John Brown is considered a martyr, a traitor, a murderer and a man with a devout religious sense, bent on destroying slavery. He had insanity in his genetics, but even if they lurked in his blood, he was brave and fought for what he believed. An abolitionist in the truest, most powerful, blue blood patriot, in all senses of the phrase.
John Brown was born on May 9th in 1800. He was raised in Ohio, around the firmest people with one goal in mind.To stop slavery once and for all. When he grew up he raised his sons to fight with him.
When he was fifty-five years old, Brown and five sons moved to Kansas and killed five men who believed in slavery. He escaped while his son, John Junior, was imprisoned for being an accomplice. He was the father of twenty children by two wives. Frequently seeking company of African Americans and escaped slaves.
Over time he became conductor on the Underground Railroad, a fierce abolitionist and the organizer of a self-protection league for African Americans. In 1859, Brown and a party of some twenty-one men on an attack on the federal armory, located at Harper’s Ferry. He hoped any action he took would inspire and encourage any slaves to join his army with an emancipation rebellion. Even when Robert E.
Lee stormed the barricade, Brown remained steadfast until he was heavily injured and two of his sons were dead.On December 2nd in 1859, Brown was executed on charges of insurrection, treason, and murder. Amid much fanfare, he and six other men were hung. He went to the gallows proudly, not for a moment regretting what he did.
A fire still burned deep within his heart. His becoming a martyr added fuel to the abolitionist fire. In his honor a song was written and sung during the Civil War. John Brown’s Body was sung, and the fire never died.
Bibliography
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAsBrown.
- htmhttp://www.civilwarhome.com/johnbrownbio.htm
