deeds which had set them free, were already pressing in bands to +join them at the appointed rendezvous to fill the ranks of the "Army of +Liberation"; that it was solely a question of time--a few hours at +most--until these allies would be arriving, and they would have control +of an army sufficiently strong to establish and maintain their +authority. + +That the slaves' sole way to freedom lay over the dead bodies of their +masters, was a self-evident proposition. The slaves knew by tradition +and by experience, and Brown and his captains knew, that if they--the +slaves--ran away from their masters to join his forces, the masters, +reënforced by the citizen soldiery, would pursue them immediately, and +recover them before they could organize for either defensive or +aggressive warfare. The problem of Harper's Ferry had been solved by the +philosophy of the Pottawatomie. The same questions were involved in each +venture: how to get the "goods" and keep them--how to get the slaves for +the Provisional Army and forestall pursuit. It was the Pottawatomie +amplified. + +Brown intended to create the "Provisional Army" in the enemy's country; +hence, it was essential for him to commence the undertaking by striking +the most crushing blow that it was possible for him to deliver. The +success of the movement depended upon his ability to strike a blow so +terrible that the survivors of the carnage, dazed and paralyzed by the +horrors of the existing conditions, would be incapable of organizing and +sending any opposing force to attack him. Therefore the +assassinations--the destruction of the persons who, otherwise, would +pursue. That was the central feature of the movement, the base of the +scheme, the blow which he intended to strike. It was the only blow which +he could strike; the only weapon that he could use of which any one +stood in awe. The blow which he would have to strike if he would win, +was the blow which he had told his Eastern friends he could strike: a +blow that would shake the slave system to its foundation--the blow which +he had promised Gerrit Smith he would strike, and doubtless, told him +how he intended to strike it. + +To the men from the Pottawatomie, a massacre was simply a means to an +end. Brown and his sons harbored no feelings of animosity toward the +Doyles, the Shermans, and Wilkinson; but they knew that these men would +not give up to them, peaceably, the property which they coveted, +therefore they murdered them and took their horses. They knew that the +owners of slaves and lands in the Southern States would not, peaceably, +relinquish their ownership of this property; therefore they planned to +incite the slaves to kill their masters while they slept--and having +_thus emancipated_ the slaves, confiscate the estates of the +slave-holders, and put the assassins and themselves in possession of +them. This massacre, the most horrible that was ever seriously +contemplated in the brain of man, was to be executed under the pretense +that it was an humanitarian measure. In the name of humanity, they +proposed to undertake the midnight assassination of millions of men, +women, and children, and to contend for justification for their actions. +The word, with Brown, was a convenience, or an interchangeable term. A +definition of it, in the sense in which he used the word, is found in +his personal understanding, or interpretation rather, of its +co-relation, "The Golden Rule." He is quoted by Sanborn and others as +having stated "more than once": "I believe in the Golden Rule and the +Declaration of Independence. I think that both mean the same thing; and +it is better that a whole generation should pass off the face of the +earth--men, women and children--by a violent death than that one jot of +either should fail _in this country_. I mean exactly _so_, sir."[420] + +The possibility that the blacks in the South might attempt to gain their +freedom by a general massacre of the whites, was a condition co-existent +with their enslavement. After 1831 that possibility became a fixed +impending probability; and the question of means to prevent the +inevitable cataclysm of blood, was a matter of constant concern in the +economy of the Southern States; with the result that various preventive +measures were adopted to discourage the possibility of attempts, by the +slaves, to organize for such undertakings, or to fit themselves, by +education or otherwise, to promote such organizations. + +In the philosophy of John Brown, what Nat Turner had done in a section +of Southampton County, Virginia, could, if properly promoted, be done in +any other section or locality; and, if in any locality, then in every +locality, or throughout the whole South. Therefore, an insurrection by +the slaves, having for its object the overthrow of the existing State +governments of the South, was a venture, from his point of view, which +might be undertaken with reasonable prospects for success; the ultimate +result depending largely upon his ability to organize the slaves +effectively for revolt; to equip them for the initial uprising, and +thereafter to capably direct the movement. + +No disaster that ever befell our country, war not excepted, was in any +respect comparable with the horrors which would be incidental to a slave +insurrection; yet our people lived during more than half a century in +the shadow of that menace. They lived in a state of continual +apprehension that it, the most stupendous of conceivable calamities, +might at any time overwhelm them. + + For years patrols had ridden the roads and men had watched + of night lest the negroes turn upon their masters. It was, + an ever present fear. That the Abolitionists wished the + slaves to rise and kill their masters in their beds was a + belief widely held in the South and often publicly + expressed, and no happening that could be imagined + contained a greater possibility of horror and + bloodshed.[421] + +It has been said, and there is great force in the statement, that the +"Underground Railroad," instead of working hardship and great loss to +slave-holders, was, in reality "the safety-valve to the institution." It +was the sluice for the overflow of the dangerous class--the able and +discontented. The Underground was organized at the close of the +eighteenth century, and had on its rolls more than 30,000 "employees." +It carried away from the South, probably 75,000 slaves of the value of +more than $30,000,000. The slaves who thus sought and obtained their +liberty, taking the risk of arrest and punishment in their attempts to +gain it, were the ablest and the most influential among them. Had they +remained in slavery, these men would have further developed and become +leaders among the slaves, and would have organized them and led them +into insurrection. "Had they remained, the direful scenes of San Domingo +would have been enacted, and the hot, vengeful breath of massacre would +have swept the South as a tornado and blanched the cheek of the +civilized world."[422] + +Brown knew about the hot vengeful breath which had swept the white +population from the fair face of San Domingo. And he was familiar with +the attempts which had been made to relight its fires in this country, +and to start the tornado of death. He was familiar with what his +predecessors in the insurrection business had done, and with what they +had tried to do. He knew, too, or thought he knew, why they had failed. +Naturally he sought to avoid the mistakes which they had committed, and +to safeguard his operations by improving upon their methods. The seizure +of Harper's Ferry was not a "Foray into Virginia," as Mr. Sanborn +chooses to call it: neither was it a "Raid" as Mr. Villard, with +conspicuous persistence, seeks to make it appear to have been; nor was +it either an "attack" upon the town or a "blow" or any other specious +form of movement. Brown selected the place and "occupied" it as the base +for his military operations, because he intended to use the generous +supplies of war material, which were then in store there, for the +equipment of the army that he planned to organize. The occupation was to +be permanent. It was a stratagem of his campaign, an incident in his +main design. + +By the logic of the assassinations, Brown believed he would secure +immunity from an immediate, or counter assault. Instead of being +compelled to defend his position against attack by the militia, and by +companies of armed citizens, which might be improvised for the occasion, +he contemplated spending the first "few weeks" of the campaign in +comparative security; publishing, far and wide, the proclamation of the +Provisional Government, with its lure for adventurers in civil and +military life; debauching the citizenship of the country and the +soldiery of the Union. He also contemplated having leisure to attend +such diplomatic functions as might be incidental to the situation, +including negotiations with foreign nations, and the problems of +"Foreign intervention," Northern conventions, etc.[423] + +Forbes's letter of May 14, 1858, heretofore quoted, discloses Brown's +theory of the invasion: it deals with the facts of Brown's secret +movement then pending in the untried future. These two men had agreed +upon an invasion of the South under cover of an "insurrection." The +opinion Forbes gave Dr. Howe therein is a dissenting one, for personal +reasons, from his agreement with Brown. In the revised opinion, Forbes +stated his belief that the insurrection would fail; that it would be +"either a flash in the pan, or it would leap beyond his control or any +control," and after having spent its force in a riot of blood would be +stamped out. Brown thought otherwise; he was "sure of a response," and +believed that he could safeguard against "a flash in the pan." With the +question of "losing control" of the insurrection he was not concerned; +that was a bridge which he would cross when he came to it. Under his +control, a whole generation was to pass off the face of the earth by a +violent death, and nothing much could occur in excess of that if the +insurrection did happen to get beyond it. The hurricane of horrors which +he proposed to unloose, could not sweep too far for his purposes; he +would have it spread to every Southern State, and in the language of +Jeremiah Goldsmith Anderson, "make this land of liberty and equality +shake to the center."[424] + +That Brown expected to be strongly supported by a secret colored +military organization existing in the North, and "that had its +ramifications extended through most or nearly all of the Slave States," +is more than probable. This organization was represented at the Chatham +convention by G. J. Reynolds, of Sandusky, Ohio, "a colored man (very +little colored, however)"; and after the convention adjourned, Geo. B. +Gill was sent to Oberlin, Berlin Heights, and Milan, Ohio, to verify the +statements which Reynolds had made concerning its forces. Gill met him +and "under the pledge of secrecy which we gave to each other at the +Chatham convention," he says. Reynolds took him to the room where they +held their meetings, and used as their arsenal, and showed him "a fine +collection of arms." "On my return to Cleveland," continues Gill, "he +passed me, through the organization, first to J. J. Pierce, colored, at +Milan, who paid my bill one night at the Eagle Hotel, and gave me some +money, and a note to E. Moore at Norwalk; who in turn paid my hotel +bill, and purchased a railroad ticket through to Cleveland for me." +Reynolds asserted that they were "only waiting for Brown or some one +else to make a successful initiative move, when their forces would be +put in motion."[425] + +It must not be assumed, because Brown did not _publish_ a transcript of +his plans for the insurrection and invasion, that he was "without any +clear and definite plan of campaign," and that the consequences of his +plans had not been anticipated, and provided for in minutest detail, for +he was methodical. Also, secrecy was characteristic of his methods. +Salmon Brown said:[426] "Father had a peculiarity for insisting on +_order_.... He would insist on getting everything arranged just to suit +him before he would consent to make a move." + +And to Kagi Brown wrote July 10th:[427] "_Do not_ use much paper to put +names of persons & plans upon." + +The nature of Brown's plans, and of his intentions, and of his +engagements, must therefore be drawn from the documentary evidence +obtainable, and from such reasonable inferences as can be derived from +the actions of the invaders: from the things which they did while they +were free to do as they pleased; while they were yet unrestrained by the +forces which later overcame them; and from such contemporaneous +testimony, relating to the subject, as may be available. What they said +when in prison, and in view of the impending gallows, about what they +intended to do, is not the best evidence of what their intentions were. + +On the 19th of August, Mr. Frederick Douglass met John Brown, by +appointment, at an old stone quarry in the vicinity of Chambersburg. At +that interview, Brown disclosed to Mr. Douglass his intention to seize +Harper's Ferry. Mr. Douglass said:[428] + + The taking of Harper's Ferry, of which Brown had merely + hinted before, was now declared his settled purpose, and he + wanted to know what I thought of it. I opposed it with all + the arguments at my command.... He was not to be shaken but + treated my views respectfully, replying that even if + surrounded he would find means to cut his way out.... In + parting, he put his arms around me in a manner more than + friendly, and said, "Come with me, Douglas; I will defend + you with my life. I want you for a special purpose. When I + strike the bees will begin to swarm, and I shall want you + to help hive them...." + +The project that Brown had in view was clearly foreshadowed by Jeremiah +C. Anderson, in a letter which he wrote, late in September, to a brother +in Iowa. He said:[429] + + Our mining company will consist of between twenty-five and + thirty men well equipped with tools. You can tell Uncle Dan + it will be impossible for me to see him before next spring. + If my life is spared I will be tired of work by that time, + and I shall visit my relatives and friends in Iowa, if I + can get leave of absence. At present I am bound by all that + is honorable to continue in the course. We go in to win, at + all hazards. So if you should hear of failure, it will be + after a desperate struggle, and loss of capital on both + sides. But this is the last of our thoughts. Everything + seems to work to our hands, and victory will surely perch + upon our banner. The old man has had this in view for + twenty years, and last winter was just a hint and trial of + what could be done. This is not a large place but a very + precious one to Uncle Sam, as he had a great many tools + here. I expect (when I start again travelling) to start at + this place and go through the State of Virginia and on + south, just as circumstances require; mining and + prospecting, and carrying the ore with us. I suppose this + is the last letter I shall write you before there is + something in the wind. Whether I shall have an opportunity + of sending letters then, I do not know, but when I have an + opportunity I shall improve it. But if you don't get any + from me, don't take it for granted that I am _gone up_ till + you know it to be so. I consider my life about as safe in + one place as another. + +The following interesting and instructive document discloses the +formation of Andersen's mining company, and indicates the character of +the "mining" which the operators intended to engage in. It reads as +follows: + + HEADQUARTERS WAR DEPARTMENT, PROVISIONAL ARMY. + + _Harper's Ferry, October 10, 1859._ + + General Orders No. 1. + + ORGANIZATION + + The divisions of the provisional army and the coalition are + hereby established as follows: + + 1--_Company._ + + A company will consist of fifty-six privates, twelve + non-commissioned officers, (eight corporals, 4 sergeants) + three commissioned officers, (two lieutenants, a captain,) + and a surgeon. + + The privates shall be divided into bands or messes of seven + each numbering from one to eight, with a corporal to each, + numbered like his band. + + Two bands shall comprise a section. Sections shall be + numbered from one to four. A sergeant shall be attached to + each section and numbered like it. + + Two sections shall comprise a platoon. Platoons will be + numbered one and two, and each commanded by a lieutenant + designated by like number. + + 2--_Battalion._ + + The battalion will consist of four companies complete. The + commissioned officers of the battalion will be a chief of + battalion, and a first and second major, one of whom shall + be attached to each wing. + + 3--_The Regiment._ + + The regiment will consist of four battalions complete. The + commissioned officers of the regiment will be a colonel and + two lieutenant colonels, attached to the wings. + + 4--_The Brigade._ + + The brigade will consist of four regiments complete. The + commissioned officer of the brigade will be a general of + brigade. + + 5--_Each General Staff._ + + Each of the above divisions will be entitled to a general + staff, consisting of an adjutant, a commissary, a musician, + and a surgeon. + + 6--_Appointment._ + + Non-commissioned officers will be chosen by those whom they + are to command. + + Commissioned officers will be appointed and commissioned by + this department. + + The staff officers of each division will be appointed by + the respective commanders of the same. + +(This document is in the handwriting of J. H. Kagi.)[430] + +Oliver Brown and Jeremiah G. Anderson were captains in the provisional +army. A copy of Brown's commission is published herewith: + + GREETING: + + HEADQUARTERS WAR DEPARTMENT. + Near Harper's Ferry Maryland. + + Whereas _Oliver Brown_ has been nominated a _captain_ in + the army established under the provisional constitution, + + Now, therefore, in pursuance of the authority vested in us + by said constitution, we do hereby appoint and commission + the said _Oliver Brown a captain_. + + Given at the office of the Secretary of War, this day, + October 15, 1859. + + JOHN BROWN, + _Commander in Chief_. + + J. H. KAGI. _Secretary of War_. + +(This document is printed in the original, with the exception of the +words in italics and the figures, which are in the handwriting of Kagi, +with the exception of the signature of John Brown, which is in his own +hand.)[431] + +Except as to Mr. Sanborn and Mr. Stearns, it is hard to believe that the +members of Brown's war committee were ignorant of his intention to +incite a slave insurrection, and invade the South. Rev. Theodore Parker +said: + + I should like of all things to see an insurrection of the + Slaves. It must be tried many times before it succeeds, as + at last it must.[432] + +Dr. Howe also knew of the impending insurrection. Mr. Sanborn says:[433] + + Dr. Howe, returning from Cuba, (whither he accompanied + Theodore Parker in February 1859), journeyed through the + Carolinas, and there accepted the hospitality of Wade + Hampton, and other rich planters; and it shocked him to + think that he might be instrumental in giving up to fire + and pillage their noble mansions. + +Thaddeus Hyatt, of New York, too, seems to have known what Brown +intended to do, and from whence he derived his inspirations. Also the +indiscriminate massacre of non-combatants, white women and children, by +the negroes of Hayti seems to have had his approbation. He presented to +the Black Republic a portrait[434] of the man, John Brown, who in 1859 +sought to incite the negroes of the Southern States to do what the +negroes of San Domingo did, when "one August night, in the year 1791 the +whole plain of the north was swept with fire and drenched with blood. +Five hundred thousand negro slaves in the depths of barbarism revolted, +and the horrors of the massacre made Europe and America shudder."[435] + +August 27, 1859, Gerrit Smith wrote the following letter to the "Jerry +Rescue Committee":[436] + + It is, perhaps, too late to bring slavery to an end by + peaceable means,--too late to vote it down. For many years + I have feared, and published my fears, that it would go out + in blood. These fears have grown into a belief. So + debauched are the white people by slavery that there is not + virtue enough left in them to put it down.... The feeling + among the blacks that they must deliver themselves gains + strength with fearful rapidity. No wonder, then, is it that + intelligent black men in the States _and in Canada_ should + see no hope for their race in the practice and policy of + white men.... Whoever he may be that foretells the horrible + end of American slavery, is held at the North and the South + to be a lying prophet,--another Cassandra. The South would + not respect her own Jefferson's prediction of servile + insurrection; how then can it be hoped that she will + respect another's?... And is it entirely certain that these + insurrections will be put down promptly, and before they + can have spread far? Will telegraphs and railroads be too + swift for the swiftest insurrections? Remember that + telegraphs and railroads can be rendered useless in an + hour. Remember too that many who would be glad to face the + insurgents would be busy in transporting their wives and + daughters to places where they would be safe from the worst + fate that husbands and fathers can imagine for their wives + and daughters. I admit that but for this embarrassment + Southern men would laugh at the idea of an insurrection and + would quickly dispose of one. But trembling as they would + for beloved ones, I know of no part of the world, where, so + much as in the South, men would be like, in a formidable + insurrection, to lose the most important time, and be + distracted and panic stricken. + +Commenting upon this letter, Mr. Sanborn, after quoting from Mr. Smith's +biographer the expression "This Cassandra spoke from certainty," says +that he (Smith) "knew what Brown's purpose was; and his last +contribution to Brown's campaign was made about the time the Syracuse +letter was written." Referring to the same letter, his biographer, +Frothingham, says: + + It is hard to believe that the writer of these passages had + not had John Brown's general plan in mind. There was no + visible sign of peril. The blacks, North and South, were to + all appearances quiet.... But for the whole-handed + destruction of documents immediately on the failure of the + project, Mr. Smith's participation in John Brown's general + plans could be made to appear still closer. + +As late as 1867, Mr. Smith disclaimed having any knowledge of Brown's +plans or of his intentions. He denied that he gave money with the +purpose of aiding the insurrection. Concerning this Mr. Frothingham +continues: + + Did Gerrit Smith really think that this was a complete and + truthful statement of his relations with John Brown? A + statement in which nothing true was suppressed, and nothing + untrue suggested? A statement that would be satisfactory to + Edward Morton, and F. B. Sanborn and Dr. Howe and other + friends of the Martyr?... We must believe that his insanity + obliterated a certain class of impressions, while another + class of impressions on the same subject remained distinct. + +The theory of Brown's operations being the conquest of the South through +an insurrection of the slaves, the collapse of the scheme was coincident +with the failure of the slaves to execute the part assigned to them in +the plan of the invasion. It is herein that Brown's leadership may be +criticised. The creation of the army depended upon the success of the +insurrection. The latter, therefore, should have been made safe--beyond +the possibility of failure--before he committed any subordinate +irremediable acts. + +At Cleveland, Brown took credit for never having killed anybody, but +said, in a self conscious manner, referring to his Kansas successes, +that on "some occasions he had _shown his young men with him_ how some +things might be done as well as others and that they had done them." +Brown plainly attributed the failure of the insurrection, and his +consequent failure, to a cause which he could have controlled--to his +failure to do things which he could have done, and which he then +reproached himself for not having done. + +"It is my own fault," he said, October 18th, "that I have been taken. I +could easily have saved myself from it, had I exercised my own better +judgment rather than yielded to my feelings." + +"You mean if you had escaped immediately?" inquired Mr. Mason. + +"No," he said, "I had the means to make myself secure without any +escape, but I allowed myself to be surrounded by a force by being too +tardy." + +Brown had planned how to prevent being surrounded, and continuing said: +"I do not know that I should reveal my plans. I am here a prisoner and +wounded because I foolishly allowed myself to be so. You overrate +yourself in supposing I could have been taken if I had not allowed it." + +Nat Turner had shown his followers how to start an insurrection. He +personally spilled the first blood, the blood which turned loose the +furies in Southampton County, and Brown now saw, too late, that if he +and his captains had each led a party of negroes, as Turner had led; and +shown them how to kill, as Turner had shown his followers; they too +might have turned loose the furies of which Brown and Forbes dreamed, +and launched the hurricane of death. Then, with thousands of rioting +slaves, brandishing their bloody spears, the occupation of Harper's +Ferry would have been but an incident of minor importance in this +history. + +Forbes perceived the weak link in the chain of Brown's forecast, and +made the point, that unless the slaves were "already in a state of +agitation, there might be no response, or a feeble one." But Brown, +carried away by an enthusiasm inspired by a continuous contemplation of +the grandeur of his scheme, failed to give the warning the consideration +which its importance deserved. He dismissed Forbes's caution with the +confident assertion that he "_was sure of a response_" His +over-confidence led to his immediate undoing. Upon the rock that Forbes +had pointed out foundered the new-born ship of state. The great uprising +of the blacks upon which he relied, failed to materialize; the thousands +of reënforcements which he looked for, appeared not at all.[437] The +plans for the conquest of the Southern States, and for the establishment +of the Provisional Government miscarried. + +Concerning Brown and his plans Mr. Vallandigham said: + + It is in vain to underestimate the man or the conspiracy. + Captain John Brown is as brave and resolute a man as ever + headed an insurrection, and, in a good cause, and with a + sufficient force, would have been a consummate partisan + commander. He has coolness, daring, persistency, the stoic + faith and patience, and a firmness of will and purpose + unconquerable. He is the farthest possible removed from the + ordinary ruffian, fanatic or madman. Certainly it was the + best planned and best executed conspiracy that ever + failed.[438] + +John Brown was not a pioneer in the slave insurrection business, nor +does his plan of procedure at Harper's Ferry suggest any novelties or +anything original in the way of such insurrections. He had before him a +long line of precedents and examples which he studied; and ideals, +written in blood, which he sought to emulate. His heroes were Toussaint +L'Ouverture and Nat Turner, their hands red with the blood of innocence. +Turner had killed between fifty and sixty white people, mostly women and +children, and Mr. Redpath tells us that Brown "admired this negro +patriot equally with George Washington." Turner was his most recent and +most direct example. It was from what Turner had done, that Brown and +Forbes formed their estimates of what they could do. From the example +furnished by this ideal patriot, they framed the Maryland-Virgina +equation. They reasoned in this way: If an ignorant slave, with a score +of poorly armed negro followers, who were also slaves, could kill sixty +white people in a day, how many white people could a thousand negroes, +who are well equipped for midnight slaughter, kill in a single night? +Their solution of that problem found expression in the order which they +placed, in March, 1857, with the Collinsville blacksmith. It was Brown's +answer to this question, expanded as Brown sought to expand it at +Harper's Ferry, that was to "make slavery totter from its foundations." + +Upon several occasions--notably, once in South Carolina, and twice in +Virginia--the slaves of this country had engaged in conspiracies against +their masters. In each instance the men who promoted the revolt were +themselves slaves. In two instances the insurgents planned to seize the +arsenals, and public arms and ammunition, as Brown planned to do, and +did, at Harper's Ferry. In each instance the revolt was to be +accomplished by a general massacre of the white inhabitants. Brown and +Forbes, in 1857, studied the trails that had been blazed on these +occasions, and planned with reference to the experiences of the men who +had directed the efforts. + +The first attempt at insurrection in this country was led by "General" +Gabriel in September, 1800. The date agreed upon was Saturday [Monday], +September 1st. The place of rendezvous was on a brook six miles from +Richmond, Virginia. The force was to comprise eleven hundred men, +divided into three divisions. The attack was to have been made upon +Richmond, then a town of eight thousand population, under cover of the +night.