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Index

Note: All illustrations – prints, maps, photographs – are indicated by page numbers in italics. The name Brown, standing alone, refers to John Brown throughout.

Abels, Jules, 150–51 Alton, Illinois, 67, 120 abolitionists American Revolution, 12, 214, 242 of African heritage, 242–43 Anderson, Jeremiah Brown armed by, 199 on Douglass, 228 Brown family as, 35, 55–56, 63, 66–67, 81, Harpers Ferry raid, 287, 296, 300, 302, 120, 382n82 304–5 conspiracy among, 217 migration to Kansas, 252 economic strategy, 244, 311 photo of, 288 insurrection by, 6, 149, 243 Anderson, Osborne Perry, 250, 251 intelligence provided by, 1 Andrew, John A., 223 as non-resistants, 241, 247, 255. See also Annoyance Associations, 87 Garrison, William Lloyd; Garrisonians Arny, William, 237 politics/political culture of, 9–11, 199, Atchison, Kansas, 10, 78 204, 223 Atlantic Monthly (periodical), 205 secret organizations of, 244 Avis, John, 285 See also Eastern abolitionists; Kansas (free- state); Northerners; radical abolitionists Ball, Armistead, 271, 284, 298 Adair, Samuel (brother-in-law) Baltimore militia, 291, 296 on defensive warfare, 169 Bandura, Albert, 137–39 on Kansas proslavery defeat, 383n90 Barber, Thomas, 101–2, 107, 117, 120 as Kansas settler, 86–87 Barbour, Alfred M., 258 non-resistance of, 14 Bateson, Gregory, 68–69, 347–48n86 Osawatomie cabin, 86, 97–99 Battle of the Spurs, 211 on Pottawatomie massacre, 115–18, Baylor, Robert W., 283, 291, 418n24 121–22, 127, 135 Beckham, Fontaine, 285, 289, 421n60 on proslavery violence, 104, 111 Beecher, Henry Ward, 10, 179–80, 200, on Shawnee legislature, 106 337n44, 387n3 Adams, Annie Brown. See Brown, Annie Beecher’s Bibles. See Sharps rifles (daughter) Bell, James M., 251 Alburtis, Ephraim, 291, 299 Bennett, James Gordon, 235 Allstadt, John Black Jack, Missouri, 11, 157, 170, 212 as hostage, 266, 268–69, 293 black state constitution. See “Provisional slaves of, 269, 271–72, 274, 279, 297 Constitution and Ordinances”

433

434 Index

Blakeslee, Levi, 59–60, 62, 64, 336n37 murdered by Border Ruffians, 11, 158, 179, Bleeding Kansas 378n57 overview, 10–13 photo of, 109 Brown as revolutionary in, 70 Pottawatomie massacre and, 129–34, 139, Brown identified with,10 157–58, 365n51, 365n52 Brown’s reputation and, 204 See also Brown ancestry/family characterized by anarchy and murder, 78 Brown, G. W., 99–100, 104, 120, 357n11, peace destroyed by, 102 357n14 popular sovereignty destroyed by, 12 Brown, Hannah (grandmother), 59 religious warfare and, 178, 322 Brown, Jason (son) Republican Party and, 12 fear of mental illness of, 161, 342n131 See also Border Ruffians; Kansas (free-state); imprisonment of, 160, 210 Kansas proslavery factions; Kikapoo migration to Kansas, 86–87 Rangers; Missourians photo of, 109 Boerly, Thomas, 283, 289 Pottawatomie massacre, 15, 126–29, 132, bogus legislation. See Kansas proslavery 159, 199, 364n46 government/legislation as religious dissenter, 68, 98, 341n114 Border Ruffians See also Brown ancestry/family armed protection against, 10–11 Brown, Jeremiah Root (half-brother) Brown brother’s migration to Kansas and, on Brown’s monomania, 169 209–10 Brown’s will sent to, 24 Brown’s appeal for support against, 206 clemency plea pursued by, 64, 147, 167 Brown’s militancy and, 247 family assistance provided, 383n95 elections influenced by, 11 family support provided by, 64–65 Frederick Brown murdered by, 158 marriage of, 40 Kansas considered safe from, 212 Pottawattamie massacre and, 349n5 Pottawatomie massacre and, 77–78, 116 slavery war and, 168 See also Kikapoo Rangers; Missourians weapons stored by, 64 Boston. See Eastern abolitionists Brown, John Botts, Lawson, 184 affinities with Owen, Sr.,60 , 66–70, Branson, Jacob, 98–99, 101–12 82–84 Brown, Anna Ruth (sister), 58, 62, 161 aliases of, 23, 75, 142, 226, 252 See also Brown ancestry/family ancestral home of, 41 Brown, Annie (Annie Brown Adams) antislavery oath taken by, 67, 94, 120 (daughter) autobiography of, 53–54, 59–62, 68, on Brown’s pre-raid discouragement, 198 355n76 on Harpers Ferry raider unanimity, 224 as businessman, 26–32, 59, 68–70, 80, at the Kennedy farm, 254 82–85, 142, 187 photo of, 50 capital lost by, 315 religion questioned by, 196, 320–22 chivalry of, 136 returning to North Elba, 254–55 Civil War prophecy of, 8, 326–28 See also Brown ancestry/family Cook cut off from, 285 Brown, Dianthe Lusk (first wife), 161–63, 197, death, exposure to, 44–45, 82, 101 336n40, 380n69 “Declaration of Liberty” written by, 203, Brown, Florella (sister), 86, 94, 115, 159, 211 213–15 Brown, Frederick (brother), 64, 68, 167 as fugitive, 95, 142, 206 See also Brown ancestry/family as fundraiser, 12, 167, 205–7, 214, 241, Brown, Frederick (son) 254–56 as abolitionist speaker, 382n82 historical sketch of family of, 96, 356n1 James P. Doyle and, 122 hubris of, 55–56, 82, 141, 235, 248 mental illness of, 156–59, 162, 188, interrogation of (artist’s rendering), 313 365n52 papers of, discovered, 216–18, 220, 223, migration to Kansas, 86 229, 399n61, 399n62

Index 435

photo of, 22, 76, 148, 175 impetuous nature of, 131–34, 366n66 physical health of, 180–81, 186. See also Kennedy farm and, 251, 252–54 malaria migration to Kansas, 92 politics and, 9–11, 21, 98, 111–12 in North Elba, 254–55 “Provisional Constitution and Ordinances” photo of, 288 written by, 213–16, 310, 314, 410n18 Starry and, 283 rescue attempts of, proposed, 224, 319, See also Brown ancestry/family 411n46 Brown, Owen (father) (Owen, Sr.) self-identity, 52, 76, 140–41, 311, 400n3 as abolitionist, 35, 55–56, 66–67, 81, 120 “Vindication of the Invasion, Etc.” written affinities with John Brown,60 , 66–70, 82–84 by, 216–18 approval craved by John Brown, 94, 141 war, 138, 142, 237–39, 311, 330n13 as businessman, 29, 34, 35–39 William Walker and, 247 death of, 92–95, 141–42 writing skills of, 203 Hudson home of, 56, 68, 81 youth of, 52–55 as patriarch, 25–26, 40–48, 57–58, 80–84 Brown, John, Jr. (son) prestige/prosperity of, 38–39, 43–44, 89, 141 apostasy of, 129, 196 religious convictions of, 35–39, 55–57, arrest of, 159–60, 210 66–70, 81, 89–90, 141, 320–22 education, 47–49, 322 sons’ migration to Kansas, 66–70, 89–90 on free-state fighting forces,87 –88 wives of, 48–51 Harpers Ferry preparations, 250–55 youth of, 37–38 independent nature or, 131–32 Brown, Owen (son) as Kansas free-state legislator, 79–80, 83, at Chambersburg, 254 88, 98, 106, 133 Harpers Ferry and, 217, 241, 252, 260, as Kansas free-state militia commander, 11, 417n8 128 loyalty to Brown, 225 militancy of, 133–34 migration to Kansas, 86–87 photo of, 33, 109 Pottawatomie massacre, 117, 129–32, 199, Pottawatomie massacre and, 78–79, 122, 351n18, 363n39, 365n52, 365n53 126, 128, 139–40, 159–61 religious apostasy of, 129 slaves liberated by, 161 rescripting by, 115 temporary mental illness of, 159–62 See also Brown ancestry/family See also Brown ancestry/family Brown, Reese, 102–4, 107, 117, 120, 135 Brown, Martha (daughter-in-law), 254–55 Brown, Ruth (daughter), 84–85, 123, 129, See also Brown ancestry/family 161–63, 322 Brown, Martha (sister), 324 See also Brown ancestry/family Brown, Mary Ann Day (second wife) Brown, Ruth Mills (mother), 60, 82, Chambersburg and, 254 154–55, 157 financial difficulties of,91 –92 See also Brown ancestry/family in North Elba, 84–85 Brown, Sally Root (stepmother), 60–61, photo of, 50 352n26 prison letters to, 318–20, 324–27, Brown, Salmon (brother), 61–64, 66, 155–56, 334n17 334n15 refusal to go to Harpers Ferry, 254 See also Brown ancestry/family Brown, Oliver Owen (brother), 62–64, 66, Brown, Salmon (son) 167, 382n82 on Brown’s religious convictions, 8 See also Brown ancestry/family on Cato’s Court, 107–10, 351n18 Brown, Oliver (son) education of, 61–62 Brown rejoined by, 199, 241 on Harpers Ferry, 156, 250 at Chambersburg, 252 independent nature of 366n66 family strife resolved by, 366–67n67 migration to Kansas, 86, 92 at Harpers Ferry, 285, 290 militancy of, 88, 133 illness of, 97 muscular tremors of, 156

