Harpers Ferry has come up in conversation a few times lately, and before the subject gets out of my mind, I thought I’d discuss a couple of my favorite Harper Ferry stories.
All the little towns around here survived the Civil War and maybe because of that bloody time, almost every town has its share of ghost stories. There’s even a TV series, “The Ghosts of Shepherdstown.” If you’re into ghosts, it’s worth watching.
But anyhow, back to Harpers Ferry…
On the night of October 16th, 1859, John Brown and twenty-one brave men attempted to strike a blow against slavery. Their objective was to capture the guns stored in the armory in Harpers Ferry. John Brown believed that the slaves in the area would join them and together they would retreat to the nearby mountains. Using the mountains as a fortress, they would train slaves to use the guns and make raids deeper into the South, to free more slaves. The raiders ultimate goal was to make it unprofitable for slavery to exist. They hoped to create a separate state in the Shenandoah Valley for the newly freed Blacks. They intended to hold out until the government recognized the rights of all men.
As it turned out, a freed Black, Hayward Shepherd, was the first man killed in the raid. Shepherd’s death deterred other blacks that would have joined and the raid was doomed. By noon on the 17th, Brown and his raiders were pinned down in the fire engine house, along with their hostages. The standoff continued throughout the day. Five of the raiders had managed to escape earlier, ten raiders were killed in the firefight at the fire engine house and six were captured. All those captured were brought to trial in Charles Town, charged with treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, and inciting slaves to rebel. All were found guilty and sentenced to hang.
It was during John Brown’s trial that he succeeded in making the world aware of the whole moral issue of slavery. After the trial of John Brown, almost no one could remain neutral on the slavery issue and eighteen months later, the nation was plunged into civil war.
Ok, that’s all background — here’s the interesting story…..
John Brown was willing to die for the cause he loved — maybe so much so that his ghost may live on.
A few years ago, it was noticed that a man strongly resembling John Brown was walking the streets of Harper Ferry, and because of his appearance, visitors to the park asked him to pose for pictures with them. When multiple pictures were developed, by different people, the family members were clear, but there was no sign of the John Brown look-alike.
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