[439] + +The plan for the occupation of Richmond was similar in some respects to +Brown's plans at Harper's Ferry. One of the divisions of the army was to +take the penitentiary, which had been improvised into an arsenal. +Another division was to seize the powder-house. A statement of the +trouble was published in the _United States Gazette_ of Philadelphia, +September 8, 1800: + + The penitentiary held several thousand stand of arms; the + powder-house was well stocked; the capitol contained the + State Treasury; the mills would give them bread; the + control of the bridge across the James river would keep off + enemies from beyond. Thus secured and provided, they + planned to issue proclamations, summoning to their standard + "their fellow negroes and the friends of humanity + throughout the continent." In a week they estimated they + would have 50,000 men on their side, when they would + possess themselves of other towns.[440] + +A formidable insurrection was attempted in 1822 by Denmark Vesey. The +slaves involved in this plot were distributed over a territory of +forty-five to fifty miles in extent around Charleston, South Carolina. +Vesey's plan of revolt contemplated the wholesale slaughter of the white +population and the occupation of the country by the blacks. + + "Every slave enlisted was sworn to secrecy. Household + servants were rarely trusted. Talkative and intemperate + persons were not enlisted. Women were excluded from + participation in the affair that they might take care of + the children. Peter Poyas, it is said, had enlisted six + hundred without assistance. + + "During the excitement and the trial of the supposed + conspirators, rumor proclaimed all, and doubtless more than + all the horrors of the plot. The city was to be fired in + every quarter. The arsenal, in the immediate vicinity, was + to be broken open, and the arms distributed to the + insurgents and an universal massacre of the white + inhabitants was to take place. Nor did there seem to be any + doubt in the minds of the people that such would actually + have been the result, had not the plot, fortunately, been + detected before the time appointed for the outbreak. It + was believed, as a matter of course, that every black in + the city would join in the insurrection, and that, if the + original design had been attempted and the city taken by + surprise, the negroes would have achieved an easy victory, + nor does it seem at all impossible that such might have + been, or yet may be the case, if any well arranged and + resolute rising should take place." The plot failed because + a negro, William Paul, "made enlistments without authority, + and revealed the scheme to a house servant. The leaders of + this attempt at insurrection died as bravely as they had + lived; and it is one of the marvels of the remarkable + affair, that none of this class divulged any of the secrets + to the court. The men who did the talking were those who + knew but little."[441] + +Two promoters of slave insurrections were born during the year 1800: +John Brown and Nat Turner. The latter was born in Southampton County, +Virginia, October 2d. Turner became a preacher, and later, saw visions. +He saw visions of conflicts "between white spirits and black spirits +engaged in battle; and the sun was darkened, the thunder rolled in the +heavens, and blood flowed in the streams...." Afterward he had another +vision in which an angel told him that "the time is fast approaching +when the 'first shall be last and the last first'"; which he interpreted +as foreshadowing the promotion of the blacks to control in public +affairs, and the subordination of the whites. Encouraged by his +conclusion, he determined to attempt the promotion of the blacks by +eliminating the whites. In pursuance of this he planned a general +uprising of the slaves and massacre of their white masters. His blow was +struck on the night of August 21, 1831, near Jerusalem Court House, +Virginia. + +Turner trusted his plans to four men: Sam Edwards, Hark Travis, Henry +Porter, and Nelson Williams. After the plans had been completed. Turner +made a speech appropriate to the occasion. He said: "Our race is to be +delivered from slavery, and God has appointed us as the men to do his +bidding; and let us be worthy of our calling. I am told to slay all the +whites we encounter without regard to age or sex. We have no arms or +ammunition but we will find these in the homes of our oppressors; and, +as we go on, others can join us. Remember we do not go for the sake of +blood and carnage, but it is necessary that in the commencement of this +revolution, all the whites we meet should die, until we have an army +strong enough to carry on the war on a Christian basis. Remember that +ours is not war for robbery nor to satisfy our passions; it is a +_struggle for freedom_. Ours must be deeds, not words. Then let us away +to the scene of action." In his confession after sentence of death had +been passed upon him, Turner described the scenes of the murders which +they committed. Of the attack upon the home of Joseph Travis, his +master, he said:[442] + + On returning to the house, Hark went to the door with an + axe, for the purpose of breaking it open, as we knew we + were strong enough to murder the family, should they be + awakened by the noise; but, reflecting that it might create + an alarm in the neighborhood, we determined to enter the + house secretly, and murder them whilst sleeping. Hark got a + ladder and set it against the chimney, on which I ascended, + and, hoisting a window, entered and came down stairs, + unbarred the doors, and removed the guns from their places. + It was then observed that I must spill the first blood, on + which, armed with a hatchet and accompanied by Will, I + entered my master's chamber. It being dark, I could not + give a death blow. The hatchet glanced from his head. He + sprang from the bed and called his wife. It was his last + word. Will laid him dead with a blow of his axe. + +After they had taken the lives of the Travis family, "they went from +plantation to plantation, dealing death blows to every white man, woman +and child they found." A list of the "dead that have been buried" was +published August 24th: At Mrs. Whitehead's, 7; Mrs. Waller's, 13; Mr. +Williams's, 3; Mr. Barrow's, 2; Mr. Vaughn's, 5; Mrs. Turner's, 3; Mr. +Travis's, 5; Mr. J. Williams's, 5; Mr. Reece's, 4; names unknown, 10; +total, 57. + +The news of the massacre spread rapidly, and the excited whites quickly +armed themselves to suppress the insurrection. As a result, "Arms and +ammunition were dispatched in wagons to the county of Southampton. The +four volunteer companies of Petersburg, the dragoons and Lafayette +Artillery Company of Richmond, one volunteer company from Norfolk and +one from Portsmouth, and the regiments of Southampton and Sussex, were +at once ordered out. The cavalry and infantry took up their line of +march on Tuesday evening, while the artillery embarked on the steamer +'Norfolk' and landed at Smithfield."[443] + +A Mr. Gray, to whom Turner made his confession, said of him: + + ... I shall not attempt to describe the effects of his + narrative, as told, and commented on by himself, in the + condemned hole of the prison; the calm, deliberate + composure with which he spoke of his late deeds and + intentions; the expression of his fiend-like face, when + excited by enthusiasm; still bearing the stains of the + blood of helpless innocence about him, clothed with rags + and covered with chains, yet daring to raise his manacled + hands to Heaven with a spirit soaring above the attributes + of man. + +And yet, such were the phenomenal inconsistencies occurring in the +philosophy of persons who professed, and who, perhaps, believed +themselves to be humane, this negro's crime was exultingly approved of +by Brown's Eastern supporters. Mr. William Lloyd Garrison, at a meeting +called to witness "John Brown's resurrection" said in his speech: + + ... As a peace man--an "ultra" peace man--I am prepared to + say: "Success to every slave insurrection at the South, + and in every slave country." And I do not see how I + compromise or stain my peace profession in making that + declaration....[444] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS + +_No man can produce great things who is not thoroughly +sincere in dealing with himself._ + + --LOWELL + + +The regular semi-annual term of the court of Jefferson County, Virginia, +began October 20th. Brown was taken into custody on Tuesday, October +18th, and on Tuesday morning, October 25th, he was put on trial for his +life. For this unseemly haste the Virginia authorities have been +censured. The spectacle of an old man, physically incapacitated, and +suffering because of recent wounds, being rushed to trial without +reasonable time and opportunity to even secure friendly counsel, +justified harsh criticism, and did not fail to win sympathy for Brown +from right thinking men in all sections of the country. Also, that wrong +had much to do with promoting his "martyrdom." It was, however, his +right to the courtesies of judicial procedure, in such cases, rather +than any of his legal rights, that was infringed. In his efforts to +explain his purpose for being at Harper's Ferry he had not only, in +effect, confessed his guilt of all the charges upon which he was being +held for trial, but had sought to justify his conduct in relation to +them. Mr. Greeley, in the _Tribune_ of October 25th, wrote:[445] + + As the Grand Jury of Jefferson County is already in + session, the trial of Brown and his confederates may be + expected to take place at once, unless delay should be + granted to prepare for trial, or a change of venue to some + less excited county should be asked for. Neither of these + is probable. The prisoners in fact have no defense, and + their case will be speedily disposed of. + +The jurisdiction of the Federal courts in the premises, was not +seriously considered. The State had never ceded to the United States its +jurisdiction over the territory that Brown had taken possession of, in +behalf of the Provisional Government, and from which he had directed his +operations. The question was raised as an expedient, because the Federal +court afforded better facilities for incriminating Brown's northern +supporters, the men "higher up," than did the State courts. Later, it +was agreed upon that Stevens should be surrendered to the United States +for trial. Mr. Hunter, for the prosecution, announced the fact, in +court, November 7th, saying, that they were now after "higher and +wickeder game."[446] But when, on December 15th, the President inquired +by wire whether Stevens had been so surrendered, the prosecution +hesitated; Mr. Hunter replying: + + Stevens has not been delivered to the authorities of the + United States. Undetermined as yet whether he will be tried + here.[447] + +December 8th, Governor Wise wrote to Mr. Hunter: + + In reply to yours of the 15th, I say definitely that + Stevens ought not to be handed over to the Federal + authorities for trial.... I hope you informed the President + of the status of his case before the court.[448] + +The political necessity for trying Stevens in the Federal court, was +obviated by Congress. December 14th, a select committee of the Senate +was appointed to "inquire into the late invasion and seizure of public +property at Harper's Ferry." It was clothed with authority to +investigate the whole subject. The members were Mason, of Virginia, +chairman; Davis, of Mississippi; Fitch, of Indiana; Doolittle, of +Wisconsin; and Collamer, of Vermont; the majority being pro-slavery. +The findings of the committee constitute the _Mason Report_, referred to +in this book. + +At the preliminary examination, the presiding justice of the peace, Mr. +Braxton Davenport, appointed as counsel for Brown Mr. Charles J. +Faulkner and Mr. Lawson Botts. Mr. Faulkner was present at Harper's +Ferry during the trouble, and thought it would be improper for him to +represent the prisoners as counsel. He was therefore excused, and Mr. +Thomas G. Green was appointed in his stead. Mr. Villard states that in +"Messrs. Green and Botts, John Brown had assigned to him far abler +counsel than would have been given to an ordinary malefactor." Brown's +reply to the Court when asked if he had counsel is deserving of a place +in this history. It was worthy of a leader of a lost cause. Though +feebly rising to his feet, he said with defiant spirit:[449] + + Virginians: I did not ask for any quarter at the time I was + taken. I did not ask to have my life spared. The Governor + of the State of Virginia tendered me his assurance that I + should have a fair trial, but under no circumstances + whatever, will I be able to attend to my trial. If you seek + my blood you can have it at any moment without this mockery + of a trial. + + I have had no counsel. I have not been able to advise with + any one. I know nothing about the feelings of my + fellow-prisoners, and am utterly unable to attend in any + way to my own defense. My memory don't serve me, my health + is insufficient; although improving. + + If a fair trial is to be allowed us, there are mitigating + circumstances, that I would urge in our favor. But, if we + are to be forced with a mere form,--a trial for + execution,--you might spare yourselves that trouble. I am + ready for my fate. I do not ask a trial, I beg for no + mockery of a trial--no insult--Nothing but that which + conscience gives, or cowardice drives you to practice. + + I ask again to be excused from a mockery of a trial. I do + not know what the special design of this examination is. I + do not know what the benefit of it is to this Commonwealth. + I have now little further to ask, other than that I may be + not foolishly insulted, only as cowardly barbarians insult + those that fall into their power. + +When the question relating to counsel was submitted to Stevens, he +promptly accepted the gentlemen named and the examination was proceeded +with. + +At 2 o'clock the preliminary court of examination reported its findings, +and the presiding judge, Hon. Richard Parker, of the circuit court, at +once submitted the case to the grand jury in an able and dispassionate +address. At noon the next day, the 26th, a true bill was returned +against each of the prisoners on the following counts: For "Treason to +the commonwealth"; for "conspiring with slaves to commit treason"; and +for "murder." After the noon hour the defendants were brought into court +to plead to the indictments. Brown, refusing to appear voluntarily, was +carried into the court room on a cot. He then made a plea for delay. + +Mr. Hunter objected to consideration of Brown's plea until after the +arraignment had been made. The Court held that the indictment should +first be read, so that the prisoners could plead guilty or not guilty; +after that he would consider Brown's request. Each prisoner pleaded not +guilty and having demanded separate trials, the State chose to try Brown +first. + +The Court did not take the question of Brown's guilt or innocence +seriously. The trial was simply to be a dignified conformance with the +laws of the Commonwealth relating to the subject. Except as to respect +for this formality, it was not considered important whether Brown had +any counsel at all. On the 22d of October, Mr. Hunter, in a letter to +Governor Wise said: + + The Judge is for observing all the judicial decencies; so + am I, but in double quick time.... Stephens will hardly be + fit for trial. He will probably die of his wounds if we + don't hang him promptly.[450] + +Immediately upon the announcement by the Court that Brown should have a +fair trial, arrangements were made to provide friendly counsel for his +defense. First, Mr. J. W. Le Barnes, of Boston, at his personal expense, +employed Mr. George H. Hoyt, a young lawyer of Athol, Massachusetts, to +go to Charlestown and represent Brown in the dual capacity of counsel +and spy. His instructions were, "first, to watch and be able to report +proceedings, to see and talk with Brown, and be able to communicate with +his friends anything Brown might want to say; and second, to send me (Le +Barnes) an accurate and detailed account of the military situation at +Charlestown, the number and the distribution of the troops, the location +and defences of the jail; the opportunities for a sudden attack and the +means of retreat, with the location and situation of the room in which +Brown is confined," etc.[451] + +Hoyt arrived at Charlestown on Thursday night, and on Friday morning, +October 28th, reported to the Court and asked to be made additional +counsel. His youth and his evident inefficiency, aroused a suspicion, on +the part of Mr. Hunter, that he came as a spy rather than as +counsel.[452] He accordingly asked that Hoyt be excluded from +participating in the trial. In this he was overruled. The same day he +reported to Governor Wise that a "beardless boy came in last night as +Brown's counsel." And that he thought "he is a spy."[453] October 21st, +Brown wrote letters, similar in character, to Judge Daniel Tilden, of +Cleveland, Ohio, and to Hon. Thomas Russell, of Boston, asking them to +appear for him as counsel, saying: + +"I am here a prisoner, with several sabre-cuts on my head and bayonet +stabs in my body."[454] In response to his request, Judge Tilden +secured the services of Mr. Hiram Griswold, of Cleveland, to appear in +his stead. The latter arrived at Charlestown, Saturday morning, October +29th. At the same time Mr. Samuel Chilton, of Washington, D. C., also +arrived, and upon reporting to the Court, these two distinguished +lawyers were assigned as counsel to Brown's staff. Mr. Chilton came upon +the solicitation of Mr. John A. Andrew, of Boston.[455] Judge Russell +did not arrive until November 2d. + +On Thursday morning, October 27th, the trial was begun with a surprise +for the prosecution--Mr. Botts reading a telegram, which stated that +insanity was hereditary in Brown's family; that his mother's sister had +died while insane, and that a daughter of that sister had been two years +in a lunatic asylum, and citing other instances of insanity in the +family.[456] + +Mr. Botts then stated, "That upon receiving the above dispatch he went +to the jail, with his associate, Mr. Green, and read it to Brown, and +was desired by him to say that in his father's family there has never +been any insanity at all. On his mother's side there have been repeated +instances of it.... Brown also desires his counsel to say that he does +not put in a plea of insanity."[457] + +His counsel again moved for a continuance, and, doubtless, pleaded the +insanity phase of the question in support of the motion. Upon the +conclusion of Mr. Botts's remarks, Brown raised up on his couch and +said: + + I will add, if the court will allow me, that I look upon it + as a miserable artifice and pretext of those who ought to + take a different course in regard to me, if they took any + at all, and I view it with contempt more than otherwise. + Insane persons, so far as my experience goes, have but + little ability to judge of their own sanity; and if I am + insane, of course I should think I knew more than all the + rest of the world. But I do not think so. I am perfectly + unconscious of insanity, and I reject, so far as I am + capable, any attempts to interfere in my behalf on that + score.[458] + +Mr. Griswold, however, after coming into the case, revived the question +of Brown's sanity, and on November 7th, enclosed to the Governor a +petition and an affidavit affirming the claim that Brown was +insane.[459] Replying to this letter, Mr. Villard states that the +Governor replied that "a plea of insanity could be filed at any time +before conviction or sentence, and wrote an admirable letter to Dr. +Stribbling, superintendent of the lunatic asylum at Staunton, Virginia, +ordering him to proceed to Charlestown and examine the prisoner, saying: +'If the prisoner is insane he ought to be cured; and if not insane the +fact ought to be vouched for in the most reliable form, now that it is +questioned under oath and by counsel since conviction.' Unfortunately, +the impetuous Governor countermanded these instructions and the letter +was never sent." + +Later, acting upon the advice of Mr. Montgomery Blair, the defence +secured nineteen affidavits made by friends living at Akron, Cleveland, +and Hudson, Ohio, in support of the plea. These affidavits were +delivered to Governor Wise by Mr. Hoyt, on the 23d day of November. Mr. +Villard states that "these people in their efforts to save Brown laid +bare some sad family secrets." However, upon this very important phase +of Brown's condition Governor Wise had an opinion of his own. To the +Virginia Legislature he said: "I know that he was sane, if quick and +clear perception, if assumed rational premises and consecutive reasoning +from them, if cautious tact in avoiding disclosures and in covering +conclusions and inferences, if memory and conception and practical +common sense, and if composure and self-possession are evidence of a +sound state of mind. He was more sane than his prompters and promoters, +and concealed well the secret which made him seem to do an act of mad +impulse, by leaving him, without his backers, at Harper's Ferry."[460] + +Brown's line of defense is set forth in a memorandum of suggestions +which he personally prepared for the guidance of his counsel.[461] It +reads as follows: + + JOHN BROWN'S DIRECTIONS TO HIS COUNSEL + + We gave to numerous prisoners perfect liberty. _Get all the + names._ + + We allowed numerous other prisoners to visit their + families, to quiet their fears. _Get all their names._ + + We allowed the conductor to pass his train over the bridge + with all his passengers, I myself crossing the bridge with + him, and assuring all the passengers of their perfect + safety. _Get that conductor's name, and the names of the + passengers, so far as may be._ + + We treated all our prisoners with the utmost kindness and + humanity. _Get all their names, so far as may be._ + + Our orders from the first and throughout, were, that no + unarmed person should be injured under any circumstances + whatever. Prove that by ALL the prisoners. + + We committed no destruction or waste of property. _Prove + that._ + +The defense began Friday afternoon. Mr. Villard states that Messrs. +Botts and Green, following John Brown's suggestion, "essayed to prove, +the kindness with which Brown treated his prisoners," which drew from +Mr. Hunter the "caustic and truthful comment that testimony as to +Brown's forbearance in not shooting other citizens had no more to do +with the case than had the dead languages." + +Mr. Hunter's objections being overruled, a number of Brown's witnesses +were examined to show that he had not only not killed his prisoners and +everybody else who came within the range of his rifles, but that he had +treated all courteously, notwithstanding the fact that his enemies had +fired upon his flag of truce, and had killed one of his men, William +Thompson, while he was a prisoner in their hands. + +A scene was precipitated at the trial when the names of some of his +witnesses were called and it was found that they were not present; Brown +thereupon arose and, denouncing his counsel, demanded that the +proceedings be deferred until the next morning. A _Herald_ correspondent +stated:[462] + + When Brown rose and denounced his counsel, declaring that + he had no confidence in them, the indignation of the + citizens scarcely knew bounds. He was stigmatized as an + ungrateful villain, and some declared he deserved hanging + for that act alone. His counsel, Messrs. Botts and Green, + had certainly performed the unpleasant task imposed upon + them by the Court in an able, faithful and conscientious + manner; and only the evening before Brown had told Mr. + Botts that he was doing even more for him than he had + promised. + +Mr. Hoyt, of Brown's counsel, added to the interest of the scene by +asking that the case be postponed. Anticipating that his colleagues +would withdraw from the case as a result of Brown's speech, he said that +he was utterly unable to go on with the case alone and that Judge +Tilden, of Ohio, was coming to assist the defense, and would arrive +during the night. Counsel Botts and Green, after asserting that they had +done everything possible for their client, announced, that since the +prisoner had no confidence in them they could no longer act in his +behalf. Judge Parker thereupon released them, as counsel, and adjourned +the trial until the next day at 10 o'clock.[463] + +When court convened Saturday morning, Mr. Griswold and Mr. Chilton +appeared for Brown, and asked for delay--a few hours only--in which to +make some preparation for the defense, which was refused. "This term +will end very soon," the Judge said, "and it is my duty to endeavor to +get through with all the cases if possible, in justice to the prisoners +and to the State." + +With the examination of a few additional witnesses, the testimony for +the defense closed and the battle of wits began with a motion by Mr. +Chilton, that the State be compelled to elect one count in the +indictment and abandon the others. That Brown was charged with treason, +and with conspiracy and advising with slaves and others to rebel, and +with murder in the first degree. He contended, and cited authorities to +sustain his contention, that in a case of treason, different +descriptions of treason could not be united in the same indictment; high +treason could not be associated with other treason. If an inferior grade +of the same character could not be included in separate counts, still +less could offense of higher grade, etc., etc., etc. Mr. Harding, +associate counsel for the prosecution, of course, could not see the +force of the objection made by the learned counsel on the other side. +The separate offenses charged were but different parts of the same +transactions. "Murder arose out of the treason as the natural result of +the bloody conspiracy." Mr. Hunter said the discretion of the Court on +one count in the indictment is only exercised where great embarrassment +would otherwise result to the prisoner. The Court held that the point +might be taken advantage of to move an arrest of judgment; but since the +jury had been charged, and had been sworn to try the prisoners on the +indictment as drawn, the trial must go on.... The very fact that the +defense can be charged in different counts, varying the language and +circumstances, is based upon the idea that distinct offenses may be +charged in the same indictment. The prisoners are to be tried on the +various counts as if they were various circumstances, etc. Mr. Chilton +then said he would reserve the motion as a basis for a motion in arrest +of judgment.