i
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N
EXT Saturday will b the iOtli annJ-
verry of John Brown a raid at
Harper"! Ferry. When, some day
eoniDlete and Impartial annals ot our
Civil Wir are written a will
know that Oeaawatomle" Brown
of Kansas and Us memorable raid
at Harper's Ferry In the latter part of
tfo was the Winning of actual hostili
ties tn the Southern States; there the
flret shot was fired, the first blood shed;
there occurred the first forcible selxure of
oods. the first attempt to "hold, occupy
Land possess" a Government military post;
pthere was perpetrated tbs first outrage on
the old flag, the first armed resistance
f-to National troops; the Initial organised
effort to establish a provisional govern
7nent In the South, opposing that of the
United States, ana tne nrsi secret move
ments to subvert the Constitution's u-
Jthority and to destroy the Union's Integ
I rtty.
v It was the merit and the fate of John
; Brown, first to see and then to act upon
tha sad knowledge of the Incompatibility
i of our National Government and the evil
! of slavery. Thirty years prior to his
(death he chose the side of the Nation
igainst slavery, and less than ten years
' after his death the whole country trod the
path he had biased for them the blood
stained road of emancipation through
force.
John Brown's raid was an act of war,
not a midnight foray of robbers and mur
derers. Brown himself told the slave
holders this In his famous conversation
with Mason, of Vlrglnls, and Vallandlg
ham, of Ohio. "I claim to be here." he
eald. "'carrying out a measure I believe
to be perfectly justifiable, and not to be
acting the part of an Incendiary or ruf
fian; on the contrary, I am here to eld
those suffering under a great wrong. I
wish to say, furthermore that you had
better all you people of the South, pre
pare yourselves for a settlement of this
question. It must come up for settlement
sooner than you are prepared for it, and
the sooner you commence that prepara
tion, the better for you. Tou may dis
pose of me very easily. I am nearly dis
posed of now. But this question is still
to be settled, this negro question, I mean.
Tha end of that Is not yet."
From facts which have been fully ad
Wnlttsd by John Brown's friends. It Is
A nown that for mora than X years he had
mursed and fostered the idea of making
slavery insecure In the states where It
existed, by a prearranged series of hostile
-raid and servile Insurrections and that
-for at least two years prior to hla raid
lie had seleoted Harper's Ferry as a place
suitable lor the attack. Prior to his ap
a?earanca at the Ferry there had been seen
'there small squads of men with picks
rand spades, moving about the mountain
sides, making small excavations here and
there on a pretense of looking for gold.
Whey tried repeatedly to purchase land
from property owners, until the nelghbor
jEhood was much excited and the minds of
the people diverted from the real object
of the newcomers.
On th evening of 6unday. the 16th of
(October. Brown mustered 18 ot his men
4ha others having been assigned other
Unties saying to them: "Men, get on
'your arms; we will proceed to the Ferry."
The night was cold and dark, ending In
tot. rain storm. At 10:30 the body of men
"reached the Armory gate, breaking it
Nrlown with a crowbar, easily overpower
ing the few guards. Upon getting' past
it he gates, tha first building taken posses
mien of was tha Baltimore & Ohio Rail
Sray Station. In charge of a trusty negro,
who slept in the building. Upon their
demanding admittance, the negro refused
to allow Brown's men to oome in, stating
tbati ha was in charge and, his instruc
tions were to allow no one in at night.
Ha was shot down. Next the body of
men proceeded to the hotel, called out
the landlord, arrested blm, and placed
guards at the doors so that none could
enter or leave the building. Then guards
were placed at the arsenal and armories,
pickets were fixed at all the streets so
that no one could come or go who were
net Immediately picked up, placed with
an armed guard over him, and compelled
to be silent.
Tha force was then divided, sending
Cook, a citisen of the town who aided
Brown, with some men to seize Colonel
Washington and other slaveholders. By
midnight the entire village was being
quietly patrolled by Brown's men. Sev
eral leading citizens and planters togeth
er with their slaves had been brought in
by men deputised from Brown's party,
and were kept prisoners, as hostages.
