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72-671: The Adirondak Loj (pronounced "Adirondack Lodge") is a historic lodge in North Elba , Essex County , New York . It is near Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains . The current facility, located on the shore of Heart Lake , was built in 1927 and is owned and operated by ADK ( Adirondack Mountain Club ). The Loj property hosts the trailhead of the popular Van Hoevenberg Trail , which leads to Mount Marcy and Algonquin Peak ,

144-496: A "broad and pathetic farce". According to several reports, Governor Wise was outraged at the poor performance of the local militia. At one point Brown sent out his son Watson and Aaron Dwight Stevens with a white flag, but Watson was mortally wounded by a shot from a town man, expiring after more than 24 hours of agony, and Stevens was shot and taken prisoner. The raid was clearly failing. One of Brown's men, William H. Leeman, panicked and made an attempt to flee by swimming across

216-687: A "vicious man" who needed to be restrained, but did not disclose any plans for the raid. Forbes partially exposed the plan to Senator Wilson and others. Wilson wrote to Samuel Gridley Howe , a Brown backer, advising him to get Brown's backers to retrieve the weapons intended for use in Kansas. Brown's backers told him that the weapons should not be used "for other purposes, as rumor says they may be". In response to warnings, Brown had to return to Kansas to shore up support and discredit Forbes. Some historians believe that this trip cost Brown valuable time and momentum. Another important figure that helped to pay for

288-411: A battering ram to break down the sturdy doors. Greene was the first through the door and with the assistance of Lewis Washington , identified and singled out John Brown. Greene later recounted what events occurred next: Quicker than thought I brought my saber down with all my strength upon [Brown's] head. He was moving as the blow fell, and I suppose I did not strike him where I intended, for he received

360-432: 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. 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 this warning on that account. He was hoping that Floyd would send soldiers to Harpers Ferry. He hoped that

432-456: A deep saber cut in the back of the neck. He fell senseless on his side, then rolled over on his back. He had in his hand a short Sharpe'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 someone else in

504-472: A female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.90. In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.6% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 39.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

576-513: A few blacks in the engine house carried one, but none used it. After the action was over and most of the principals dead or imprisoned, they were sold at high prices as souvenirs. Harriet Tubman had one, and Abby Hopper Gibbons another; the Marines returning to base each had one. When all had been taken or sold, an enterprising mechanic started making and selling new ones. "It is estimated that enough of these have been sold as genuine to supply

648-607: A hero and icon for the Union . The label "raid" was not used at the time. A month after the attack, a Baltimore newspaper listed 26 terms used, including "insurrection", "rebellion", "treason", and "crusade". "Raid" was not among them. John Brown rented the Kennedy Farmhouse , with a small cabin nearby, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Harpers Ferry, in Washington County, Maryland , and took up residence under

720-488: A large army." Virginian Fire-Eater Edmund Ruffin had them sent to the governors of every slave state , with a label that said "Sample of the favors designed for us by our Northern Brethren". He also carried one around in Washington D.C., showing it to every one he could, "so as to create fear and terror of slave insurrection". The United States Armory was a large complex of buildings that manufactured small arms for

792-724: A previous owner, Melvil Dewey , founder of the Lake Placid Club , creator of the Dewey Decimal System and ardent advocate of spelling reform . North Elba, New York North Elba is a town in Essex County , New York , United States. The population was 7,480 at the 2020 census. North Elba is on the western edge of the county. It is 57 miles (92 km) by road southwest of Plattsburgh , 112 miles (180 km) south-southwest of Montreal , and 138 miles (222 km) north of Albany . While it

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864-419: A rear-guard, in charge of the cache of weapons: his son Owen Brown , Barclay Coppock , and Francis Jackson Meriam . He led the rest across the bridge and into the town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown detached a party under John Cook, Jr., to capture Colonel Lewis Washington , great-grandnephew of George Washington , at his nearby Beall-Air estate, free his slaves, and seize two relics of George Washington:

936-520: A single watchman was the only person at the Armory. He was unarmed and forced to turn over his keys when some of Brown's men appeared and threatened him. Brown had been sure that he would get major support from slaves ready to rebel; his followers said to a man that he had told them that. But Brown had no way to inform these slaves; they did not arrive, and Brown waited too long for them. The South, starting with Governor Wise, whose speech after Harpers Ferry