436 Index

Brown, Salmon (son) (cont.) Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Pottawatomie massacre and, 115, 117–18, Brown/Douglass meeting near, 229, 231, 251 124, 129–34, 139–40, 158, 199, 362n13 Brown’s forces departing from, 250–51 Wakarusa negotiations and, 100 escaped slaves and, 273–74 See also Brown ancestry/family as Harpers Ferry staging area, 217, 251–52 Brown, Watson (son) indicated on map, 3 Brown rejoined by, 241 Kagi and, 217, 251, 254–55 death of, 2, 334n17 Sharps rifles in, 253, 260 at Harpers Ferry, 2, 261–62, 286–87, 290, Channing William Ellery, 35 292, 294 Charlestown, Virginia in North Elba, 91–92, 157 Brown imprisoned in, 8, 24, 179, 312 underground railroad and, 251 Harpers Ferry raid and, 283–84, 287 See also Brown ancestry/family unrest in, 244 Brown, William Wells, 242 Chatham convention (western Canada) Brown ancestry/family overview, 29–51 blacks recruited at, 12, 213–15, 252 Brown’s Station (Brownsville), Kansas disappointing results of, 239–40 appealed to, from Lawrence, Kansas, 78–79 Douglass, unattended by, 215 Brown family endangered at, 96 location of, 397n41 Brown’s arrival in, 85, 89, 98–100 Provisional Government and, 215–16 Brown’s pride in, 101 purposes of, 213 destruction of, 126–27 Realf and, 213, 233–35, 404n48 establishment of, 24 refugee community planned for, 311 mail service and, 89 Tidd and, 224 Pottawattamie massacre and, 126–27 underground railroad and, 398n50 as proslavery opposition nexus, 114 Virginia incursion plans revealed at, 234 Brua, Joseph, 284–85, 287, 293 Cheerful Yesterdays (Higginson), 224 Bryant, William Cullen, 205 Child, Lydia Maria, 320 Buchanan, James Christ. See Jesus Christ Harpers Ferry raid reported to, 265, 275 Civil Rights Movement, 150–51 marines sent to Harpers Ferry, 5, 249, 296 Civil War political ineffectiveness of, 149 anticipated by Harpers Ferry raid, 6, 12, reward for Brown’s arrest offered by, 211 23, 230 Buford, Jefferson, 77, 112–13, 114, 121–22 anticipated by Kansas wars, 105 Bunyan, John Lincoln on, 333n2 Pilgrim’s Progress, 198 precipitated in part by Brown, 149–50, 328 Byrne, Terence, 268, 290, 295, 300, 305 prophesied by Brown, 8, 326–28 revisionist history of, 149–52, 373–74n14 Calvinism, 14, 35–36, 55, 82, 341n114 civil war (Brown’s), 138, 142, 237–39, 311, Camp Hill, 4, 283 330n13 Canada clemency Brown losing support in, 406n79 Brown as deserving of, 164 Brown/Tubman meeting in, 240 forfeit of, 146 freed slaves sent to, 12, 161, 226, 236–37, Jeremiah Brown and, 64, 147, 167 248, 349n3 mental illness and, 154, 373n12, freed slaves sent to, by Redpath, 161 381–82n79 freed slaves to be educated in, 27, 66, cognitive dissonance, 309–10, 312–19, 325–28 234, 311 Collamer, Jacob, 238–39 recruits from, awaited, 251 Committee of Public Safety, 99–101 recruits from, not mobilized, 239 Commonwealth v. Rogers, 173 See also Chatham convention (western Connecticut Canada) Brown family headstone in, 257 Cato, Sterling G., 106–11, 359–60n55, Brown family in, 29, 35–40 359n51, 359n53, 360n59 business ventures in, 91 Chambers, George W., 262–65, 284, 289 pikes forged in, 4

Index 437

Salmon educated in, 61–62 Brown described by, 167, 182, 247 connection (Brown family), 24–48, 64–65, Brown’s friendship with, 66, 84 335n21, 339n89 on Brown’s liberated slaves, 313 The Conquest of Kansas by Missouri and Her on Brown’s violence, 404n44 Allies (William A. Phillips), 205 Chatham convention, unattended by, 215 Cook, John E. commitment of, to Brown’s cause, 228–29 Brown cut off from, 285 Cook and, 229 capture of, 257–58, 274 Delaney and, 397n41 Douglass and, 229 as editor, 402n27 on exit strategy, 224 Frederick Douglass’ Paper, 106, 111 hostages taken by, 260, 265–66, 268 Harpers Ferry and, 226, 228–31, 239–41, liberated slaves and, 269–71, 274, 285, 287 312, 403n37, 404n42 photo of, 288 on heroism vs. insanity, 150 Realf and, 234 Kagi and, 228, 231 as spy, 151, 229, 257 on the Mason committee, 404n45 Wise on, 257–58, 413n68 meeting with Brown in Chambersburg, 229, Copeland, John Anthony, Jr., 251, 261, 287, 231, 251 288, 420n55 meeting with Brown in Philadelphia, 251 Coppoc, Barclay, 257, 260 meeting with Brown in Springfield, 226 Coppoc, Edwin photo of, 227, 230 final attack and, 296, 300 Provisional Constitution written at home misled about raid support, 279 of, 228 money lent to Brown by, 255 as public speaker, 402n27 surrender of, 302–3, 305 slave insurrection and, 228, 232 trial of, 292, 312 on slave owners, 404n44 court systems, 106–11, 114, 117, 141, 351n18 slavery portrayed by, 54 Crittenden Compromise, 247 on terror, 232 Cromwell, Jacob, 264 underground railroad and, 402n27 Cromwell, Oliver, 8, 14, 22, 212 Dow, Charles, 98–99, 102, 107, 116–17, 120 Cross, Reason, 285 Downer, W. B., 265, 272 Doyle, Drury, 110, 128 Daily Journal (Lawrence), 77, 115 Doyle, James P. Daingerfield, John E. P.,268 –69, 300, 301, Brown’s contempt for, 131, 138 303–5, 329n7 Brown’s shooting of, post-mortem, 129, Daniels, Jim, 211 139–41 Davis, Jefferson, 105, 317 Henry Thompson and, 108 Day, Mary (sister-in-law), 125–26 Law and Order Party member, 110, 114 Day, Orson (brother-in-law), 94, 126–28, Lucius Mills and, 122–23, 138 332n39 Morse and, 122–23 Day cabin, 127–28 motives for murder of, 114, 117–23 “Declaration of Liberty” (Brown), 203, murder of, 79, 127, 134, 138–39, 365n53 213–15 offenses against women, accused of, 123–26 Delaney, Martin, 213, 215, 235, 239, 397n41 proximity of, to victims’ cabins, 139 Democratic Party, 99, 331–32n31 as Shawnee legislature member, 79 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of terror and, 140 Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (American Weiner’s store burned by, 127 Psychiatric Association), 153, 159, 199, Doyle, John, 136 372n9 Doyle, Mahala, 136, 139 Dillon, Merton, 232 Doyle, William P., 110 double bind, 68–70, 347–48n86, 352n31 Dred Scott decision, 214, 216 Douglas, Stephen A., 10 DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Douglas County, Kansas, 98, 107 Mental Disorders), 153, 159, 199, 372n9 Douglass, Frederick Dutch Henry’s Crossing, Kansas, 79, 111, 119, Brown confiding in, 337n49 138–39

