Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 11.pdf/188

 The Trial of John Brown. relating to questions upon which they have heretofore differed, and accept them in the interest of Truth. It is in this spirit we ap proach the subject of this article. The inci dents herein narrated are taken from reliable records made at the time of their occur rence; the observations upon them are in tended to be from a conservative southern stand point. It is mainly the trial of John Brown that is here in proposed to be treated, but it is necessary to give some account of his raid and cap ture in Virginia in order to fully un derstand the mo tives which im pelled him and to ascertain the spe cific offences for which he was tried and executed. The attack upon Harpers Ferry, Virginia, according to the confession of John E. Cook, a co-conspirator with Brown, and a cap tain in his forces, who was also cap JOHN tured, tried and ex ecuted, was planned by Brown some two years previous to its enactment, near Lawrence, Kansas. It was nothing less than a plan to instigate, or ganize, arm and lead, a general servile insur rection of the negro slaves throughout the southern States. Harpers Ferry, Virginia, was selected for several reasons, as the most suitable point to inaugurate the insurrection; it being located

165

on the northern boundary of Virginia, near the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, only a short distance from. the free State of Pennsylvania, from which he could with least danger of detection transport men, provisions and arms, to some safe contiguous rendezvous. On the plantations in the neigh boring counties of Virginia, there were a large num ber of slaves, and at Harpers Ferry, there was located a United States armory and ar senal, containing many stands of arms and a quan tity of ammunition, with which, when in his possession, he could arm his in surgent followers. His movement from Kansas towards Harpers Ferry was neces sarily slow; and, in order that they should not mis carry, his plans were conducted with the greatest care and delibera tion. As he was obliged to thor BROWN, oughly test his recruits, before he dare trust them in so bold and hazardous an enterprise, the process of recruiting re quired no little time. Moving with his party from Kansas to Tabor, Iowa, where he had a year before accumulated some two hundred Sharpe's rifles, two hundred revolvers, and a large quantity of ammunition, and continuing there for some time he obtained teams, and trans