"With these prisoners and property they
returned to Harper's Ferry before dsy
light, and thence across the bridge into
' .Maryland and Pennsylvania, leaving the
prisoners with John Brown.
Thai were not kept closely confined,
but on the covrary were allowed to con
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prisoners what the object of the raid wasj.to surrender, Brown replied to his
verse. On being asked by one of the
J
1
John Brown replied, "To free the negroes
of Virginia." Up to this time the citizens
had hardly begun to move about, and
were unaware of the raid. Upon learn
ing of conditions existing many of them
came boldly out, carrying weapons, and
were immediately shot by armed men. As
all the stores and the arsenal were
guarded by Brown's men it was impos
sible to secure either ammunition or guns
and very few were the arms owned by
private individuals. Finally, however, the
citizens obtained several weapons, and,
forming In a body, marched across the
river and advanced from the Maryland
side. Here a vigorous attack was made,
and in a very few minutes all the In
vaders who were left alive were forced
to retreat to John Brown inside of the
armory gate. Then he entered the engine-bouse,
taking with him his pris
oners. Hera he barred the doors and
windows and out portholes through the
brick wall.
From without commenced a fusllade
of bullets, and soon every window was
shattered and hundreds of balls came
through the doors. The shots were an
swered from within, whenever the at
tacking party came into view. All day
this bombardment continued, but strange
ly no prisoner was hurt though thou
sands ot balls were imbedded In the walls
and holes shot In the door as large as
the circumference of a man's body. When
some of his men aimed at passers-by
who had taken no part In the matter.
Brown would stop them, saying, "Don't
shoot I That man is unarmed!"
During the day and night many propo
sitions were made, looking to Brown's
surrender and the release of the pris
oners, but with no result. The firing
ceased when night came, and the engine-room
with its handful of 'men was
in darkness.
When Colonel Lee arrived .with the
Government troops at 1 o'clock at night
he at once sent a flag of truce by his
aide, J. E. B. Stuart, to notify Brown
of his arrival and demand his surrender.
When Stuart was admitted and a light
brought he cried, "Why. aren't you old
Osawatomis' Brown, of Kansas, whom I
once had there as my prisoner?"
"yes," answered Brown, "but' you
didn't keep me."
Stuart told him he' would return at
early morning for a reply, and after his
departure Brown again barricaded doors
and windows in an endeavor to make the
place Impregnable. During all this tuna
his men showed no fear, calmly await
ing the attack and selecting the best
situations to fir upon the attacking
party.
When Stuart came. In the early morn
ing, for the final reply to Lee's demand
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tion, "Are you going to surrender, and
trust to the mercy of the Government?"
"No, I prefer to die here," his manner
betraying no fear.
Stuart stepped aside and gave the sig
nal for the attack, which was instantly
beun. Being unable to beat in the
door with sledge hammers, the soldiers
made a battering-ram of a 'ladder and
while the men inside fired Incessantly
the door was beaten in and Lieutenant
Green, of the Marines, forced himself
through the aperture. John Brown, the
brave but unscrupulous old fanatic, had
seized a spear and was yet in tha half
kneeling position of firing his last shot.
Green sprung about 12 feet at the old
man, gave an under thrust of bis sword,
striking Brown about midway the body
and raising him completely off., the
ground. ,
- Brown fell forward, his head between
his knees, and Green struck him several
times over the head, and if ' the sword
had not been held in the middle. Green's
blows would have spilt the skull instead
of inflicting only scalp wounds, as they
were.
Governor Wise, of Virginia, arrived
with several hundred men at-Harper's
Ferry at noon on Oct, 18, and Brown held
conversation with. blm. Of Brown, Gov
ernor Wise said: "They are mistaken
who take Brown to be a madman. He is
a bundle of the best nerves I ever sasz,
cut and thrust and bleeding in bonds.