438 Index

Eakin, John Paul, 52 as Brown pamphleteer, 207–9 Eastern abolitionists on Brown’s civil war plans, 237–39 in Boston, 13, 78, 179, 188, 205–9, 241 Brown’s falling out with, 235–40, 312 Brown and, 8, 84, 212 Brown’s plans betrayed by, 212, 215, 233, financial support provided by, 74, 167 252 Frederick Brown (brother) and, 64 insurrection’s dangers seen by, 317 Missouri raid and, 205–8 Realf and, 233 “Old Brown’s Farewell” and, 205–8 Fouke, Christine, 289 Redpath and, 244 Franklin, Benjamin, 209, 322 Eastern press, 13, 103–4, 203–5, 257, 311 Franklin County, Kansas, 109–10, 113, See also newspapers/press; propaganda 121–22, 252 economic warfare, 223, 244, 311 Franklin Mills, Ohio, 28–29, 63, 66 education of freed slaves. See Canada; North Frederickstown volunteers, 296 Elba, New York Free Soil Party, 241 Edwards, Jonathan, 36–39, 54–55, 81, 141 Free State Hotel, 79, 99, 360n68 The Emergence of Lincoln (Nevins), 26–27 free-state. See Kansas (free-state) Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 7, 150, 317, 333n7 free-white-state men, 102, 107, 214 Essex County, New York. See North Elba, Fugitive Slave Law, 111, 135–36, 186, 244, New York 353n45 evangelism Brown and, 7 Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 235 Brown/Brown, Sr. affinities and,83 Garnet, Rev. Henry Highland, 228, 240, militancy and, 90 402–3n31 monomania and, 177 Garrett, John W., 265 movements of, 339n85 Garrison, William Lloyd New Lights and, 36 on Brown’s Harpers Ferry motivation, 317 Owen, Sr. and, 39, 55 on Brown’s violence, 429n39 slavery and, 75, 177 Liberator published by, 246–47 sons’ rejection of, 129 as non-resistant abolitionist, 8, 63, tenets of, 330n16 150–51, 317 See also religion Villard and, 121 execution Garrisonians artists rendering of, 326 as abolitionists, 330n16 cheerfulness in the face of, 146–47, 152, as fanatics, 150–51 178–79, 189, 320, 325 as non-resistant abolitionists, 75, 150–51 civil war prophesied at time of, 327–28 righteous violence accepted by, 243 date announced to Mary, 318–19 William Walker denounced by, 246 shame in, renounced, 323–24 Gault House Saloon, 276, 284 Geary, John W., 11 fagots, 280–81, 310 Gershon, Elliot, 154 failure thesis Gibson, John Thomas, 283 Brown’s insurrectionism and, 26–29 Giddings, Joshua, 105, 218 Kansas wars and, 79–80 Gideon (biblical warrior), 7–8, 14, 135, 142, monomania and, 27 311, 323 Nevins and, 149 Goodale, S. N., 164, 166 Potter and, 151 Grant, John, 123–27 religious motivation vs., 34 Grant, Mary, 123–24, 157 Rossbach on, 336–37n43 Great Awakening, 35–37, 51, 81 filibusters,246 –48, 256, 310, 408–9n3 Greeley, Horace, 102–3, 204–5, 206, 330n17 First Calvinistic Congregational Church Green, Israel, 298–300, 303–4 (Hudson, Ohio), 24, 40, 66–67 Green, Shields Floyd, John B., 254, 265 final attack and, 296 Forbes, Hugh at the Kennedy farm, 256 on Brown as Gideon, 311 sketch of, 288

Index 439

surrender of, 300, 305 Harpers Ferry motivation on trial with Brown, 312 cognitive dissonance in accounts of, 312–19 as volunteer in Brown’s army, 231–32 confusion regarding, 221 Washington’s abduction and, 266 cultural determinants of, 332n41 gunpowder, 280–81, 310, 418n24 Kansas wars and, 294 religion and, 138, 369n99 Haiti, 161, 242, 255 revenge and, 180, 187, 294, 387n5 Hall’s Rifle Works,1 , 283, 287 as slave insurrection, 280, 311 Hamilton, Charles, 211–12 as slave liberation, 266–67, 278, 294–95 Hamtramck Guards, 291 as terror, 279–80 Hand, Sally Marion, 115 Harpers Ferry raid Hand, Titus, 115 overview, 1–9, 246–75 Hanway, James, 107, 115, 122, 124, 157 Brown negotiating to end, 311 Harpers Ferry armory Brown’s sacrifices in, 4, 23–24, 316, 318, building complex of, 4 334n17 gates of, 261 cease fire attempted by Brown, 284–87, 289, hostages/prisoners in, 260, 268, 277, 284 291–93 indicated on map, 259, 276 Civil War anticipated by, 6, 12, 23, 230 occupied by Brown’s men, 1, 261, 268, as conspiracy, 221–32, 317 273, 278 delay in ending, 232, 277–79, 295, 311, photo of, 262 314, 329n1 security lax in, 249, 258, 260 early plans for, 236, 311, 405n58 weapons in, 258, 280–81, 418n24 exit strategy for, 225–26, 330n13 yard of, 291 failure of, 217, 220–21, 248–50, 278, 297, Harpers Ferry arsenal 309–10, 318, 324 indicated on map, 259, 276 final attack ending, 6, 296–304, occupied by Brown’s men, 1, 269, 273 424–25n117 security lax in, 249, 258 flags of truce shown during, 4, 285, 292, troops overlooking, 284 294, 298, 310 weapons in, 258, 265, 283 funds for, running low, 255–56 Harpers Ferry engine-house incendiary weapons brought to, 280–81 Brown trapped in, 2, 5, 220, 271, 282, Kansas wars and, 73, 88 290–91, 296–304 as manifesto, 311 final attack on,6 , 296–304, 424–25n117 martyrdom and, 318 hostages/prisoners in, 4–5, 271, 285, mental illness and, 145–47, 151, 180, 291–96, 298–304 187–90, 223, 401n9 indicated on map, 259, 276 military aspects of, 220–21 photo of, 286 military response to, 283–92, 295–306 surrender of, 296–306 misleading information provided by Brown, Harpers Ferry hostages/prisoners 279, 417n13 in armory, 260, 268, 277, 284 Missouri raid and, 314–15 Brown’s defense and, 312 monomania and, 277 Brown’s purposes explained to, 312 Northerners and, 217–18 Brown’s treatment of, 187, 284–85, origins of, 234, 257 292–95, 298, 310, 316–17, 422n85, plan betrayed, 212, 228 423n87 plan opposed, 224–26, 229–32, 279, Cook, captured by, 260, 265–66, 268 401n17, 411n46 in engine-house, 4–5, 271, 285, 291–96, plan overview, 260 298–304 as political action, 221, 248–49, 279 Lee and, 5, 296, 329n5 Pottawatomie massacre and, 274 slave owners as, 235, 249, 266–69, 293, Provisional Constitution and, 310 295, 310 recruits for, 9, 225, 239–41, 250–52, 255, slaves as, 312 284, 354n55 Stockholm syndrome and, 295, 423n98 reinforcements for, 278–79