[464] + +Mr. Griswold then stated that the prisoner desired that the case be +argued, and that while he had not been present at the trial, counsel +could obtain sufficient knowledge of the evidence by reading the notes; +and since it was nearly dark, he supposed argument for the Commonwealth +would engage the attention of the Court until the usual hour of +adjournment; and asked that the Court adjourn after the opening argument +by the prosecution. Mr. Hunter opposed opening the argument "unless the +case was to be finished to-night," and protested against any further +delay. The Court ordered the trial to proceed, but at the close of Mr. +Hunter's speech, of forty minutes' duration, adjournment was had until +Monday. Brown sought by all the means in his power on Saturday, to delay +the trial, and when court convened after noon he sent word from the jail +that he was sick; whereupon the jail physician. Dr. Mason, was summoned +in the case. He reported that Brown was feigning illness. The Court then +directed that he be brought into court on a cot. Mr. Hunter states that +after the adjournment was procured, the "crafty old fiend was well +enough to walk." + +On Monday, at 1:30 P. M., the argument was completed. Mr. Chilton asked +the Court to instruct the jury that if they believed the prisoner was +not a citizen of Virginia, but of another State, they could not convict +on a count of treason. The Court declined, saying the Constitution did +not give rights and immunities alone, but also imposed responsibilities. + +At 2:15 the jury returned their verdict of guilty. It was received in +respectful silence; no demonstration of satisfaction or evidence of +elation greeted the announcement. Of its reception by the people in +waiting Mr. Villard says: "It is to the credit of the Charlestown crowd +and of Virginia that not a single sound of elation or triumph assailed +the dignity of the court, when the jury sealed Brown's doom. In solemn +silence the crowd heard Mr. Chilton make his formal motion for an arrest +of judgment, because of errors in the indictment and in the verdict, and +it filed out equally silent when Judge Parker ordered the motion to +stand over until the next day." + +One person was dissatisfied with Brown's trial; not the prisoner--for he +acknowledged the deep sense of his obligation, to both Court and +counsel, for the treatment he had received--but Mr. James Redpath. He +said: + + I do not intend to pollute my pages with any sketch of the + lawyers' pleas. They were able, without doubt, and erudite, + and ingenious; but they were founded, nevertheless, on an + atrocious assumption. For they assumed that the statutes of + the State were just; and, therefore if the prisoner should + be proven guilty of offending against them, that it was + right that he should suffer the penalty they inflict. This + doctrine every Christian heart must scorn; John Brown, at + least, despised it; and so also, to be faithful to his + memory, and my own instincts, must I.[465] + +On November 1st the Court heard Mr. Chilton's motion in arrest of +judgment; reserving its decision upon it until the next day. During the +afternoon of November 2d, Brown was brought into court for the final +scene of the trial. After Mr. Chilton's motion had been overruled. Brown +was ordered to rise, and when asked by the clerk if he had anything to +say why sentence should not be pronounced upon him, he delivered the +following address:[466] + + I have, may it please the Court, a few words to say. In the + first place, I deny everything but what I have all along + admitted,--the design on my part to free the slaves. I + intended certainly to have made a clean thing of that + matter, as I did last winter, when I went into Missouri and + there took slaves without the snapping of a gun on either + side, moved them through the country, and finally left them + in Canada. I designed to have done the same thing again, on + a larger scale. That was all I intended. I never did intend + murder, or treason, or the destruction of property, or to + excite or incite slaves to rebellion, or to make + insurrection. + + I have another objection: and that is, it is unjust that I + should suffer such a penalty. Had I interfered in the + manner which I admit, and which I admit has been fairly + proved (for I admire the truthfulness and candor of the + greater portion of the witnesses who have testified in this + case),--had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the + powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in + behalf of any of their friends,--either father, mother, + brother, sister, wife, or children, or any of that + class,--and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this + interference, it would have been all right; and every man + in this court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward + rather than punishment. + + This court acknowledges, as I suppose, the validity of the + law of God. I see a book kissed here which I suppose to be + the Bible, or at least the New Testament. That teaches me + that all things whatsoever I would that men should do to + me, I should do even so to them. It teaches me, further, to + "remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them." I + endeavored to act up to that instruction. I say, I am yet + too young to understand that God is any respecter of + persons. I believe that to have interfered as I have + done--as I have always freely admitted I have done--in + behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but right. Now, + if it is 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! + + Let me say one word further. + + I feel entirely satisfied with the treatment I have + received on my trial. Considering all the circumstances, it + has been more generous that I expected. But I feel no + consciousness of guilt. I have stated from the first what + was my intention, and what was not. I never had any design + against the life of any person, nor any disposition to + commit treason, or excite slaves to rebel, or make any + general insurrection. I never encouraged any man to do so, + but always discouraged any idea of that kind. + + Let me say, also, a word in regard to the statements made + by some of those connected with me. I hear it has been + stated by some of them that I have induced them to join me. + But the contrary is true. I do not say this to injure them, + but as regretting their weakness. There is not one of them + but joined me of his own accord, and the greater part of + them at their own expense. A number of them I never saw, + and never had a word of conversation with, till the day + they came to me; and that was for the purpose I have + stated. + + Now I have done. + +Judge Parker then pronounced the sentence of death upon Brown, fixing +the 2d of December, 1859, as the date for the execution of it, and +directing that the execution should be public. He then ordered all +persons present to remain in their seats until the prisoner was removed. +"There was prompt obedience and John Brown reached his cell unharmed, +without even hearing a taunt."[467] + +There is conflict between the "authorities" as to the manner in which +Brown delivered his speech to the Court. In describing the scene, Mr. +Villard gave rein to his bias in this choice flight: + + Drawing himself up to his full stature, with flashing eagle + eyes and calm, clear and distinct tones, John Brown again + addressed, not the men who surrounded him but the whole + body of his countrymen, North, South, East and West.[468] + +Mr. Redpath, who has not, in this history, overlooked any favorable +opportunity to indulge his _penchant_, is not a bit dramatic in his +statement of what occurred. He says that when the clerk directed Brown +to stand and say why sentence should not be passed upon him, that "he +rose and leaned slightly forward, his hands resting on the table. He +spoke timidly--hesitatingly, indeed--and in a voice singularly gentle +and mild. But his sentences came confused from his mouth, and he seemed +to be wholly unprepared to speak at this time. Types can give no +intimation of the soft and tender tones, yet calm and manly withal, that +filled the Court room, and, I think touched the hearts of many who had +come only to rejoice at the heaviest blow their victim was to +suffer."[469] + +It appears then, that Mr. Villard has framed and given out an +exaggeration of the performance; but it is unfortunate that the +subject-matter of the speech, fails to measure up to the height of the +exalted standard which has been set for the occasion. When one to whom a +prodigal biographer has attributed a pair of flashing eagle eyes, drawls +himself up to his full stature, and addresses the whole body of his +countrymen, he ought to be truthful as well as dramatic. It is bad form +for an orator under such circumstances, to make statements which are not +true; it mars the dignity of his utterances, and dwarfs the stateliness +of his eloquence. Also, it is embarrassing for a hero to be compelled to +retract his more heroic periods, as in this case, after they have +"thrilled the world." + +On the 18th of October, Brown, in answer to a question, had distinctly +stated to Governor Wise and others, that it was not his purpose to run +the slaves out of the country; but that he "designed to put arms in +their hands to defend themselves against their masters, and to maintain +their position in Virginia and in the South. That, in the first +instance, he expected they and the non-slave-holding whites would flock +to his standard as soon as he got a footing there, at Harper's Ferry; +and, as his strength increased, he would gradually enlarge the area +under his control, furnishing a refuge for the slaves, and a rendezvous +for all whites who were disposed to aid him, until eventually he overrun +the whole South...."[470] + +Later, when Governor Wise called Brown's attention to the discrepancy +between these statements and the statement which he had made in the +opening paragraph of his speech to the Court on November 2d, he +retracted what he had said to the Court, and wrote the following +letter, to Mr. Hunter, explaining the dereliction:[471] + + Charlestown, Jefferson County, Va. + November 22, 1859. + + DEAR SIR: I have just had my attention called to a seeming + confliction between the statement I made to Governor Wise + and that which I made at the time I received my sentence, + regarding my intentions respecting the slaves we took + _about the Ferry_. There need be no such confliction, and a + few words of explanation will, I think, be quite + sufficient. I had given Governor Wise a _full and + particular_ account of that, and when called in court to + say whether I had anything further to urge, I was taken + wholly by surprise, as I did not expect my sentence before + the others. In the hurry of the moment, I forgot much that + I had before _intended to say_, and did _not_ consider the + full bearing of what _I then said_. I intended to convey + the idea, that it was my object to place the slaves in a + condition to defend their liberties, if they would, + _without any bloodshed, but not_ that I intended _to run + them out of the slave States_. I was not _aware_ of any + such apparent confliction until my attention _was called_ + to it, and I do not suppose that a man in _my then + circumstances_ should be _superhuman_ in respect to the + _exact purport_ of every word he might utter. What I said + to Governor Wise was spoken with all the deliberation I was + master of, _and was intended for the truth_; and what I + said in court was _equally intended for truth_, but + required a more full explanation _than I then gave_. Please + make such use of this as you think calculated to correct + any _wrong_ impressions I may have given. + + Very respectfully yours, + JOHN BROWN. + + _Andrew Hunter, Esq., Present._ + +Mr. Emerson, in his oration at the funeral services of Abraham Lincoln, +held at Concord, April 19th, 1865, saw fit to compare Brown's +discredited speech with the greatest orations of time. He said: + + His speech at Gettysburg will not easily be surpassed by + words on any recorded occasion. This and one other American + speech, that of John Brown to the court that tried him, and + a part of Kossuth's speech at Birmingham, can only be + compared with each other, and with no fourth.[472] + +But is this comparison really relevant? Will the historian accept Mr. +Emerson's comparison of this exhibit of Brown's prevarication, with the +immortal words of the immortal Lincoln? The speeches are characteristic +of the men who uttered them. Mr. Lincoln did not begin his sublime +oration with a falsehood. Brown made a speech October 25th, which was +truly an heroic utterance and deserving of a place in history.[473] His +words on that occasion, were hurled at his enemies, the "Virginians" +whom he addressed. That speech was as characteristic of his splendid +courage, as his speech of November 2d, was of his craftiness, for John +Brown was as brave as he was crafty. + +In a letter to Governor Wise, Mr. Fernando Wood commended him for the +firmness and moderation which had characterized the Governor's course in +the emergency, and asked, if he dared to "do a bold thing and temper +justice with mercy? Have you nerve enough to send Brown to State's +Prison instead of hanging him?" He thought Brown should not be hung, +"though Seward should, and would be if he could catch him." The Governor +replied that he had nerve enough to send him to prison and would do so +if he didn't think he ought to be hung and that he would be inexcusable +for mitigating his punishment. "I could do it," he said, "without +flinching, without a quiver of a muscle against a universal clamor for +his life." Continuing he said: "He shall be executed as the law +sentences him, and his body shall be delivered over to surgeons, and +await the resurrection without a grave in our soil. I have shown him all +the mercy which humanity can claim."[474] + +Immediately after Brown's incarceration, a movement was started by Mr. +Higginson to have Mrs. Brown go to Harper's Ferry to visit her husband. +But when the information reached Brown, he peremptorily forbade her +coming; wiring Mr. Higginson: "For God's sake don't let Mrs. Brown come. +Send her word by telegraph wherever she is."[475] + +This arbitrary action should not excite surprise. There was no atonement +that Brown could make for the ruin which he had wrought: for the dead +who would never return. There were no words that he could say which +would carry consolation to this woman's stricken heart, nor was it +possible for him to make any rift in the clouds of her unutterable woe. +He shrank, instinctively, from a presence of the bleeding heart of the +woman whom he had wronged. November 9th, he wrote to Mr. Higginson: + + If my wife were to come here just now it would _only tend_ + to distract _her mind_ TEN FOLD; and would only add to my + affliction; and _can not possibly_ do me _any good_. It + will also use up the scanty means she has to supply Bread & + cheap but comfortable clothing, fuel, &c. for herself & + children through _the winter_. DO PERSUADE her to remain + _at home_ for a time (at least) till she can learn further + from me. She will receive a thousand times the consolation + AT HOME that she can possibly find elsewhere. I have just + _written_ her there & will write her CONSTANTLY. Her + presence _here_ would deepen my affliction a thousand fold. + I beg of her to be _calm_ and _submissive_; & not to go + _wild_ on my account. I lack _for nothing_ & was feeling + quite cheerful before I heard she talked of _coming on_--I + ask her to _compose her mind_ & to remain _quiet_ till the + last of _this month_; out of pity to me. I can certainly + judge better in the matter than _any one_ ELSE. My warmest + thanks to yourself and _all other_ kind friends. + + _God bless you all._ Please _send this line_ to _my + afflicted wife_ by first possible conveyance.[476] + +In a letter addressed to his wife and children, dated November 8th, he +said:[477] + + ... I wrote most earnestly to my dear and afflicted wife + not to come on for the present, at any rate. I will now + give her my reasons for doing so. First, it would use up + all scanty means she has, or is at all likely to have, to + make herself and children comfortable hereafter. For let me + tell you that the sympathy that is now aroused in your + behalf may not always follow you. There is but little more + of the romantic about helping poor widows and their + children than there is about trying to relieve poor + "niggers." Again, the little comfort it might afford us to + meet again would be dearly bought by the pains of a final + separation. We must part; and I feel assured for us to meet + under such dreadful circumstances would only add to our + distress. If she comes on here, she must be only a + gazing-stock throughout the whole journey, to be remarked + upon in every look, word, and action, and by all sorts of + creatures, and by all sorts of papers, throughout the whole + country. Again, it is my most decided judgment that in + quietly and submissively staying at home vastly more of + generous sympathy will reach her, without such dreadful + sacrifice of feeling as she must put up with if she comes + on. The visits of one or two female friends that have come + on here have produced great excitement, which is very + annoying; and they cannot possibly do me any good. Oh, + Mary! do not come, but patiently wait for the meeting of + those who love God and their fellow-men, where no + separation must follow. "They shall go no more out + forever." I greatly long to hear from some one of you, and + to learn anything that in any way affects your welfare. I + sent you ten dollars the other day; did you get it? I have + also endeavored to stir up Christian friends to visit and + write to you in your deep affliction. I have no doubt that + some of them, at least, will heed the call. Write to me, + care of Captain John Avis, Charlestown, Jefferson County, + Virginia.... + +The thirty days ensuing November 2d, were days of great anxiety for the +Virginia authorities. It was natural that they should suspect that +schemes would be formed to rescue Brown from his impending fate. In this +they were not mistaken. In fact the planning to effect his rescue was +begun as soon as it became known that he was not seriously wounded; and +it is probable that something in this direction might have been +attempted, if the schemers had received any encouragement from the +prisoner. But to the man who had planned and dreamed of conquest, as +Brown had planned, and dreamed, their scheming was the merest of +trifling; they had no conception of daring and striving, as he had dared +and striven. As to heroics, he was blasé. In the collapse of his great +undertaking he had had a surfeit of tragedies and disappointments. The +heart of the man of iron was subdued. And there can be no doubt that, at +this supreme hour in his life, the world looked small to John Brown. He +had toyed with it as with a bauble, and was ready to throw it away. +Besides, he had too often measured situations, and calculated the +chances for success against formidable odds, to waste any time with +adventures such as, in his opinion, his rescuers were capable of +executing. Hence, when Mr. Hoyt informed Brown, October 28th, that a +plan was being formed to storm the jail and set the prisoners free, he +promptly refused to encourage the attempt. Conveying Brown's reply to +Mr. Le Barnes, October 30th, Mr. Hoyt wrote: + + _There is no chance of_ his (Brown's) ultimate escape: + there is nothing but the most unmitigated failure, and the + saddest consequences which it is possible to conjure, to + ensue upon an attempt at _rescue_. The country all around + is guarded by armed patrols and a large body of troops are + constantly under arms. If you hear anything about such an + attempt, for Heaven's sake do not _fail to restrain the + enterprise_. + +The planning for his rescue, however, did not cease because Brown +disapproved of any attempt being made to execute such plans. Mr. +Villard, on pages 511 to 528, gives a full and very interesting account +of various schemes that were proposed to accomplish something, by force, +in Brown's behalf; as well as of the precautionary measures that were +taken by the Virginians to prevent the possibility of a rescue. + +Mr. Stearns, thinking that Charles Jennison was a co-philanthropist, +sought to enlist him and James Stewart in one of these schemes. +Naturally he received no reply. The plan for another Kansas rescue +measure was to be communicated to Brown by a young Kansas woman--Miss +Mary Partridge. She was to visit Brown in his cell at Charlestown; +embrace him affectionately and, incidentally, put a paper containing the +plan of the rescue into his mouth.[478] + +Mr. Lysander Spooner, of Boston, proposed to kidnap Governor Wise, carry +him out to sea on a fast-going boat, and hold him as a hostage for +Brown. Mr. Le Barnes worked out the scheme. He found the man who would +undertake to execute the job; and a boat that would steam fifteen to +eighteen knots an hour could be had for $5,000 to $7,000. The expedition +would cost $10,000 to $15,000. But the necessary funds were not +forthcoming and the scheme failed. Another plan was for an open invasion +of Jefferson County, Virginia. The volunteer forces that were coming +from Kansas under Colonel Hinton, as reported by rumor, were to be +consolidated with smaller forces that were being organized in Ohio, +under John Brown, Jr., and to these were to be added the "volunteers +from New York City and Boston." They were all to unite near Charlestown; +"make a cross country rush on that town and, after freeing the +prisoners, they were to seize the horses of the cavalry companies and +escape." "Dr. Howe," it is said, "suggested that they be armed with +'Orisini' bombs and hand-grenades, in lieu of artillery." Money was +wanted for this campaign, "fifteen hundred or two thousand dollars by +Tuesday morning the 29th, and five hundred or a thousand dollars the day +after." Mr. Le Barnes, Mr. James Redpath, and Mr. Sanborn seem to have +been at the front, in the promotion of these visionary schemes. Mr. +Hoyt, in the meantime, returned from a fruitless mission to Ohio, to +raise funds, and reported that no money could be had in that quarter. +Upon receiving this report Mr. Sanborn "gave up the undertaking and +wired Le Barnes to return." + +October 31st, Brown wrote the following letter to his family:[479] + + MY DEAR WIFE, & CHILDREN EVERY ONE + + I suppose you have learned before this by the newspapers + that Two weeks ago today we were fighting for our lives at + Harpers ferry: that during the fight Watson was mortally + wounded; Oliver killed, Wm. Thompson killed, & Dauphin + slightly wounded. That on the following day I was taken + prisoner immediately after which I received several + Sabre-cuts in my head; & Bayonet stabs in my body. As + nearly as I can learn Watson died of his wound on Wednesday + the 2d or on Thursday the 3d day after I was taken. + + Dauphin was killed when I was taken; & Anderson I suppose + also. I have since been tried, & found guilty of Treason, + etc; and of murder in the first degree. I have not yet + received my sentence. No others of the company with whom + you were acquainted were, so far as _I can learn_, either + killed or taken. Under all these terrible calamities; I + feel quite cheerful in the assurance that God reigns; & + will overrule all for his glory; & the best possible good. + I feel _no_ consciousness of _guilt_ in the matter; nor + even mortification on account of my imprisonment; & irons; + & I feel perfectly sure that very soon no member of my + family will feel any possible disposition to "blush on my + account." Already dear friends at a distance with kindest + sympathy are cheering me with the assurance that + _posterity_ at least will do me justice. I shall commend + you all together, with my beloved; but bereaved daughters + in law, to their sympathies which I do not doubt will reach + you. + + I also commend you all to Him "whose mercy endureth + forever:" to the God of my _fathers_ "whose I am; & whom I + serve." "He will never leave you nor forsake you," unless + you forsake Him. Finally my dearly beloved be of good + comfort. Be sure to remember & _to follow my advice_ & my + example too: so far as it has been consistent with the holy + religion of Jesus Christ in which I remain a most firm, & + humble believer. Never forget the poor nor think anything + you bestow on them to be lost, to you even though they may + be as _black_ as Ebedmelch the Ethiopean eunuch who cared + for Jeremiah in the pit of the dungeon; or as _black_ as + the one to whom Phillip preached Christ. Be sure to + entertain strangers, for thereby some have--"Remember them + that are in bonds as bound with them." I am in charge of a + jailor _like_ the one who took charge of "Paul & Silas"; & + you may rest assured that both _kind hearts & kind faces_ + are more or less about me; whilst thousands are thirsting + for my blood. "These _light_ afflictions which are but _for + a moment_ shall work out for us a _far more exceeding & + eternal weight_ of Glory." I hope to be able to write you + again. My wounds are doing well. Copy this and send it to + your sorrow stricken brothers, Ruth; to comfort them. Write + me a few words in regard to the welfare of all. God + Allmighty bless you all; & "make you joyful in the midst of + all your tribulations." Write to John Brown Charlestown + Jefferson Co. Va, care of Capt John Avis. + + Your affectionate Husband and Father, + JOHN BROWN. + + P. S. Yesterday Nov 2d. I was sentenced to be hanged on + Decem 2d next. Do not grieve on my account. I am still + quite cheerful. God bless you all. + + Yours ever J. BROWN. + +This letter is written in the soft language and in the apparently +consecrated spirit that is characteristic of Brown's domestic and social +correspondence. But the beauty of his lines is marred, and the sincerity +of his purpose in putting them forth, as well as his claims to a +Christian character, are discredited by the falsehoods contained in the +opening paragraph. Brown was not seriously hurt at Harper's Ferry. He +received two wounds, a light dress-sword cut, on the neck and head, and +a sword thrust in the body[480] and these he received, not after he had +been taken prisoner, but while he was yet bravely fighting. Evidence of +what he was doing, when he was struck down, appears in a letter which he +wrote November 29th, to Mr. J. G. Anderson concerning one of his +captains. He said:[481] + + Jeremiah G. Anderson was fighting bravely by my side at + Harper's Ferry up to the moment when I fell wounded, and I + took no further notice of what passed for a little time.... + +Brown may have written "the truth concerning his own spirit and +composure, in this his first letter from the jail to his family,"[482] +but he did not write the truth concerning the character of his wounds, +and the conditions under which he received them. + +With the freedom of correspondence that was granted to him came Brown's +great opportunity, and the masterful manner in which he quickly turned +it to his advantage is one of the marvels of this history. Equipped with +a vocabulary of devotional phrases and an ample magazine of biblical +quotations, this caged soldier of fortune, the would-be Catiline of his +generation, stormed the heights of public opinion; and disarming +righteousness of its opposition to wrong, won a moral victory as +marvelous as it was triumphant. These beautifully devotional letters, +that stand as monuments, certifying to an humble Christian character, +like flights in oratory, were written with regard for the effect which +he desired to accomplish, but without regard for the truth of what he +uttered. + +The opinion that the letters, which crowned Brown's character with a +dignity akin to sanctity, were artfully written, and were not +characteristic of him, is not based merely upon a vulgar suspicion. It +finds ample justification in the reckless disregard for the truth which +prevails throughout the entire series; and in direct evidence. The +invasion had failed. Wounded, and a prisoner in irons, with the gallows +for his portion, Brown had the opportunity which solitude affords, to +contemplate the terrible disaster which had befallen him: the wreck of +his hopes; the ruin of his family; their utter wretchedness, and the +shame and humiliation which they suffered because of him. In his +extremity, he planned how best to meet the problems of his environment; +and, substituting the mightier pen for the sword of the great Frederick, +which had been stricken from his hand, he began a systematic campaign +for a martyr's crown, and for pecuniary assistance for his family, +whenever a favorable opportunity presented itself. + +November 10th, he disclosed to his wife the plan of this, his final +conception: "I have been whipped as the saying _is_," he said, "but I am +sure I can recover all the lost capital occasioned by the disaster; by +only hanging a few moments by the neck; & I feel determined to make the +utmost possible out of a defeat. I am dayly & hourly striving to gather +up what little I may from the wreck."