Harpers Ferry Before the Attack
The Raid at Harpers Ferry was when John Brown and his men attacked the U.S. Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. An arsenal is a place where military weapons are stored. John Brown wanted to seize the arsenal because he thought by stealing weapons he could help free some slaves. He would get slaves and other abolitionists to begin a battle against slave owners. The Raid at Harpers Ferry became one of the causes of the Civil War. There were many preparations in order to succeed in the Attack. (West Virginia
Division of Culture and History)They had to form the army, make sure they ad enough supplies and make sure that they were ready to attack, and try to get to the poor slaves. John Brown did a lot of preparing. He even talked to Frederick Douglass in the August on 1859 to try to get him to help out with the attack, when Brown told his friend of his intentions of seizing the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry rather than staging guerilla warfare from the mountains. Attacking the arsenal was in effect attacking the federal government and, in Douglass' estimation, a grave mistake. "You're walking into a perfect steel-trap," he said to Brown, "and you will never get out alive." Frederick Douglass didnt want to cause anymore violence.
Division of Culture and History)They had to form the army, make sure they ad enough supplies and make sure that they were ready to attack, and try to get to the poor slaves. John Brown did a lot of preparing. He even talked to Frederick Douglass in the August on 1859 to try to get him to help out with the attack, when Brown told his friend of his intentions of seizing the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry rather than staging guerilla warfare from the mountains. Attacking the arsenal was in effect attacking the federal government and, in Douglass' estimation, a grave mistake. "You're walking into a perfect steel-trap," he said to Brown, "and you will never get out alive." Frederick Douglass didnt want to cause anymore violence.
Harper's Ferry Attack
The attack on Harper's Ferry
This picture shows the attack on Harper's Ferry.