440 Index

Harpers Ferry raid (cont.) photo of, 222 religion and, 7, 180, 315–16, 320, 323 rescue attempt advocated by, 224, 319 revenge denied as motive for, 180, 187 on slaveholder terror, 242 Secret Six and, 218, 225–26 violence advocated by, 167 slaves uninformed about, 221, 417n14 See also Secret Six speeches by Brown during, 266, 277, 294, higher law, 103, 220, 268, 312, 321 310, 312 Hinton, Richard J., 123, 204–5, 243, 250, surrender of Brown’s forces, 296–306 397n44 terror and, 233, 239, 279–80 Holt, James, 287 timing of, 224, 236, 250–56, 405n58 Hopkins, Samuel, 35–37, 51, 81 train arrival/departure during, 263–65, 275, Howe, Samuel Gridley, 212, 222, 234, 238, 255 278, 295–96 See also Secret Six train passengers and, 264–65, 282, 295 Hoyt, George H., 179, 188, 311, 319–20 “Vindication of the Invasion” and, 216–18 Hudson, Ohio See also Harpers Ferry hostages/prisoners; abolitionist activities in, 66–70 Potomac bridge; Wager house Brown family home in, 40–41, 41, 56, Harpers Ferry slaves 56–57, 68, 81, 94–95 arms given to, 268, 272–73, 285 First Calvinistic Congregational Church of, Brown allegedly feared by, 414–15n98 24, 40, 66–67 in engine house, 273, 277, 295 Harpers Ferry preparations and, 64 as hostages, 312 Kansas preparations and, 89 participating in raid, 268–74, 285 Owen, Sr. as founder of, 81–82 Harpers Ferry (Virginia) as underground railroad station, 66 described, 4–5, 258 Humphrey, Heman (cousin), 146–47, 324 indicated on map, 259, 276 Hunter, Andrew, 6, 188, 314–16 map of, 3 Hunter, Harry, 289 photo of, 327 Hurd, H. B., 247 print of, 2 Hutchinson, William, 211 Harpers Ferry weapons in armory, 258, 280–81, 418n24 Independent Congregational Church in arsenal, 258, 265, 283 (Richmond, Virginia), 27, 66 brought by Brown, 186, 248, 260, 271, Innes, Stephen, 35 280–81, 303, 316, 418n24 insanity (legal term), 147–48, 151 See also Harpers Ferry armory; Harpers See also mental illness Ferry arsenal insurrection against slavery, 6, 149, 232, 239, Harris, J. H., 251 241–45 Harris, James, 110, 118–19, 136, 139–41 See also slave insurrection Hayden, Lewis, 254–55 Hazlett, Albert, 258 Jackson, Andrew, 29, 39, 51 Herald (Leavenworth), 107, 356n3 James, William, 197–98 Herald (New York) (Bennett, ed.), 218, Jarvis, Edward, 172, 177 235–36 Jefferson, Thomas, 174, 213 Herald of Freedom (Brown, ed.), 99, 102–3, Jefferson County, Kansas, 107, 110 112, 120, 235 Jefferson County, Virginia, 269 Higgins, Patrick, 261–65 Jefferson Guards, 283, 285 Higginson, Thomas Wentworth Jeremiah (biblical prophet), 179, 318 Brown criticized by, 223 Jesus Christ on Brown’s mental balance, 224 Brown’s abolitionism and, 80–81 Cheerful Yesterdays, 224 Brown’s martyrdom and, 146, 321 confidence of, waning, 255 Calvin’s understanding of, 35 as Kansas abolitionist correspondent, 204–5 as captain of liberty, 323, 331n26 Lane and, 205 Kansas wars and, 94 martyrdom and, 223 slavery’s end and, 323 Mary Brown escorted to Boston by, 319 Jim (coachman), 270, 287

Index 441

John Brown, 1800–1859: A Biography Fifty Kansas proslavery factions Years After (Villard), 296 conspiracy among, 78, 97 “John Brown’s Body” (Northern army courts dominated by, 106–11, 114, 117 marching song), 74, 328 elections and, 11, 102 Jones, James Monroe, 240 innocent proslavery citizens among, 28 Jones, Samuel J., 78, 98–100, 111–12, 120 newspapers favoring, 107, 112, 356n3 Pierce administration supporting, 97–98, Kagi, John Henry 105–6 Brown/Douglass Chambersburg meeting Southerners, allied with, 11 and, 231 terrorized by Brown, 75, 77–78, 86 as Brown’s nurse, 181 U.S. Congress supporting, 111 as Brown’s Secretary of War, 216 Kansas proslavery government/legislation Douglass and, 228, 231 Brown’s early repudiation of, 132–33, 199 at Harpers Ferry, 205, 260–61, 287 Brown’s religion convictions and, 97 Harpers Ferry preparations, 217, Law and Order Party and, 78, 98 250–55 Missourians supporting, 78 on Harpers Ferry timing, 224, 250 mistrust of, 12 as Kansas abolitionist correspondent, Osawatomie and, 86 204–5 Pierce administration supporting, 97–98, as second-in-command, 205 105–6 on slave discontent, 256 U.S. Congress supporting, 111 volunteers and, 241 See also Shawnee legislature William Walker and, 247 Kansas proslavery militias. See Border Kansas (free-state) Ruffians; Kikapoo Rangers; Missourians abolitionists under threat, 113 Kansas territory battles won for, 11 Brown family migration to, 66–70, 85–92, Brown’s service to, 199–200, 305 131, 209–10, 354n55 call to arms in, 96 free-white-state men in, 102, 107, 214 constitutional conventions in, 78, 83, 88, opened for settlement, 237 98, 101–2 slaveholders in, 10–11, 54, 110 Daily Journal, supported by, 77, 115 statehood and, 105 Herald of Freedom, supported by, 99, winter of 1856 in, 96–98, 113, 141 102–3, 112, 120, 235 Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), 10, 106–7 immigrants in, 65, 78 Kennedy, Booth, 252–53 leaders of, 11, 75, 78, 83, 96 Kennedy farm (Maryland) militia/volunteers of, 8, 11, 74, 79, 88, 99, Annie Brown at, 254 116. See also Pottawatomie Rifles Brown cut off from, 285 objectives of, 65, 75 Brown’s papers left at, 217–18, 229, radical politicians of, 238 399n61, 399n62 Southerners’ invasion of, 247 danger of exposure at, 250–54, 256 supporters of, 8, 10, 12, 78 Harpers Ferry staging area, 5, 217, 250–54 See also Lawrence, Kansas; Topeka, Kansas photo of, 253 Kansas proslavery attacks/lawlessness weapons brought to, 186 Brown informed of, 87 Kikapoo Rangers, 102–4, 135, 238 Brown’s religious convictions and, 74–76, See also Border Ruffians; Missourians 80–92, 94, 200 Kitzmiller, Archibald, 268, 280–81, 283, Brown’s retaliation against, 11–12, 14. See 286–87 also Pottawatomie massacre Know-Nothing-Party, 241, 407n88 Marais des Cygnes massacre and, 11 mental illness and, 11, 74–75 Lane, James Henry (Liberator of Kansas) in Osawatomie, 86 arrest warrant issued against, 112 Reese Brown as victim, 102–3 free-state forces led by, 11, 158 See also Border Ruffians; Kikapoo Rangers; funds contributed by, 169 Missourians Higginson and, 205

