Description: Poster for a lecture by S. K. Donavin (1831-1902) titled "The Raid, Capture, Trial and Execution of John Brown." Additional text on the poster reads "An Entertainment of Great Historical Interest. The Raid, Capture, Trial and Execution of John Brown--S. K. Donavin Journalist who was an Eye Witness of the Scenes and Incidents of this Great American Tragedy as a Newspaper Correspondent." A description affixed to the poster reads "Mr. Donavin was the first newspaper correspondent at Harper's Ferry on the occasion of the John Brown raid. His lecture was published for the first time in the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, July 1921." John Brown gained national attention when, on October 16, 1859, he led a group of twenty one men on a raid of Harper's Ferry, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia). A federal arsenal was in the town, and Brown hoped to capture the buildings and the weapons stored inside. He then intended to distribute the guns and ammunition to slaves in the region, creating an army of African Americans that would march through the South and force slaveholders to release their slaves. Brown and his men succeeded in capturing the arsenal, but local residents surrounded the buildings, trapping the abolitionists inside. A detachment of U.S. Marines arrived and stormed the arsenal on October 18, capturing seven men, including Brown. He was charged with treason by the state of Virginia, found guilty and sentenced to death. On December 2, 1859, Brown was hanged. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS5655
Subjects: Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) History; John Brown's Raid, 1859; Abolitionists -- Ohio; Law & legal affairs;
Places: Ohio; Harper's Ferry (Virginia);