Capt. Gregory
Private
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2023
"It was my privilege and honor to furnish John Brown with his first arms."- Gerrit Smith
Pike and Sharps Rifle engraving from James Redpath's Life of Captain John Brown (1860)
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Following the failure of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry on October 16th, federal authorities and local militia made a startling discovery. On the Maryland side of the Potomac River, they came across a modest, unremarkable farmhouse that concealed a shocking cache. Inside, they found detailed maps of the Southern states and a trove of correspondence between Brown, his followers, and various supporters. But it was the weapons stockpile that truly stunned them.
There were 200 Sharps .58 caliber carbines, provided by the Massachusetts Kansas Committee, along with 200 .31 caliber Maynard pistol manufactured by the Massachusetts Arms Company in Chicopee Falls. A handful of Colt Navy revolvers—one of which had been carried by Owen Brown during the raid—were also among the arsenal, alongside an assortment of bayonets, knives, and swords. Many of these weapons had been stored in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania before being covertly moved to the Kennedy Farm in Maryland. In the case of the Sharps rifles, they had been shipped originally to Tabor, Iowa. Tabor was a Quacker Abolitionist community that has hosted Brown and his men two summers previous. For many years Tabor would hold it an honor that two of their own would join Brown's band, the brothers Edwin and Barclay Coppock.
Brown's target of the Harpers Ferry armory and arsenal was also a scary revelation for Southerners. if Brown had been fully successful it would have led to thousands of 1855 Springfields just falling into his hands with all the ammunition and equipment his little army could ever use. If Brown's goal was simply weaponry he could of had it. Before the first shot of the raid was fired, Brown and his men had occupied the rifle factory and arsenal proper with a large wagon just ready to be filled. Brown however had more ambitious plans that hinged far to much on chance.
Most alarming to Southern sensibilities, however, was the presence of more than 940 pikes. Forged by Connecticut blacksmith Charles Blair at a dollar apiece, these so-called Harpers Ferry Pikes would come to symbolize the violent uprising that Brown had hoped to incite among the enslaved population of the South. They would be sent across every Southern state, used as tokens of what in their minds the North had in store for them. In other hands...it become a symbol of liberty of what was inevitable to those who holds others in bondage.
"Down with justice and humanity! The South must reap as she sows; where she scatters the wind the whirlwind will come up. It will be a pretty crop for her to reap----- ONE HELD AGAINST HIS WILL AS A SLAVE HAS A NATURAL RIGHT TO KILL EVERY ONE WHO SEEKS TO PREVENT HIS ENJOYMENT OF LIBERTY."" Theodore Parker to Jackson Merriam (father of raider Francis Jackson Merriam), November 25, 1859
Pike and Sharps Rifle engraving from James Redpath's Life of Captain John Brown (1860)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following the failure of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry on October 16th, federal authorities and local militia made a startling discovery. On the Maryland side of the Potomac River, they came across a modest, unremarkable farmhouse that concealed a shocking cache. Inside, they found detailed maps of the Southern states and a trove of correspondence between Brown, his followers, and various supporters. But it was the weapons stockpile that truly stunned them.
There were 200 Sharps .58 caliber carbines, provided by the Massachusetts Kansas Committee, along with 200 .31 caliber Maynard pistol manufactured by the Massachusetts Arms Company in Chicopee Falls. A handful of Colt Navy revolvers—one of which had been carried by Owen Brown during the raid—were also among the arsenal, alongside an assortment of bayonets, knives, and swords. Many of these weapons had been stored in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania before being covertly moved to the Kennedy Farm in Maryland. In the case of the Sharps rifles, they had been shipped originally to Tabor, Iowa. Tabor was a Quacker Abolitionist community that has hosted Brown and his men two summers previous. For many years Tabor would hold it an honor that two of their own would join Brown's band, the brothers Edwin and Barclay Coppock.
Brown's target of the Harpers Ferry armory and arsenal was also a scary revelation for Southerners. if Brown had been fully successful it would have led to thousands of 1855 Springfields just falling into his hands with all the ammunition and equipment his little army could ever use. If Brown's goal was simply weaponry he could of had it. Before the first shot of the raid was fired, Brown and his men had occupied the rifle factory and arsenal proper with a large wagon just ready to be filled. Brown however had more ambitious plans that hinged far to much on chance.
Most alarming to Southern sensibilities, however, was the presence of more than 940 pikes. Forged by Connecticut blacksmith Charles Blair at a dollar apiece, these so-called Harpers Ferry Pikes would come to symbolize the violent uprising that Brown had hoped to incite among the enslaved population of the South. They would be sent across every Southern state, used as tokens of what in their minds the North had in store for them. In other hands...it become a symbol of liberty of what was inevitable to those who holds others in bondage.
"Down with justice and humanity! The South must reap as she sows; where she scatters the wind the whirlwind will come up. It will be a pretty crop for her to reap----- ONE HELD AGAINST HIS WILL AS A SLAVE HAS A NATURAL RIGHT TO KILL EVERY ONE WHO SEEKS TO PREVENT HIS ENJOYMENT OF LIBERTY."" Theodore Parker to Jackson Merriam (father of raider Francis Jackson Merriam), November 25, 1859
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Bringing the