[483] + +In reply to a letter from a kinsman, the Rev. Dr. Humphrey of +Pottsfield, Massachusetts, he wrote November 25th:[484] + + I discover that you labor under a mistaken impression as to + some important facts which my peculiar circumstances will + in all probability prevent the possibility of my removing; + and I do not propose to take up any argument to prove that + any motion or act of my life is right. But I will here + state that I know it to be wholly my own fault as a leader + that caused our disaster.... + + If you do not believe I had a murderous intention (while I + _know_ I had not) why grieve so terribly on my account? The + scaffold has but few terrors for me. God has often covered + my head in the day of battle, and granted me many times + deliverances that were almost so miraculous that I can + scarce realize the truth; and now, when it seems quite + certain that he intends to use me shall I not most + cheerfully go? I may be deceived, but I humbly trust that + he will not forsake me "till I have showed his favor to + this generation and his strength to every one that is to + come...." + +October 27th, a Quaker lady wrote to Brown from Newport, Rhode +Island:[485] + + CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN. + + DEAR FRIEND:--Since thy arrest I have often thought of + thee, and have wished that, like Elizabeth Fry toward her + prison friends, so I might console thee in thy confinement. + But that can never be; and so I can only write thee a few + lines which, if they contain any comfort, may come to thee + like some little ray of light.... + + Oh, I wish I could plead for thee as some of the other sex + can plead, how I would seek to defend thee! If I now had + the eloquence of Portia, how I would turn the scale in thy + favor! But I can only pray "God bless thee!" God pardon + thee and through our Redeemer give thee safety and + happiness now and always! + + From thy friend, E. B. + +Posing as if in the shadow of the sheltering wings of the Almighty, +answering this letter, Brown asserted that he had been the special +instrument on earth of a militant Christ, to execute the divine will in +Kansas; and incidentally solicited a contribution for his family. He +said:[486] + + ... You know that Christ once armed Peter. So also in my + case I think he put a sword into my hand and there + continued it so long as he saw best, and then kindly took + it from me. I mean when I first went to Kansas. I wish you + could know with what cheerfulness I am now wielding the + "sword of the spirit" on the right hand and on the left. I + bless God that it proves "mighty to the pulling down of + strongholds." I always loved my Quaker friends and I + commend to their regard my poor bereaved widowed wife and + my daughters and daughters-in-law, whose husbands fell at + my side. One is a mother and the other likely to become so + soon. They, as well as my own sorrow stricken daughters, + are left very poor, and have much greater need of sympathy + than I, who through Infinite Grace, and the great kindness + of strangers, am "joyful in all my tribulations." + + Dear Sister, write to them at North Elba, Essex County, N. + Y., to comfort their sad hearts. Direct to Mary A. Brown, + wife of John Brown.... + +It may be said of this unsophisticated woman, whose heart was touched by +a sympathy undeserved, that if she had known what took place at the +humble cabin of the Doyles on the night of May 24, 1856, when the +murderous sword, which Brown says Christ placed in his hands, was run +through Doyle's breast, (while others of the party secured the helpless +widow's and orphans' horses) she would not have made her contribution to +this history. Also, Brown's letter to this woman may be taken as an +exhibit or sample of the sacrilege and artful dissimulation that is +characteristic of his prison correspondence. And, since his claims to +sincerity of purpose, and a devotion to humanity depend largely upon +this correspondence, it discloses the fiction, wherewith his fame has +been promoted. November 29th he wrote to his friend, Mrs. George L. +Stearns:[487] + + MY DEAR FRIEND,--No letter I have received since my + imprisonment here, has given me more satisfaction, or + comfort, than yours of the 8, instant. I am quite cheerful; + & was never more happy. Have only time to write a word. May + God forever reward you _& all yours_. _My love to All_ who + love their neighbors. I have asked to be _spared_ from + having any _mock; or hypocritical prayers made over me_, + when I am publicly _murdered_: & that my _only religious + attendants_ be poor _little, dirty, ragged, bareheaded & + barefooted_ Slave Boys; & Girls led by some old + _gray-headed_ Slave _Mother_. Farewell. Farewell. + +The last paper written by John Brown was handed to one of his guards in +the jail on the morning of his execution. It read:[488] + + I John Brown, am now quite _certain_ that the crimes of + this _guilty land_ will never be purged away but with + _blood_. I had as I now think, vainly flattered myself that + without very much bloodshed it might be done. + +November 24th Governor Wise wrote to General Taliaferro, giving him +directions as follows: + + Keep full guard on the line of the frontier from + Martinsburg to Harpers Ferry, on the day of 2d. Dec. Warn + the inhabitants to arm and keep guard and patrol on that + day and for days beforehand. These orders are necessary to + prevent seizures of hostages. Warn the inhabitants to stay + away and especially to keep the women and children at home. + Prevent all strangers, and especially all parties of + strangers, from proceeding to Charlestown on 2d of Dec. To + this end station a guard at Harper's Ferry sufficient to + control crowds on the cars from the East and West. Form two + concentric squares around the gallows, and have a strong + guard at the jail and for escort to execution. Let no crowd + be near enough to the prisoner to hear any speech he may + attempt. Allow no more visitors to be admitted to the + jail.[489] + +Appealing to the President for troops Governor Wise stated that he had +reason to believe that an attempt would "be made to rescue the +prisoners, and if that fails then to seize citizens of this State as +hostages and victims in case of execution."[490] + +In addition to the Virginia militia assembled at Charlestown December +2d, were a detachment, 264 men, from the Artillery Corps, United States +army, and the corps of cadets from the Virginia Military Institute at +Lexington. These organizations were commanded, respectively, by two men +who were soon to win great renown; whose names were to become famous in +the world's history for deeds of military glory: Colonel Robert E. Lee +and Prof. Thomas J. Jackson. + +From the home of Mr. J. M. McKim, in Philadelphia, November 21st, Mrs. +Brown addressed a letter to the Governor asking for the "mortal remains +of my husband and his sons" for burial, to which he replied as +follows:[491] + + I am happy, Madam, that you seem to have the wisdom and + virtue to appreciate my position of duty. Would to God that + "public considerations could avert his doom," for The + Omniscient knows that I take not the slightest pleasure in + the execution of any whom the laws condemn. May He have + mercy on the erring and the afflicted. + + Enclosed is an order to Major Genl. Wm. B. Taliaferro, in + command at Charlestown, Va. to deliver to your order, the + mortal remains of your husband "when all shall be over"; to + be delivered to your agent at Harper's Ferry; and if you + attend the reception in person, to guard you sacredly in + your solemn mission. + + With Tenderness and Truth, I am + Very respectfully, your humble servant, + HENRY A. WISE. + +Under the authority of this letter, Mrs. Brown, in company with Mrs. +McKim and Mr. Hector Tyndale, arrived at Harper's Ferry, November 30th. +There she received a telegram from the Governor giving her permission to +visit her husband, alone, on the following day, stipulating that she +return to Harper's Ferry the same evening. She was, accordingly, driven +to Charlestown the next afternoon in care of an escort--a sergeant and +eight men--of the Fauquier Cavalry, a captain of infantry occupying a +seat beside her. When the time came for her to return. Brown begged +that her visit might be extended until morning, but, under his orders, +the general in command could not grant this request. The hour for the +final parting had come; the heart-broken woman, with her grief, returned +to Harper's Ferry to await the tragedy of the tomorrow. + +December 2d, about an hour before his execution. Brown disposed of the +wreckage of his campaign supplies in a "will and codicil" which were +written for him by Mr. Hunter.[492] It provided that all his property, +being personal property, "which is scattered about in the States of +Virginia and Maryland," should be carefully gathered up by his executor +and "disposed of to the best advantage and the proceeds thereof paid +over to his beloved wife, Mary A. Brown." He trusted that his right to +such articles as were not of a "war-like character" and all other +property that he might be entitled to might be respected. He appointed +Sheriff James W. Campbell, "Executor of this my true last Will, hereby +revoking all others." The document was sealed, and witnessed by John +Avis, the jailer, and Andrew Hunter. + +At 10:30 Brown was notified by the sheriff to prepare for the execution. +He then visited his late companions in arms. To all, except Hazlett and +Cook, he gave such adieux as he could, in view of the painful +circumstances into which he had led them. Hazlett he had refused to +recognize when he was first brought before him in the prison, and +continued to the end to deny that he had been a member of his band. As +to Cook, the relations between them were not cordial. He had stated in +his "confession" that Brown had sent him to Harper's Ferry in June, +1858. This Brown denied; and charged Cook with having made false +statements, saying, "you know I protested against your coming." To which +Cook replied: "Captain Brown, you and I remember differently." Cook may +have asked for the Harper's Ferry detail, but Brown must have consented +to the arrangement, for he furnished the money to defray the expenses +of his going thereto. Cook secured valuable information there, which he +reported to Brown, including, among other things, a census of the slave +population of that vicinity.[493] + +The spectacle which met Brown's gaze as he stepped upon the porch from +the door of the jail on his way to the scaffold, could not otherwise +than recall to his mind the dreams of conquest and of military glory +which he had cherished. Three thousand men--infantry, cavalry, and +artillery--were under arms. In admiration of the display--for the +"street was full of marching men," he said: "I had no idea that Governor +Wise considered my execution so important,"[494] and for that reason, +Mr. Villard says, "no little slave-child was held up for the benison of +his lips, for none but soldiery was near." + +The undertaker's wagon, a two seated vehicle, drawn by two white horses, +stood near, the driver and undertaker occupying the front seat. Brown +took his place in the second seat between the sheriff--Campbell--and his +jailer, Avis. The party then moved to the place of execution. The +escort, under the command of Colonel T. P. August, consisted of a +company of cavalry under Captain Scott, and a battalion of infantry +under Major Loring. On the way to the field, Brown spoke only of +unimportant things, the weather and the scenery. "This is a beautiful +country," he is reported to have said, "I never had the pleasure of +seeing it before." It was a solemn procession, and was void of any +effects in heroic phraseology. + +The time was ripe for the final metamorphosis of John Brown. A blow of a +hatchet cut the cord that linked him to earthly things: The Soldier of +Fortune became the historical Soldier of the Cross. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +"YET SHALL HE LIVE" + +_Much ado about nothing._ + + --SHAKESPEARE + + +John Brown's fame is an unearned increment. It was secured by +misrepresentations put forth by himself and members of his family, and +by the Disunionists--"Union-splitters"--of his time, who inspired his +final actions. Through these agencies he acquired a creditable rating in +history; not because of the things which he did; nor because of the +things which he sought to do; but because of the things which were said +about him; and because of the things which were done to him. His fame is +the result of an exploitation, in eloquent phrases, of virtues, +purposes, and motives, which were attributed to him. It has thus been +overcapitalized. The stock was watered. In respect to the truth of +history, his fame is all "water." It was not based upon fact, but upon +fancy; upon untenable conclusions concerning his character, and wildly +extravagant and irrelevant assumptions concerning his emotions. These +are the sole assets to be found in the appraisement of his public +estate. + +Of him Mr. Redpath said, _in part_: + + He was too large a man to stand on any platform. He planted + his feet on the Rock of Ages--the Eternal truth--and was + therefore never shaken in his policy or principles. + + He scouted the idea of rest while he held a commission + direct from God Almighty to act against Slavery.... + + Where the Republicans said, Halt! John Brown shouted, + Forward! to the rescue! He was an abolitionist of the + Bunker Hill school. + +It did not concern Mr. Redpath that the "Bunker Hill" school of +abolitionists were themselves slave-holders. + +Mr. Thoreau, who was also a Union-splitter, said: + + No man in America has ever stood up so persistently for the + dignity of human nature, knowing himself for man and the + equal of any and all governments. He could not have been + tried by his peers, for his peers did not exist.... + + He did not go to Harvard. He was not fed on the pap that is + there furnished, but he went to the University of the West + where he studied the science of Liberty, and having taken + his degree, he finally commenced the practice of humanity + in Kansas. + +Of Thoreau, Mr. Alcott wrote in his diary, Saturday. November 5, 1859: + + ... Thoreau talks freely and enthusiastically about Brown, + denouncing the Union, the President, the States, and + Virginia particularly; wishes to publish his late speech, + and has seen Boston publishers, but failed to find any to + print it for him.[495] + +Mr. Sanborn said: + + Such was the man--of the best New England blood, of the + stock of the Plymouth Pilgrims, and bred up like them "in + the nurture and admonition of the Lord"--who was selected + by God, and knew himself to be so chosen, to overthrow the + bulwark of oppression in America. He seems to have declared + a definite plan of attacking slavery in one of its + strongholds, by force, as early as 1839; and it was to + obtain money for this enterprise that he engaged in + land-speculations and wool-merchandise for the next ten or + twelve years.... Other men might have been spared but Brown + was indispensable.[496] + +Said Wendell Phillips: + + God makes him the text, and all he asks of our + comparatively cowardly lips is to preach the sermon, and + say to the American people that, whether this old man + succeeded in a worldly sense or not, he stood as a + representative of law, of government, of right, of justice, + of religion, and they were pirates that gathered about him, + and sought to wreak vengeance by taking his life. The banks + of the Potomac are doubly dear now to History and to Man! + The dust of Washington rests there; and History will see + forever on that river side the brave old man on his pallet, + whose dust, when God calls him hence, the Father of his + Country would be proud to make room for beside his own. + +Mr. Higginson said: + + Such men as he needed are not to be _found_ ordinarily; + they must be _reared_. John Brown did not merely look for + men, therefore, he reared them in his sons. + +John A. Andrew, who did not believe that Brown was present or in any way +connected with the robberies and murders on the Pottawatomie, said: + + Whatever may be thought of John Brown's acts, _John Brown + himself was right_. + +The Rev. Theodore Parker, who believed in slave insurrections and their +horrors, wrote: + + Let the American State hang his body and the American + Church damn his soul. Still, the blessing of such as are + ready to perish will fall on him, and the universal justice + of the Infinitely Perfect God will make him welcome home. + The road to heaven is as short from the gallows as from the + throne. + +Mr. Emerson said: + + That new saint, than whom none purer or more brave was ever + led by love of men into conflict and death--the new saint + awaiting his martyrdom, and who, if he shall suffer, will + make the gallows glorious like the cross. + +Into a carnival of rhetoric so picturesque, Mr. John James Ingalls could +not fail to enter the lists and compete for the prize. Poising his +shining lance he delivered this thrust: + + But the three men of this era who will loom forever against + the remotest horizon of time, as the pyramids above the + voiceless desert, or the mountain peaks above the + subordinate plains, are Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant + and Old John Brown of Osawatomie. + +Victor Hugo said: + + The punishment of John Brown may consolidate slavery in + Virginia, but it will certainly shatter the American + Democracy. You preserve your shame but you kill your glory. + +Similar exhibits, in the hyperbolical optimism that constitutes this +promotion by wind, might be added hereto indefinitely; for the output of +such fantastical flights was limited only by the boundaries of taste and +imagination. Probably the best things have been said. But that does not +wholly discourage the later generations. Emulation in the phrase making +competition still places a premium upon inconsistency. Mr. Villard said +fifty years after: + + In Virginia, John Brown atoned for Pottawatomie by the + nobility of his philosophy and his sublime devotion to + principle, even on the gallows. + +Perhaps nowhere else than in the peculiar philosophy of those who +attribute virtue to Brown as a motive for vice, may we find nobility in +dissimulation; atonement without reconciliation; and the sublimity of +devotion to principle in the denial of the truth. Awaiting death in the +Charlestown jail, Brown denied that he had been a party to the murders +and the robberies on the Pottawatomie; and went from the gallows into +the presence of the Almighty to answer for both his participation in +that horror and for his repeated denials of having been personally +concerned in it.[497] + +December 10, 1911, Mr. Clyde McGee, of Chicago, said, among many other +worked-over things: + + It grew upon him as he prayed, for John Brown was a man + who talked with God as confidently as a friend speaketh + with friend.[498] + +When Brown and his sons planned, during March and April and May, 1856, +to steal Doyle's, and Wilkinson's, and other settlers' horses and leave +the country; they planned, as a precautionary measure, to first make +widows and orphans of the wives and children of these men, and then to +steal the horses; not from the dead men, but from the weeping women and +helpless children. Who think you talked with Brown and his swaggering +sons as "friend speaketh with friend" during the time their plans were +being made for these assassinations and robberies, and while they +executed them: The Almighty, or the Devil? Brown was not sure who it was +that prompted him to incite the slaves to strike for their liberty, by +assassinating their masters. He answered Mr. Vallandigham at Harper's +Ferry: + + No man sent me here; it was my own prompting and that of my + Maker, or that of the Devil; whichever you please to + ascribe it to. I acknowledge no master in human form.[499] + +Kansas has done much in honor of John Brown. An association, organized +for the purpose, erected a stately monument at Osawatomie, which was +dedicated to his memory August 30, 1877, by Kansas' most picturesque +orator and statesman, the late John James Ingalls. Later, the patriotic +women connected with the society of the Grand Army of the Republic, in +Kansas, purchased the site of the Battle of Osawatomie, for a "State +Park": which was dedicated, as such, by ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, +August 30, 1910. Also, the State Legislature of 1895, authorized a +society to place a statue of Brown in the national hall of fame, +Statuary Hall, in the rotunda of the national capitol; thus, to the +world, certifying his life and public services to have been the most +conspicuous and illustrious of all its citizens. The text of the +resolution concerning this statue is as follows: + + _Whereas_, The Lincoln Sailors' and Soldiers' National + Monument Association now has in process of construction a + statue or monument of John Brown; and + + _Whereas_, Said association has made application to the + authorities at Washington to have such monument put in + statuary hall in the capitol building, and has been advised + by the general government that before this permission could + be granted a request from the legislature of the State of + Kansas would be necessary: therefore, be it + + _Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate + Concurring therein_, That we hereby request the proper + authorities in charge of the United States Statuary hall, + at Washington, D. C., to permit such monument to be placed + therein; be it further + + _Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded + to each of our senators and representatives in Washington, + D. C. + +For a reason unexplained by his later biographers, the authority to +confer this honor upon Brown--the highest honor within the power of the +State to bestow--was never exercised; a delinquency which excites a +suspicion that the resolution stated conditions, as existing, which did +not exist. + +At the head of the schedule of assumptions concerning the innocence of +Brown's intentions, the purity of his motives, and the exaltation of his +devotion to humanity, is his "martyrdom." This item has been illuminated +with a halo of holiness. As "Christ died to make men holy," so Brown is +said to have died to "make men free." No one has claimed that Hugh +Forbes was an humanitarian, or other than an adventurer. Yet in relation +to Brown's insurrection, the minds of the two men--John Brown and Hugh +Forbes--met in full accord; there was agreement between them. Together +they planned the invasion of the South, for the promotion of their +personal fortunes. Their aims, their ambitions, and their hopes were +identical. If Brown's exchequer had been ample, Forbes too would have +appeared at Harper's Ferry and there would have been a pair of martyrs +there: "Two of a kind." + +The logic of the fiction of his martyrdom is founded upon the assumption +that Brown held an option upon his life which he elected to forfeit; and +that he offered it as a sacrifice: that he chose to die, as the Redeemer +of Men died; and in thus dying made "the gallows glorious like the +cross." Brown did not contemplate dying at Harper's Ferry any more than +did Hugh Forbes, or Stevens, or Cook, or Kagi: and he would not have +died at Charlestown if he could have controlled the event. These men +knew that some of them would, probably, die, but each passed the subject +over lightly, believing that in some inscrutable way, if fatalities +occurred, it would be some of the others who would fall. Men of their +type "die but once." Brown accepted the chances of war as did his +followers, and as Forbes sought the opportunity of doing. Men who have +similarly risked their lives, times almost without number, are not +impressed by such martyrdoms. To his faithful Sanborn, Brown wrote: "I +am now rather anxious to live for a few years."[500] He desired to live +to organize, and to command the army of the Provisional Government: and +to be the head of a new nation: a new "United States." He hoped for +longevity, that he might wear the honors and enjoy the fame and the +emoluments of his prospective achievement. + +The years of Brown's life were a constant, persistent, strenuous +struggle to get money. As to the means which should be employed in the +getting of it, he was indifferent. In his philosophy, results were +paramount; the means to the end were of no consequence. A stranger to +honor, he violated every confidence that should be held sacred among +men: and in his avarice trampled upon every law, moral and statute, +human and Divine. Consistent with the speculative instinct so +distinctly characteristic of his life, his greatest or principal object +was to get money, and to get it quickly. + +Mr. Villard asserts that Brown's greatest or principal object was to +assault slavery, and so entitles an important chapter in the recent +biography. Assuming his premises to be correct, he commences the chapter +with this inquiry: + + When was it that John Brown, practical shepherd, tanner, + farmer, surveyor, cattle expert, real-estate speculator and + wool merchant, first conceived what he calls in his + autobiography "his greatest or principal object" in + life--the forcible overthrow of slavery in his native land? + The question is not an idle one, etc.[501] + +The question, nevertheless, is an idle one. During the interview which +Brown gave out at Harper's Ferry, October 18th, Mr. Vallandigham asked +him this pointed question: "How long have you been engaged in this +business?"[502] To which Brown replied: + + From the breaking out of the difficulties in Kansas. Four + of my sons had gone there to settle and they wanted me to + go.[503] + +Also, Brown stated over his signature, in March, 1859, that it was +"since 1855" that it had been his judgment that the way to successfully +oppose slavery "would be to meddle directly with the peculiar +institution."[504] That he had the subject under consideration prior to +1845 is expressly discredited by Brown, in his autobiography, in the +statement that he was "averse to military affairs"; that he refused to +"train _or drill_; but paid fines & got along like a Quaker until his +age finally cleared him of military duty."[505] + +The record of Brown's life, prior to 1857, is barren of any +contemporaneous expression by him or by any member of his family which +even remotely suggests the possibility that he might have contemplated +attempting a forcible _assault_ against slavery. If his mind had been +preoccupied with a desire of such overshadowing importance the fact +would have shone in the letters which he wrote to his children January +23, and August 6, 1852, relating to the conduct of their lives.[506] +There is much, however, in this history which discredits the assumption +that he gave the subject any consideration whatever. A man whose life +was a "burning" devotion to an ambition so heroic as to become the +"David of the Goliath of Slavery,"[507] ought to have shown some +personal interest in the matter; he should not have left it wholly to +his panegyrists. It appears however that the peaceful "tanner and +shepherd" was so unconscious of having any object in life worth living +for that he "felt," during this time, "a strong and steady desire to +die";[508] a condition of mind wholly inconsistent with heroism or with +one "burning" to bear arms, or with a "man of war emerging from the +chrysalis of peace."[509] The assumptions upon which Mr. Villard relies +for the relevancy of his question are gratuitous. The chapter is a +scholarly example, put forth by a scholar, of the art of making "much +ado about nothing." + +It would be proper to say that the conquest of the Southern States was +the greatest or principal undertaking in Brown's career, and that it was +in 1857 that he first planned to attempt it. His capture of Pate's +horses and mules at Black Jack in June; and the days which he spent in +stealing cattle, at and around Osawatomie, during the last days of +August, 1856; and his plundering in Missouri and Kansas in 1858, may be +called meddling with slavery; though grafting upon the anti-slavery +sentiment of the time, would more accurately describe the relation, if +any, of his operations to slavery. + +There was this difference between Nat Turner and John Brown: the negro +was a religious fanatic; he was sincere and consistent. Falsehood, +deception, greed, selfishness, are not attributes of fanaticism, but +they are characteristic of Brown's life. The sincerity of his +"death-bed" professions of godliness, and of sympathy for the men in +bondage, is discredited by the actions of a lifetime as conspicuous for +its turpitude as it was barren of virtues. Neither charitable deed, nor +manifestation of a benevolent, or of a patriotic spirit, appears, even +incidentally, along the lines of his life, to break the monotone of +selfishness that distinguishes it. In public affairs he took no part +worthy of consideration. + +Mr. Gill gave up a view of his natural or unassumed personality that is +consistently discreditable, and Brown's correspondence is a confirmation +of that estimate. It teaches the lesson that he administered his +deportment to suit the circumstances of the occasion existing at the +time; and that it covered the entire range of the various phases of +human intercourse; from that of a coarse, brutal vulgarity, to the +saintliness of his latest metamorphosis; from the use of language so +distinctly vulgar and obscene, as to be, in the opinion of the writer, +unprintable,[510] to the crafty assumptions of godliness contained in +his letter to the innocent Quakeress.