1008-532: A sword Lewis Washington said had been presented to George Washington by Frederick the Great , and two pistols given by Marquis de Lafayette , which Brown considered talismans . The party carried out its mission and returned via the Allstadt House , where they took more hostages and freed more slaves. Brown's men needed to capture the Armory and then escape before word could be sent to Washington. The raid

1080-534: A telegram to W. P. Smith, Master of Transportation at B&O headquarters in Baltimore. Smith's reply to the conductor rejected his report as "exaggerated", but by 10:30 AM he had received confirmation from Martinsburg, Virginia , the next station west of Harpers Ferry. No westbound trains were arriving and three eastbound trains were backed up on the Virginia side of the bridge; because of the cut telegraph line

1152-400: Is only 59 miles (95 km) west-southwest of Burlington, Vermont , one would have to either take a ferry across Lake Champlain , or drive around it. The entirety of the village of Lake Placid is located within the boundaries of North Elba, as is part of the village of Saranac Lake . The town was first settled around 1814. In 1840 there were six families in the future North Elba, which

1224-526: Is situated I am not enabled to learn. As soon as everything 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 of 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

1296-527: Is sometimes called "the Island of Virginia". By noon hopes of escape were gone, as his men had lost control of both bridges leading out of town, which because of the terrain were the only practical escape routes. The other bridge, of which not even the pillars remain (the visible pillars are from a later bridge), went east over the Shenandoah River from Harpers Ferry. The militia companies, under

1368-675: The Au Sable River flows out the northeastern corner of the town. The western town line is the border of Franklin County . New York State Route 73 and New York State Route 86 are east–west highways in the town that intersect at Lake Placid village. As of the census of 2000, there were 8,661 people, 2,944 households, and 1,675 families residing in the town. The population density was 57.0 inhabitants per square mile (22.0/km ). There were 3,991 housing units at an average density of 26.3 per square mile (10.2/km ). The racial makeup of

1440-767: The Larom-Welles Cottage were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 156.4 square miles (405.0 km ), of which 151.7 square miles (392.8 km ) is land and 4.7 square miles (12.3 km ), or 3.03%, is water. Some of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park are in the southern part of town. The West Branch of

1512-547: The dress rehearsal for, or tragic prelude to, the American Civil War . Brown's party of 22 was defeated by a company of U.S. Marines , led by First Lieutenant Israel Greene . Ten of the raiders were killed during the raid, seven were tried and executed afterwards, and five escaped. Several of those present at the raid would later be involved in the Civil War: Colonel Robert E. Lee

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1584-553: The poverty line , including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over. Raid on Harpers Ferry John Brown's raiders John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown , from October 16 to 18, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (since 1863, West Virginia ). It has been called

1656-665: The Harpers Ferry action; he was guarding the weapons at their base, the Kennedy Farm , just across the river in Maryland. Late in the afternoon President Buchanan called out a detachment of U.S. Marines from the Washington Navy Yard , the only federal troops in the immediate area: 81 privates, 11 sergeants, 13 corporals, and 1 bugler , armed with seven howitzers . The Marines left for Harper's Ferry on

1728-527: The Lake Placid Club at that point, Van Hoevenberg found himself once again as a caretaker at his beloved lodge. However, disaster hit on June 3, 1903, when the entire structure was consumed in a catastrophic fire that swept Essex County . It was replaced by the present structure, designed by Saranac Lake architect William G. Distin , in 1927. The spelling of the building's name was changed from its original "Adirondack Lodge" to "Adirondak Loj" by

1800-543: The Maryland side of the Harpers Ferry bridge, just 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the town (at the hamlet of Sandy Hook, Maryland ). As there were few official messages to send or receive, the telegraph carried on the next train, connected to the cut telegraph wires, was "given up to reporters", who "are in force strong as military". By Tuesday morning the telegraph line had been repaired, and there were reporters from The New York Times "and other distant papers". Brown's raid caused much excitement and anxiety throughout

