American Experience; John Brown's Holy War; Interview with historian Dennis Frye 3 of 6

is just a lot of where i started seeing news this is as you know why is intended to be a citizen he says abel you're saying in the darkness that night as dr storey approach the armory grounds he was quickly confronted by several of brown's men end up they asked him who are you what are you doing here was not it was very strange to have a civilian out that time of night and he explained i heard shots and someone injured man hope so they they took dr story too they were very badly wounded shepherd and it took them over spend some time with an alarm and was not able to do anything with more but while he was there he was listening he was his ears were open his eyes were wide open and he was trying to determine who these people were why have

this man been shot wide disrespected free black in the community why is he lying on the ground about to die and so we don't know exactly how much time passed between the time that he began to observe hayward shepherd and observe what was happening around him but we do know that the converse with brown's name the browns mint freely at early and for a story that they were in harpers ferry to end slavery and arm over time we also know that they did not hold him as a hostage a terrible mistake by brown's and then i guess is they just let the man was so much knowledge evaporate into the dark here and so the story would leave the scene of the dying man still while it was very dark early in the morning and would not return to his home

but would begin to spread the word that harper sir was under siege that abolitionists had attacked the town and that we needed to get help to the community quickly oh yes it's the wanting to use revere paul revere or as i often do look at darker story word listen and watch and after carrie kahn arm he would leave the city wells they've been holding hostage and with the information that he had dr started not returned was bitching but instead of actually makes it to the livery takes a horse and begins to ride he becomes kind of the

paul revere of harpers ferry where he sprays the worries the first to really spread the word outside the immediate community that there is a problem in the capture and when he arrives auditors will begin the renewed early early in the morning and of the citizens come out to find the fire and they see that this is not a fire of wood at a building threatening a tale but this is a wild fire that has been started by abolitionist who are carrying a torch that from their perspective will bring about freedom to many years throughout the south story is really the key to breen melissa quickly to harpers ferry and dueling john brown at the internet show brown had a problem with this tree he expected that

come and stop and belief but here it was it was just sitting there the conductor the engineer refused to go over that bridge because they thought perhaps was mind so finally at about three am brown issued instructions that would permit the train to leave but it still didn't go bum the conductor demanded that brown's men and brett brown himself escort the train across that bridge finally twenty five thirty six am in the morning the train falling apart and indeed it was escorted across the bridge it went to the nearest station the telegraph was still functional browse minute cut telegraph wires up and down a lot and arrived at tanaka siege auction nearly twenty miles distant from harper's ferry and there the conductor wired the president of the railroad must gear and he said harpers ferry has been seized by abolitionist and the

numbers were greatly exaggerated but it became a very frightening teller and garret amelia sent word to the president that harper's ferry had been taken and that he needed to get troops to harpers ferry quickly because this rebellion and to really in the marines moving us shortly after president buchanan received word that harper's ferry had been captured her preferred was under siege he determined that he needed a good quality officer to go to harpers ferry to bring into this rebellion after all knowledge united states government property been seized but the governor the united states itself was under attack this was an act of war fortunately for the president leak was at

his home in arlington just opposite the potomac river in the nation's capital one leaf were soon arrived at crowley's residents that he was needed that he needed to come to harpers ferry because it had been captured by this band of abolitionists solely in civilian clothing left his home in arlington and preceded by railroad to baltimore and then from baltimore how to research he arrived at the ferry just before midnight on october the seventeenth leading the way is just to upset when i don't attend was in the war department at the time that word arrived at harpers ferry had been captured by abolitionists young lieutenant mccary named james you're brown better known as jeb stuart stuart learned of the problem and army was sent to

cali to deliver the message that lee was needed to command the forces that would be converting market share and so stuart hendry combined and stuart asked if he could continue to assist currently in this endeavor be readily agreed he needed support from i experienced military man and so liane stewart together rode the train from washington to baltimore and i'm from baltimore they took the cars out to harm same you look near harpers ferry and there are they fighting an arbitrary just before midnight on october seventeenth the senate meanwhile around ok let's talk about almost ok good good okay yes does do that was through their window that once brown

head clean the tail and he sprayed his men out to guard the bridges and yet secured the army arsenal several of his men had a special sound to go out in the countryside of four five miles from the ferry and cds colonel lewis washington now washington himself was a state owner interview callan a very prominent man but brown wanted him for symbolism the main washington having washington as a hostage meant that he would have one of the most important people in the community beside him not voluntarily but beside him that would give brown it would empower brown props to do and accomplish what he set out to do in addition to that take washington that night but they brought within four of his slaves they then traveled from washington's home and they came to another state owner named

