Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/470

BROWN.BROWN. pated sbves and others. Mr. Brown thought that he and his family might be of assistance to the colored rolony. but the project was unsuccess- ful; meanwhile he lent every help in his power to fugitive slaves. In 1851 he returned to his farm, where he continued to raLse wool, siieciniens of which he sent to the London exhibition in that year. In 18.">5-"")6 occurred the struggle in Kan- sas between the slaveholders and the friends of alwlition. The jKissession of the territories, and the introtluction into them of the system of slavery, meant for the slave-holding states an assured majority in Congress; while, on the other hand, the possession of the territories by the north meant the diminution of power of the south. Many of the so-called southern " set- tlers " in Kansas were in reality employed in a military foray, and went there armed and void of intention to settle. On the other hand, the free- state men were not all l>ona-fide settlers who wished onl_v for a peaceable possession of the lands which they took up. Among these were five of the sons of John Brown, and, as the trouble thick- ene 1. he determined to join them. March, 1855, oc- curred the first election for a territorial constitu- tion: numbers of armed Missourians entered the state and cast their illegal votes by force of arms, and the Browns were mustered in as Kansas militia to defend the town of Lawrence. On May:25 the so-called " Pottawatomie Massacre " took place, when five pro-slavery men were called from their houses by night and shot, in avowed reprisal for the death of certain free -state men. This is the one most criticised event of John Brown's career; for to him. though he repeatedly as.serted that he was not present at the assassination, was attri- buted this blow which struck at the arrogant force of the slaveholders. The property of the Browns was destroyed, two of the sons were sub- jected to imprisonment, and one of them was murdered by a pro-slaverj' parson. In October, 185«. John Brown left Kansas with his sons, and during the year 1857 was employed in procuring arms and collecting stores and men to aid him in his cherished plan. In 1858 he went to Canada and there formulated his famous " provisional coastitution. " He then returned to Kansas, where he entrenched himself in a fortified camp, from whence he made a raid over the Mis.souri border, captured a number of slaves and con- ducted them to Canada. This exploit made his name widely known, and with reasonable caution he became more giiarded in his movements. In June. 18.")9, he hired a farm near Hagerstown, Md., where he collected his stores. He was known to the countrj- people as Mr. Smith and for three months he quietly perfected his arrangements. He had been furnished with money and arms by sympathizers in the north

who had faitli in his motives, and did not question his judgment or seek to learn the details of his movements. The projected attack ujxjn the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Va., was fixed for Octo- ber 24, but owing to the attempts of one of his adherents to betray him, he became anxious lest his design should be frustrated, and on Sunday, Oct. 16, 1859, marched his company of twenty-one men to the armory; on the next morning took a number of citizens prisoners, and seized the rail- road bridge. He might even then have retraced his steps and retired to his fortified camp, but his hopes were sanguine. He believed that the slaves would rise en masse, and that thus their freedom would be effected. Virginia and Maryland mil- itia arrived and escape was impossible; desultory fighting was kept up during the day, and two of Brown's party were killed; the survivors took refuge in an engine-house, where they defended themselves to the death. John Brown's conduct was heroic in the extreme, but the L'nited States troops arriving, under Col. Robert E. Lee, he was overpowered, wounded and imprisoned at the jail at Charlestown. His trial was short; on the 26th he was indicted, his trial commenced on the fol- lowing day, and on the 31st he was found guilty of treason and murder and sentenced to death. Before his trial, and during that time, he received many letters of warm and cordial sympathy from friends at the north. Mrs. Lydia Maria Child addressed a p)etition to Governor Wise that she should be allowed to go to Virginia to nurse him. A rescue was spoken of, but he strongly con- demned the idea of such a movement, and after a wearisome imprisonment of forty-two days he met his fate on the scaffold with amazing fortitude. His body was delivered to his widow, and in- terred at North Elba, N. Y., with tho.se of his sons, Wendell Phillips pronovmcing the eulogy. Of his twenty children only eight survived him, and his second wife, Mary Ann Day, whom he married in 1833, died in San Francisco, Cal., in 1884. He was executed in Charlestown, Va., Dec. 2, 18.59.

BROWN, John Calvin, governor of Tennessee, was born in Giles county, Tenn., Jan. 6. 1827; was graduated from Jackson college in 1846, and engaged in the practice of the law with his brother, Neil S. Brown, who was governor of Tennessee, and U. S. minister to Ru.ssia under President Taylor. John Calvin entered the Con- federate service in 1861 as captain, was three times wounded, and by repeated promotions won the rank of major-general. He was president of the state constitutional convention of 1870, and was governor of Tennessee from 1870 to 1874. He was made general counsel for the Texas Pacific railroad in 1876, and was subsequently its vice-president, receiver, president and general manager. He resigned in 1891 to accept the