JOHN BROWN HANGED IN VIRGINIA
Charlestown, Virginia (JFK+50) On December 2, 1859, John Brown, the abolitionist and militia captain of Bleeding Kansas, was hanged here in Charlestown* after having been found guilty of treason, murder and inciting a slave insurrection.
John Brown had been captured after a failed attempt to take over the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry and supply weapons to slaves. The raid resulted in seven deaths and ten or more injuries.
At 11 a.m., riding in the back of a wagon sitting on his own coffin, John Brown arrived at the field of execution where a scaffold had been built. After ascending the steps, a white muslin hood was put over his head.
"The Sheriff struck the rope a sharp blow with a hatchet, the platform fell---a few convulsive struggles and a human soul had gone to judgment."
Those who believed in John Brown's cause to end slavery would sing...
"John Brown's body lies a mouldrin' in the grave, but his soul goes marching on."
*Charlestown, renamed Charleston, was founded in 1788, located in Kanawha County, is today the largest populated city of West Virginia. In Dec 1859, Charlestown was in the state of Virginia. On June 20, 1863, the city became part of the new state of WVA.
SOURCE
"An Eyewitness Describes The Hanging of John Brown," by Boyd B. Stutler, American Heritage, Vol. 6, Issue 2, 1955, www.americanheritage.com/