442 Index

Lane, James Henry (Liberator of Kansas) (cont.) Harpers Ferry and, 151 Pottawatomie massacre, 119, 351n13 Owen, Sr. suffering from, 38 Redpath and, 204 Malin, James Claude treaties negotiated by, 78, 99–101, 133 on Brown’s migration to Kansas, 85 Langdon, Charles H., 241 on Cato’s court, 110–11 Law and Order Party, 78, 98, 110–11, 114 on mistaken memories, 100 Lawrence, Amos, 10, 78, 167–68, 383n89 on Pottawatomie massacre, 15–16, Lawrence, Kansas 77, 114 Brown as hero in, 169 mania. See mental illness Brown criticized in, 211 Marais des Cygnes massacre, 11, 211 Brown’s attempts to liberate, 11, 78–79, maroon colonies, 223, 239, 248, 313 93–94, 99 Martinsburg, Virginia, 1, 3, 11, 275, 291 Brown’s exploits circulated in, 211–12 martyrdom Brown’s military command in, 99, 120 Brown embracing, 198 Daily Journal published in, 77, 115 Brown’s, as Christian, 152, 313, 315, free-state convention in, 88 317, 320 as free-state town, 10, 77–79, 104 Brown’s, celebrated in the north, 74 proslavery forces and, 98, 111–13, 116, Brown’s conflicting attitudes toward, 318 120, 122 Brown’s higher station and, 325 sacking of, 10–11, 79, 85, 116, 132–33, as Brown’s strategy, 317 142, 199 Civil War and, 328 Wakarusa War and, 98–99, 106, 238 Emerson on, 317 See also Topeka, Kansas Higginson and, 223 Leary, Lewis Sheridan, 251, 261, 287 improvised quality of Brown’s, 8–9 Leavenworth, Kansas, 10, 77–78, 98, 104, 250 Jesus Christ and Brown’s, 146, 321 Leavenworth Weekly Herald, 107, 356n3 language of, 16 Lee, Robert E. monomania and, 175, 178, 326 Brown as viewed by, 220, 248, 297 the press and, 147, 203–4 Brown captured by, 5 of Reese Brown, 102–4 Brown protected by, 311 slavery and, 4–6 Brown’s motives understood by, 311, 313 as ultimate goal, 322, 326–27 engine house attack and, 296–300, 302–4 Wise and, 317 engine-house hostages and, 5, 296, 329n5 Martyr’s Day, 150 photo of, 297 Mason, James, 169, 180, 233, 238, 269, Leeman, William, 268, 288, 290 432n84 Lemon, J. T., 35 Mason Committee, 238–39, 300, 315, Levin, Harry, 176 404n45, 410n18 Liberator (Garrison, ed.), 246–47 Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company, Liberty Guards, 99, 336n38 206, 237 Liberty Leagues, 251 Massachusetts Kansas Aid Committee, Liberty Party, 241 124, 205 Lincoln, Abraham, 8, 27, 150, 247, 317, Massachusetts legislature, 9, 167, 208 333n2 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 173 Logan (train passenger), 272, 415n117 May, Robert, 246 Loguen, Jermain Wesley, 240 McMinn, Thomas, 110, 118, 125 Lovejoy, Elijah, 67, 94, 120, 347n73 Melville, Herman, 176, 321, 327, Lower Hall’s Island, 258, 260–61 386–87n130 Lucker, Phil, 271–72 mental illness Lusk, Milton, 26, 336n40, 380n70 overview, 145–78 Antisocial Personality Disorder, 198–200, malaria 394n68 Brown suffering from, 9, 169, 180–82, 186, in Brown family history, 145, 152, 193, 197 154–63 endemic in Mississippi Valley, 180–81 Brown’s denial of, 27, 145–47, 178

Index 443

clemency and, 154, 373n12, 381–82n79 Lawrence, Kansas threatened by, 78–79, Delusional Disorder, 200 93–94, 99, 120, 122 depression and, 190–98, 391n41 Osawatomie and, 86–88 Harpers Ferry and, 145–47, 151, 180, Pottawatomie massacre and, 116 187–90, 223, 401n9 reviled by Brown, 210 historical research in, 148–49 reviled by free-staters, 104 mania and, 157–62, 170–74, 188–90, 197, slavery and, 10–11 379n59 Wakarusa War and, 98–101 manic-depressive disorder and, 384n104 weapons seized by, 106 modern psychiatric research in, 153–54, See also Border Ruffians; Kikapoo Rangers 376n30, 376n31 Mohr, James C., 173 Oates on, 14–15 Monocacy, Maryland, 264 Pottawatomie massacre and, 74, 128–29, monomania 159–60, 198–200 overview, 145–78 religious fanaticism and, 146, 149, 197–98 Brown’s detractors and, 8 revisionist history and, 373–74n14 Brown’s last days and, 325–26 slave insurrection and, 149, 401n11 Brown’s military command and, 188 slave liberation and, 146 evangelism and, 177 slavery and, 164–66 failure thesis and, 27 soldier’s heart and, 379n66 Harpers Ferry and, 277 See also Brown, Dianthe Lusk; Brown, ignored by Brown, 178 Frederick; Brown, Jason; Brown, John, Jr.; martyrdom and, 175, 178, 326 Brown, Ruth; failure thesis; insanity; trial nineteenth-century understanding of, 27, 74, Meriam, Francis Jackson, 255–57, 260, 169–74 281, 323 Oates on, 14–15 military command (Brown’s) popularization of, 174–78 fame of, and the press, 204 Realf and, 235 Harpers Ferry and, 220–21, 306, 323–24 religion and, 149, 164–68, 171–72, 175–78, in Lawrence, Kansas, 99, 120 326 Missourians and, 238 slavery and, 337n45 monomania and, 188 See also mental illness; religious fanaticism origins of, 85, 95 Montgomery, James, 11–12, 169 Pottawatomie massacre and, 142, 349n3 moral disengagement, 137–39 Robinson and, 120 Morse, John, 122–28, 362–63n26 self-identity and, 169, 323 victor in Kansas skirmishes, 248 National Kansas Committee, 237, 247, Mills, Benjamin, 284 382n85 Mills, Gideon (uncle), 155, 165 Nell, William C., 242 Mills, Lucius (cousin), 122–27, 131–32 Neutrality Act (1818), 246 Mills, Oliver (cousin), 155 Nevins, Allan, 14–15, 149–50, 152 Missouri Compromise (1820), 10, 247 The Emergence of Lincoln, 26–27 Missouri raid New Divinity, 8, 55, 320 overview, 210–12 New England Emigrant Aid Society antislavery sentiment, 241 Amos Lawrence as director of, 167 Brown as fugitive following, 251 Herald of Freedom owned by, 102 Eastern press, 205–8 Osawatomie, Kansas and, 85 Harpers Ferry and, 314–15 Robinson as agent of, 99 providential nature of, 322–23 Thayer as founder of, 10, 210 slaves liberated during, 248, 314–15 New York Associated Press, 204 Missouri, 10–11, 102, 211, 224 New York Post (Bryant, ed.), 205 Missourians New York Tribune (Greeley, ed.), 399n61 arming for war, 104 Newby, Dangerfield, 285, 419n45 Brown’s military command in, 238 newspapers/press Brown’s reign of terror motivated by, 138 Brown as martyr in, 147

444 Index

newspapers/press (cont.) as suspected conspirators, 218 Brown’s denial of mental illness in, 147 Wise ridiculed by, 317–18 Brown’s fame as guerrilla leader in, 204 as Brown’s forum, 312, 326 Oates, Stephen B. editors solicited by Brown, 206 on Brown’s mental illness, 14–15, Herald (New York) (Bennett, ed.), 218, 151–54 235–36 on Brown’s religious fanaticism, 7, 14–16 in Missouri, 211 on Cato’s court, 111 in the North, 314 on Pottawatomie massacre, 129–32, 140 as partisan, 204 To Purge This Land with Blood, 13–14, 129 of proslavery factions, 112 on religion, 14–16 published by blacks, 316 Oberlin Church, 81 See also Eastern press; propaganda Oberlin College, 66, 86 newspapers/press (anti-slavery/free-state) Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, 66 Brown as reader of, 21 Old Brown (nickname), 183, 225, 273, 299 Brown’s Kansas migration and, 80 “Old Brown’s Farewell” (fundraising article), destroyed in Lawrence, 79 194–95, 205–8 Herald of Freedom (G. W. Brown, ed.), 99, Old John Brown (nickname), 5, 79, 139, 159, 102–3, 112, 120, 235 254, 324 in Kansas territory, 78 Old Man Brown (nickname), 119 Missouri raid condemned in, 211 Old Osawatomie (persona), 21, 86, 142, 298, Owen, Sr. and, 66, 90 318 Weekly Herald (Leavenworth), 107, Osawatomie, Kansas 356n3 Brown brothers settle near, 85–87 Nicaraguan emigration (code for Harpers Day cabin refuge and, 127–28 Ferry), 247 federal troop deployments near, 105 Noble, Gregory, 35 militia of, 79, 101 North Elba, New York New England Emigrant Aid Society and, 85 Brown family members remaining in, 24–25, as polling place, 98 89, 91, 96 as refuge, 11 Brown family members returning to, retaliatory raid on, 158, 238, 405n66 254–55 settlers arming in, 122 Brown family moving to, 51, 70, 85, 88 settler’s meeting in, 107, 359n47 education of freed slaves, 27–28, 34, 70, Southern strength increasing near, 112 84–85 Osawatomie Brown (persona), 5, 10–11, 75, family monument at, 39, 91, 142 305, 316, 424n110 Gerrit Smith and, 70, 198 Osawatomie cabin, 87 Northampton, Massachusetts, 51 Osawatomie Resolutions, 108–9, 360n59 Northern abolitionists, 199, 244, 247, 317 Otis, William, 13 Northern Army Oviatt, Orson, 61 Brown’s self-identity and, 138 Pottawatomie massacre and, 73, 79, 119, panic. See terror 136, 200 “Parallels” (Brown), 212 Wakarusa War and, 98 Parker, Richard, 188, 269, 314, 322 Northerners Parker, Theodore, 207–9, 222, 242, 243, 317 antislavery sympathies of, 6, 240, 278 See also Secret Six Brown esteemed by, 326 Pate, Henry Clay, 212 Brown viewed by, 7, 13, 74, 247, 326 Paul (apostle), 309, 323–25 Brown’s trial as seen by, 312, 316–18, 326 penny press. See Eastern press Harpers Ferry and, 217–18 Perkins, Samantha, 65 Kansas, settling in, 12, 106 Perkins, Simon Kansas-Nebraska Act and, 10 Brown in business with, 28–34, 51, 68–70, racial stereotypes among, 241 82–85, 195, 197 slave catchers obstructed by, 7 Brown’s sons and, 131

