To begin his slave revolt, Brown planned to capture the arsenal at Harpers Ferry and use its cache of weapons to arm his followers. On the night of October 16, , Brown and a company of 21 men—including his sons—occupied the arsenal. Robert E.
Lee and assisted by Captain J. Stuart , to put down the rebellion. Upon arriving in Harpers Ferry, Lee ordered the marines to storm the fort, rescue the few hostages Brown had taken earlier in the night one of which was a relative of President George Washington, and capture Brown and his men. Brown, severely wounded in the struggle, was hanged on the morning of December 2, setting off a spark throughout the country.
To Northern abolitionists, Brown was a martyr to the cause; yet to Southerners, John Brown was a symbol of northern aggression and northern hopes to destroy the Southern way of life. Fact 3: The day after Virginia seceded from the Union, Federal soldiers burnt the armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry. When Virginia voted to secede from the Union on April 17, , the historic arsenal at Harpers Ferry immediately became a target.
Former Governor of Virginia Henry A. Wise, the same governor who had hung John Brown for carrying out similar designs on the arsenal, organized a scheme to occupy the valuable armory. Knowing that no arms supplier south of the Mason-Dixon Line could match the output or quality of Harpers Ferry, Wise hoped to raise militia to take the arsenal before the Federal government organized enough troops to hold it.
As Virginia militia bands began to assemble not four miles away, a Federal officer stationed in Harpers Ferry, Lieutenant Roger Jones, sent a distressed word to Washington that the armory was in danger and thousands of troops would be required to defend it. When it became clear that Washington was ignoring his request, Jones took matters into his own hands.
At 10 p. His efforts were largely in vain, however, as the arsenal was only moderately damaged. With over 4, firearms still in usable condition and much machinery able to be salvaged, the surviving elements of the armory were shipped south to Richmond and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Fact 4: Despite its strategic importance, Harpers Ferry was an indefensible military position. Harpers Ferry was a strategic nightmare; although it was easy to attack, it was nearly impossible to defend. Surrounded on all sides by the steep rises of Bolivar Heights, Maryland Heights, and Loudoun Heights, successful defense of the town required that the more than one-thousand foot rises towering over Harpers Ferry be posted with artillery.
From the beginning of the Civil War until the Union forces permanently reoccupied the town on July 8, , the Harpers Ferry changed hands fourteen times. During the times that it escaped control from either army, the inhabitants of Harpers Ferry remained subject to frequent reconnaissance missions and guerrilla raids.
Shortly after the war, Harpers Ferry resident Jessie E. On the evening of September 14th however, Union cavalry under Col. Benjamin F. Davis made a desperate break out attempt. Under the cover of darkness, and with some luck, the 1, men were able to cross Potomac River undetected. The cavalry troops not only escaped, but would also capture 91 Confederate ammunition supply wagons.
On the morning of September 15th, after a council of war with his commanders, Union commander Col. Dixon S. Miles agreed that surrender was their only option.
Dixon was mortally wounded by a shell before the surrender took place. By this time, Harpers Ferry was no longer in Confederate territory; West Virginia was admitted to the Union as a state on June 20, Union troops only momentarily lost control of the town on July 4, , when Confederates, under General Jubal A. Early, forced them to withdraw. After Early withdrew four days later, Union troops took control and would not relinquish Harpers Ferry for the remainder of the war. The site of one major battle in the autumn of , it had changed hands twelve times.
Still, the citizenry rebuilt it in the immediate postwar years, although, sadly, their hard work was undone by a flood in After the waters receded, some wondered whether John Brown had cursed the place that had brought about his demise and foreshadowed the Civil War. Encyclopedia Virginia Grady Ave.
Virginia Humanities acknowledges the Monacan Nation , the original people of the land and waters of our home in Charlottesville, Virginia.
We invite you to learn more about Indians in Virginia in our Encyclopedia Virginia. Skip to content. Contributor: Jonathan A. John Brown.
Arsenal there in an attempt to start a slave rebellion. Five men are killed four white and one black. Lee, capture Brown, who is. October 17, A contingent of ninety U. Marines, under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee, arrives in Harpers Ferry at 11 p. October 18, U. Brown is wounded in the struggle. December 2, After a gripping trial held in Charles Town in which John Brown is found guilty of conspiracy, of inciting servile insurrection, and of treason against the state, he is hanged.
Thirty-two of the "no" votes come from trans-Allegheny delegates, who are more firmly Unionist than representatives from other parts of the state. April 18, Lieutenant Roger Jones burns the arsenal buildings at Harpers Ferry and moves his command north to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. April 27, Colonel Thomas J. Jackson takes command of Virginia's military forces at Harpers Ferry.
May 24, General Joseph E.
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