FACTS ABOUT JOHN BROWN

1. He was born in 1800 in Connecticut to an abolitionist family. They moved to Ohio where his father allowed the home to be used by the Underground Railroad.
2. John went to school to become a minister, but had to drop out. He ended up as a tanner like his father.  Over the years he held other jobs like surveyor and canal-builder.  He went bankrupt in the wool trade at age 42 and had numerous law suits against him.
3. He moved his family to Pennsylvania in 1825. He had the barn built with a hidden room for escapees on the Underground Railroad.  He claimed to have assisted 2,500 runaway slaves in their quests for freedom.
4. In 1837, he committed himself to the destruction of slavery after he heard about the murder of abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy. Lovejoy printed an anti-slavery newspaper.  He was yanked out of his building and killed by a mob.  The already religious Brown, became a crusader for justice.
5. In 1855, as a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Brown joined numerous anti-slavery forces who migrated to Kansas to try to make sure the territory became a free state. After pro-slavery forces attacked Lawrence, Kansas and the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks on the U.S. Senate floor, Brown decided to exact revenge.  On the night of May 24, 1856 he led a group to Pottawatomie Creek.  They proceeded to hack to death five pro-slavery men with broadswords.  This became famous as the Pottawatomie Massacre and Brown became a national figure.  He and his sons participated in fights in “Bleeding Kansas” in the coming weeks and one of his sons was killed.
6. In December, 1858 he led a group to Missouri to rescue eleven slaves. They killed a slaveholder in the process.  They took the freed slaves to Detroit where they were assisted in reaching Canada.  Because of this, President Buchanan placed a $250 bounty on Brown’s head.
7. In 1859, Brown concocted (with input from Harriet Tubman) the scheme of provoking a slave insurrection in the South. He would need weapons to arm the slaves.  Thus was born the famous raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).  Brown, no military genius, stopped a train, but allowed it to proceed and it alerted the authorities.  Ironically, the first death was a freed black baggage-handler at the railroad station.  They took hostages, including Col. Lewis Washington  (the grandnephew of George).  He and 18 men (5 were African-Americans) captured the armory, but were surrounded by local militia.  The Army sent a detachment of Marines under Col. Robert E. Lee.  JEB Stuart was also part in this.  In the ensuing fight, ten of Brown’s men were killed, including two of his sons (one was shot while trying to offer surrender under a white flag).  Four townsmen, including the Mayor, were killed in the gunfire.  Eight hostages were killed in the armory.  Five of Brown’s men, including one son, escaped.
8. Brown pleaded not guilty at his trial for treason and murder, although he was clearly guilty. Abraham Lincoln came out proclaiming that he could not condone Brown’s treason and resorting to violence, even in a good cause.
9. On Dec. 2, 1859, on the morning of his hanging, Brown passed a note to his jailor in which he predicted “the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with blood.” A truer prediction was never made.
10. Brown was a considered a traitor in the South, but many Northerners considered him a martyr. The words to the song “Say Brothers Will You Meet Us” to create “John Brown’s Body”.  It became a popular marching song for Yankee soldiers.  Later, Julia Ward Howe was inspired to use the melody to write “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/618810/abolitionist-john-brown-facts

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