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We talk a lot about John Brown, for obvious reasons, but we should also talk about some of the other figures involved, because they deserve to be remembered too!
Let's talk about some of them here:
Let's talk about some of them here:
Let's start with Dangerfield Newby. Aged 43, he joined John Brown's raiders because his wife and seven children were still in slavery, and the owner was raising the prices to prevent him from freeing them.
His body was desecrated by townsmen after his valiant death.
His body was desecrated by townsmen after his valiant death.
The letter found upon his body explained why he had joined up with John Brown and illustrated the agony that many black people were going through at the time, struggling to free the rest of their families from the brutality of slavery.
Those letters, from his wife Harriet Newby, can be seen here:
Next, we have Lewis Sheridan Leary.
Lewis was a free-born black man, born in Fayetville, North Carolina, who worked as a harnessmaker.
Lewis would participate in the freeing of captured runaway slave, John Price, an action which would seem him indicted along with 36 others.
Lewis was a free-born black man, born in Fayetville, North Carolina, who worked as a harnessmaker.
Lewis would participate in the freeing of captured runaway slave, John Price, an action which would seem him indicted along with 36 others.
Leary and 34 others were released, with only two ending up being found guilty in federal court, one serving 60 days in jail, the other serving 20 days.
It was after this spontaneous attempted liberation that Lewis became involved with John Brown.
It was after this spontaneous attempted liberation that Lewis became involved with John Brown.
Lewis would go on to recruit his nephew John Anthony Copeland to the cause. Copeland had moved to Oberlin, Ohio, to escape the racism of the South, before enrolling and graduating from Oberlin College, while also becoming a dedicated abolitionist.
Copeland's writing was brilliant, quite accurately summing up the absolute betrayal that many black men who had fought in the revolution felt towards American Revolutionary leaders for abandoning the black people who had fought so hard for freedom.
While Leary's body was never recovered by his family after the raid, Copeland's family had the crushing encounter with the medical establishment of the time, who refused to give back their kin's body, using it to practice medical procedures upon, instead.
Next, we have Shields Green, who was born into slavery in South Carolina. He'd only been free from slavery for a year before joining up with John Brown's raiders. Not much is known about him, with Fredrick Douglass describing him as "not one to shrink from hardships or dangers"-
"He was a man of few words, and his speech was singularly broken; but his courage and self-respect made him quite a dignified character." Fredrick Douglass also noted that upon meeting Shields Green, John Brown immediately knew "what 'stuff' Green 'was made of".
Shields Green was offered a chance to escape during the raid. He refused to do so, simply saying that "he must go down to de ole man" to Jeremiah Anderson. Shields Green would avenge Dangerfield's death, before being arrested with Brown, and being executed, two weeks after Brown.
Tragically, during the search for Copeland's body, Shields Green's body was found being dissected, but was left behind by Professor James Monroe, who recognised him as a neighbour. Winchester Medical College was razed to the ground during the civil war by Union soldiers.
This brings us to Osborne Perry Anderson, a free black man born in Chester Counter, Pennsylvania. He also attend Oberlin College, before going on to work as a printer, a skill he would later utilise in his work as a radical abolitionist.
Osborne Perry Andersen initially met John Brown in May 1858, and quickly rose through the ranks of his organisation. During the raid on Harper's Ferry, Andersen was part of the contingent that took Frederick the Great's sword and Lafayette's pistols, which John Brown would use.
Osborne fled when the tide of the battle turned, retreating with the aid of Underground Railroad conductor, William C. Goodridge. When the Civil War broke out, Osborne became a non-commissioned officer and fought throughout the conflict, before eventually passing in 1872, age 42.
This brings me to the last entry in this thread: Edwin Coppock. Coppock is the only white member of this list for a reason, because I find his story completely lost in the chaos of John Brown worship.
Coppock was young, 28 at the time of the raid. He and his brother met John Brown during his Anti-Slavery raids in Kansas. During the raid on Harper's Ferry, Edwin shot and killed the mayor of Harper's Ferry, Fontaine Beckham. But this is where it gets interesting.
Fontaine Beckham owned 5 slaves (Isaac Gilbert, his wife and 3 children). His will declared that upon his death, they were to be set free; by assassinating him, Coppock inadvertently set 5 slaves free.
Coppock was executed on the 16th of December in Charles Town, buried in Salem
Coppock was executed on the 16th of December in Charles Town, buried in Salem
thanks for reading! please do your reading on amazing historical figures, and remember: history is a weapon, don't let it be wielded against you.