all stopped john stott they awaken his drawl stock took him and a sixteen year old so sausages and seven of the straw stops slaves we're brought to harpers ferry as well soul is a roundabout in the countryside they brought eleven slaves with them which is the same number that brown god our missouri and this very important and distinguished gentleman of the community news washington washington could offer no resistance these were our mandate was the middle of the night he had no choice he had to go or face very serious consequences in many respects washington's slaves faced similar consequences brown's men gave them fikes

spears to guard their master and we found a very odd circumstance slaves guarding their master with these very primitive but deadly weapons and it was uncomfortable for all washington obviously found his servants now with weapons and the sermons found themselves regarding a master our innate an unfamiliar and very alarming a situation and so it was frightening for all it was frightening for washington it was frightening for his slaves no one knew these people they were just told to do this they were following instructions and i think people from all sides were quite scared by what's happening and on october the

seventeenth most of harpers ferry still is unaware that their primary industry has been seized by abolitionist in fact that monday morning six am six thirty am many are more for walking the work just like they do every monday morning and i'm a rider the only gate they were not greeted by their areas supervisors but instead they were greeted by armed men and were immediately seized all these are worse dozens of them as they were coming to work that morning were captured by brown and his men insured or however it became obvious that there was a problem at the armory in your seat and made in harpers ferry began to whisper and then shout at each other that their home has been attacked their factory has been assaulted we need to find weapons we must go defend our town we must defend our women our children we must defend the soil over

jr we must defend our jobs and so they begin this effort a fruitless effort at first to try to find weapons in the town of harper's ferry these men didn't own weapons they manufactured weapons the guns they produced were all in one place your arsenal and brown held the arsenal so it was very difficult to come up with the weapons to challenge john brennan as men and they're short but as the morning began to drag on between nine and ten o'clock more more shops began to ring out men had discovered a shotgun here an old flintlock muskets therapist or hear any armed they could finally begin to utilize to fire indiscriminately into they are now obviously their target was brown's men but also endangered their friends their coworkers because many of the shots came dangerously close to

where many of these are more for being held well what to do know is it's going to the er and at that it has on their orientation or are asking why are we you know there is is they're starting to get there and there was you know i was one as the ball and begins to appear through the water gap on that monday morning parade now is about seventy hours old brown still controls his own destiny he commands the are really our show he commands approaches in an hour of harpers ferry the bridges belong to him so the question is as the day progresses and this news of local citizens with there arms firing indiscriminately in anything that moves and

bolstered by the arrival local militia why didn't john brown's attempt to leave why did he stay in harper sphere because this practice perfect steel trap as frederick douglass described it is about to close brown still has an opportunity to lee but why should he what has he accomplished have eighty slaves been freed know has he remove the weapons from the armory in the arsenal no have the dozens or perhaps hundreds of slaves that he expected to come and support him arrived i know why he has waged his mission john brown decides to stay

well that's all it is is that is it uses that as the hours passed that monday morning and more and more shots were fired from the citizens of harpers ferry at brown is man brown's men became nurse well maybe we should leave captain that maybe we should get out while we still hold the bridges are perhaps saw this isn't going to work and brown just dismissed them and seemed absolutely fixated on remaining at harper sir and despite more than treaties for was a man that we better leave while we have a chance we still can escape brown remained steadfast and refuse to give any orders or instructions that would permit his men to abandon their post we will stay

we will remain we have much work ahead of us and most of his men follow his orders a year would likely get and browns and then remained in place but they were terrified they realize is they looked up into the skies and saw those mountains around them that they were in a hole they recognize quickly that they could be cut off and isolated with no support and they add knowledge to each other that perhaps the old man wasn't so certain of his plan perhaps his plan would not work and many of these men began to fear for our lives and began to think of themselves perhaps we should leave here and fight for another day was a very charismatic man

his eyes guru due to his soul into his voice when he was speaking to you you not only listened but you made and when brown declared to his men that we are not ready to leave we must remain do your duty you join me to perform our duty our duty as they are doing our duty is a sacred want and you are in the eyes of god a man who must remain so that we can work for god to free the slaves and when you're told that by this leader this cap that knowledge master at the moment you will stay you will fight despite your fear john brown has overcome my fear was the story

