John Brown Fort - Harpers Ferry National Historical Park #1

John Brown's Fort, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.... more

by Jason O Watson

Title

John Brown Fort - Harpers Ferry National Historical Park #1

Artist

Jason O Watson

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

John Brown's Fort, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

On October 16, 1859, the radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of 22 men in a raid on the Arsenal. Five of the men were black: three free blacks, one a freed slave, and one a fugitive slave. During this time assisting fugitive slaves was illegal under the Dred Scott decision. Brown attacked and captured several buildings; he hoped to use the captured weapons to initiate a slave uprising throughout the South.
John Brown's men were quickly pinned down by local citizens and militia, and forced to take refuge in the engine house adjacent to the armory. After failure of negotiation, US Marines stormed the fire house and captured most of the raiders, killing a few and suffering a single casualty themselves. Brown was tried for treason against the State of Virginia, convicted, and hanged in nearby Charles Town.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in and around Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The park includes land in the adjacent states of Maryland and Virginia. The park is managed by the National Park Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Originally designated a National Monument in 1944, the park was declared a National Historical Park by the U.S. Congress in 1963. The park includes the historic town of Harpers Ferry, notable as a center of 19th century industry and as the scene of John Brown's abolitionist uprising. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

Uploaded

May 13th, 2015