1872-532: The Potomac River, but he was shot and killed while doing so. During the intermittent shooting, another son of Brown, Oliver, was also hit; he died, next to his father, after a brief period. Brown's third participating son, Owen, escaped (with great difficulty) via Pennsylvania to the relative safety of his brother John Jr. 's house in Ashtabula County in northeast Ohio, but he was not part of

1944-456: The U.S. Army (1801–1861), with an Arsenal (weapons storehouse) that was thought to contain at the time 100,000 muskets and rifles. However Brown, who had his own stock of weapons, did not seek to capture those of the Arsenal. Brown attempted to attract more black recruits, and felt the lack of a black leader's involvement. He had tried recruiting Frederick Douglass as a liaison officer to

2016-545: The United States, with the South seeing it as a threat to slavery and thus their way of life, and some in the North perceiving it as a bold abolitionist action. At first it was generally viewed as madness, the work of a fanatic. It was Brown's words and letters after the raid and at his trial – Virginia v. John Brown – aided by the writings of supporters, including Henry David Thoreau , that turned him into

2088-410: The attack on the engine house. He first offered the role of attacking it to the local militia units, but both commanders declined. Lee then sent Lt. J. E. B. Stuart , serving as a volunteer aide-de-camp , under a white flag of truce to offer John Brown and his men the option of surrendering. Colonel Lee informed Lt. Israel Greene that if Brown did not surrender, he was to direct the Marines to attack

2160-421: The direction of Colonels R. W. Baylor and John T. Gibson, forced the insurgents to abandon their positions and, since escape was impossible, fortify themselves in "a sturdy stone building", the most defensible in the Armory, the fire engine house, which would be known later as John Brown's Fort . (There were two fire engines ; which Greene described as old-fashioned and heavy, plus a hose cart. ) They blocked

2232-460: The eastbound Baltimore & Ohio express train from Wheeling —one per day in each direction —was to pass through towards Baltimore. The night watchman ran to warn of trouble ahead; the engineer stopped and then backed up the train. Two train crew members who stepped down to reconnoiter were shot at. Brown boarded the train and talked with passengers for over an hour, not concealing his identity. (Because of his abolitionist work in Kansas , Brown

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2304-435: The engine house. Stuart walked towards the front of the engine house where he told Brown that his men would be spared if they surrendered. Brown refused and as Stuart walked away, he made a pre-arranged signal—waving his hat—to Lt. Greene and his men standing nearby. Greene's men then tried to break in using sledgehammers, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He found a ladder nearby, and he and about twelve Marines used it as

2376-482: The existence of a secret association, having for its object the liberation of the slaves of 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 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

2448-523: The extra security would motivate Brown to call off his plans. Even though President Buchanan offered a $ 250 reward for Brown, Floyd did not connect the John Brown of Gue's letter to the John Brown of Pottawatomie, Kansas , fame. He knew that Maryland did not have an armory (Harpers Ferry is in Virginia, today West Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Maryland.) Floyd concluded that

2520-441: The few windows, used the engines and hose cart to block the heavy doors, and reinforced the doors with rope, making small holes on the walls and through them trading sporadic gunfire with the surrounding militia. Between 2 and 3 there was "a great deal of firing". During the day four townspeople were killed, including the mayor, who managed the Harpers Ferry station and was a former county sheriff. Eight militiamen were wounded. But

2592-495: The insurgent party, but I think it was from Brown. Instinctively as Brown fell I gave him a saber 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. Two of the raiders were killed, and the rest taken prisoner. Brown was wounded before and after his surrender. The hostages were freed and

2664-569: The letter writer was a crackpot, and disregarded it. He later said that "a scheme of such wickedness and outrage could not be entertained by any citizen of the United States". Brown's second in command John Henry Kagi wrote to a friend on October 15, the day before the attack, that they had heard there was a search warrant for the Kennedy farmhouse, and therefore they had to start eight days sooner than planned. On Sunday night, October 16, 1859, at about 11 PM, Brown left three of his men behind as