Index 445

Edward Brown and, 65 Northern Army and, 73, 79, 119, 136, 200 home of, 31 Oates on, 129–32, 140 Owen, Sr. and, 47 offenses against women and, 123–24, Peter (apostle), 323 363–64n42 Phelps, Andrew J., 263–65, 272, 275, 279, 294 plan opposed, 365n52 Philadelphia, 228, 251, 255 political assassination, 116 Phillips, Wendell, 205, 242–43, 255, 333n7, as preemptive strike, 120–28, 199, 394n69 347n73 religion and, 74–75, 135–37, 199–200, Phillips, William Addison, 204–5 369n99 The Conquest of Kansas by Missouri and retribution and, 116–20 Her Allies, 205 Robinson and, 119–20, 351n13 physical health problems, 180–81, 186, 195, Shawnee legislature and, 79, 98 393n59 slavery and, 132, 358n24 See also malaria surveying spies, 122–24 Pierce, Franklin, 10–11, 97–98, 105–8, 149, as terror, 117, 134–40 358n35 Thayer and, 349–50n6 See also U.S. government Villard on, 121, 129–30, 360n68 pikes See also Brown, Frederick; Brown, Jason; Chambersburg, arriving in, 253 Brown, John, Jr.; Brown, Owen; Brown, Harpers Ferry raiders armed with, 261, Salmon; Harris, James; Thompson, 268–74 Henry; Townsley, James; Weiner, slaves to be armed with, 4, 280, 316, 418n30 Theodore Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan), 198 Pottawatomie massacre victims Pinel, Philippe, 172–73 See Doyle, Drury; Doyle, James P.; Doyle, Pinkerton, Allan, 211 William P.; Sherman, William; Wilkinson, Plainfield, Connecticut,61 Allen P. “Plan for the Abolition of Slavery” Pottawatomie Rifles (Spooner), 243 Brown and, 94 plantation raids, 234, 239, 243–44, 309, 311 Cato’s court and, 107–8, 110 Potomac bridge John, Jr. and, 78–79 Brown’s forces driven from, 284–85 Lawrence, Kansas defended by, 122–23 Brown’s forces, seized by, 260–62, 272, 278 marching on Lawrence, Kansas, 78–79 description of, 261–62 Potter, David, 13, 77, 151, 358n24 indicated on map, 259, 276 Prairie City, Kansas, 79, 123–24, 129 negotiations regarding, 5, 291, 312–13 propaganda, 13, 203–19, 249, 306 patrolled by slaves, 272 See also newspapers/press photo of, 327 proslavery diabolism, 66, 76, 80, 120 Shepherd shot on, 264, 273 Provisional Army (Brown’s), 213, 216, 257, Pottawatomie massacre 296, 399n54 overviews, 11–16, 73–80, 114–40, 145 “Provisional Constitution and Ordinances” absolution for, 325 (Brown) arrest warrants issued after, 360n59 American Revolution and, 214 Brown’s military command and, 142, 349n3 captors urged to read, 187, 314 Brown’s participation in, 129, 139–41, vs. “Declaration of Liberty”, 213–14 348n1, 349n5 Douglass’ home, written at, 228 Cato’s court and, 351n18 Harpers Ferry raid and, 310 as Family Massacre, 128–34, 365–66n54, Mason Committee report, printed in, 366n66 410n18 Harpers Ferry and, 274 Wise urged to read, 314 Lane and, 119, 351n13 Provisional Government (Chatham), mental illness and, 74, 128–29, 159–60, 215–17 198–200 Provisional Government (proposed for the messenger sent by Grants, 125–26 South), 248 Missourians and, 116 punks (torches), 280–81

446 Index

Quakers, 35–36, 54, 211, 323 death and, 146–47 family history, 28, 34–39, 42–44, 54–57, Radical Abolitionist Party, 333n5 81–83, 320 radical abolitionists as Harpers Ferry motivation, 138, 369n99 Brown among, 75 Harpers Ferry raid and, 7, 180, 315–16, Brown speaking for, 187 320, 323 conferences/conventions of, 88, 199 monomania and, 149, 164–68, 171–72, correspondents as, 204 175–78, 326 Kansas politicians as, 238 moral disengagement, 137–39 slave insurrection and, 237, 241 Oates on, 14–16 violence endorsed by, 167, 217, 241–42, 244 Pottawatomie massacre and, 74–75, See also abolitionists 135–37, 199–200, 369n99 Ray, Isaac, 384n104 retribution and, 120 Treatise on the Medical Jurisprudence of revival of, 256 Insanity, 171–72 slave liberation and, 74, 169, 326, 350n8 Realf, Richard terror and, 137 as abolitionist correspondent, 204–5 See also Calvinism; evangelism in Brown’s army, 205 religious apostasy Brown’s break with, 233–34, 404n48 of Annie Brown, 196, 320–21 on Brown’s migration to Kansas, 354n55 of Brown’s sons, 47–48, 129, 196 Brown’s plans discussed by, 226, 233–35 Brown’s war on slavery and, 51 Chatham convention and, 213, 233–35, of slaveowners, 81 404n48 religious fanaticism Cook and, 234 accusations of, 7–8 Forbes and, 233 Brown’s religious inspiration vs., 332n38 as Kansas abolitionist correspondent, and the idiom of violence, 75 204–5 mental illness and, 146, 149, 197–98 monomania and, 235 See also monomania rebellion. See insurrection against slavery; Republican Party slave insurrection Bleeding Kansas and, 12 Redpath, James on Brown as filibuster, 247 biography of Brown by, 122, 335n35 Brown’s insanity and, 151 on Brown’s civil war rhetoric, 6 emergence of, 241 Brown’s plans shared with, 244 Harpers Ferry and, 218 Eastern abolitionists and, 64, 244 slavery and, 403n32 freed-slave Canada migration, 161 rescripting, 114–15, 127, 130, 334n15 on Harpers Ferry timing, 250 retribution as Kansas abolitionist correspondent, 204 “Declaration of Liberty” and, 214 Lane and, 204 Lincoln on, 37 Meriam and, 255 Pottawatomie massacre and, 14–15, 116–20 on Northerners’ misunderstanding of proslavery courts and, 111 Brown, 150 Richmond, Pennsylvania , 24 on offenses against Brown women, 123 Robinson, Charles slave insurrection advocated by, 205, 244 arrest of, 112 terror advocated by, 244 on Brown’s civil war plans, 237–39 Reeder, Andrew H., 107, 206 Kansas free-state governor, 106 religion moderation urged by, 106 overview, 7–10, 309–28 Pottawatomie massacre and, 119–20, bankruptcy and, 69 351n13 Brown’s abolitionism and, 26–27, 74–75, Wakarusa settlement and, 78, 99–101 80–82, 313, 324, 330n14 Rochester, New York, 228–29, 402n27 Brown’s discouragement and, 94 Rogers, Commonwealth v., 173 Brown’s double bind and, 68–70 Rogers, John, 321 Brown’s imagination and, 197–98 Rossbach, Jeffery, 242