He is a man of clear , head, of courage,
fortitude and simple ingenuousness. ' He
is cool, collected. Indomitable; and it is
but just to him to say that he was hu
mane to his prisoners, and he inspired
me with great trust In hla integrity as
a man of truth."
This opinion, emanating as it did from
the man whose immediate duty it was
to see Brown tried and executed as a
felon, may be regarded as a final and
trustworthy estimate, i , -. 'j ..':'
' -
After some controversy tietween the
United States and the State of Virginia
as to which bad jurisdiction over the
prisoners. Brown was taken to the jail
at Charleston, and after a fair trial, was
hanged on Deo. S, 1859, . On the day of
his death he handed to one of the guards
a. paper in which he had written: "I,
John Brown, am now quite certain that
the crimes of this guilty land will never
be purged away but with blood. I had,
as I now think, vainly flattered myself
that without very much bloodshed it
might be done." Within eighteen months
this prophecy was tumuea and many
northern regiments In their march to the
cast
I
. -
ques-Jseat of war, sang the words wliicli will
OREGOyiAN, PORTXAXD, '
mm
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ever remain, more than any other,
the
war song of the great conflict:
"John. Brown's body lies a-mouldering in
the grave.
But bis soul is marching on."
PORTIAXDER'S PART IN RAID
William A. Bantz, aa a Militiaman,
Helped to Suppress Riot.
Among those who participated in tha
famous raid is Wm. A. Bantz. a resident
of Portland for tha past thirty years. As
a member of the Maryland militia he
helped to subdue the riot. He personally
knew John Brown; also Colonel (after
ward General) Robert E. Lee.
"Yes," said Mr. Bantz in answer to
a question put to him by a representative
of The Oregonlan, "I was in the John
Brown fight. The whole affair is as vivid
to me as if it occurred yesterday. I was
born in Frederick, Md., and In 1859 my
father lived on West Church street, near
tha Courthouse. My father was in the
taunlng business, but at the time I was
employed at St. Paul, Minn. I held my
residence in Frederick, however, and was
then on a visit to my father. I had be
come a member of the Independent Rifle
men three years before, and was subject
to military duty in that company.
"I remember John Brown very well. A
few days before the raid occurred he
stopped at fitter's house and I saw him.
Brown ' told my father - that hf " had
learned "t?ie' tanning business and father
showed him the plant and they talked
over the. secrets of the art and the con
dition of business. " That was Saturday
morning, and I remember that Brown
had some tracts which he distributed
to the workmen as they passed him.
They were religious tracts, but I do not
recall their exact nature. Brown was a
tall, raw-boned man. and his hair stood
up all over his head. He wore a full
beard and both beard and hair were steel
gray. Sunday, the next day, my father
saw him again on the . street, and treat
ing him as one of his own craft, invited
him to take dinner with us. Brown ac
cepted and sat opposite me at the table.
I did not, perhaps, notice him as closely
i
30
'''iiisittiil
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- "A 1
OCTOBER 10, 1909.
Greats Abolitionisms Mad Act uHatperls
FeiGlimpses by a
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as I would have done If I had known
what an historical figure he was soon
to become, but I did not regard him
as much of a conversationalist. Still, he
left the impression of being a man of
education and used very good language.
My recollection is that they talked tan
ning and later got .off to religipus sub
jects. Brown appeared to be a very
earnest, devout man. After dinner Brown
and my father went up West Church
street together as far as the Courthouse
and separated. My father came back
and remarked to me- that triat gentle
man was a smart, intelligent Western
man, and seemed to regard him highly.
"Nigger" Insurrection. '
"I had nearly finished my visit home
and on the 16th of October, 1859, was
calling on my friends and bidding them
good-bye preparatory to my return that
evening to St. Paul.' Suddenly the bells
began ringing and boys ran around cry
ing out that there was a "nigger" insur
rection at Harpers Ferry. I went over
to the headquarters of my military com
pany to get the news, and while there
orders came from Governor Hicks to pro
ceed up the Potomac opposite Harpers
Ferry and await further instructions.