[511] + +Brown was crafty in the sublimest degree of the art. His craftiness was +a distinction. It will be difficult to find in our literature a more +interesting example of the refinements of the art than the piece which +he set for Mrs. Stearns: his "Old Brown's Farewell: to the Plymouth +Rocks; Bunker Hill Monuments; Charter Oaks; and Uncle Toms Cabbins." In +the setting, and in the dramatic execution of the play, he exhibited +the perfection of the actor. The paper was not drawn for Mr. Parker to +read to his congregation. Brown was not "casting his pearls before +swine." It was for Mrs. Stearns personally that the paper was written; +it was her heart that he intended to touch, and her generous emotions +that he intended to prey upon. How successfully he played the part she +has related.[512] + +Of Brown, it may be truthfully said that within the limits of his +resources, he did nothing in a small way, nor did he move with a faint +heart. With him, there was neither halting nor trifling in action. He +was consistently an adventurer. His theology scorned all creeds. Without +capital he was a plunger among speculators. The deception which he +practiced upon the New England Woolen Company netted him a fortune +little below the average of that period. In the commission business he +was an acrobat, rather than a merchant: his operations were a series of +feats in commercial gymnastics. Chafing because of the restrictions of +an extreme poverty that kept him "like a toad under a harrow," he +determined to burst the bands of his environment, and there was a +massacre in the valley of the Pottawatomie out of which he rode with a +herd of horses. And he would have ridden away from Black Jack with +Pate's horses and mules, if Pate had not deceived him, and led him to +believe that he held his sons--John and Jason--prisoners, as hostages. A +guerrilla leader for six days, he drove two hundred and fifty head of +cattle into his camp at Osawatomie, and in 1858, as a Kansas raider, he +dwarfed the operations of James Montgomery. In the East, as a crafty +imposter and grafter, he secured $30,000 in cash and plunder, and +attempted a _coup_ upon the Legislatures of Massachusetts and New York +for $200,000 more. And then, within one year from the date of the +outburst of his determination to be freed from poverty, he indulged +hopes of a successful conquest: hopes of riches and of fame. An habitual +cruelty in his domestic life, which is more than hinted at by his +friend and confidant, George R. Gill, nerved his hand to execute the +ferocious butchery of his neighbors on the Pottawatomie, and steeled his +heart to incite the slaves at Harper's Ferry to emulate the example of +Southampton. His attempt at revolution was not the result of a previous +conviction and consecration to duty and to the cause of humanity, but of +a growth--the indulgence and development of an abnormal passion for +speculation: the culmination downward of his speculative and criminal +instincts. Closing a commercial sas indulging the reasonable hope that +in the new country he would find opportunity to improve his condition. +In the horses owned by the Shermans, and by other well-to-do neighbors, +he saw, and grasped, the opportunity--a desperate one--to make a "coup +to restore his fortunes." Out of that plunge in robbery and murder came +the leader of a gang of horse thieves--the chrysalis of the guerrilla +captain of Osawatomie. + +Driven out of the Territory by the establishment of order, the crafty +marauder raided the East as the militant defender of Kansas. In the +practice of his impositions there, he met and established confidential +relations with men who plotted against the life of the nation; men who +planned how to provoke a revolution; how best to "split the Union";[513] +men who wished "success to every slave insurrection." From this +atmosphere, pregnant with the sentiment of disloyalty to the Union, +Brown derived the inspiration which encouraged him to plan to do what +his mentors had not the courage to undertake. Out of his negotiations +with them came money; munitions of war; Hugh Forbes, the revolutionist; +mutual planning for a revolution, and a dream of empire. + +John Brown will live in history; but his name will not be found among +the names of those who have wrought for humanity and for righteousness; +or among the names of the martyrs and the saints who "washed their +robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." + +"YET SHALL HE LIVE": but it will be as a soldier of fortune, an +adventurer. He will take his place in history as such: and will rank +among adventurers as Napoleon ranks among marshals: as Captain Kidd +among pirates: and as Jonathan Wild among thieves. + + + + +APPENDICES + + + + +APPENDIX I + +CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE LATE D. W. WILDER CONCERNING JOHN BROWN + + + Topeka, Kansas, Dec. 18th, 1902. + + General D. W. Wilder, Hiawatha, Kansas. + + MY DEAR GENERAL: + + I would like to have you kindly tell me something valuable + about John Brown. I listened to your tribute to his memory, + read before the Historical Society on the 2nd inst. It + recalled the admiration which I entertained for the "Old + Hero" throughout the many years of my life; from young + manhood up to about four years ago; when I attempted to + write a sketch of his life. It was in reading up to obtain + data for this sketch that the idol, which my credulity, I + suppose, or imagination had set up, went utterly to pieces + in my hands. I read faithfully what his biographers, + Sanborn, and Redpath, and the other fellows, have written + about him, but none of them give up any valuable facts. + They all seem to be long on eulogy. They do overtime on + that. The whole performance is a continuous eulogium; but + historical facts, upon which to predicate a story, or upon + which his "immortal fame" is supposed to rest, are + painfully lacking.... These are some of the things which I + went up against when I tried in good faith to write about + him, and they broke me all up, so I had to quit. John + Brown, the "Hero" and "Martyr," is a creation--Charlestown + furnished a simple text and the genius of his generation + did the rest. The brilliant minds of this age have + exploited him in literary effects, in prose, in poetry and + oratory. They have placarded him "upon the walls of time"; + but I am compelled to believe that his fame thus acquired, + will not survive. The "why" may "repel the philosophic + searcher," but it cannot "defy" the historical searchers. + History has no enigmas. + + I will be very glad indeed to have your opinions on this + business. + + Very truly yours, + HILL P. WILSON. + +In this letter the writer asked Mr. Wilder for his opinion upon Brown's +motives in their relation to several incidents that occurred in his +life. His reply is as follows:[514] + + Hiawatha, Kansas, Dec. 20, 1902. + + MY DEAR WILSON: + + ... You have stood on various platforms and made many + political speeches. Did any of them endorse the sentiments + you now hold? The elder Booth, a man of genius, once + staggered up to the footlights and said to the crowded + house: "You are all drunk," and staggered off. + + You think the people of your county, your state, your + country and of the civilized world, including its noblest + spirits, do not know a hero, an emancipator--first of his + state, then of his nation. Only one Kansan has made a + speech that thrilled the world and is immortal. You never + read it. Only one Kansan lives in poetry, in song, in human + hearts, and is the constant theme of the historian, the + dramatist, the man of letters. You think he was a fool. The + whole world has pronounced its verdict on John Brown. + + Yours truly, + D. W. WILDER. + +To this letter the writer replied: + + Topeka, Kans., January 3, 1903. + + MY DEAR GENERAL: + + Your letter of the 20th ult., is received. I told you that + I had gone the limit of my vocabulary in expressing my + admiration of John Brown. I read the "speech that thrilled + the world." I have read the poetry and have sung the songs. + I make the point that the speeches, the poetry, and the + songs are all there is behind John Brown. When I asked you + about some historical facts, you gave me more oratory. It + seems to have become a habit. If you ever analyze this + man's character, you will reverse your estimate of him. + + The world sees Brown fighting, heroically, in the + engine-house at Harper's Ferry, but it does not inquire how + he came to be there. It was his death, and not his life, + that gave him renown. Usually it is a man's life--his + actions, that determine his place among men. If it be true + that one unimpeachable fact will set aside the most + plausible opposing theory, then Brown's fame will not + survive. The facts of his life impeach the popular verdict. + + Very truly yours, + HILL P. WILSON. + + General D. W. Wilder, Hiawatha, Kansas. + + + + +APPENDIX II + +RECOLLECTIONS OF THE JOHN BROWN RAID BY THE HON. ALEXANDER R. BOTELER, A +VIRGINIAN WHO WITNESSED THE FIGHT + +_Taken from The Century_ + + +On entering the room where John Brown was, I found him alone, lying on +the floor on his left side, and with his back turned toward me. The +right side of his face was smeared with blood from a sword cut on his +head, causing his grim and grizzled countenance to look like that of +some aboriginal savage with his war-paint on. Approaching him I began +the conversation with the inquiry: + +"Captain Brown, are you hurt anywhere except on the head?" + +"Yes, in my side, here," said he, indicating the place with his hand. + +I then told him that a surgeon would be in presently to attend to his +wounds, and expressed the hope that they were not very serious. +Thereupon he asked me who I was, and on giving him my name he muttered +as if speaking to himself. + +"Yes, yes--I know you now--member of congress--this district." + +I then asked the question: + +"Captain, what brought you here?" + +"To free your slaves," was the reply. + +"How did you expect to accomplish it with the small force you brought +with you?" + +"I expected help." + +"Where, whence, and from whom, Captain, did you expect it?" + +"Here and from elsewhere," he answered. + +"Did you expect to get assistance from whites here as well as from the +blacks?" was my next question. + +"I did," he replied. + +"Then," said I, "you have been disappointed in not getting it from +either?" + +"Yes," he muttered, "I have--been--disappointed." + +Then I asked him who planned his movement on Harper's Ferry, to which he +replied: "I planned it all myself," and upon my remarking that it was a +sad affair for him and the country, and that I trusted no one would +follow his example by undertaking a similar raid, he made no response. I +next inquired if he had any family besides the sons who accompanied him +on his incursion, to which he replied by telling me he had a wife and +children in the State of New York at North Elba, and on my then asking +if he would like to write to them and let them know how he was, he +quickly responded: + +"Yes, I would like to send them a letter." + +"Very well," I said, "you doubtless will be permitted to do so. But, +Captain," I added, "probably you understand that, being in the hands of +the civil authorities of the State, your letters will have to be seen by +them before they can be sent." + +"Certainly," he said. + +"Then, with that understanding," continued I. "There will, I am sure, be +no objection to your writing home; and although I have no authority in +the premises, I promise to do what I can to have your wishes in that +respect complied with." + +"Thank you--thank you, sir," he said repeating his acknowledgment for +the proffered favor and, for the first time, turning his head toward me. + +In my desire to hear him distinctly, I had placed myself by his side, +with one knee resting on the floor; so that, when he turned, it brought +his face quite close to mine, and I remember well the earnest gaze of +the gray eye that looked straight into mine. I then remarked: + +"Captain, we, too, have wives and children. This attempt of yours to +interfere with our slaves has created great excitement and naturally +causes anxiety on account of our families. Now, let me ask you: Is this +failure of yours likely to be followed by similar attempts to create +disaffection among our servants and bring upon our homes the horrors of +a servile war?" + +"Time will show," was his significant reply. + +Just then a Catholic priest appeared at the door of the room. He had +been administering the last consolations of religion to Quinn, the +marine, who was dying in the adjoining office; and the moment Brown saw +him he became violently angry, and plainly showed, by the expression of +his countenance, how capable he was of feeling "hatred, malice, and all +uncharitableness." + +"Go out of here--I don't want you about me--go out!" was the salutation +he gave the priest, who, bowing gravely, immediately retired. Whereupon +I arose from the floor, and bidding Brown good-morning, likewise left +him. + +In the entry leading to the room where Brown was, I met Major Russell, +of the marine corps, who was going to see him, and I detailed to him the +conversation I had just had. Meeting the major subsequently he told me +that when he entered the apartment Brown was standing up--with his +clothes unfastened--examining the wound in his side, and that, as soon +as he saw him, forthwith resumed his former position on the floor; which +incident tended to confirm the impression I had already formed, that +there was a good deal of vitality left in the old man, notwithstanding +his wounds--a fact more fully developed that evening after I had left +Harper's Ferry for home, when he had his spirited and historic talk with +Wise, Hunter and Vallandigham. + + + + +APPENDIX III + +THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED AT CHATHAM, CANADA + + +Copy of the Constitution, adopted at Chatham, Canada, May 8, 1858. +_Mason Report_, p. 48. + +PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION AND ORDINANCE FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED +STATES + +PREAMBLE + +Whereas, slavery throughout its entire existence in the United States, +is none other than a most barbarous, unprovoked, and unjustifiable war +of one portion of its citizens upon another portion, the only conditions +of which are perpetual imprisonment and hopeless servitude or absolute +extermination; in utter disregard of those eternal and self-evident +truths set forth in our Declaration of Independence: Therefore, + +We, citizens of the United States, and the Oppressed People, who, by a +decision of the Supreme Court are declared to have no rights which the +White Man is bound to respect; together with all other people degraded +by the laws thereof, Do, for the time being ordain and establish for +ourselves, the following PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION and ORDINANCES, the +better to protect our Persons, Property, Lives and Liberties; and to +govern our actions: + + +ARTICLE I + +QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP + +All persons of mature age, whether Proscribed, oppressed, and enslaved +Citizens, or of the Proscribed or oppressed races of the United States, +who shall agree to sustain and enforce the Provisional Constitution and +Ordinance of this organization, together with all minor children of such +persons, shall be held to be fully entitled to protection under the +same. + + +ARTICLE II + +BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT + +The provisional government of this organization shall consist of three +branches, viz.: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. + + +ARTICLE III + +LEGISLATIVE + +The legislative branch shall be a Congress or House of Representatives, +composed of not less than five, or more than ten members, who shall be +elected by all the citizens of mature age and of sound mind, connected +with this organization; and who shall remain in office for three years, +unless sooner removed for misconduct, inability, or death. A majority of +such members shall constitute a quorum. + + +ARTICLE IV + +EXECUTIVE + +The executive branch of this organization shall consist of a President +and Vice-President, who shall be chosen by the citizens or members of +this organization, and each of whom shall hold his office for three +years, unless sooner removed by death, or for inability or misconduct. + + +ARTICLE V + +JUDICIAL + +The judicial branch of this organization shall consist of one +Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, and of four Associate Judges of said +Court; each constituting a Circuit Court. They shall each be chosen in +the same manner as the President, and shall continue in office until +their places have been filled in the same manner by election of the +citizens. Said court shall have jurisdiction in all civil or criminal +causes, arising under this constitution, except breaches of the Rules of +War. + + +ARTICLE VI + +VALIDITY OF ENACTMENTS + +All enactments of the legislative branch shall, to become valid during +the first three years, have the approbation of the President and the +Commander-in-Chief of the Army. + + +ARTICLE VII + +COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF + +A Commander-in-Chief of the army shall be chosen by the President, +Vice-President, a majority of the Provisional Congress, and of the +Supreme Court, and he shall receive his commission from the President, +signed by the Vice-President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, +and the Secretary of War: and he shall hold his office for three years, +unless removed by death, or on proof of incapacity of misbehavior. He +shall, unless under arrest (and till his place is actually filled as +provided by the constitution) direct all movements of the army, and +advise with any allies. He shall, however, be tried, removed, or +punished, on complaint by the President, by, at least, three general +officers, or a majority of the House of Representatives, or of the +Supreme Court; which House of Representatives (the President presiding); +the Vice President, and the members of the Supreme Court, shall +constitute a court-martial, for his trial; with power to remove or +punish, as the case may require; and to fill his place as above +provided. + + +ARTICLE VIII + +OFFICERS + +A Treasurer, Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Secretary of the +Treasury, shall each be chosen for the first three years, in the same +way and manner as the Commander-in-Chief; subject to trial or removal on +complaint of the President, Vice-President, or Commander in Chief, to +the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; or on complaint of the majority +of the members of said court, or the Provisional Congress. The Supreme +Court shall have power to try or punish either of those officers; and +their places shall be filled as before. + + +ARTICLE IX + +SECRETARY OF WAR + +The Secretary of War shall be under the immediate directions of the +Commander in Chief; who may temporarily fill his place, in case of +arrest, or of any inability to serve. + + +ARTICLE X + +CONGRESS OR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES + +The House of Representatives shall make ordinances for the appointment +(by the President or otherwise) of all civil officers except those +already named; and shall have power to make all laws and ordinances for +the general good, not inconsistent with this Constitution and these +ordinances. + + +ARTICLE XI + +APPROPRIATION OF MONEY, ETC. + +The Provisional Congress shall have power to appropriate money or other +property actually in the hands of the Treasurer, to any object +calculated to promote the general good, so far as may be consistent with +the provisions of this Constitution; and may in certain cases, +appropriate, for a moderate compensation of agents, or persons not +members of this organization, for important service they are known to +have rendered. + + +ARTICLE XII + +SPECIAL DUTIES + +It shall be the duty of Congress to provide for the instant removal of +any civil officer or policeman, who becomes habitually intoxicated, or +who is addicted to other immoral conduct, or to any neglect or +unfaithfulness in the discharge of his official duties. Congress shall +also be a standing committee of safety, for the purpose of obtaining +important information; and shall be in constant communication with the +Commander-in-Chief; the members of which shall each, as also the +President and Vice-President, members of the Supreme Court, and +Secretary of State, have full power to issue warrants returnable as +Congress shall ordain (naming Witnesses etc) upon their own information, +without the formality of a complaint. Complaint shall be made +immediately after arrest, and before trial; the party arrested to be +served with a copy at once. + + +ARTICLE XIII + +TRIAL OF PRESIDENT AND OTHER OFFICERS + +The President and Vice President may either of them be tried, removed, +or punished, on complaint made by the Chief Justice of the Supreme +Court, by a majority of the House of Representatives, which House, +together with the Associate Judges of the Supreme Court, the whole to be +presided over by the Chief Justice in the cases of the trial of the Vice +President, shall have full power to try such officers, to remove, or +punish as the case may require, and to fill any vacancy so occurring, +the same as in the case of the Commander-in-Chief. + + +ARTICLE XIV + +TRIAL OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS + +The members of the House of Representatives may, any and all of them, be +tried, and on conviction, removed or punished on complaint before the +Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, made by any number of members of +said House, exceeding one third, which House, with the Vice President +and Associate Judges of the Supreme Court, shall constitute the proper +tribunal, with power to fill such vacancies. + + +ARTICLE XV + +IMPEACHMENT OF JUDGES + +Any member of the Supreme Court, tried, convicted, or punished by +removal or otherwise, on complaint to the President, who shall, in such +case, preside; the Vice-President, House of Representatives, and other +members of the Supreme Court, constituting the proper tribunal (with +power to fill vacancies); on complaint of a majority of said House of +Representatives, or of the Supreme Court; a majority of the whole having +power to decide. + + +ARTICLE XVI + +DUTIES OF PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY OF STATE + +The President, with the Secretary of State, shall immediately upon +entering on the duties of their office, give special attention to +secure, from amongst their own people, men of integrity, intelligence, +and good business habits and capacity; and above all, of first rate +moral and religious character and influence, to act as civil officers of +every description and grade, as well as teachers, chaplains, physicians, +surgeons, mechanics, agents of every description, clerks and messengers. +They shall make special effort to induce at the earliest possible +period, persons and families of that description, to locate themselves +within the limits secured by this organization; and shall, moreover, +from time to time, supply the names and residence of such persons to the +Congress, for their special notice and information, as among the most +important of their duties, and the President is hereby authorized and +empowered to afford special aid to such individuals, from such moderate +appropriations as the Congress shall be able and may deem it advisable +to make for that object. + +The President and Secretary of State, and in case of disagreement, the +Vice-President shall appoint all civil officers, but shall not have +power to remove any officer. All removals shall be the result of a fair +trial, whether civil or military. + + +ARTICLE XVII + +FURTHER DUTIES + +It shall be the duty of the President and Secretary of State, to find +out (as soon as possible) the real friends, as well as the enemies of +this organization in every part of the country; to secure among them, +innkeepers, private postmasters, private mail contractors, messengers +and agents: through whom may be obtained correct and regular +information, constantly; recruits for the service, places of deposit and +sale; together with needed supplies: and it shall be matter of special +regard to secure such facilities through the Northern States. + + +ARTICLE XVIII + +DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT + +It shall be the duty of the President, as well as the House of +Representatives, at all times, to inform the Commander-in-Chief of any +matter that may require his attention, or that may affect the public +safety. + + +ARTICLE XIX + +DUTY OF PRESIDENT--CONTINUED + +It shall be the duty of the President to see that the provisional +ordinances of this organization, and those made by Congress, are +properly and faithfully executed; and he may in cases of great urgency +call on the Commander-in-Chief of the army, or other officers for aid; +it being, however, intended that a sufficient civil police shall always +be in readiness to secure implicit obedience to law. + + +ARTICLE XX + +THE VICE-PRESIDENT + +The Vice-President shall be the presiding officer of the Provisional +Congress and in case of tie shall give the casting vote. + + +ARTICLE XXI + +VACANCIES + +In case of death, removal, or inability of the President, the +Vice-President, and next to him, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, +shall be the President during the remainder of the term: and the place +of Chief-Justice thus made vacant shall be filled by Congress from some +of the members of said Court; and places of the Vice-President and +Associate Justice thus made vacant, filled by an election by the united +action of the Provisional Congress and members of the Supreme Court. All +other vacancies, not heretofore specially provided for, shall, during +the first three years, be filled by the united action of the President, +Vice-President, Supreme Court, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army. + + +ARTICLE XXII + +PUNISHMENT OF CRIMES + +The punishment of crimes not capital, except in the case of +insubordinate convicts or other prisoners, shall be (so far as may be) +by hard labor on the public works, roads, etc. + + +ARTICLE XXIII + +ARMY APPOINTMENTS + +It shall be the duty of all commissioned officers of the army to name +candidates of merit for office or elevation to the Commander-in-Chief, +who, with the Secretary of War, and, in cases of disagreement, the +President, shall be the appointing power of the army: and all +commissions of military officers shall bear the signatures of the +Commander-in-Chief and the Secretary of War. And it shall be the special +duty of the Secretary of War to keep for constant reference of the +Commander-in-Chief a full list of names of persons nominated for office, +or elevation, by officers of the army, with the name and rank of the +officer nominating, stating distinctly but briefly the grounds for such +notice or nomination. The Commander-in-Chief shall not have power to +remove or punish any officer or soldier; but he may order their arrest +and trial at any time, by court-martial. + + +ARTICLE XXIV + +COURT-MARTIALS + +Court martials for Companies, Regiments, Brigades, etc., shall be called +by the chief officer of each command, on complaint to him by any +officer, or any five privates, in such command, and shall consist of not +less than five nor more than nine officers, and privates, one-half of +whom shall not be lower in rank than the person on trial, to be chosen +by the three highest officers in the command, which officers shall not +be a part of such court. The chief officer of any command shall, of +course be tried by a court-martial of the command above his own. All +decisions affecting the lives of persons, or office of persons holding +commission, must, before taking full effect, have the signature of the +Commander-in-Chief, who may also, on the recommendation of, at least, +one-third of the members of the court martial finding any sentence, +grant a reprieve or commutation of the same. + + +ARTICLE XXV + +SALARIES + +No person connected with this organization shall be entitled to any +salary, pay, or emoluments, other than a competent support of himself +and family, unless it be from an equal dividend, made of public +property, on the establishment of peace, or of special provision by +treaty; which provision shall be made for all persons who may have been +in any active civil or military service at any time previous to any +hostile action for Liberty and Equality. + + +ARTICLE XXVI + +TREATIES OF PEACE + +Before any treaty of peace shall take effect, it shall be signed by the +President and Vice-President, the Commander-in-Chief, a majority of the +House of Representatives, a majority of the Supreme Court, and a +majority of all general officers of the army. + + +ARTICLE XXVII + +DUTY OF THE MILITARY + +It shall be the duty of the Commander-in-Chief, and all officers and +soldiers of the army, to afford special protection when needed, to +Congress, or any member thereof; to the President, Vice-President, +Treasurer, Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of +War; and to afford general protection to all civil officers, other +persons having right to the same. + + +ARTICLE XXVIII + +PROPERTY + +All captured or confiscated property, and all property the product of +the labor of those belonging to this organization and their families, +shall be held as the property of the whole, equally, without +distinction; and may be used for the common benefit, or disposed of for +the same object; and any person, officer or otherwise, who shall +improperly retain, secrete, use, or needlessly destroy such property, or +property found, captured, or confiscated, belonging to the enemy, or +shall willfully neglect to render a full and fair statement of such +property by him so taken or held, shall be deemed guilty of a +misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be punished accordingly. + + +ARTICLE XXIX + +SAFETY OR INTELLIGENCE FUND + +All money, plate, watches or jewelry, captured by honorable warfare, +found, taken or confiscated, belonging to the enemy, shall be held +sacred, to constitute a liberal safety or intelligence fund; and any +person who shall improperly retain, dispose of, hide, use, or destroy +such money or other article above mentioned, contrary to the provisions +and spirit of this article, shall be deemed guilty of theft, and, on +conviction thereof, shall be punished accordingly. The Treasurer shall +furnish the Commander-in-Chief at all times with a full statement of the +condition of such fund and its nature. + + +ARTICLE XXX + +THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND THE TREASURY + +The Commander-in-Chief shall have power to draw from the Treasury the +money and other property of the fund provided for it in ARTICLE +twenty-ninth, but his orders shall be signed also by the Secretary of +War, who shall keep strict account of the same; subject to examination +by any member of Congress, or general officer. + + +ARTICLE XXXI + +SURPLUS OF THE SAFETY OR INTELLIGENCE FUND + +It shall be the duty of the Commander-in-Chief to advise the President +of any surplus of the Safety or Intelligence Fund; who shall have power +to draw such surplus (his order being also signed by the Secretary of +State) to enable him to carry out the provisions of Article Seventeenth. + + +ARTICLE XXXII + +PRISONERS + +No person, after having surrendered himself or herself a prisoner, and +who shall properly demean himself or herself as such, to any officer or +private connected with this organization, shall afterward be put to +death, or be subject to any corporal punishment, without first having +had the benefit of a fair and impartial trial: nor shall any prisoner be +treated with any kind of cruelty, disrespect, insult, or needless +severity: but it shall be the duty of all persons, male and female, +connected herewith, at all times and under all circumstances, to treat +all such prisoners with every degree of respect and kindness the nature +of the circumstances will admit of; and to insist on a like course of +conduct from all others, as in the fear of Almighty God, to whose care +and keeping we commit our cause. + + +ARTICLE XXXIII + +VOLUNTARIES + +All persons who may come forward and shall voluntarily deliver up their +slaves, and have their names registered on the Books of the +organization, shall, so long as they continue at peace, be entitled to +the fullest protection of person and property, though not connected with +this organization, and shall be treated as friends, and not merely as +persons neutral. + + +ARTICLE XXXIV + +NEUTRALS + +The persons and property of all non-slaveholders who shall remain +absolute neutral, shall be respected so far as the circumstances can +allow of it; but they shall not be entitled to any active protection. + + +ARTICLE XXXV + +NO NEEDLESS WASTE + +The needless waste or destruction of any useful property or article, by +fire, throwing open of fences, fields, buildings, or needless killing of +animals, or injury of either, shall not be tolerated at any time or +place, but shall be promptly and properly punished. + + +ARTICLE XXXVI + +PROPERTY CONFISCATED + +The entire and real property of all persons known to be acting either +directly or indirectly with or for the enemy, or found in arms with +them, or found wilfully holding slaves, shall be confiscated and taken, +whenever and wherever it may be found, in either free or slave States. + + +ARTICLE XXXVII + +DESERTION + +Persons convicted, on impartial trial, of desertion to the enemy after +becoming members, acting as spies, or of treacherous surrender of +property, arms, ammunition, provisions, or supplies of any kind, roads, +bridges, persons or fortifications shall be put to death and their +entire property confiscated. + + +ARTICLE XXXVIII + +VIOLATION OF PAROLE OF HONOR + +Persons proven to be guilty of taking up arms after having been set at +liberty on parole of honor, or, after the same, to have taken an active +part with or for the enemy, direct or indirect, shall be put to death +and their entire property confiscated. + + +ARTICLE XXXIX + +ALL MUST LABOR + +All persons connected in any way with this organization, and who may be +entitled to full protection under it, shall be held as under obligation +to labor in some way for the general good, and any persons refusing, or +neglecting so to do, shall on conviction receive a suitable and +appropriate punishment. + + +ARTICLE XL + +IRREGULARITIES + +Profane Swearing, filthy conversation, indecent behavior, or indecent +exposure of person, or intoxication, or quarreling, shall not be allowed +or tolerated, neither unlawful intercourse of the sexes. + + +ARTICLE XLI + +CRIMES + +Persons convicted of the forcible violation of any female prisoner shall +be put to death. + + +ARTICLE XLII + +THE MARRIAGE RELATION--SCHOOLS--THE SABBATH + +The marriage relation shall be at all times respected, and the families +kept together as far as possible, and broken families encouraged to +re-unite, and intelligence offices established for that purpose, schools +and churches established, as soon as may be, for the purpose of +religious and other instructions; and the first day of the week regarded +as a day of rest and appropriated to moral and religious instruction +and improvement; relief to the suffering, instruction of the young and +ignorant, and the encouragement of personal cleanliness; nor shall any +person be required on that day to perform ordinary manual labor, unless +in extremely urgent cases. + + +ARTICLE XLIII + +CARRY ARMS OPENLY + +All persons known to be of good character, and of sound mind and +suitable age, who are connected with this organization, whether male or +female, shall be encouraged to carry arms openly. + + +ARTICLE XLIV + +NO PERSON TO CARRY CONCEALED WEAPONS + +No person within the limits of the conquered territory, except regularly +appointed policemen, express officers of the army, mail carriers, or +other fully accredited messengers of the Congress, President, +Vice-President, members of the Supreme Court, or commissioned officers +of the army--and those only under peculiar circumstances--shall be +allowed, at any time, to carry concealed weapons; and any person not +specially authorized so to do, who shall be found so doing, shall be +deemed a suspicious person, and may be at once arrested by any officer, +soldier, or citizen, without the formality of a complaint or warrant, +and may at once be subject to thorough search, and shall have his or her +case thoroughly investigated; and be dealt with as circumstances, or +proof, may require. + + +ARTICLE XLV + +PERSONS TO BE SEIZED + +Persons within the limits of the territory holden by this organization, +not connected with this organization, having arms at all, concealed or +otherwise, shall be seized at once, or taken in charge of by some +vigilant officer; and their case thoroughly investigated: and it shall +be the duty of all citizens and soldiers, as well as officers, to arrest +such parties as are named in this and the preceding Section or Article, +without formality of complaint or warrant: and they shall be placed in +charge of proper officer for examination or for safe keeping. + + +ARTICLE XLVI + +THESE ARTICLES NOT FOR THE OVERTHROW OF GOVERNMENT + +The foregoing articles shall not be construed so as in any way to +encourage the overthrow of any State Government of the United States: +and look to no dissolution of the Union, but simply to Amendment and +Repeal. And our Flag shall be the same as our Fathers fought under in +the Revolution. + + +ARTICLE XLVII + +NO PLURALITY OF OFFICES + +No two offices specially provided for, by this Instrument, shall be +filled by the same person at the same time. + + +ARTICLE XLVIII + +OATH + +Every Officer, civil or military, connected with this organization, +shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, make solemn oath +or affirmation, to abide by and support this Provisional Constitution +and these Ordinances. Also, every Citizen and Soldier, before being +fully recognized as such, shall do the same. + + + + +APPENDIX IV + +JOHN BROWN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY + +_Written to Henry L. Stearns, son of George L. Stearns, and bearing date +Red Rock, Iowa, July 7, 1857._[515] + + +John was born May 9th, 1800, at Torrington, Litchfield County, +Connecticut; of poor but respectable parents: a descendant on the side +of his father of one of the company of the _Mayflower_ who landed at +Plymouth 1620. His mother was descended from a man who came at an early +period to New England from Amsterdam, in Holland. Both his Father's & +Mother's Fathers served in the war of the revolution: His Father's +Father died in a barn at New York while in the service, in 1776. + +I cannot tell you of anything in the first Four years of John's life +worth mentioning save that at that _early age_ he was tempted by Three +large Brass Pins belonging to a girl who lived in the family & _stole +them_. In this he was detected by his Mother; & after having a full day +to think of the wrong: received from her a thorough whipping. When he +was Five years old his Father moved to Ohio; then a wilderness filled +with wild beasts, & Indians. During the long journey which was performed +in part or mostly with an _ox team_; he was called on by turns to assist +a boy Five years older (who had been adopted by his Father & Mother) & +learned to think he could accomplish _smart things_ in driving the cows, +and riding the horses. Some times he met with Rattle Snakes which were +very large; & which some of the company generally managed to kill. After +getting to Ohio in 1805 he was for some time rather afraid of the +Indians, & of their Rifles; but this soon wore off; & he used to hang +about them quite as much as was consistent with good manners; & learned +a trifle of their talk. His Father learned to dress Deer Skins, & at 6 +years old John was installed a young Buck Skin--He was perhaps rather +observing as he ever after remembered the entire process of Deer Skin +_dressing_; so that he could at any time dress his own leather such as +Squirl, Raccoon, Cat, Wolf, or Dog Skin; & also learned to make Whip +Lashes: which brought him some change at times; & was of considerable +service in many ways. At Six years old John began to be quite a rambler +in the wild new country finding birds & Squirels, and sometimes a wild +Turkey's nest. But about this period he was placed in the school of +_adversity_: which my young friend was a most necessary part of his +early training. You may _laugh_ when you come to read about it; but +these were _sore trials_ to John: whose earthly treasures were very _few +& small_. These were the beginnings of a severe but _much needed course_ +of discipline which he afterwards was to pass through; & which it is to +be hoped has learned him before this time that the Heavenly Father sees +it best to take all the little things out of his hand which he has ever +placed in them. When John was in his Sixth year a poor _Indian boy_ gave +him a Yellow Marble the first he had ever seen. This he thought a great +deal of; & kept it a good while; but at last he lost it beyond recovery. +_It took years to heal the wound_; & I _think_ he cried at times about +it. About Five months after this he caught a young Squirrel tearing off +his tail in doing it; & getting severely bitten at the same time +himself. He however held _to the little bob tail_ Squirrel; & finally +got him perfectly tamed, so that he almost idolized his pet. _This too +he lost_; by wandering away; or by getting killed: & for a year or Two +John was _in mourning_; and looking at all the Squirrels he could see to +try and discover Bobtail if _possible_, I must not neglect to tell you +of a very _bad & foolish_ habbit to which John was somewhat addicted. I +mean _telling lies_: generally to screen himself from blame; or from +punishment. He could not well endure to be reproached; & I now think had +he been oftener encouraged to be entirely frank; _by making frankness a +kind of atonement_ for some of his faults; he would not have been so +often guilty of this fault; nor have been obliged to struggle _so long_ +in after life with _so mean_ a habit. + +John was _never quarrelsome_; but was _excessively_ fond of the _hardest +& roughest_ kind of plays; & could _never get enough_ [of] them. Indeed +when for a short time he was sometimes sent to School the opportunity it +afforded to wrestle & Snow ball & run & jump & knock off old seedy wool +hats; offered to him almost the only compensation for the confinement & +restraints of school. I need not tell you that with such a feeling & but +little chance of going to school _at all_: he did not become much of a +schollar. He would always choose to stay at home & work hard rather than +be sent to school; & during the warm season might generally be seen +_barefooted & bareheaded_: with Buck skin Breeches suspended often with +one leather strap over his shoulder but sometimes with Two. To be sent +off through the wilderness alone to very considerable distances was +particularly his delight; & in this he was often indulged so that by the +time he was Twelve years old he was sent off more than a Hundred Miles +with companies of cattle; & he would have thought his character much +injured had he been obliged to be helped in any such job. This was a +boyish kind of feeling but characteristic however. + +At Eight years old John was left a Motherless boy which loss was +complete & permanent, for notwithstanding his Father again married to a +sensible, inteligent, & on many accounts a very estimable woman: _yet he +never adopted her in feeling_: but continued to pine after his own +Mother for years. This opperated very unfavorably uppon him: as he was +both naturally fond of females; & withall extremely diffident; & +deprived him of a suitable link between the different sexes; the want of +which might under some circumstances have proved his ruin. + +When the war broke out _with England_, his Father soon commenced +furnishing the troops with beef cattle, the collecting & driving of +which _afforded_ him some opportunity for the chase (on foot) of wild +steers & other cattle through the woods. During this war he had some +chance to form his own boyish judgement of _men & measures_: & to become +somewhat familiarly acquainted with some who have figured before the +country since that time. The effect of what he saw during the war was to +so far disgust him with military affairs that he would neither train, +_or drill_: but paid fines; and got along like a Quaker untill his age +had finally cleared him of Military duty. + +During the war with England a circumstance occurred that in the end made +him a most _determined Abolitionist_: & led him to declare, _or Swear_: +_Eternal war with Slavery_. He was staying for a short time with a very +gentlemanly landlord once a United States Marshal who held a slave boy +near his own age very active, intelligent and good feeling; & to whom +John was under considerable obligation for numerous little acts of +kindness. _The master_ made a great pet of John: brought him to table +with his first company; & friends; called their attention to every +little smart thing he _said or did_: & to the fact of his being more +than a hundred miles from home with a company of cattle alone; while the +_negro boy_ (who was fully if not more than his equal) was badly +clothed, poorly fed: & _lodged in cold weather_; & beaten before his +eyes with Iron Shovels or any other thing that came first to hand. This +brought John to reflect on the wretched; hopeless condition, of +_Fatherless & Motherless_ slave _children_: for such children have +neither Father nor Mothers to protect, & provide for them. He would +sometimes raise the question _is God their Father_? + +At the age of Ten years an old friend induced him to read a little +history; & offered him the free use of a good library; by which he +acquired some taste for reading: which formed the principle part of his +early education: & diverted him in a great measure from bad company, & +conversation of old & inteligent persons. He never attempted to dance in +his life; nor did he ever learn to know _one_ of a pack of _cards_ from +_another_. He learned nothing of Grammar; nor did he get at school so +much knowledge of common Arithmetic as the Four ground rules. This will +give you some idea of the first Fifteen years of his life; during which +time he became very strong and large of his age and ambitious to perform +the full labour of a man; at almost any kind of hard work. By reading +the lives of great, wise & good men their sayings, and writings; he grew +to a dislike of vain & frivolous _conversation_ & _persons_; & was often +greatly obliged by the kind manner in which older & more intelligent +persons treated him at their houses: & in conversation; which was a +great relief on account of his extreme bashfulness. + +He very early in life became ambitious to excell in doing anything he +undertook to perform. This kind of feeling I would recomend to all +persons both _male & female_: as it will certainly tend to secure +admission to the company of the more intelligent & better portion of +every community. By all means endeavor to excell in some laudable +pursuit. + +I had like to forgotten to tell you of one of John's misfortunes which +set rather hard on him while a young boy. He had by some means _perhaps_ +by gift of his father become the owner of a little Ewe Lamb which did +finely till it was about Two Thirds grown; and then sickened & died. +This brought another protracted _mourning season_: not that he felt the +pecuniary loss so much: for that was never his disposition: but so +strong and earnest were his attachments. + +John had been taught from earliest childhood to fear God and keep his +commandments; & though quite skeptical he had always by turns felt much +serious doubt as to his future well being & about this time became to +some extent a convert to Christianity & ever after a firm believer in +the divine authenticity of the Bible. With this book he became very +familiar, & possessed a most unusual memory of its entire contents. + +Now some of the things I have been _telling of_; were just such as I +would recomend to you: & I wd like to know that you had selected these +out; & adopted them as part of your own plan of life; & I wish you to +have _some definite plan_. Many seem to have none; & others never stick +to any that they do form. This was not the case with John. He followed +up with _tenacity_ whatever he set about so long as it answered his +general purpose: & hence he rarely failed in some good decree to effect +the things he undertook. This was so much the case that he _habitually +expected to succeed_ in his undertakings. With this feeling _should be +coupled_; the consciousness that our plans are right in themselves. + +During the period I have named John had acquired a kind of ownership to +certain animals of some little value but as he had come to understand +that the _title of minor's_ might be a little imperfect: he had recource +to various means in order to secure a more _independent_; & perfect +right of property. One of those means was to exchange with his Father +for something of far less value. Another was trading with other persons +for something his Father had never owned. Older persons have some times +found difficulty with _titles_. + +From fifteen to Twenty years old, he spent most of his time working at +the Tanner & Currier's trade keeping Bachelors hall; & he was acting as +Cook; & for most of the time as foreman of the establishment under his +father. During this period he found much trouble with some of the bad +habits I have mentioned & with some that I have not told you of: his +conscience urging him forward with great power in this matter: but his +close attention to _business_; & success in his management; together +with the way he got along with a company of men; & boys; made him quite +a favorite with the serious & more intelligent portion of older persons. +This was so much the case; & secured for him so many little notices from +those he esteemed; that his vanity was very much fed by it; & he came +forward to manhood quite full of self-conceit; & self-confidence; +notwithstanding his _extreme_ bashfulness. A younger brother used +sometimes to remind him of this: and to repeat to him _this expression_ +which you may somewhere find, 'A King against whome there is no rising +up.' The habit so early formed of being obeyed rendered him in after +life too much disposed to speak in an imperious & dictating way. From +Fifteen years & upward he felt a good deal of anxiety to learn; but +could only read and study a little; both for want of time; & on account +of inflammation of the eyes. He however managed by the help of books to +make himself tolerably well acquainted with common arithmetic; & +Surveying; which he practiced more or less after he was Twenty years +old. + +At a little past Twenty years led by his own inclination & _prompted +also_ by his Father, he married a _remarkably plain_; but neat +industrious & economical girl; of excellent character; earnest piety; & +good practical common sense; about one year younger than himself. This +woman, by her mild, frank, & _more than all else_: by her very +consistent conduct; acquired & ever while she lived maintained a most +powerful; & good influence over him. Her plain but kind admonitions +generally had the right effect; without arousing his hauty obstinate +temper. John began early in life to discover a great liking to fine +Cattle, Horses, Sheep, & Swine; & as soon as circumstances would enable +him he began to be a practical _Shepherd_: _it being_ a calling for +which _in early_ life he had a kind of _enthusiastic longing_: with the +idea that as a business it bid fair to afford him the means of carrying +out his greatest or principle object. I have now given you a kind of +general idea of the early life of this boy; & if I believed it would be +worth the trouble; or afford much interest to any good feeling person: I +might be tempted to tell you something of his course in after life; or +manhood. I do not say that I _will do it_. + +You will discover that in using up my _half sheets to save paper_; I +have written Two pages, so that one does not follow the other as it +should. I have no time to write it over; & but for unavoidable +hindrances in traveling I can hardly say when I should have written what +I have. With an honest desire for your best good, I subscribe myself, + + Your Friend, + J. BROWN + +P. S. I had like to have forgotten to acknowledge your contribution in +aid of the cause in which I serve. God Allmighty _bless you_; my son. + + J. B. + + + + +INDEX + + +Abbott, Maj. J. B., 143, 175, 219, 274, 279 + +Adair, Rev. S. L., 77, 108, 146, 152, 221, 234, 264, 273 + +Adams, Mrs. Anne Brown, quoted, 82, 290, 291, 292, 293 + +Adams, Henry, History of U. S., 353 + +Alcott, Amos B., 284, 396 + +Alburtis, Capt. E. G., 302, 306 + +Alderman, Amos, 160 + +Allstadt, John H., 298, 300 + +Anderson, Capt. Geo. T., U. S. Army, 260 + +Anderson, Jeremiah Goldsmith, Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + killed at Harper's Ferry, 312; + quoted, 333, 387; 262, 269, 284, 285, 348 + +Anderson, Osborne P., colored, M. C., 250; + private Prov. Army, 295; + escaped from H. F., 305; 298 + +Andrew, Hon. John A., of Boston, quoted, 397; 369 + +Army of Liberation, 343 + +Arny, Wm. F., quoted, 43, 82, 83, 188 + +Artillery Corps U. S. Army, 392 + +Astor House, N. Y., 187 + +Atchison, David R., U. S. Senator, Major General, 51, 52, 55, 65, 66, 69, 163, +174, 176 + +Atlantic Monthly, 16, 17, 359, 360 + +August, Col. T. P., commands B.'s escort, 394 + +Austin Freeman, 160 + +Avery, Dr., 158 + +Avis, Capt. John, B.'s jailor, 302, 304, 382, 394 + + +"B. E.," Mrs., letter to B., 389; 404 + +Bacon, Cook & Co., 214 + +Baltimore American, quoted, 320 + +Baltimore Greys, 321 + +Ball, A. M., Master Machinist at H. F., prisoner, 306 + +Bank of Wooster, 39 + +Barber, Thomas W., murdered, 69, 88 + +Barbour, Alfred W., 301 + +Barnes, Wm., letters from B., 211, 190 + +Barrow, Mr., killed Turner's Massacre, 362 + +Baylor, Col. Robt. W., 307, 308, 309 + +Beckham, Fontaine, killed at H. F., 305; 312 + +Bell, James M., colored, 248 + +Belshazzar, 326 + +Benjamin, Jacob, at Pottawatomie, 110; 20, 135, 159, 170, 172, 182 + +Bernard, J. M., store robbed by B., 137 + +Bickerton, Capt. Thomas W., 155, 158, 173 + +Biggs, Dr., 317 + +Bishop, Adam, 262 + +Blair, Charles, makes 1,000 spears for B., 223, 224 + +Blair, Montgomery, 370 + +Blake, Maj. George A. H., U. S. Army. 237 + +Black Jack, battle of, 110, 135, 141, 144, 149, 157, 223, 403, 405 + +Black Warrior, 60 + +Blakesley, Levi, 44, 46 + +Blunt, John, 114 + +Blood, James, 156 + +Boerly, Thomas, killed at H. F., 302; 312 + +Bolivar Heights, 301, 303, 304, 328, 339 + +Bondi, August, with Brown in Kansas, 136, 159, 160, 168, 170, 171, 172, 182 + +Booth, Edwin, 412 + +Border Ruffians, 81, 197, 199 + +Boetler, Hon. Alexander R., B. not severely wounded at H. F., 414; 387 + +Botts, Capt., 302, 304 + +Botts, Lawson, 366, 369, 371, 372 + +Brockett, W. B., Lieut., 143, 277 + +Brooks, Paul R., 91, 211 + +Brown, Anne, daughter of B. (see Adams), 286 + +Brown, Dianthe (Lusk). B.'s first wife, 28 + +Brown, Frederick, son of B., killed at Osawatomie, 170; 72, 136, 161, 165, +169, 171, 182 + +Brown, Frederick. B.'s Bro., 47 + +Brown, G. W., editor, 147, 211, 276 + +Brown, Jason, son of B., 45, 72, 116, 125, 144, 146, 159, 179, 182, 207, 405 + +Brown, John (the name appears so frequently that a complete index would result +in an epitome of the book: therefore, +only pages containing the more important incidents are herein referred to), + character not prejudged, 9; + his principal biographers, 15; + picturesque figure an historical myth, 26; + birth, not a Mayflower descendant, 27; + successful as a tanner, 28; + contractor, speculates in town-sites and farm lands, failure, fraudulent + practices, 29; + in jail at Akron, O., 30; + sportsman, breeds race horses, obtains money under false pretense, 31; + letter concerning, 32; + proceedings in bankruptcy, letters concerning, 33, 34; + negotiates for 1,000 acres of land in Va., 35, 36; + shepherd in O., 36; + Perkins & Brown Wool Merchants, Springfield, Mass., business methods lax, + complaints, 37; + ships wool to London, Eng., heavy losses, in liquidation, sued for large + sums, wine making for commercial purposes, 38; + obtains land at North Elba, N. Y., extensive litigation, bad record, 39; + penniless, thoughts of Kansas, 40; + religious belief problematical, 41, + skeptical? 