Index 447

Rowan, J. W., 283–84 Missourians’ seizure of, 106 Ruchames, Louis, 150–51 proposed raid on Missourians and, 142 Ruffin, Edmund,317 Shawnee legislature Ruggles, David, 51 Adair on, 106 Russell, Mrs. Thomas, 255 antislavery expression outlawed by, 133 Russell, Thomas, 312 Kansas free-state repudiation of, 107, 359n47 Russell, W. W., 301–3 legality of, affirmed by Shannon,98 Ruttman, Darrett, 35 legalization of, 98, 105–6 Pottawatomie massacre and, 78, 98 St. Catherines, Canada, 240, 398n49 repudiated at Lawrence convention, 88 Sam (slave), 81 repudiated at Topeka convention, 78 Samson (biblical hero), 323, 331n30, Wakarusa settlement and, 101 393n67 Wilkinson as member of, 78 Sanborn, Franklin Shawnee Mission, Kansas, 78 Brown introduced in Boston by, 205 Shenandoah Bridge, 221, 259, 284 on Brown’s attire, 183 Shepherd (slave), 289 on Brown’s mental balance, 193–94 Shepherd, Hayward, 263–65, 282 on Brown’s migration to Kansas, 88 Shepherdstown, Virginia, 291 as chief nineteenth-century defender, Sherman, Henry (“Dutch Henry”) 335n35 as Cato court juror, 110 on dissension among Browns, 130 Cato’s court held in tavern of, 106 documents destroyed by, 390n31 as intended Pottawatomie massacre victim, financial support provided by, 212, 118, 127, 140 225–26, 255 John Grant and, 125–26 Harpers Ferry plans unknown to, 234 motives for murder of, 118–22 photo of, 222 proximity to victim’s cabins, 139 See also Secret Six Weiner’s store burned by, 127, 134 Secret Six Sherman, William (“Dutch Bill”) allegiance of, maintaining, 278 abduction and murder of, 118, 140 Brown used by, 223 John Grant and, 125–26 Brown’s boldness recognized by, 247 Morse and, 122–23, 125 force endorsed by, 167, 217 motives for murder of, 118–22, 139 Harpers Ferry and, 218, 225–26 murder of, 79, 127, 365n51, 365n53 members’ photos, 222 offenses against women, accused of, 123–24 slave insurrection and, 167, 242 proximity to victims’ cabins, 139 support provided by, 12, 278, 311, 382n85 Weiner’s store burned by, 127, 134 Theodore Parker and, 209 Sherman, William Tecumseh, 328 See also Higginson, Thomas Wentworth; Simpson, Craig, 274 Howe, Samuel Gridley; Parker, Theodore; Sinn, Thomas, 292 Sanborn, Franklin; Smith, Gerrit; Stearns, slave insurrection George L. Brown and, 21, 149–50, 237, 238 Seward, William, 10 Brown’s failure to incite, 21–23 Sewell, Richard, 247 Brown’s indictment and, 314 Shannon, Wilson, 78, 98–100, 105, 107, 112 Brown’s intentions regarding, 311, 313–15, Sharps rifles (Beecher’s Bibles) 318 Beecher and, 10 Douglass and, 228, 232 Brown armed with, 1 Harpers Ferry motivation, 280, 311 Brown’s forces, used against, 284 Harpers Ferry raid, 6, 221, 249, 279–80 in Chambersburg, 253, 260 mental illness and, 149, 401n11 gunpowder and, 281 Secret Six and, 167, 242 at Harpers Ferry, 248, 260, 271, Southern fears of, 6, 149, 280, 314 280–81, 303 unpredictability of, 236 Lawrence, Kansas defenders armed in Virginia, 331n23 with, 99 See also insurrection against slavery

448 Index

slave liberation Brown’s rumored allies in, 317 as economic weapon, 226–28 destruction of slavery in, 12, 16, 51, 63, 187 as Harpers Ferry motivation, 266–67, 278, invasion of, 63, 213, 218, 221 294–95 political dominance of, 331–32n31 Harpers Ferry raid and, 1, 232, 260, proslavery migrants from, 63 266–69, 296 slave insurrection and, 6, 149, 280, 314 Kansas wars and, 7 slave liberation and, 213, 244 mental illness claimed and, 146 See also Virginians Missouri raid as, 248, 314–15 Southerners religion and, 74, 169, 326, 350n8 fears of abolitionist insurrection, 7, 149 in the South, 213, 244 Kansas invaded by, 247 U.S. government and, 228 Missourians allied with, 10 slave owners New Englanders and, 78 Brown, frightened by, 232–33, 248–49 as perceived threat, 138 Douglass on, 404n44 proslavery Kansas forces allied with, 97 Fugitive Slave Law and, 111 provocation of, 316 as hostages/prisoners, 235, 248–49, 266–68, reviled by free-staters, 102 293, 295, 310 strength increasing near Osawatomie, 112 as inhuman, 232 Spartacus, 330n17 vs. Pottawattamie massacre victims, 310 spartacus complex, 66, 151, 385n120 slaughter of, disavowed, 226, 310 speeches Spooner’s manifesto against, 243 at Brown’s sentencing, 314–18, 323, 332n34 targeted by Brown, 1–2, 10, 168 at Brown’s trial, 203 U.S. government favoring, 12 to Harpers Ferry hostages, 312 Slave Power made without invitation, 382n80 Brown called to fight, 322 Massachusetts legislature, 331n28 Brown’s antislavery oath and, 141 mental illness and, 382n80 Browns’ hand forced by, 105 in Syracuse, 333n5 Brown’s mental health and, 164 Spooner, Lysander, 243–44, 408n101 as conspiracy, 10, 81 Spring, Rebecca, 320, 322, 430n44 economic attacks on, 223 Springfield, Massachusetts federal authority and, 98 Brown family home in, 41 force advocated against, 243 Brown/Douglass meeting in, 226 God’s will and, 12, 67, 85, 120, 138 business ventures in, 31, 83 Kansas wars and, 28, 87–88, 199–200 Frederick Brown’s therapy in, 156 politics vs., 9, 12, 67 Puritan heritage of, 35 tide turning against, 241 Squire Brown. See Brown, Owen (father) William Walker as tool of, 246 Starry, John, 268, 282–83, 287, 419n35 Smith, Gerrit States Rights Party. See Law and Order Party Brown consulting with, 84 Stearns, George L., 206–7, 222, 238, 242, 252 Brown’s debt to, unpaid, 194 See also Secret Six Brown’s mental state and, 185 Stevens, Aaron Dwight funds sent by, 252, 255 in artist’s rendering, 313 Harpers Ferry plans unknown to, 234 on Brown’s support, 278–79 North Elba land donated by, 70, 198 at Harpers Ferry, 260–61, 271, 285–87, photo of, 222 289–90 Radical Abolitionist Party member, 333n5 on Harpers Ferry exit delay, 311 Thompson brothers, contract with, 185 Missouri farmer killed by, 211 See also Secret Six photo of, 288 the South Sinn and, 292 Border vs. Deep, 248 on trial with Brown, 312 Brown as Jeremiah to, 318 in Wager house, 292 Brown’s hopes to terrorize, 316 Stewart, George H., 265 Brown’s prophecy and, 327 Still, William, 251, 402–3n31