There were three- militia companies In
Frederick at the time the Independent
Riflemen, Junior Defenders and United
Guards.
"We went to Harpers Ferry by rail
end left Frederick at 12 o'clock the
night of the 16th. It took us about
four hours to reach our destination,
and when we arrived there had been
considerable fighting already. We left
the train at Sandy Hook, Md., about
two miles below Harpers Ferry, and
marched up the Potomac to the Mary
land end of the covered bridge, which
crossed the river at that point. This
bridge was one of the 'old-fashioned
kind, with a wagon way and a rail
way, and the structure which covered
it had many windows, so that it was
possible to look both up and down
the river. The -windows were about
60 feet apart.
Details of the Fight-
"Jt was raining gently. We marched
up to the Maryland end of the bridge
and remained standing there, awaiting
orders. Irregular firing was heard up
the. river on the Maryland side, above
the bridge, along the path of the canal.
Shots were also heard on the Virginia
side, close to the water's edge. After
remaining there a very short time.we
were ordered to cross the bridge. This
we did my company, the Independent
Riflemen, taking the lead, with guns
loaded and saber bayonets fixed. The
tramping on the bridge and the noise
of the rain on the roof made so much
noise as to drown all other sounds.
When about half way over, we were
halted by a command Indistinctly heard
from the front. Our Captain, Ulysses
Hobbs. repeated the order to us, but
the front rank mistook it for a com
mand to tlro-tJii did so From that
im until we reached the Virginia
side we were kept busy. We were face
to face with the enemy, whose leader I
had not seen or heard named. The
firing was irregular. We scattered on
the bridge and sought what shelter
was available, keeping our faces to
the front. We were kept on the bridge
fully two hours.. When daylight cams
we advanced to the Virginia side.
"While crossing the bridge we saw
through, one of the windows of the
bridge a boat with three occupants
making hurriedly for the Maryland
shore. We immediately opened fire on
it, and the boat was swamped! Two sf
the occupants reached a email island
near the bridge. The third was no
doubt drowned, as we saw no more of
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1
him. We opened fire again on the
men who reached the islandl and both
were shot to death as they landed.
We also saw another boat containing
a number of men making for the upper
island. I do not remember whether
they reached it or not, but they suf
fered the fate of their comrades either
in the river or on the island. I think
it was the United Guards which dealt
with them.
"Advancing across the bridge, we
drove some of the rioters on to the
Jrestle of the railroad and others in
front of the hotel, which was then in
charge of Mrs. Entler. Here we found
Mrs. Entler's negro servant, Ike, lying
in front of the railroad ticket office.
1 dead, with a bullet In his head. Mrs.
Entler told me that the leader of the
insurgents. Brown, had demanded the
keys of the railroad switches of Ike
and had shot the servant because he
refused to deliver them over. I re
garded Mrs. Entler's word as reliable,
and from her evidence have believed
that Brown killed the negro in the man
ner stated.
Chasing the Rioters.
"We pressed the rioters, who had taken
up a position on the trestle, and they ran
toward the hotel and down into the arse
nal yard about 12 feet below the trestle,
and thence into the brick fire engine
bouse. This fire engine-house which was
on the arsenal grounds was used by the
volunteer fire company of the city. We
Immediately surrounded the eng(ne-house
and waited orders for an assault.
"At this time the Virginia militia from
Westchester, Charlestown and Martins
burg began to arrive. Colonel Tom Sinn
was in command of the Maryland troops,
and bo and the commander of the Vir
ginia contingent held a consultation with
regard to storming the brick engine-house.
Before proceeding to such action our Col
onel approached the engine-house with a
flag of truce, and held a conversation with
those within. He reported that the enemy
held as hostages soma very prominent
citizens among whom were Colonel Lewis
Washington, of Halltown, Va., and Mr.
