John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was the largest event of 1859 in the United States, exacerbating the polarization of the country, and was a major factor in the secession of Southern states in 1861 and the subsequent outbreak of the American Civil War. In 1859, Brown was considered the most famous living American. The raid on Harpers Ferry was a complicated affair. It ended with the taking of John Brown's Fort, but before that there were bodies floating down the Potomac, others dead along the Shenandoah. Unidentified corpses thrown in a packing box and dumped in a pit, and bodies taken away for dissection by medical students (see Burning of Winchester Medical College). It would be many years afterwards before even the names of all of the participants were known (see John Brown's raiders).. Many of those present left their varying recollections of the events of those four days (October 16–19, 1859), as they experienced them. These include official reports, statements by the surviving members of Brown's party, statements from the prosecuting attorney Andrew Hunter, jailer John Avis, Marines, guards, hostages, bystanders, and even children who observed the events without participating in them. (en)
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was the largest event of 1859 in the United States, exacerbating the polarization of the country, and was a major factor in the secession of Southern states in 1861 and the subsequent outbreak of the American Civil War. In 1859, Brown was considered the most famous living American. (en)