right throughout the morning hours of october the seventeenth month brown continue to seize civilians citizens people are prefer and it crowd of them all into one blowing the fire engine house and then summer courses many as sixty people were held in there but soon he decided that there were some people more important than others and he began to discriminate among those hostages as to those who he absolutely would keep and those who he would hole in one area and some are more porn hostages included kerr washington and our state owner bistro start with some high ranking armory officials were also captured including the assistant superintendent larry the master machinist the master arm or tea individuals in the hierarchy of the united

states government so many these people that brown has now captured and has as hostages are high ranking government officials again an opportunity to use them as a bargaining chip that he needs them they went back that this isn't your job around the way he over those offices with the hostages comment to the man that treated them with respect treated them curry's lee and did everything he could to protect the heat in order to send to be brought to them on the morning of the seventies he tried to shelter them from the boats that were being fired indiscriminately by the town says isn't later by the militia are indeed they were under guard and it was very uncomfortable and dismal in that day up cold engine house and it

was very dangerous but brown did all he could to protect his hostages apparently according to the hostages the eyewitnesses that were in those will include john brown at no time did he threaten their lives at motown did he threaten violence against them he intended to use them as hostages but he never threaten them he did not indicate any kind of violent bloodshed in the same fashion that many been killed in kansas if you agree with this you know is there a person who was in kansas supreme a massive a slave owners you know there is really do voices

brown was not afraid to kill people but he demonstrated very well in kansas that he and his men could kill to free slaves but your harper's ferry his attitude did not seem to be that only kill it seemed to be an attitude off all i am here in virginia i am attacking the united states government i intend to take these weapons owned by the government and i intend to leave this place where i will then go free slaves brown it even informed his men that they should be careful about bloodshed at the kennedy farm just before they left he said to them remember that life is precious that your life is precious and otherwise are as well he talked to his men almost as a father counseling them rather than as a warrior a cutthroat bloody war

you're going out and looking for blood and so when brown was in harpers ferry his attitude was one of i am here to leave after i've accomplished my mission i am not here to kill i'm not here to destroy as himself remade into a sausage is i'm not here to murder destroy this tale and so his attitude had richard it was it was a much different attitude than what we found a bloody kansas that we saw here in harper share pieces and this was it the john brown of harpers ferry was much different than the more on that we saw in kansas he did not come to harper's ferry with an attitude of how many people will we

kill in vengeance he had not just experienced they are also want it or about or blackjack where he saw people killed and his emotion was arouses passions were heated brown came to harpers ferry very controlled may and he had a plan his plan was not to kill people when the town not to attack citizens and civilians and not to have indiscriminate bloodshed his plan was focused on retrieving those weapons and then using those weapons to free slaves outside the bounds of four porsche for so we don't have a broad first the visual arm i'm very very emotional man here he's controlled and he understands that his purpose is to attack the armory and the league not to

attack the citizens are pushed for now that we are going to segue iraq and that is one thing so many shots from being fired that monday morning was very dangerous in the armory grounds glass was breaking as the us has boys were going through the engine house wolves were ricocheting off the brick of the building it was a it was a very dangerous place to be brown decided that it was time to go she he recognize that he was around it recognize that his men had been dispersed and they couldn't get them together so some negotiate so he actually sent one of the hostages out of the engine house with a white kerchief along with one of his sons and it's the negotiating the people fired the people that were surrounding the armory fired and struck watson brown mortally wounded

watson dragged himself back into the fire engine house and the other men simply escaped the sinaloa brown expected brown believe that when you show a white flag you have troops people archery weren't interested and treats are other taliban seized their workers are being held hostage and they intended to fight that they saw a stranger as traders carrying a weapon they'd pull the trigger watson brown would be the moral ending the moral or the killing of enjoy it while to browse result of of this this and that that was in the air up harper sphere how to brown react to watch is more typically john brown will be very angered and typically the old testament eye for an eye tooth for teens you would've expected brown to pull out one of his hostages and to kill

in revenge for the moral wounding of his son watson but rather not react that way he he did not threaten any violence against the hostages but the destiny said i don't understand we went out there with a white flag where i come from that means troops that means let's let's calm down let's talk about this and us hostages explain to him that that's because of what's happening here in harpers ferry that that you cannot count on these people are letting their their intellect overcome their emotions and so rather not take vengeance but he certainly had the opportunity to kill any one of those hostages any one of them are in revenge for a mortal wound in the sun and verify kittredge