Shoup, of Frederick, Md. The command
ing officers decided that they would not
open fire with the artillery, of which
there were many pieces close at hand In
the arsenal. They received a message
about the same tkne from Washington to
the effect that Colonel Robert E. Lee,
with a company of United States marines,
would arrive that afternoon and assume
charge of United States property. The
rioters being on property of the Federal
Government, the militia officers decid
to form a strong guard around the build
ing and await the advent of Colonel Lee.
Colonel Lee Takes Charge. :
."At a late hour in the afternoon the Fed
eral troops arrived, and Colonel Lee took
charge of everything in the name of the
United States, relieving the militia from
duty by placing the marines on guard, af
ter which the militia officers, with Colonel
Lee, advanoed to the engine-house and
again held a parley with its occupants.
All this time the rioter had been cutting
portholes through the brick walls of the
engine-house, and had been keeping up a
constant firing at their assailants. After
the parley, Colonel Lee returned to the
marines and gave some instructions to
Lieutenant Green. A corporal with four
msrines went Into one of the arsenal
buildings and procured a long ladder,
which they laid on the ground in front of
the engine-house door after which Lieu
tenant Green ordered eight marines to
take up the ladder and batter down the
door. This was done. In the first assault
one of the marines was struck by a bullet
from within the engine-house, but it was
not serious, and the surgeon soon had him
back at his post again. The battering of
"
.'. Sk v' '
u lid
hi
the door was then resumed snd sfter a
few strokes the door gave way the door
and ladder falling at the same time. Lieu
tenant Green, sword In hand, sprsng be
tween the marines, over the ladder snd
door and I saw him make one cut with
the sword.. The supposition is that he
struck Brown, and it is known "that the
latter was wounded, but these surmises
were never verified. Following the Lieu
tenant closely, the marines pushed in snd
secured three rioters who comprised the
militant force within, and the men who
were held as hostages made good their
escape. WliVd Brown was brought out.I
was not a little astonished to recognize
the same John Brown who hag sat at my
father's table with me a few days before.
He was taken charge of by the officers,
who were in some doubt ss to whether
he was to be treated as a Federal or state
prisoner, but the matter being .later re
ferred to Washington, the Federal Gov
ernment through President Buchansn's
order, turned the insurgents over to the
state authorities of Virginia.
Recognized the Law.
"The main historical features of the
John Brown raid are matters of record.
We, who participated In the suppression
of the riot, felt that it would have been
a more fortunate circumstance if ths Fed
eral authorities had disposed of the band
instead of leaving their fate to the state
of Virginia. We were not believers in
slavery, but we recognized the necessity
of observing the law, and could not up
hold the irregular attack proposed by
John Brown to free the slaves. As for
me, I returned to St. Paul and following
my' strong inclinations, joined the Union
Army and served through ths war. I
have to note that I was well acquainted
with Colonel . Lee, who afterwards be
came the General of the Confederacy, but
I did not see him again during the war
until he surrendered to the Union Army
at Appomattox. It is, perhaps, a singu
lar oircumstancse that the great Oen
eral, as Colonel, suppressed the first out
break which heralded the greatest war
cL modern times should have been later
compelled to lay down his arms and sur
render to those who bad accepted John
Brown's principle of freedom for pis
slave, and had made John Brown their
hero. '
Wbsa. the Wives Come Hems.
It's a different world, from base to dome.
It's a sweeter land, when the wives come
home. -The
grind don't seem like It used to seem.
And the old home smiles in ths arms
of dream, '
When the wives come home, when the
' wives come home,
' It's a different world, from' base to
dome.
They're a lot of care and a heap of
trouble.
But it's empty world snd a bursted
bubble -When
they go away and they stay so
long,
And the heart grows sick for ths home
love song:
It's a different world when we're all
alone;
And tha wives have flown, the wtvss
have flown!
It's a sunnier place to spend our lives
When the old home shines ; with the
sweet old wives;
And our hearts know best, through the
froth and foam.
What a joy it is when ths wives corns
home;
How the sunlight breaks and we feel
its cheer,
Wh'.'n we know that the lips we love
lean near!
Baltimore Sua.