42; + indifferent concerning the Sabbath, a non-resistant, 43; + summary of anti-slavery activities given, 44, 52; + intended to become a southern planter, 52, + letter concerning, did he intend to own slaves? 53; + a dilemma for his biographers, 54; + to Kansas, collects money at Syracuse, N. Y., Akron and Cleveland, O., 75, + 76; + at Osawatomie, in distress, 76; + at Free State election Oct. 9, 78; + not bellicose, 79; + as he impressed Mr. Redpath, 80; + as he impressed Mr. Villard, 80, 81; + as he impressed his son Salmon, 81; + "his object in going to Kansas," 82; + intended to settle, his claim "jumped," 83; + Captain of the Liberty Guards, 86; + Shannon Treaty satisfactory, 89; + mythical speech, 90; + not heard by Redpath, 92; + first and last appearance at a public meeting, 93; + chairman district convention, 94; + disbands Liberty Guards and plans to leave neighborhood, extreme poverty, + 94; + an ominous letter, desires recrudescence of pro-slavery aggressions, 97, 98; + robbery and murder, 99, 114: + exchanges stolen horses, 109; + self, unmarried sons and Henry Thompson plan robbery and murder, 99; + to go to Louisiana, 111; + his motives, 121; + secrecy a characteristic, 124; + grinding of sabers a myth, 125; + motives not altruistic, 129; + personality, 130; + not a "misplaced crusader," 131; + motives selfish, 135; + midnight flight, 136; + robbery, 137; + his secret camp, 139; + encouraged by Redpath, sought for by Capt. Pate, joins forces with Capt. + Shore, 140; + captures Pate at Black Jack, bands dispersed by Col. Sumner, 141; + John E. Cook a guest, 144; + original company disbanded, 146; + whereabouts unknown during fifty days, 147; + stealing horses, 149, 150; + profited by his operations, 151; + forced to leave Kansas, 152, 153; + returns from Nebraska, 154; + not to fight, 155, 156; + at Lawrence, 158; + to engage in robbery on a large scale, 159; + captain of industry, 160; + Osawatomie a cattle raid, 161; + refused to join Lane for the defense of Lawrence, 162; + his "report" of Osawatomie, 165, 167, 168; + band not a military company, 169; + in hiding, 170; + end of get-rich-quick adventure, 171; + abandoned son's body, 172; + the Loki of Osawatomie, 173; + well received at Lawrence, 174; + declined command of a company, 171; + left Lawrence to its fate, 176; + secures congratulatory letters from Gov. Robinson by dissimulation, 177, + 178; + leaves Kansas to work the East for large sums of money, files claim for + losses, 181, 184; + stores arms at Tabor, 184; + en route east collects money, 185; + meets Mr. Sanborn and unfolds scheme to raise $30,000, cash, 185; + in "green pastures," 186; + discredits Free State leaders, 187; + asks National Com. for $5,000 cash, speech, 188; + disappointment, 190; + asks Mass. Legislature for $100,000, speech, 191, 195; + would have New York appropriate $100,000 for him, 196, 197; + eulogized, 198, 199; + advertises for contributions, 200, 201; + contributions, value $30,000; works friends for $1,000, 202, 203; + offers Kansas leadership to Gov. Reeder, 204; + shamming, 205, 206; + contempt for the gullible, 207; + works Mrs. Stearns, 207, 210; + suggestive name for his make-believe troopers, 211; + autobiography written for a special purpose, 212; + destination conditional, 214; + report to Stearns, 215; + failure of pretensions, 216; + vocabulary intact, 217; + hopes for "disturbance" nourished by Lane, 219; + brigadier-general, 220; + in Kansas but not to assist Lane, 221; + draft for $7,000, cancelled, to return East, 222; + orders 1,000 spears, 223; + meets Hugh Forbes, 224; + plans conquest of Southern States, 225, 226; + a disunionist, 227; + plans to seduce soldiery of Union, Duty of the Soldier, 228; + important use for spears, 230; + a law unto himself, 231; + wants money with no questions asked, 233; + stranded at Tabor, war college at Ashtabula, O., 234; + matriculates tyros in Kansas, 236; + opens war college at Springdale, Iowa, 238; + drops Forbes from pay-roll, 239; + war council at Gerrit Smith's home, 244; + a war committee, 245; + not the "Lord's champion," 247; + constitutional convention, 248; + adopts constitution for provisional government, commander-in-chief of + Provisional Army, 249; + collapse of exchequer, 253; + menace to rear of communications, 254; + gets control of ordinance stores, 255; + campaign postponed, 258; + in Kansas, alias Shubel Morgan, orders a "Doz. Whistles," 259; + roll of make-believe company, his real men arrive, 262; + worked Territory in pairs, 263; + suffered from exposure, encouraged horse stealing, 265; + drafted Sugar Mound Treaty, 267; + plans complete for Missouri raid except as to date of execution, 268; + the raid, 269, 272; + sends slaves taken to Osawatomie, 273; + no published accounting or distribution of stolen property, recruited + finances near Lawrence, 274; + conduct complained of by Moneka clergyman, 276; + details Stevens and Tidd to "replevin" pair of horses, 278; + successful trip with slaves from Kansas to Canada, 278, 282; + "Battle of the Spurs," 279; + arrest not desired by Dept. of Justice, 282; + never killed anybody, 284; + revolution financed, 285; + Hd. Qrs. near Harper's Ferry, 286; + panic on bourse, 287; + army mobilized, 289; + muster roll, 294; + forward movement, 296; + occupies H. F., 297; + declaration of intentions, 298; + armed with sword of Frederick and Washington, 299; + stops train B. & O. Ry., 300; + proclamation, this is the last train that shall pass, 301; + the struggle, 302, 312; + negroes fail to do their part, 303; + refuses to surrender, 309; + his position carried by assault, 310; + wounded while bravely fighting, 311, 387; + casualties, 312; + interviews, 312, 320; + military stores on hand, lodged in jail, 321; + found Sanborn deficient, 326; + his intelligence discredited by biographers, assumptions of not justified, + 328; + not trifling nor baiting death for trifling purpose, 329; + intended to arm slaves and defend position, 330; + expected "negroes to rise and swell force to irresistible proportions," 332; + plans approved unanimously, 333, 350; + distributed 500 spears among negroes, 333, + did not intend to retreat to fastness, believed he would write bloodiest + chapter in history, 334; + intended to equip an army at H. F. and invade South, disposition of his + forces at H. F. consistent with theory of insurrection of slaves, 336; + defied no canons, was not executing a raid, campaign serious, heroic and + desperate, 337; + dispositions at H. F. not violations of military principles, 338; + to effect conquest of Southern States and establish provisional government, + believed slaves would assassinate masters and families and declare freedom, + 341; + hedged against treason, 342; + believed insurrection in progress, blow to be most crushing he could + deliver, 343; + would shake slave system to foundation, assassination means to end, 344; + would improve upon Turner's methods, 345; + seizure of H. F., stratagem, 347; + colored military organizations to support, 348; + project foreshadowed by Anderson, 350; + General Orders No. 1, 351; + collapse of scheme coincident with failure of assassinations, 355; + if he and captains had led as Turner led, weak link in chain of forecast, + 356; + overconfident of success; ship of state wrecked upon charted rock, vain to + underestimate man or conspiracy, not a pioneer in the insurrection business, + 357; + placed upon trial, unseemly haste, 365; + jurisdiction of Federal courts not seriously considered--after "higher and + wickeder game," 365; + defiant speech, 366; + trial a formality, 367; + rejects plea of insanity, 369; + directions to counsel, 371; + denounces his counsel, 372; + verdict guilty--received in respectful silence, 374; + speech to the Court--first paragraph discreditable, 375; + sentence pronounced, 377; + retracts statements made in speech to Court--letter to Andrew Hunter + concerning, 379; + speech of Oct. 25th characteristic of courage--that of Nov. 2nd, of + craftiness, as brave as crafty, 380; + discourages attempts at rescue--had had surfeit of tragedies, 383; + prevarication and craftiness characteristic of prison correspondence, 387-390; + statement, 391; + military pageant--Soldier of the Cross, 394; + fame due to things done to him, and to things said about him--examples, 395, + 399; + honored by Kansas, 399, 400; + martyrdom a fiction, 400, 401; + assault upon slavery means to end, first contemplated in 1857, grafting upon + anti-slavery sentiment, 1855, 1859, 402, 403; + rapacity distinguishing characteristic--deportment, coarse, brutal, vulgar, + or saintly as suited purposes, 404; + deceived by Pate, 405; + commercial and political plunger, 405, 406; + will live in history as an adventurer, 407; + ref. 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; + letters to Mad. E. B., 389; + Col. Higginson, 381; + Dr. Humphrey, 388; + Andrew Hunter, 379; + Rev. Theo. Parker, 229; 234; + Mr. Sanborn, 218, 238, 246, 268; + Mr. Stearns, 215; + Mrs. Stearns, 390; + to wife et al, 77, 79, 84, 85, 86, 89, 95, 97, 107, 141, 165, 268, 269, + 382, 385, 388 + +Brown, John Jr., letters, 73; + Capt. Pottawatomie Rifles, 98, 101; + statement to Sanborn, 108; + knew about B.'s plans, 109; + dismissed from Pottawatomie Rifles, 125; + quits Kansas, 179; 20, 30, 44, 45, 72, 94, 136, 144, 146, 182, 207, 243, + 248, 323, 384, 405 + +Brown, Mary Ann (Day), B.'s second wife, 28; 381, 390, 392, 393 + +Brown, Oliver, stole horses in Nebraska, 150; + Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + killed at H. F., 312; + copy of his commission, 352; 76, 102, 136, 149, 183, 295, 337 + +Brown, Mrs. Oliver, 286 + +Brown, Owen, B.'s father, 28 + +Brown, Owen, escaped from Pottawatomie on "fast Kentucky horse," 109; + a "vile murderer," 127; + treasurer, Prov. Gov., 250; Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + escaped from H. F., 312; 30, 72, 136, 146, 149, 182, 237, 262, 296, 302, + 305, 336 + +Brown, Peter, Windsor, Conn., B.'s ancestor, 27 + +Brown, Reece, P., murdered, 69 + +Brown, Salmon, letter not war-like, 81; + father intended to kill seven men, 111; + letter, 119; + wounded, 143; 21, 72, 102, 136, 149, 151, 182, 190, 265, 349 + +Brown, Sarah, daughter of B., quoted, 169 + +Brown, S. B., 159 + +Brown, Terrance, prisoner at H. F., 303 + +Brown, Watson, son of B.; Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + killed at H. F., 312; 85, 263, 289, 296, 303, 304, 336 + +Browns, The, not fighting for freedom, 153 + +Browne, Peter, of the "Mayflower," not B.'s ancestor, 27; 192 + +Brua, Joseph A., prisoner at H. F., 304, 306 + +Buchanan, Hon. James, President, 60, 279, 307 + +"Buckskin," 158, 159 + +Buford, Maj. Jefferson, quoted, 155; 106 + +Burgess, John W., Middle Period, quoted, 66; 56 + +Byrne, Terence, 306, prisoner at H. F. + + +Cabot, Dr. Samuel, 186 + +Cadet Corps, Va. Mil. Institute, 392 + +Calhoun, Hon. John C., 43, 56, 57 + +Callender, W. H. D., Cashier, 201 + +Campbell, James W., Sheriff, 393, 394 + +Carpenter, A. O., at Black Jack, 136; 137, 146 + +Carruth, James H., quoted, 127 + +Cass, Hon. Lewis, 58 + +Castile, A., 114 + +Century Magazine, 312 + +Chambers, Geo. W., 304 + +Chadwick, Rear Admiral F. E., 255, 334 + +Chamberlain, Amos P., 29, 30 + +Charleston Mercury, 70 + +Chicago Tribune, 46 + +Chilton, Samuel, counsel for B., 369; 372, 373, 374, 375 + +Clark, James Freeman, 128 + +Clay, Henry, 59 + +Cline, "Capt," J. B., 160, 161, 166, 167, 168, 169 + +Cochrane, B. L., at Pottawatomie, 183; 20, 110 + +Colby, Deputy Marshal, 279 + +Colcock, Hon. Wm. F., 59 + +Coleman, Franklin, killed Dow, 87 + +Collamer, Hon. Jacob, Mason Com., 365 + +Collis, Mr., wounded at Osawatomie, 167 + +Committee, Mass. State Kans., 185, 187, 188, 195, 200, 203, 221, 256 + +Committee, National, Kans., 181, 184, 187, 188, 189, 190, 196, 203, 221, 265 + +Committee, Vigilance, 116, 221 + +Committee, B.'s War, 245, 252, 254, 256, 325 + +Conant, John, 202 + +Congressional Globe, 59 + +Convention at Chatham, Canada, Call, 248 + +Conway, Martin F., 187, 204, 211 + +Cook, John E., with B. at Pottawatomie, 20, 110; + talked too much, 287; + Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + hanged at Charlestown, 305; 139, 144, 214, 235, 236, 253, 258, 286, 288, + 292, 296, 298, 302, 321, 328, 331, 332, 333, 342, 393, 401 + +Cooke, John W., 40, 44 + +Cooke, Lieut. Col. Philip St. George. U. S. Army, 59 + +Copeland, J. A. Jr., colored; private Prov. Army, 295; + hanged at Charlestown, 305; 298, 337 + +Coppoc, Barclay, private, Prov. Army, 295; + escaped from H. F., 292; 295, 296 + +Coppoc, Edwin, first lieutenant, Prov. Army, 295; + hanged at Charlestown, 305; 298, 306, 311 + +Corcoran, W. W., 58 + +Cracklin, Capt. Joseph, 152, 154, 175 + +Crawford, Geo. A., 276 + +Crawford, Brig. Genl. S. W., 339 + +Crittenden, Hon. John C., 60 + +Cruise, David, killed in Mo. raid, 270; 272 + +Cuba, Pearl of the Antilles, 60 + +Currie, L. F., quoted, 331 + + +Dangerfield, J. E., at H. F., 306 + +Daniels, Jim, slave liberated by B. in Mo. raid, 271 + +Davis, Mr., 138 + +Davis, Hon. Jefferson, of Miss. Mason Com., 60, 365 + +Davis, William Watson. Ph.D., 10 + +Day, Charles, 28 + +Day, Mary Anne, B.'s second wife, 28 + +Day, Orson, 93, 97 + +Davenport, Braxton, 366 + +Dayton, Capt. Oscar V., 92, 101 + +De Bow's Review, 70 + +Deitzler, Geo. W., 147, 211 + +Denver, James Wilson, acting-governor of Kansas Ter., 260 + +Denver, Treaty, 260, 267 + +Des Moines Register, 281 + +Dixon, Hon. Archibald, of Kentucky, 61 + +Doolittle, Hon. James R., of Wis., Mason Com., 236, 365 + +Dorsey, Mr., wounded at H. F., 312 + +Douglas, Hon. Stephen A., 58 + +Douglas, Frederick, 239, 240, 243, 248, 336, 349 + +Dow, Charles, murdered, 87 + +Doyle, Drury, murdered by B., 103 + +Doyle, John, murdered by B., 99, 100, 102, 103 + +Doyle, Mrs. Mahala, statement, 103 + +Doyle, William, murdered by B., 103 + + +Edwards, Sam, slave at Southampton, 360 + +Eighteenth Conn. Infty., 27 + +Ellsworth, Alfred M., colored. M. C., 250 + +Elmore, Rush, Judge, 276 + +Emancipation Proclamation, 63 + +Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 186, 199, 379, 380, 397 + + +Faquier Cavalry, 392 + +Fastness, "hill-top," myth, 328, 330, 332, 335, 338, 339, 340 + +Fastness, "inaccessible," myth, 323, 339, 340 + +Faulkner, Hon. Chas. J., 312, 366 + +Fay, John W., 160 + +Fitch. Hon. G. N. of Ind. Mason Com., 365 + +Floyd, Hon. John B., Secy. of War, 288, 289 + +Forbes, Col. Hugh, Soldier of Fortune, 224; + not a drill master, 226; + his letters to B. suppressed, 242; 225, 227, 228, 229, 231, 232, 234, 235, + 238, 239, 240, 241, 254, 256, 285, 341, 342, 347, 356, 358, 400, 401, 406 + +Frazee, Lieut. Noah, 160 + +Frederick The Great, 299, 300, 332, 388 + +Frothingham, Octavius B., quoted, 353, 355 + +Fugitive Slave Law, 48 + + +Gabriel, "General," slave, insurrection of Sept., 1800, 358 + +Galt House, H. F., 304 + +Garibaldi, 224, 225 + +Garnett, Rev. Henry H., colored, 248 + +Garrett, John W., Prest. B. & O. R. Rd. Co. 301 + +Garrett, Thomas, Underground Railroad, 52 + +Garrison, William Lloyd, quoted, 362; 45, 186, 187 + +Garrison, David, killed at Osawatomie, 166 + +Gaudeloupe Hidalgo, Treaty of, 57 + +Gaylord, Daniel C., 29, 40 + +Geary, Genl. John W., Gov. K. T., 69, 70, 174, 176, 184 + +Gileadites, U. S. league of, 48, 50 + +Gill, Geo. B., Sec. Treas. Prov. Gov., 250; + letter not heretofore published, 130; 259, 262-266 inc., 269, 270, 271, 278, + 292, 342, 348, 404, 406 + +Gilpatrick, R., 114 + +Glenn, John P., 160 + +Gloucester, Dr. J. N., colored, 247 + +Goliath-American, 80 + +Godel, John, 159 + +Golden Rule, 199, 344 + +Golding, R., chairman, 114 + +Grant, Ulysses S., 398 + +Gray, Mr., Turner's Confessor, 362 + +Greeley, Horace, 224, 232 + +Grinnell, Josiah B., 282 + +Green, Israel, Lieut. U. S. Marine Corps, 308, 309, 310, 320, 321 + +Green, Shields, colored, private Prov. Army, 295; + hanged at Charlestown, 305, 311 + +Green, Thomas G., counsel for B., 366, 369, 371, 372 + +Griswold, Hiram, counsel for B., 369, 370, 372, 373 + +Grover, Capt. Joel, 156, 158 + +Grover, Mr., entertains B. near Lawrence, 274 + +Gue, David J., author of letter to Floyd, 289 + + +"H" Co. 7th South Carolina, 340 + +Hairgrove, Wm., 262 + +Hale, Hon. John P., U. S. Senator, N. H., 255 + +Hamilton, Chas. A., massacre of Free State men, 260 + +Hamilton, Thomas S., testimony, 137 + +Hammond, C. G., Supt. Mich. Southern Ry., 282 + +Hammond, Mr., wounded at H. F., 312 + +Hamtrack Guards, 302 + +Hand, T. H., 152 + +Harding, Chas. B., counsel for prosecution of B., 373 + +Harris, James, testimony, 104 + +Harris, Wm. B., 159 + +Harvey, Maj. James A., 157, 173 + +Haskell, Genl. W. A., 174 + +Hauser, Samuel, 160 + +Hawse, Alexander G., 163, 170 + +Hazlett, Albert, Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + hanged at Charlestown, 305; 262, 264, 265, 270, 292, 298, 336, 393 + +Hayward, Shepherd, colored, killed at H. F., 300, 301, 335 + +Heywood (Hayward), 316 + +Herald of Freedom, 91, 93, 275 + +Hicklan, Harvey B., home plundered by B., 270; + statement, 271, 272 + +Higgins, Patrick, 300, 335 + +Higgins, Hon. William, quoted, 164 + +Higginson, Col. Thomas Wentworth, member of B.'s War Com., 254; 51, 52, 185, +217, 244, 257, 325, 381, 397 + +Hinton, Richard J., author, 17, 26, 130, 228, 235, 264, 342, 384 + +Hinton Papers, 130, 348 + +History of Iowa, Gue, 289 + +Holliday, C. K., 211 + +Holmes, "Capt." J. H., 160, 161, 162, 170, 171, 172, 179, 213, 214, 235 + +Holt, James H., H. F., 305 + +Homyr, T., 262 + +Hooper, Mr., wounded at H. F., 312 + +Howard, Hon. W. A., chairman, 100; + report quoted, 103, 104, 105, 137, 138 + +Howe, Dr. Saml. G., member of B.'s War Com., 254; 186, 240, 242, 245, 255, +257, 325, 347, 353, 355, 384 + +Hoyt, Major David S., murdered, 62 + +Hoyt, Geo. H., counsel for B., and spy, 368; 370, 372, 383, 385 + +Humphrey, Rev. Dr. Luther, 388 + +Hunter, Andrew, special counsel for Va., 312; + quoted, 330, 367; 365, 368, 371, 373, 374, 375, 393, 416 + +Hunter, Harry, at H. F., 304 + +Hurd, H. B., Secy. Nat. Kan. Com., 188, 266 + +Hurlbut, Mr., 78 + +Hugo, Victor, quoted, 398 + +Hyatt, Thaddeus, 245, 353 + + +Ingalls, Hon. John James, quoted, 397; 399 + +Irwin, Mr., 304 + + +Jackson, Prof. Thomas J., 339, 392 + +Jackson, Col. Zadock, 70 + +Jackson, Patrick Tracy, 186 + +Jamison, Quartermaster Genl., 220 + +Jefferson Guards, 301, 303 + +Jennison, Col. Chas. H., 264, 269, 281, 293, 384 + +Johnson, William Savage, Ph.D., 10 + +Johnston, Col. Joseph E., 69, 175, 176 + +Jones, John T. (Ottawa), 101, 194 + + +Kagi, John H., Secy. of War, 249, 352; + Capt. Prov. Army, 295, 298; + "bravest of the brave," 329; + killed at H. F., 305; 235, 236, 259, 262, 263, 264, 269, 277, 278, 281, 284, + 285, 287, 288, 297, 337, 342, 349, 401 + +Kaiser, Charles, 139, 160 + +Kansas Conflict, quoted, 277 + +Kansas Crusade, quoted, 65, 71 + +Kansas Hist. Coll., 117 + +Kansas Hist Soc., 130, 189, 209 + +Kansas House of Representatives, resolution concerning statue of B., 400 + +Kellogg, George, Agt., 33, 35 + +Kendall, Archibald, 214 + +Kennedy, Dr. B., deceased, 286 + +Kennedy Farm, B.'s headquarters, 286; + abandoned, 331; 290, 291, 296, 305, 321, 327 + +Kidd, Captain, his treasure chest, 341; 230, 407 + +King, Rev. H. D., 42, 280 + +Kitzmiller. A. M., at H. F., 301, 304 + +Knipe, Col. Joseph F., 46th Pa., 339 + + +Lafayette Artillery, Richmond, Va., 362 + +Lane, Genl. James H., 90, 91, 92, 154, 155, 158, 162, 163, 173, 211, 219, 220, +264 + +Lane, M. D., 160 + +Larue, John, home plundered by B., 270, 272 + +Lawrence, Amos A., quoted, 186; 202, 218 + +Lawrence Republican, Kansas, 276 + +Learnard, Col. O. E., 156, 211 + +Leather and Manufacturers Bank of New York, 39 + +Leavenworth Times, 279 + +Leavitt, Rev. Joshua, 224 + +Leary, L. S., colored, private Prov. Army, 295; + mortally wounded at H. F., 305; 298, 337 + +Le Barnes, J. W., activities in behalf of B., 368, 383, 385 + +Lee, Lieut. Col. Robert E., U. S. Army, famous in world's history, 392; + declined command of Cuban expedition, 60; + in command of U. S. troops at H. F., 308, 309, 312; + at Charlestown, Va., 392 + +Leeman, William H., characteristic letter, 288; + Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + killed at H. F., 304; 236, 292, 293, 302, 303, 304, 305 + +Lenhart, Charles, 20, 110, 139 + +Liberty Guards, 20, 21, 98, 116, 120, 121 + +Lincoln, Hon. Abraham, 380, 398 + +Lincoln Sailors and Soldiers National Monument Association, statue of B., 400 + +Little, J. H., killed at Ft. Scott, 269 + +Little Hornet (Holmes), 214, 215, 222, 235 + +Longreen, J. W., colored, 248 + +Lopez, Narcisso, expedition against Cuba, garroted, 60 + +Loring, Major, command of infantry in B.'s escort, 394 + +Loudoun Valley, Va., 336 + +Loudoun Heights, not inaccessible, 339 + +Lusk, Miss Dianthe, B.'s first wife, 28 + + +McCabe, Mr., wounded at H. F., 312 + +McDow, W. C., 114 + +McGee, Clyde, panegyric on B., 398; + criticism, 399 + +McLaren, E. C., 86 + +McMaster, 56 + +McKim, Mrs., with Mrs. B. at H. F., 392 + +McKim, J. M., 392 + + +Mansfield, Major General Joseph K., killed at Antietam, 339 + +Manual of the Patriotic Volunteer, stratagem, 341 + +Martin, Hugh, home plundered, 270 + +Marcy, Hon. Wm. L., Secy. of State, 60 + +Maryland Heights, Md., not inaccessible, 338, 339 + +Mason, Hon. J. M., U. S. Senator, Va., chairman, 312, 313, 314, 356, 365 + +Mason Report, 42, 82, 83, 188, 200, 224, 236, 242, 249, 255, 256, 288, 300, +309, 312, 321, 330, 331, 342, 352, 365, 369, 378, 394, 404, 417 + +Mason, Dr., 374 + +Massachusetts Arms Co., 203, 317 + +Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Co., 64, 203 + +Massasoit House, Springfield, Mass., 202 + +Massachusetts Legislature, Committee addressed by B., 192-195; 106, 181, 184, +191, 405 + +Maxon, Wm., lodges the tyros, 238 + Mass. Society of Mayflower Descendants, 27 + +Mayflower, the, 27, 191, 192, 431 + +Medary, Gov. Samuel, 276, 279 + +Mendenhall, Richard, quoted, 161; 92 + +Meriam, Francis J., private, Prov. Army, 295; + gives B. $600, 290; + escapes from H. F., 305; 296, 342 + +Mickel, John, 262 + +Mills, Dr. Lucius, B.'s nephew, 150, 182 + +Mills, Owen, 32 + +Mills, Lieut. Col. S. S., 321 + +Miller, John, testimony, 138 + +Miller, William, 160 + +Missouri Compromise, 55, 61 + +Moffet, Charles W., a tyro, 236; 235 + +Monroe, S., alias used by B., 285 + +Montgomery, James, 259, 260, 262, 266, 267, 269, 276, 405 + +Morgan, Shubel, alias used by B., 257, 261, 262, 276 + +Moore, E., 348 + +Moore, Eli, quoted, 117 + +Morris, Academy, 42 + +Morse, John F., Jr., quoted, 17; 18, 27 + +Morton, Edward, 246, 355 + +Murphy, Mr., wounded at H. F., 312 + + +Napoleon, 237, 238, 407 + +Negro Race in America, Williams, 346, 358, 361 + +Neighbors, The. Thayer to B., 211 + +Newby, Dangerfield, colored, private, Prov. Army, 295; + killed at H. F., 304; 337 + +New England Woolen Co., defrauded by B., 33; 31, 405 + +North American Review, 374 + +New York Courier and Inquirer, 61 + +New York Herald, 71, 316, 320 + +New York Legislature, 181, 196, 405 + +New York Tribune, 65, 70, 138, 147, 200, 224 + +Northampton Woolen Mills Co., 37, 38 + +Norton, Charles Eliot, quoted, 16 + + +Oberlin College, 35, 39, 45 + +"Old Brown's Farewell," 404 + +Oliver. Hon. M. N., M. C. from Mo., 100 + +Onthank, Nathan B., 353 + +Oregon Boundary Question, 56 + +Organized Emigration, 64, 65 + +Osawatomie, Battle of, Reid's official report, 164, + his estimate of, 169; 157, 165, 168 + +Osawatomie State Park, battle field, 399 + +Ostend Manifesto, 61 + +Oviatt, Heman, 30, 36 + + +Parker, Judge Richard, presides at B.'s trial, 367, 372, 374, 377 + +Parker, Rev. Theodore, knew what B.'s purposes were at H. F., 353; + quoted, 353; + member of B.'s war committee, 257; + encomium, 397; 187, 206, 207, 208, 229, 243, 325 + +Parsons, Luke F., in Osawatomie cattle raid, 159; + tyro, 236; 156, 168, 169, 235, 342 + +Partridge, Miss Mary, 384 + +Partridge, William, in Osawatomie cattle raid, 159; 262 + +Partridge, George W., killed at Osawatomie, 167; 169 + +Pate, Capt. Henry Clay, pursues B., 140; + surrenders to B. at Black Jack, 143; + deceived B., 405; 135, 139, 141, 145, 223, 403 + +Peace Society, Boston, addressed by Gerrit Smith, 257; 275 + +Perkins, Simon, Jr., opinion of B., 37; 36 + +Perkins and Brown, irregular methods of, 37; + losses, liquidation and litigation, 38, 39 + +Peter the Apostle, a militant, 389; 293 + +Petersburg Dragoons, 362 + +Phelps, N. B., in Osawatomie cattle raid, 159 + +Phelps, Conductor of B. & O. train, 300, 301, 330, 342 + +Phillips, Wendell, encomium, 396; 186 + +Phillips, William A., 83, 147, 211, 213 + +"Pickles" in B.'s Mo. raid, 264 + +Pierce, J. J., colored, 348 + +Pinkerton, Allen, 282 + +Pleasant Valley, Md., 336 + +Pomeroy, Hon. Samuel C., 89 + +Pottawatomie, The, 19, 20, 22, 23, 111, 113, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, +122, 125, 126, 129, 133, 135, 139, 140, 147, 152, 159, 171, 182, 183, 190, +198, 236, 271, 343, 344 + +Pottawatomie Rifles, organized to release B. from command of Liberty Guards, +98; + B. not member of, 132; + John B., Jr., deposed from command, 125; 20, 21, 101, 107, 126 + +Porter, Henry, slave, Southampton, 360 + +Powers, Mr., killed at Osawatomie, 167 + +Poyes, Peter, slave, enlisted 600 slaves, 359 + +Prairie City Rifles, 140, 160 + +Preston, William J., Deputy U. S. Marshal, 144 + +Price, C. H., President of meeting at Osawatomie, 114 + +Provisional Army, Gen. Order No. 1, 351; + casualties of at H. F., 312; 234, 286, 343, 352 + +Provisional Constitution and Ordinances, Appendix; written by B., 243; + copies at H. F., 342; 248, 249, 250 + +Provisional Government, 254; + jurisdiction of to be established over Southern States. 227, 329, 341; 130, +227, 234, 249, 251, 289, 290, 330, 347, 401 + + +Quick, William, in Osawatomie cattle raid, 160 + +Quinn, Luke, U. S. Marine Corps, killed at H. F., 312; 416 + +Quitman, Gen. John A., expedition against Cuba, 60 + + +Realf, Richard, Secy. of State, Prov. Govt., 250; 235, 236, 249, 254, 287, 342 + +Recollections of seventy years, Sanborn, 82, 396 + +Redpath, James, B.'s first biographer, 15; + criticism by Charles Eliot Norton, 16; + meets Brown, 138; + B.'s intentions at H. F., 323; + knew how B. intended to assail the slave power, 342; + quoted, 92, 93, 110, 139, 192, 332, 357, 375, 395; + criticism, 82, 122, 195, 335 + +Reece, Mr., killed, Southampton Massacre, 362 + +Reeder, Andrew H., territorial governor of Kansas, 67, 204 + +Reid, Genl. John W., report battle of Osawatomie, 164; + "driving out a flock of quail," 170; 163, 168, 169, 174 + +Reynolds, R., in Osawatomie cattle raid, 160 + +Reynolds, G. J., colored, negro military organization, 348 + +Revere House, Boston, 257, 258 + +Rhodes, James Ford, 60, 61 + +Rice, Benjamin, 269 + +Richmond Enquirer, 362 + +Richardson, Mr., wounded at H. F., 312 + +Richardson, Richard, colored, 236 + +Ritchie, Col. John, at "Battle of the Spurs," 279 + +Robinson, Charles, "no greater hero," 55; + challenged the logic of the revolver and bowie-knife, quoted, 67; + Free State governor, 68; + speech, Wakarusa war, 91; + six cheers for, 92; + justifies B., 115; + invites him to call, 176; + writes congratulations to B., also recommendation, 177; + discredited in the East by B., 187; + congratulations to B. guarded, 200; + Revolution in Kansas, 225; + Denver Treaty, 260; 10, 46, 63, 66, 69, 90, 204, 211, 213, 222 + +Robinson, Mrs. Sara T. D., memory of. 7; + wife to Charles Robinson, 10 + +Roosevelt, Hon. Theodore, dedicates Osawatomie State Park, 399 + +Ross, "Betsy," 290 + +Root, Dr. J. P., 184 + +Roving Editor, 15 + +Rupert, private, marine, wounded at H. F., 312 + +Russell, Judge Thomas, 186, 205, 208, 368, 369 + +Russell, Major W. W., Paymaster Marine Corps, in the assault at H. F., 416 + + +Salathiel, John, in Osawatomie cattle raid, 159 + +Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin, Author, Life and Letters of John Brown, 15; + criticism by John F. Morse, Jr., 17; + suppressed B.'s letter of June 12, 1839, + concerning his intentions to defraud the New England Woolen Co., 34; + abridgement of B.'s letter Apr. 27, 1840, from Ripley, Va. not satisfactory, + 53; + assumptions concerning B.'s anti-slavery activities not justified by his + published letters, 82; + exposition of Pottawatomie incident disingenuous, 122; + Secy. Mass. State Kan. Com., 185; + promotes measure to secure appropriation of $100,000 for B., address before + Com., 191; + pilgrimage to Easton, Pa. with B., 204; + a disunionist, letter to Higginson, 217, 218; + member of B.'s War Committee, 245; + sends B. $50.00, 263; + active to effect B.'s escape from prison, 385; + encomium, 396; + quoted, 34, 37, 154, 155, 185, 224, 225, 247, 250, 254, 256, 257, 258, + 325-326. 