2736-762: The message had to take a long, roundabout route via the other end of the line in Wheeling, and from there back east via Pittsburgh, causing delay. At that point Smith informed the railroad president, John W. Garrett , who sent telegrams to Major General George H. Steuart of the First Light Division, Maryland Volunteers , Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise , U.S. Secretary of War John B. Floyd , and U.S. President James Buchanan . At about this time Armory employees began arriving for work; they were taken as hostages by Brown's party. Reports differ on how many there were, but there were many more than would fit in

2808-403: The militia, besides the poor quality of their weapons, were disorderly and unreliable. "Most of them [militiamen] got roaring drunk." "A substantial proportion of the militia (along with many of the townspeople) had become a disorganized, drunken, and cowering mob by the time that Colonel Robert E. Lee and the U.S. Marines captured Brown on Tuesday, October 18." The Charleston Mercury called it

2880-427: The most important months of her life. Brown wanted women at the farm, to prevent suspicions of a large all-male group. The raiders went outside at night to drill and get fresh air. Thunderstorms were welcome since they concealed noise from Brown's neighbors. Brown did not plan to execute a quick raid and immediately escape to the mountains. Rather, he intended to arm rebellious slaves with the aim of striking terror in

2952-576: The name Isaac Smith. Brown came with a small group of men minimally trained for military action. His group eventually included 21 men besides himself (16 white men, five black men). Northern abolitionist groups sent 198 breech-loading .52-caliber Sharps carbines (" Beecher's Bibles "). He ordered from a blacksmith in Connecticut 950 pikes , for use by blacks untrained in the use of firearms, as few were. He told curious neighbors that they were tools for mining, which aroused no suspicion as for years

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3024-426: The possibility of local mining for metals had been explored. Brown "frequently took home with him parcels of earth, which he pretended to analyse in search of minerals. Often his neighbors would visit him when he was making his chemical experiments and so well did he act his part that he was looked upon as one of profound learning and calculated to be a most useful man to the neighborhood." The pikes were never used;

3096-563: The preserve is owned and managed by ADK. Currently in its second iteration, the original Adirondack Lodge was designed by Henry Van Hoevenberg, one of the early trailblazers of the Adirondack High Peaks region and namesake of Mount Van Hoevenberg . The main draw to the Adirondack Lodge was its proximity to Algonquin and Marcy, which had trails cut up to their summits by Van Hoevenberg himself. It opened in 1890, and

3168-418: The raid was Mary Ellen Pleasant . She donated $ 30,000 (equivalent to $ 1.1 million in 2023), saying it was the "most important and significant act of her life". Estimates are that at least eighty people knew about Brown's planned raid in advance, although Brown did not reveal his total plan to anyone. Many others had reasons to believe that Brown was contemplating a move against the South. One of those who knew

3240-604: The raid was a suicide mission. The plan was "an attack on the federal government" that "would array the whole country against us. ...You will never get out alive", he warned. According to Osborne Anderson , "the Old Captain told us, we stood nine chances to one to be killed; but, said the Captain at the same time[,] 'there are moments when men can do more dead than alive.'" The Kennedy Farmhouse served as "barracks, arsenal, supply depot, mess hall, debate club, and home". It

3312-403: The raiders, refused to freeze, and headed back to the station. That a black man was the first casualty of an insurrection whose purpose was to aid blacks, and that he disobeyed the raiders, made him a hero of the " Lost Cause " pro-Confederacy movement; a monument enshrining this perspective on Shepherd's death was installed in 1931. But in fact, Shepherd was only making "an effort to see what

3384-522: The regular 3:30 train, arriving about 10 PM. Israel Greene was in charge. To command them Buchanan ordered Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee , conveniently on leave at his home , just across the Potomac in Arlington, Virginia , to "repair" to Harpers Ferry, where he arrived about 10 PM, on a special train. Lee had no uniform readily available, and wore civilian clothes. At 6:30 AM Lee began

3456-472: The slaveholders in Virginia. Believing that on the first night of action, 200 to 500 slaves would join his line, Brown ridiculed the militia and the regular army that might oppose him. He planned to send agents to nearby plantations, rallying the slaves, and to hold Harpers Ferry for a short time, with the expectation that as many volunteers, white and black, would join him as would form against him. He would then move rapidly southward, sending out armed bands along

