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JOHN BROWN'S RAID HARPER'S FERRY, West Virginia Harper's Ferry is a restored 19th Century town located where the Shenandoah River flows into the Potomac River. In the 1850s, Harper's Ferry was a thriving manufacturing and commercial center. |
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JOHN BROWN'S RAID HARPER'S FERRY, West Virginia Harper's Ferry is a restored 19th Century town located where the Shenandoah River flows into the Potomac River. In the 1850s, Harper's Ferry was a thriving manufacturing and commercial center. |
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Immediately prior to the Civil War, Harper's Ferry was the target of a raid by radical opponents of human slavery as practiced in the American South. |
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The raid on Harper's Ferry was led by
John Brown, a radical Abolitionist. He was joined in the raid on
Harper's Ferry by his grown sons and a small band of committed
supporters.
A major U.S. Government military arsenal was located at Harper's Ferry. John Brown hoped to steal the rifles and ammunition from the arsenal and use them to free the slaves. The arsenal buildings were removed from Harper's Ferry many years ago. |
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John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry was initially successful. But U.S. Army troops, commanded by Robert E. Lee, rushed to Harper's Ferry to put down John Brown's armed rebellion. |