Index 449

Strider, Samuel, 298 Tidd, Charles Plummer Stuart, Jeb, 5, 296, 298, 303–6 Chatham convention and, 224 Subterranean Passage Way, 175, 236, 311 Harpers Ferry, escape from, 257 See also underground railroad Harpers Ferry raid and, 260, 266, 268, 271, Sumner, Charles, 74 417n8 on mutiny prior to raid, 224 Taylor, Stewart, 261, 290 Tilden, Daniel, 147, 372n8 terror To Purge This Land with Blood (Oates), Brown disavowing, 318 13–14 Brown retreating from tactics of, 313 Topeka, Kansas Brown waging, 16–17, 75–77, 134–35, free-state constitution and, 98 138, 311 free-state legislature of, 11, 77–78, 83, 102, Brown’s understanding of, 245 104–6, 110, 112, 358n35 Douglass on, 232 as free-state town, 10, 96 Doyle’s shooting as, 140 See also Lawrence, Kansas as economic weapon, 244 Torrington, Ohio, 21, 58 Harpers Ferry and, 233, 239, 279–80 Toussaint L’Ouverture, F. D., 235, 280, Pottawatomie massacre and, 117, 330n17 135–38 Townsley, James religion and, 137 as Brown and sons’ guide, 11, 74, 79, among slave owners, 243 128–29 slavery as, 136 on Brown’s Pottawatomie motivation, 135 in the South, 244–45, 278, 311 confession of, 74, 77, 115, 127, 130, U.S. government and, 105 134–35, 349n6 in Virginia, 248–49, 269–70 Pottawatomie massacre and, 118–19, 124, terrorism, Brown as precursor, 136 130–31, 134–35, 366n60, 366n62 Texas, 10, 88, 317 Pottawatomie massacre targets located by, Thayer, Eli 74 Brown belittled by, 336n38 standing watch during, 130 Brown considered an anarchist by, treason 349–50n6 Brown hanged for, 7, 13, 21 Kansas free-state crusade of, 237 Brown indicted for, 13, 314 as Kansas migration sponsor, 206 grand jury hearing on, 367n74 New England Emigrant Aid Society founded Kansas free state and, 77, 105, 159 by, 10, 206 rejected by Brown, 248, 314, 316 on Pottawatomie massacre, 349–50n6 U.S. forces and, 296 weapons provided by, 206–7 against Virginia, 371n3 Thompson, Dauphin, 288, 296, 300, Treatise on the Medical Jurisprudence of 302, 305 Insanity (Ray), 171–72 Thompson, Henry (son-in-law) trial employed by Weiner, 134 Brown’s appeal to Northerners during, 312, at Harpers Ferry, 241, 285–86 316–18, 326 Harpers Ferry weapons and, 88 Brown’s indictment and, 312, 315–16 migration to Kansas, 89 Brown’s speech at sentencing, 314–15, 318 Pottawatomie massacre and, 108, 128–29, of Edwin Coppoc, 292, 312, 314 131–34, 139, 199, 362n13 insanity proposed as defense during, rescripting by, 115 145–47 Ruth Brown married to, 47 mythical aspects of, 6, 330n7 Ruth’s mental illness and, 161 as pulpit, 306 Thompson, Ruth Brown. See Brown, Ruth of Shields Green, 312 (daughter) of Stevens, 312. See also clemency Thompson, Will, 285, 289, 334n17 Tribune (New York) (Greeley, ed.), 204–5, Thoreau, Henry David, 333n7 212, 218 Throckmorton, W. W., 262–66, 272–74 Tubman, Harriet, 7, 54, 215, 240–41, 398n49

450 Index

Turner, George W., 289 Brown’s papers and, 218–19 Turner, Nat, 280, 330n17, 418n21 Brown’s rules of engagement and, 318 Civil War boldness of, 295 underground railroad Harpers Ferry and, 221, 315 Brown’s plans for, 218, 239 information suppressed by, 268–69 Chatham as terminus, 213 insurrection’s dangers seen by, 317 Chatham convention and, 398n50 Lincoln and, 247 Douglass and, 402n27 militias of, 249 Garnet and, 402–3n31 as Old Dominion, 248 Hudson, Ohio and, 66, 346–47n68 Virginius Island, 1, 268, 283 Still and, 251, 402–3n31 volunteers. See Harpers Ferry raid recruits Subterranean Passage Way as, 175, 236, 311 Tubman and, 7 Wager house Watson and, 251 Aaron Stevens lying wounded in, 292 United States League of Gileadites, 135 breakfast for prisoners ordered, 273, Unseld, John, 252, 254 284 U.S. armed forces firing positions taken in, 285 Brown’s underestimation of, 248 Higgins’s escape to, 262 at Harpers Ferry, 2, 5–6, 248–49, 277–78, indicated on map, 276 296–304, 311 photo of, 263 in Kansas, 99, 208–9, 211 Will Thompson lying wounded in, 289 U.S. government Wakarusa settlement, 79, 99–101, 133, Border Ruffians and,77 –78 237 Brown clan in Kansas and, 105 Wakarusa War, 11, 98–106, 120, 208 Brown pursued by, 142 Walker, David, 228 contempt for, 214, 248 Walker, William, 246–47 failings of, 214 warfare conventions/rules, 310–11 Harpers Ferry as attack on, 231 Warren, Robert Penn, 26 Kansas proslavery government supported Washington, D.C., 169, 258 by, 111 Washington, Lewis misperception of, 170 Brown, captured by, 266–68 mistrust of, 11–12 Brown’s forces estimated by, 280 overthrow of, 248, 309 Brown’s motives reported by, 267 proslavery policies of, 11–12, 63, 138, 167 Brown’s treatment of, 293 slave liberation and, 228 final attack and, 300–2, 305 treason defined by, regarding Kansas, 105 Jim and, 287 See also Pierce, Franklin personal property of, 266–77, 293, 302, 310, 414n91 Villard, Oswald Garrison photo of, 267 on Brown’s Kansas motivation, 85 Shields Green and, 266 on Brown’s papers, 217 slaves of, 269–71, 274, 279, 287, 297, on Harpers Ferry final attack, 303 415n104 John Brown, 1800–1859: A Biography Fifty Watson, Harry, 251 Years After, 296 Wattles, Augustus, 89, 209, 211 on offenses against the Brown women, weapons 363–64n42 Brown brothers’, in Kansas, 9–10, 12, on Pottawatomie massacre, 121, 129–30, 87–89, 96, 99 360n68 Brown obtaining, in Massachusetts, William Lloyd Garrison and, 121 206 Vindication of the Invasion, Etc. (Brown), Brown’s, at Harpers Ferry, 315 216–18 Brown’s, causing alarm, 239 Virginians Kennedy farm as cache for, 186 Brown viewed by, 247 National Kansas Committee, provided Brown’s men viewed by, 310–11 by, 237

Index 451

Secret Six, provided by, 247 Williams, Charles, 273 See also Harpers Ferry armory; Harpers Williams, Henry H., 362n17 Ferry arsenal; Harpers Ferry weapons; Williams, William Addison, 204, 261 pikes; Sharps rifles Winchester volunteers, 291, 296 Weekly Herald (Leavenworth), 107, 356n3 winter of 1856 (Kansas territory), 96–98, 113, Weiner, Theodore 141 Henry Thompson employed by, 134 Wise, Henry at Pottawattamie massacre, 79, 128–30, arrest warrants issued by, 218 134, 365n51, 365n53 Brown as martyr and, 317 revenge sought by, 119 Brown characterized by, 247, 315, 410n15 store of, burned, 127, 138 Brown interrogated by, 118, 186–88, Weisberger, Bernard, 204 277–78, 313, 314 Western Reserve College, 66, 86 Brown’s boasts to, 169–70, 317 Western Reserve, Ohio, 24, 39–40, 55, Brown’s death sentence and, 147, 170 65–66, 86 Brown’s papers and, 218 Whelan, Daniel, 261, 268, 280 Brown’s truthfulness and, 318 White, Martin, 107, 134 on Cook, 257–58, 413n68 Wilkinson, Allen on the 1860 elections, 170 aggression alleged, 125, 138 fugitive slaves sought by, 274 Cato court officer,110 Harpers Ferry attack, informed of, 265, 275 Morse and, 121–22, 125 on Harpers Ferry slaves, 269–70 motives for murder of, 114, 118–22 kidnapping of, proposed, 408n101 murder of, 79, 119, 134, 139, 365n51, Northerners’ ridicule of, 317–18 365n53 Provisional Constitution, urged to read, 314 proximity to victim’s cabins, 139 reward offered by, for Brown’s capture, 257 as Shawnee legislature member, 79 on slaves’ Harpers Ferry actions, 269 Weiner’s store burned by, 127 Virginia’s humiliation and, 315 Wilkinson, Louisa Jane, 136 Woodward, C. Vann, 17, 147–48, 152, 232