3528-504: The slaves in a meeting held (for safety) in an abandoned quarry at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania . It was at this meeting that ex-slave "Emperor" Shields Green , rather than return home with Douglass (in whose house Green was living), decided to join with John Brown on his attack on the United States Armory, Green stating to Douglass "I believe I will go with the old man." Douglass declined, indicating to Brown that he believed

3600-430: The slaves' quarters, there was apparently a general jubilee, and they stepped forward manfully, without impressing or coaxing. A free black man was the first fatality to result from the raid: Heyward Shepherd , a baggage handler at the Harpers Ferry train station, who had ventured out onto the bridge to look for a watchman who had been driven off by Brown's raiders. He was shot from behind when he by chance encountered

3672-454: The small engine house. Brown divided them into two groups, keeping only the ten most important in the engine house; the others were held in a different Armory building. According to the report of Robert E. Lee, the hostages included: All save the last were held in the engine house. According to a newspaper report, there were "not less than sixty"; another report says "upwards of seventy". they were detained in "a large building further down

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3744-483: The stopped train, with the engine shut down; normally the temperature would have been around 5 °C (41 °F), but it was "unusually cold". Brown's men had blankets over their shoulders and arms; John Cook reported later having been "chilled through". The passengers were allowed to get off and they "went into the hotel and remained there, in great alarm, for four or five hours". Several times, Brown later called this incident his "one mistake": "not detaining

3816-402: The town was 85.71% White , 10.10% African American , 0.40% Native American , 0.87% Asian , 0.20% Pacific Islander , 1.82% from other races , and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.51% of the population. There were 2,944 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had

3888-415: The train on Sunday night or else permitting it to go on unmolested". Brown scholar Louis DeCaro Jr. called it a "ruinous blunder". The train departed at dawn, Brown himself, on foot, escorting the train across the bridge. At about 7 AM it arrived at the first station with a working telegraph, Monocacy , near Frederick, Maryland , about 23 miles (37 km) east of Harpers Ferry. The conductor sent

3960-484: The two highest points in the state. Accommodations include private rooms and hostel-style bunkrooms, with a buffet breakfast included and dinner available by reservation. There are also campsites, lean-tos , and canvas tents available on the property at the Wilderness Campground, which is also managed by ADK. The Loj sits on a private protected area of 706 acres that includes Heart Lake and Mount Jo;

4032-526: The way that would free more slaves, obtain food, horses, and hostages, and destroy slaveholders' morale. Brown intended to follow the Appalachian Mountains south into Tennessee and even Alabama , the heart of the South , making forays into the plains on either side. Brown paid Hugh Forbes $ 100 per month (equivalent to $ 3,270 in 2023), to a total of $ 600, to be his drillmaster. Forbes

4104-452: The yard". The number of rebels sometimes was inflated because some observers, who had to remain at a distance, thought that the hostages were part of Brown's party. As it became known that citizens had been taken hostage by an armed group, men of Harpers Ferry found themselves without arms other than fowling-pieces , which were useless at a distance. Military companies from neighboring towns began to arrive late Monday morning. Among them

4176-437: Was "a school house, which serves for this purpose, for a church, and a town hall." At that time, when the village of Lake Placid did not exist, a map of 1858 reveals that North Elba was at that time also a hamlet, centered at the intersection of what are today (2021) New York State Route 73 and Adirondack Loj roads. The town and its village, Lake Placid, were the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics . Barngalow and

4248-411: Was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 146.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 158.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 35,329, and the median income for a family was $ 44,828. Males had a median income of $ 27,787 versus $ 23,356 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 19,259. About 7.3% of families and 10.9% of the population were below

4320-491: Was Captain John Avis, who would soon be Brown's jailor, who arrived with a company of militia from Charles Town. Also according to the report of Lee, who does not mention Avis, the following volunteer militia groups arrived between 11 AM and his arrival in the evening: Expecting that thousands of slaves would join him, Brown stayed too long in Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is on a narrow peninsula, almost an island; it

4392-493: Was David J. Gue of Springdale, Iowa , where Brown had spent time. Gue was a Quaker who believed that Brown and his men would be killed. Gue decided to warn the government "to protect Brown from the consequences of his own rashness". He sent an anonymous letter to Secretary of War John B. Floyd : Cincinnati, Aug. 20, 1859. SIR: I have lately received information of a movement of so great importance that I feel it to be my duty to impart it to you without delay. I have discovered