346; + criticism, 53, 109, 123, 154, 247, 325, 326; + references of minor importance omitted + +Saunders Fort, 155, 156 + +San Domingo, 26, 346, 353 + +Sandy Hook, Md., 286, 308, 336 + +Schouler, 61, 251 + +Scott, Capt., Va. cavalry, 394 + +Scott, General Winfield, U. S. Army, 60 + +Sebastian, St., 17 + +Siebert, W. H., quoted, 330 + +Seward, Hon. William H., U. S. Senator from N. Y., 54, 63, 239, 255 + +Shannon Treaty, 106 + +Shannon, Wilson, Ter. Gov. of Kan., 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 176 + +Sharpsburg, Md., 336 + +Shepherdstown Troop, 302 + +Sheridan, Mrs., 235 + +Sherman, Henry, Bro. of William, to have been murdered at Pottawatomie, 99, +102, 109, 159 + +Sherman, William, murdered by Brown, 99, 103 + +Shermans, Henry and William, 112 + +Sherrod, Mr., killed in Kansas, 157, 319 + +Shombre, Capt. Samuel, killed at Ft. Titus, 156; 158 + +Shoppert, A. G., killed Leeman, 304 + +Shore, Capt. S. T., joins B.'s party at Black Jack, 140; 101, 137, 142, 143, +145, 160, 163 + +Shriver, Col., at H. F., 308 + +Sill, William, colored, 248 + +Sinn, Captain, interviews B., 307 + +Smith, Gerrit, gives 120,000 acres of land to negroes, 38; + conclave at his home, 244; + would fight the U. S., 245; + member of War Com., 254; + orator for peace society of Boston, and presides as chairman of B.'s War + Com., 257; + knew what B.'s purposes at H. F. were, 354; + quoted, 224, 245, 353; + contributions, 75, 215, 218, 245, 263, 255, 287; 46, 75, 108, 181, 203, 218, + 232, 248, 287, 316, 344, 355 + +Smith, I. and Sons, alias of B., 285 + +Smith, Rev. Stephen, colored, 248 + +Smith, W. P., master of transportation B. & O. R. Rd., 301 + +Snyder, Elias, 262 + +Snyder, John H., 262 + +Snyder, Simon, 262 + +Soldier of the Cross, 393 + +Soldier of Fortune, 326 + +Southampton Massacre, 362 + +Southampton Regiment, 362 + +South Carolina, insurrection, 358 + +South Carolina Courier, 70 + +Spooner, Lysander, would kidnap Gov. Wise, 384 + +Spring, L. W., quoted, 101 + +Squatter Sovereignty, 49, 50, 61, 63, 64 + +Standish, Miles, 191, 192 + +Stark, "Mollie," 290 + +Starry, Dr. John D., 301 + +Statuary Hall, Washington, D. C., 399, 400 + +St. Bernard, village, 138 + +Stearns, George Luther, entertains B., 187; + gives B. $7,000; seeks to have N. Y. Leg. appropriate $100,000 for B.; + member of B.'s War Com., 254; + recalls check for $7,000, 221; + letters, 196, 204; 186, 203, 208, 209, 211, 212, 218, 233, 244, 257, 266, + 325, 352, 384, 431 + +Stearns, Mrs. George Luther, statement, 207, 390, 404, 405 + +Stearns, Henry L., 212, 431 + +Stephens, Hon. Alexander H., quoted, 59 + +Stevens, Aaron D., alias Charles Whipple, captures 80 horses, 173; + private of Vols. in Mexico; + private 1st Dragoons; + assaults an officer; + sentenced to death; + sentence commuted; + Col. 2nd Regt. Free-State Army, 236, 237; + in charge of war college, 238; + with B. in Kansas, 262; + commands division in Mo. raid, 269; + killed Cruise, quoted, 270; + with Tidd steals span of horses, 278; + not an ideal Christian character, 293; + Capt. Prov. Army, 295, 298; + "bravest of the brave," 329; + wounded at H. F., 304; + hanged at Charlestown, 305; "hard headed American," 329; + military leader, 342; 226, 272, 289, 299, 312, 315, 365, 401 + +Stevenson, Samuel, 262 + +Stewart, Geo. H., Maj. Genl., 302 + +Stewart, James, 384 + +Stratton, H., 155 + +Strider, Samuel, summoned B. to surrender, 307 + +Stringfellow, Genl. B. F., 66, 174 + +Stribbling, Dr., 370 + +Stuart, Lieut. J. E. B., volunteer aid to Lee at H. F., 308; 309, 310, 312, + 314 + +Stultz, Capt., 157 + +Sugar Mound Treaty, 267, 269 + +Sumner, Col. E. V., 141, 144, 145, 239, 279 + +Sussex Regiment, 362 + + +Taft, Hon. William Howard, 55 + +Taliaferro, Maj. Genl. W. B., in command at Charlestown, Va., 391 + +Tappan, Arthur, donates land to Oberlin College, 45 + +Tator, Cyrus, in Osawatomie cattle raid, 160 + +Taylor, Stewart, private, Prov. Army, 295; + killed at H. F., 312; 303, 336 + +Teesdale, John, editor, Des Moines Register, 281 + +Thayer, Eli, hero, 55; + organized Mass. Emigrant Aid Company, 64; + quoted, 66; + purchases 200 revolvers for B., 204; + letter to B., "The Neighbors," 210; 63, 65, 205, 276 + +Thompson, Dauphin, first lieutenant Prov. Army, 295; + killed at H. F., 312; 289, 292 + +Thompson, Henry, B.'s son-in-law, 41; + member of the "little company of six," 102, 107; + plans dependent upon B.'s until "school is out," 99, 116; + wounded at Black Jack, 143; + stealing horses, 149; + a Kansas sufferer, 182; 76, 78, 94, 111, 118, 119, 121, 124, 136, 146, 153, + 171 + +Thompson, Ruth Brown, 41 + +Thompson, William, steals horses in Nebraska, 150; + Capt. Prov. Army, 295; + killed at H. F., 304; 153, 289, 294, 297, 302, 303, 337, 372 + +Thoreau, Henry D., quoted, 198, 396; 186 + +Tidd, Charles P., tyro, 236; in the Mo. raid, 270; + steals span of horses, 278; + captain Prov. Army, 295; + escaped from H. F., 305; 220, 221, 259, 262, 266, 289, 297, 298 + +Tilden, Judge Daniel R., 368, 369, 372 + +Titus, Col. H. T., wounded at Ft. Titus, 158; 156, 157, 158 + +Titus, Fort, battle of, 156 + +Todd, Rev. John, refuses to pray for B., 280, 281 + +Toombs, Hon. Robert, U. S. Senator from Georgia, 58 + +Topeka Daily Capital, 9 + +Toussaint L'Ouverture, 249, 357 + +Townsley, James, confession concerning the Pottawatomie murders, 101, 103; + at Black Jack, 136; 98, 99, 126 + +Tracy, John T., Ry. Supt., 282 + +Travis, Hark, slave, Turner's massacre, 360 + +Travis, Joseph, killed, Turner's massacre, 361, 362 + +Tucker, Captain, 157 + +Tubman, Mrs. Harriet, 248 + +Turner, Geo. W., killed at H. F., 305, 312 + +Turner, Mrs., killed, Turner's massacre, 362 + +Turner, Nat, slave, insurrection of 1831, 360-362; 356, 357, 358, 404 + +Tyndall, Hector, 392 + + +Underground Railroad, safety-valve of slavery, 346; 51, 330 + +Updegraff, Dr. William W., wounded at Osawatomie, 164, 168, 169 + +United States Gazette, 359 + +Unseld, John C., testimony concerning B.'s intentions at H. F., 330; 386, 320 + + +Vallandigham, Hon. Clement L., M. C. from Ohio, quoted, 357, 402; 312, 313, +314, 315, 316, 399, 416 + +Vandaman, S. V., 114 + +Varney, Moses, revealed B.'s plans, 289 + +Vaughn, Mr., killed, Turner's insurrection, 362 + +Vesey, Denmark, slave, insurrection in South Carolina, 359 + +Virginia, two slave insurrections, 358 + +Villard, Oswald Garrison (since references to Mr. Villard's book occur so +frequently only the more important of them have been indexed), B.'s latest +biographer, 15; + pledges fidelity to his subject, 18; + criticism concerning, 18-25 inc.; + B. not Mayflower descendant, 27; + eulogium concerning B. and his motive for going to Kansas, 80-81; + criticism of, 81-85; + imposed upon by Salmon B. and Henry Thompson, 118; + seeks justification for B.'s crime at Pottawatomie, 120; + suppressed B.'s letter of April 7, 1856, 123; + criticism concerning, 123; + contradicts authenticated history concerning an important fact, 124; + criticism concerning, 124-125; + assumes that B.'s motives for robbery and murder were unselfish, criticism, + 127; + summary of conclusions concerning Pottawatomie, 127-129; + criticism, 129-234; + exposition of B.'s life "in the bush" disingenuous, 147-148; + criticism, 148-150; + testimony conflicting as to whether B. was in the fighting around Lawrence + in Aug. 1856; + criticism, 156-157; + concerning B.'s Osawatomie cattle raid, 160-161; + concerning the battle at Osawatomie, 164, 168; + criticism, 169; + disingenuous concerning death of Frederick B., 170-171; + criticism, 171; + disingenuous concerning B.'s actions after Osawatomie, criticism, 172; + mystery of B.'s delay at Tabor, criticism, 217; + concerning Hugh Forbes, 225; + exposition of Constitution and Ordinances, theory of B.'s intentions + concerning H. F., 251-252; + criticism, 252-253; + logic of exposition, 271; + no constructive work to B.'s credit, 278; + B.'s battle-worn Kansas cap, 296; + criticism, 296-297; + Harper's Ferry references, 299 to 309; + B.'s wounds not serious, 311; + personal conceptions of B.'s plans at H. F., and criticism of B. because he + failed to execute them, 327-328; + criticism, 327-340; + concerning B.'s speech which "thrilled the world," 377; + criticism, 278-380; + when B. first conceived his greatest or principal object in life not an idle + question, 402; + criticism, 402-403; + quoted, 33, 35, 36, 37, 46, 54, 76, 80, 90, 100, 106, 146, 149, 150, 152, + 159, 160, 162, 163, 175-176, 179, 185, 187, 198, 219, 224, 228, 235, 236, + 259, 260, 273, 278, 329, 332, 345, 365; + criticism, 46, 47, 90-91, 118, 153, 178; + references, 29, 30, 39, 44, 99, 200, 207, 218, 227, 263, 267, 270, 271, 281, + 283, 284, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 295, 301, 320, 346, 348, 349, 357, + 363, 364, 368, 370, 372, 381, 384, 387, 392, 393, 394, 398 + +Von Holst, 58, 59, 61, 62, 106, 301 + + +Wadsworth, Tertius, 31 + +Wager House, H. F., 302 + +Walker, Col. Samuel, 154, 156, 157, 158 + +Waller, Mrs., killed, Turner's Massacre, 362 + +Walsh, Hon. Hugh S., acting-governor of Kansas Ter., 267 + +War College, 235, 342 + +"Ward, Artemus," quoted, 283 + +Ware, Eugene F., "Ironquill," 341 + +Washington, Col. Lewis T., 298, 299, 300, 302, 310, 312, 318 + +Washington, George, 237, 299 + +Watertown Reformer, N. Y., 127 + +Wattles, Augustus, 83, 176, 262, 272, 273, 274, 404 + +Webster, Hon. Daniel, 58, 59 + +Weiner, Theodore, 20, 102, 103, 109, 110, 124, 136, 146 + +Wells, Mrs., armorer at H. F., 306 + +Wells, Joseph, 31 + +Wheelan, Daniel, prisoner at H. F., 297, 298, 329 + +Whipple, Charles, alias of Stevens, 237 + +Whitaker, Prof. William Asbury, 10 + +Whitehead, Mrs., killed, Turner's insurrection, 362 + +White, Horace, Asst. Secy. Nat. Kan. Com., 189, 190 + +White, Rev. Martin, 167, 170, 171 + +Whitfield, Brig. Genl. J. W., 174 + +Whitman, E. B., 182, 184, 191, 219, 220, 221, 259, 265 + +Whittier, J. G., 95 + +Wild, Jonathan, 407 + +Wilder, D. W., correspondence with author, 411 + +Wilkinson, Hon. Allen, murdered by B., 99, 102 + +Wilkinson, Mrs. Allen, testimony, 104 + +Will, slave, Turner's insurrection, 361 + +Williams, Mr., killed, Turner's insurrection, 362 + +Williams, Captain H. H., Pottawatomie Rifles, 114, 125 + +Williams, J., killed, Turner's insurrection, 362 + +Williams, Nelson, slave, Turner's insurrection, 360 + +Williams, William, prisoner, H. F., 296, 298 + +Wilmot, Proviso, 57 + +Wilson, Hon. Henry, U. S. Senator from Mass., 239, 254, 255, 256 + +Wilson, Joseph E., in the assault on engine house at H. F., 9 + +Wimsett, Farm, 269 + +Wise, Hon. Henry A., Gov. of Va., 302, 308, 312, 319, 320, 330, 367, 370, 378, +380, 384, 391, 392, 416 + +Wise, O. Jennings, 309 + +Wood, A. P., 279 + +Wood, Captain Thomas J., U. S. Army, 173 + +Wood, Fernando of New York, 380 + +Wood, Samuel N., 147, 211 + +Woodward, B. W., 211 + +Woolet, Mr., wounded at H. F., 312 + +Wright, Judge J. W., 260 + + +Young, Mr., wounded at H. F., 31 + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Redpath, _Roving Editor_, 300. + +[2] Atlantic Monthly. March, 1860. + +[3] Atlantic Monthly. + +[4] Panegyrics or eulogies on Brown would more accurately describe these +writings. + +[5] Villard, 170. + +[6] Sanborn, 236. + +[7] Villard, vii. + +[8] Sanborn, 230. + +[9] Villard, 673. + +[10] Villard, 148. + +[11] _Ibid._ + +[12] Sanborn, 240. + +[13] Villard, 335. + +[14] Hinton, _John Brown and His Men_, 66. + +[15] Villard, 10. + +[16] Villard, 591, _note_ 6. + +[17] Villard, 26. + +[18] _Ibid_. + +[19] Villard, 28. + +[20] Villard, 38. + +[21] For a full account of this, see Villard, 37-41. + +[22] Sanborn, 69. + +[23] Villard, 37. + +[24] Villard, 30. + +[25] Villard, 30. + +[26] Sanborn, 55. + +[27] Sanborn, 56. + +[28] Villard, 31. + +[29] Now in Doddridge and Tyler Counties, West Virginia. + +[30] Villard, 31. + +[31] Villard, 32-33. + +[32] Villard, 34. + +[33] Sanborn, 64. + +[34] For an interesting account of this transaction, see Sanborn, 67-68. + +[35] Villard, 63. + +[36] Villard, 64-66. + +[37] Sanborn, 78. + +[38] Villard, 36-37. + +[39] Villard, 84. + +[40] Villard, 76. + +[41] Brown relates: "From fifteen to twenty years old, he spent most of +his time at the Tanner & Currier's trade keeping Bachelor's hall; & he +officiating as Cook; & for most of the time as foreman of the +establishment under his Father. During this time he found much trouble +with some of the bad habits I have mentioned:... but his close attention +to _business_; & success in its management; together with the way he got +along with a company of men & boys made him quite a favorite;... From +Fifteen years and upward he felt a good deal of anxiety to learn; but +could only read & study a little; both for want of time; & on account of +inflamation of the eyes. He however managed by the help of books to make +himself tolerably well acquainted with common Arithmetic; & Surveying: +which he practiced more or less after he was Twenty years +old."--Appendix. IV. + +[42] Villard, 299. + +[43] Sanborn, 614. + +[44] Sanborn, 46. + +[45] Villard, 236. + +[46] _Mason Report_, 72. Testimony of Wm. F. Arny. + +[47] Villard, 18, and Sanborn, 35. + +[48] Villard, 45. + +[49] _Ibid._ + +[50] Villard, 45. + +[51] Villard, 43-44. + +[52] Villard, 659-661. + +[53] Sanborn, 127. + +[54] Sanborn, 124-125. + +[55] Sanborn, 132. + +[56] Villard, 48. + +[57] Redpath, 64. + +[58] Sanborn, 134. + +[59] Villard, 48. + +[60] Schouler, vol. iv, 251. + +[61] Burgess, 302. + +[62] McMaster, vol. vi, 481. + +[63] Burgess, 290. + +[64] _Twenty Years of Congress_, vol. ii, 50. + +[65] Von Holst, vol. iii, 479. + +[66] Douglas's Speech at Cincinnati, September 9, 1859. + +[67] W. W. Corcoran sent Mr. Webster a check for $10,000 as an +expression of thanks and recognition for his speech on this +occasion.--Von Holst, vol. iii, 503. + +[68] _Congressional Globe_. 31st Cong., 1 Sen., 28. + +[69] Von Holst, vol. iii, 472. + +[70] Von Holst, vol. iii, 482. + +[71] Rhodes, vol. i, 217. + +[72] Rhodes, vol. ii, 33. + +[73] Rhodes, vol. ii, 37. + +[74] Von Holst, vol. iv, 61. + +[75] Von Holst, vol. iv, 322. + +[76] The passing off of this obscuration was "hastened and secured" by +the initiative of Eli Thayer and Charles Robinson. Under the able +leadership of the latter, the political control of Kansas Territory +passed into the hands of the Free-State men at the elections in October, +1857. + +[77] Thayer, _Kansas Crusade_, 232. + +[78] Burgess, _Middle Period_, 471-472. + +[79] Sanborn, 248. + +[80] New York _Weekly Tribune_, February 22, 1856. + +[81] De Bow's _Review_, August, 1856. + +[82] South Carolina _Courier_, July 5, 1856. + +[83] Charleston (S. C.) _Mercury_. August 5, 1856. + +[84] _Ibid._, January, 1858. + +[85] New York _Herald_, January, 1858. + +[86] _Kansas Crusade_, 110. + +[87] Sanborn, 157. + +[88] Villard, 83. + +[89] Villard, 83-84. + +[90] Villard, 85. + +[91] Villard, 88. + +[92] Villard, 108. + +[93] Redpath, 81-82. + +[94] Villard, 77. + +[95] Sanborn, 198. + +[96] Sanborn's _Recollections of Seventy Years_, 152. + +[97] _Mason Report_, 86. Testimony of Wm. F. Arny. + +[98] _Mason Report_, 225. Testimony of Augustus Wattles. + +[99] _Mason Report_, 75. + +[100] Sanborn, 397. + +[101] Sanborn, 203. + +[102] Sanborn, 217. + +[103] Villard, 123. + +[104] Copy in possession of Mr. Paul Brooks, Lawrence, Kansas. + +[105] Redpath, 103. + +[106] Redpath, 104. + +[107] _Herald of Freedom_, December 15, 1855. + +[108] Villard, 127. + +[109] _Ibid._ + +[110] Sanborn, 222. + +[111] Villard, 31. + +[112] Villard, 136. + +[113] Sanborn, 237, _note_ 3. + +[114] Villard, 158. + +[115] Villard, 159. + +[116] Villard, 545. + +[117] L. W. Spring in his _History of Kansas_ says of him on page 138: +"Whatever else may be laid to his charge--whatever rashness, unwisdom, +equivocation, bloodiness--no faintest trace of self-seeking stains his +Kansas life." + +[118] _Howard Report_, 1175. + +[119] _Howard Report_, 1179. + +[120] _Howard Report_, 1177. + +[121] Villard, 171. + +[122] Sanborn, 373, and Redpath, 184. + +[123] Von Holst, 301. + +[124] Sanborn, 236. + +[125] Italicised by the author. + +[126] "In the original something has been effaced and this note seems to +have been appended: 'There are but very few who wish the real facts +about these matters to go out.' Then is inserted the date 'June 26' as +below."--Sanborn, 237. + +[127] Sanborn, 275. + +[128] Sanborn, 271. + +[129] Villard, 175. + +[130] Sanborn, 241. + +[131] Villard, 338. + +[132] Sanborn, 296, _note_ 2. + +[133] Salmon Brown died in California during the fall of 1912. + +[134] Villard, 158. + +[135] Sanborn, 272. + +[136] Kansas farmers usually own from twelve to forty head of horse +stock. + +[137] Villard, 168. + +[138] Villard, 610, _note_, 54. + +[139] _Kansas Historical Collections_, vol. xii, 345. + +[140] Villard, 156. + +[141] _Ante_, _note_ 90. + +[142] _Post_, page 138. + +[143] Sanborn, 261. + +[144] Villard, 170. + +[145] Villard, 176. + +[146] Sanborn, 237. + +[147] Villard, 153. + +[148] Villard, 152. + +[149] Villard, 151. + +[150] _Ibid._ + +[151] It has heretofore been supposed that John Brown's career of +violence began with the tragedies on the Pottawatomie. + +[152] Villard, 153. + +[153] Villard, 165. + +[154] Villard, 185-188. + +[155] Sanborn, 388. + +[156] Kansas Historical Society, _Hinton Papers_. + +[157] Sanborn, 293. + +[158] Sanborn, 298. + +[159] _Howard Report_. Testimony of Thomas S. Hamilton. + +[160] _Howard Report_, 1178. + +[161] Redpath received the information, probably, from either John E. +Cook or Charles Lenhart. + +[162] Redpath, 112. + +[163] The character of Salmon's wound and the nature of the exploit on +which he was engaged when he received it, have not been made public. + +[164] Villard, 210. + +[165] Villard, 167. + +[166] Villard, 210. + +[167] Villard, 220. + +[168] Villard, 222. + +[169] Villard, 222. + +[170] Villard, 673. + +[171] Villard, 222. + +[172] Villard, 616, _note_ 68. + +[173] Sanborn, 336. + +[174] Villard, 228. + +[175] Villard, 235. + +[176] Villard, 616, _note_ 64. + +[177] Sanborn, 336. + +[178] Sanborn, 314. + +[179] Villard, 673. + +[180] Villard, 231. + +[181] Sanborn, 308. + +[182] Villard, 231. + +[183] Villard, 235. + +[184] Redpath, 285, and Sanborn, 569, but omitted by Mr. Villard from +his narrative. + +[185] Villard, 235. + +[186] Villard, 622. + +[187] Villard, 235. + +[188] Villard, 235. + +[189] Villard, 622. + +[190] Villard, 238. + +[191] Villard, 238. + +[192] Villard, 239. + +[193] Villard, 246. + +[194] Letter to the author, date, June 29, 1912. + +[195] Villard, 243. + +[196] Sanborn, 317. + +[197] Sanborn, 318. + +[198] Sanborn, 291. + +[199] Villard, 239. + +[200] Sanborn, 322. + +[201] Villard, 246. + +[202] Villard, 247. + +[203] Villard, 234. + +[204] Villard, 242. + +[205] Villard, 224. + +[206] Villard, 246. + +[207] Villard, 235. + +[208] Hinton, _John Brown and His Men_, 696. + +[209] Villard, 254. + +[210] Villard, 756. + +[211] Villard, 260. + +[212] Villard, 254. + +[213] Villard, 258. + +[214] Villard, 257. + +[215] Villard, 673. + +[216] Sanborn, 330. + +[217] Villard, 262. + +[218] Villard, 261. + +[219] Sanborn, 241. + +[220] Villard, 271. + +[221] _Ibid._ + +[222] Villard, 272. + +[223] _Mason Report_, 245. Testimony of H. B. Hurd. + +[224] Original in files of Kansas Historical Society. + +[225] Villard, 276. + +[226] _Ibid._ + +[227] Sanborn, 370. + +[228] Redpath, 177-184. + +[229] Sanborn, 386. + +[230] Villard, 274. + +[231] Sanborn, 503. + +[232] Sanborn, 501. + +[233] _Mason Report_, 229. + +[234] Villard, 614. + +[235] Sanborn, 379. + +[236] Sanborn, 379. + +[237] Villard, 279. + +[238] Villard, 281. + +[239] Villard, 282. + +[240] Villard, 287. + +[241] Sanborn, 512. + +[242] _Ibid._ + +[243] Villard, 86. + +[244] Villard, 630, _note_ 20. + +[245] Sanborn, 509-510. + +[246] Sanborn, 508. + +[247] Sanborn, 418. + +[248] See Appendix IV. + +[249] Sanborn, 392. + +[250] _Ibid._ + +[251] Sanborn, 396. + +[252] Sanborn, 411. + +[253] His son Owen was the teamster herein referred to. + +[254] Sanborn, 411. + +[255] Sanborn, 412. + +[256] Sanborn, 414. + +[257] Villard, 303. + +[258] Sanborn, 400. + +[259] Villard, 202. + +[260] Villard, 303. + +[261] Sanborn, 412-414. + +[262] _Ante_, _note_ 226. + +[263] Villard, 300. + +[264] Sanborn, 401. + +[265] Sanborn, 402. + +[266] Sanborn, 404. + +[267] Villard, 304. + +[268] Villard, 306. + +[269] _Mason Report_, 123-125. Testimony of Charles Blair. + +[270] Villard, 674. + +[271] Villard, 285. + +[272] Sanborn, 398. + +[273] Villard, 303. + +[274] Hinton, _John Brown and His Men_, 615. + +[275] Villard, 297. + +[276] Villard, 297. + +[277] Villard, 298. + +[278] Sanborn, 448. + +[279] Sanborn, 422. + +[280] Villard, 308. + +[281] _Ibid._ + +[282] _Mason Report_, 23. + +[283] Villard, 310. + +[284] Villard, 315. + +[285] Sanborn, 443. + +[286] Sanborn, 431. + +[287] _Mason Report_, 176. + +[288] Sanborn, 434. + +[289] Sanborn, 434. + +[290] Sanborn, 439. + +[291] Sanborn, 439. + +[292] Villard, 287. + +[293] Sanborn, 444-445. + +[294] Mr. Morton was Mr. Smith's secretary. He and Mr. Sanborn had been +classmates at Harvard. + +[295] Sanborn, 451. + +[296] _Mason Report_, 96. + +[297] Redpath, 251. + +[298] _Mason Report_, 48. See Appendix III. + +[299] Villard, 335-336. + +[300] _Mason Report_, 59-60. + +[301] Villard, 330. + +[302] _Ibid._ + +[303] Sanborn, 470; also Villard, 338. + +[304] Sanborn, 458. + +[305] _Ibid._ + +[306] _Mason Report_, 176. + +[307] _Ibid._ + +[308] _Ibid._ + +[309] Rear Admiral Chadwick, _Causes of the Civil War_, 75-76. + +[310] Sanborn, 456. + +[311] _Mason Report_, 231. + +[312] Sanborn, 465-466. + +[313] Sanborn, 464. + +[314] Redpath, 237. + +[315] Villard, 353. + +[316] Villard, 349. + +[317] Villard, 357. + +[318] Villard, 354. + +[319] Sanborn, 478. + +[320] Villard, 363. + +[321] Villard, 634, _note_ 98. + +[322] _Ante_, _note_ 156. + +[323] Villard, 354. + +[324] Villard, 360. + +[325] Villard, 363. + +[326] Villard, 364. + +[327] Villard, 666. + +[328] Sanborn, 477. + +[329] Sanborn, 479. + +[330] Villard, 365. + +[331] Villard, 366. + +[332] Villard, 369. + +[333] Villard, 368. + +[334] _Ibid._ + +[335] Villard, 372. + +[336] _Ibid._ + +[337] _Ibid._ + +[338] _Kansas Conflict_, 408. + +[339] Sanborn, 476. + +[340] Villard, 377. + +[341] _Kansas Conflict_, 405-407. + +[342] Villard, 379. + +[343] Villard, 378. + +[344] Villard, 382. + +[345] _Ibid._ + +[346] Villard, 383. + +[347] Villard, 384. + +[348] Villard, 385. + +[349] Villard, 385. + +[350] Ibid. + +[351] Villard, 387. + +[352] Villard, 386. + +[353] It is the personal opinion of the writer that Jennison got the +"long end" of the loot taken in this raid; an opinion that will not be +challenged by anyone who knew him. + +[354] Villard, 389-390. + +[355] Villard, 391. + +[356] Villard, 393. + +[357] Ibid. + +[358] Sanborn, 504. + +[359] Villard, 396. + +[360] Sanborn, 423. + +[361] Villard, 406. + +[362] Villard, 407. + +[363] _Ibid._ + +[364] Villard, 408. + +[365] _Mason Report_, 250. Testimony of Hon. John B. Floyd. + +[366] Gue. _History of Iowa_, vol. ii., 26-30; Villard, 411. + +[367] Villard, 421. + +[368] Villard, 424. + +[369] Villard, 416-420. + +[370] Villard, 338. + +[371] The writer knew Jennison personally, but the acquaintance with him +was made "after the War"; after the "Red Legs" had gone out of +commission. Jennison had reformed by that time and was running a +gambling house at Leavenworth, Kansas, in a very orderly manner. + +[372] Villard, 678. + +[373] _Ante_, _note_ 191. + +[374] _Mason Report_, 22. + +[375] _Mason Report_, 22. + +[376] Villard, 431. + +[377] _Mason Report_, 29-40. Testimony of Lewis T. Washington. + +[378] Villard, 432. + +[379] Villard, 434. + +[380] Villard, 435. + +[381] Villard, 435. + +[382] Sanborn, 557. + +[383] Villard, 443-444. + +[384] Villard, 447. + +[385] _Mason Report_, 43. + +[386] Major Russell was in citizen's clothes and unarmed. + +[387] _North American Review_, December, 1885. + +[388] Report of Colonel Lee to Secretary of War, _Mason Report_, 40. An +excellent account of what occurred under Brown's immediate direction +during the 17th and 18th, was given out by Mr. J. E. P. Dangerfield and +published in the _Century Magazine_, June, 1885. + +[389] Sanborn, 562-569. + +[390] Sanborn, 571, _note_ 1. + +[391] Villard, 456. + +[392] _Ibid._ + +[393] _Mason Report_. Testimony of Andrew Hunter. + +[394] _Mason Report_, 63-66. + +[395] Redpath, 269. + +[396] Redpath, 243-246. + +[397] Redpath, 8. + +[398] Sanborn, 556. + +[399] Sanborn, 450. + +[400] _Ante_, _note_ 281. + +[401] Villard, 427, 430. + +[402] Villard, 469. + +[403] Villard, 427. + +[404] Villard, 510. + +[405] _The Underground Railroad_, 167. + +[406] _Mason Report_, 63-66. Testimony of Andrew Hunter. + +[407] _Mason Report_, 1-12. + +[408] _Mason Report_, 56. + +[409] Villard, 438. + +[410] Redpath, 244. + +[411] Sanborn, 545. + +[412] _Ante_, _note_ 290. + +[413] Chadwick, _Causes of the Civil War_, 87. + +[414] Villard, 415. + +[415] Sanborn, 557. + +[416] Mansfield had been killed and Crawford wounded, on the 17th, at +Antietam. + +[417] A recollection of the scene at the top of Maryland Heights by a +survivor of Knipe's column, is of a mound of stones raised over a +shallow grave. It was located near where the Confederate line of battle +had been formed. Upon a piece of cracker-box, that was held in place by +the stones marking the grave, a comrade's hand had cut in rude letters +this tribute to a gallant soul who had met a soldier's death upon these +rugged heights. It read: + + "SERGT.--[Name forgotten] + CO. H. 7th. S. C. + THE BRAVE DIE + BUT ONCE." + +[418] _Mason Report_, 66-67. + +[419] Redpath, 8. + +[420] Sanborn, 122. + +[421] Villard, 436. + +[422] Williams, _History of Negro Race in America_, 59. + +[423] Villard, 314. + +[424] Villard, 682. + +[425] _Hinton Papers_, Kansas Historical Society. + +[426] Villard, 424. + +[427] Villard, 406. + +[428] Sanborn, 539. + +[429] Sanborn, 545. + +[430] _Mason Report_, 59-60. + +[431] _Mason Report_, 60. + +[432] Frothingham, _Parker_, 475. + +[433] Sanborn, 491, _note_ 2. + +[434] Two paintings of Brown were made by Nathan B. Onthank; the other +one is in the Boston Athenaeum. Villard, xiii. + +[435] Henry Adams, _History of the United States_, vol. i. 380. + +[436] Frothingham, _Gerrit Smith_, 249. + +[437] Villard, 468. + +[438] Redpath, 285. + +[439] Williams, _History of the Negro Race in America_, 84. + +[440] _Atlantic Monthly_, vol. x. 339. + +[441] _Atlantic Monthly_, vol. vii, 737. + +[442] Williams, _History of the Negro Race in America_, vol. ii, 88. + +[443] Richmond _Inquirer_, August 26, 1831. + +[444] Villard, 560. + +[445] Villard, 480. + +[446] Villard, 478. + +[447] _Ibid._ + +[448] _Ibid._ + +[449] Redpath, 292. + +[450] Villard, 485. + +[451] Villard, 484. + +[452] _Ibid._ + +[453] Villard, 485. + +[454] Sanborn, 588. + +[455] _Mason Report_, 138. + +[456] Villard, 506. + +[457] Redpath, 509. + +[458] Villard, 507. + +[459] _Ibid._ + +[460] Villard, 509. + +[461] Redpath, 325. + +[462] Villard, 492. + +[463] _Ibid._ + +[464] Redpath, 331-339. + +[465] Redpath, 334. + +[466] Redpath, 340-342. + +[467] Villard, 500. + +[468] Villard, 497. + +[469] Redpath, 340. + +[470] _Mason Report_. Testimony of Andrew Hunter. + +[471] Sanborn, 584. + +[472] Villard, 646, _note_ 81. + +[473] _Ante_, _note_ 436. + +[474] Villard, 502. + +[475] Villard, 513. + +[476] _Ibid._ + +[477] Sanborn, 586. + +[478] Villard, 514. + +[479] Villard, 537. + +[480] See Appendix II. Recollection of Hon. Alexander R. Boteler of +Virginia. + +[481] Sanborn, 611. + +[482] Villard, 537. + +[483] Villard, 540. + +[484] Sanborn, 603. + +[485] Sanborn, 581. + +[486] Sanborn, 582. + +[487] Sanborn, 610. + +[488] Sanborn, 620. + +[489] Villard, 523. + +[490] Villard, 527. + +[491] Villard, 549. + +[492] Villard, 669. + +[493] _Mason Report_, 47. + +[494] Villard, 554. + +[495] Sanborn, 506. + +[496] Sanborn, _Recollections of Seventy Years_, 75. + +[497] Villard, 545. + +[498] The Chicago _Reminder_, vol. x, no. 5. + +[499] Villard, 457. + +[500] _Ante_, _note_ 281. + +[501] Villard, 42. + +[502] Sanborn, 562. + +[503] Mr. Villard omits this question and answer from his account of the +interview. + +[504] _Ante_, _note_ 340. + +[505] Autobiography, 433. + +[506] Villard, 69-70. + +[507] Villard, 56. + +[508] _Ante_, _note_ 281. + +[509] Villard, 50. + +[510] _Mason Report_, 220. Testimony of Augustus Wattles; letter of +April 8, 1857. + +[511] Letter to Mrs. E. B., November 1st, _ante_, _note_ 473. + +[512] _Ante_, _note_ 233. + +[513] Sanborn to Higginson, _ante_, _note_ 248. + +[514] Original in possession of the author. + +[515] _Ante_ p. 165. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of John Brown, Soldier of Fortune, by +Hill Peebles Wilson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41582 *** |