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4464-463: Was a "notorious" celebrity; he was well known to any newspaper reader.) Brown then told the train crew they could continue. According to the conductor's telegram they had been detained for five hours, but according to other sources the conductor did not think it prudent to proceed until sunrise, when it could more easily be verified that no damage had been done to the tracks or bridge, and that no one would shoot at them. The passengers were cold on

4536-690: Was an English mercenary who served Giuseppe Garibaldi in Italy. Forbes' Manual for the Patriotic Volunteer was found in Brown's papers after the raid. Brown and Forbes argued over strategy and money. Forbes wanted more money so that his family in Europe could join him. Forbes sent threatening letters to Brown's backers in an attempt to get money. Failing in this effort, Forbes traveled to Washington, DC, and met with U.S. Senators William H. Seward and Henry Wilson . He denounced Brown to Seward as

4608-502: Was formed from part of the town of Keene in 1849. The abolitionist John Brown , attracted by the views of local abolitionist Gerrit Smith , came to the town in 1849 to found a community for former black slaves. Smith was trying to resettle free blacks on land in the area, but it was not suitable for family farming. Brown left from his farm for the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. A visitor in 1861 noted that in North Elba there

4680-569: Was going on". The shot and a cry of distress were heard by physician John Starry, who lived across the street from the bridge and walked over to see what was happening. After he saw it was Shepherd and that he could not be saved, Brown let him leave. Instead of going home he started the alarm, having the bell on the Lutheran church rung, sending a messenger to summon help from Charles Town, and then going there himself, after having notified such local men as could be contacted quickly. About 1:15 AM

4752-458: Was going well for Brown's men. They cut the telegraph line twice, to prevent communication in either direction: first on the Maryland side of the bridge; slightly later on the far side of the station, preventing communication with Virginia. Some of Brown's men were posted so as to control both the Potomac and the Shenandoah bridges. Others went into the town; it was the middle of the night and

4824-487: Was in overall command of the operation to retake the arsenal. Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart were among the troops guarding the arrested Brown, and John Wilkes Booth was a spectator at Brown's execution. John Brown had originally asked Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass , both of whom he had met in his transformative years as an abolitionist in Springfield, Massachusetts , to join him in his raid, but Tubman

4896-405: Was manifested by them—joy and hilarity beamed from every countenance. One old mother, white-haired from age, and borne down with the labors of many years in bonds, when told of the work in hand, replied: "God bless you! God bless you! " She then kissed the party at her house, and requested all to kneel, which we did, and she offered prayer to God for His blessing on the enterprise, and our success. At

4968-419: Was prevented by illness and Douglass declined, as he believed Brown's plan was suicidal. The raid was extensively covered in the press nationwide—it was the first such national crisis to be publicized using the new electrical telegraph . Reporters were on the first train leaving for Harpers Ferry after news of the raid was received, at 4 p.m. on Monday, October 17. It carried Maryland militia, and parked on

5040-409: Was reprinted widely, proclaimed that this showed the truth of their old allegation, that their slaves were happy and did not want freedom. Osborne Anderson , the only raider to leave a memoir, and the only black survivor, put the lie to this: The Sunday evening of the outbreak, when we visited the plantations and acquainted the slaves with our purpose to effect their liberation, the greatest enthusiasm

5112-444: Was very crowded, and life there was tedious. Brown was worried about arousing neighbors' suspicions. As a result, the raiders had to stay indoors during the daytime, without much to do but study (Brown recommended Plutarch 's Lives ), drill, argue politics, discuss religion, and play cards and checkers. Brown's daughter-in-law Martha served as cook and housekeeper. His daughter Annie served as lookout. She remarked later that these were

5184-416: Was well known for its beautiful vistas and colorful fireside storytelling by Van Hoevenberg. Eventually, due to near constant financial troubles, Van Hoevenberg was forced to sell the property in 1895, though he would remain on as a caretaker until 1898. During this time, the property changed hands several times before eventually ending up under the stable ownership of the Lake Placid Club in 1900. A member of

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