Keith Watson, a visitor to this site, sent me the following background story about John Brown's Dream. A West Virginia fiddler named Frank George claims this fiddle tune was originally called Harve Brown's Dream or just plain Brown's Dream. It was not until the tune gained popularity that it became associated with John Brown the abolitionist.
John Brown's dream ended with his failed attempt to start a slave uprising in Virginia. It began with his raid on the U.S. Armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in October 1859.
Armory workers discovered Brown's men in control of the armory early on Monday morning, October 17. Local militia companies quickly surrounded the property.
When Brown realized he was trapped, he selected nine hostages and took refuge in the armory's fire engine house. This small building, which still exists, has become known as John Brown's Fort.
By mid-afternoon, authorities in Washington ordered Colonel Robert E. Lee to Harpers Ferry with a force of Marines to capture Brown. The next morning Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart signaled the attack. U.S. Marines stormed
at Pottawatomie Creek (Kansas), on the night of May 24, 1856.
Northern propaganda depicted Brown as a martyr to the abolitionist cause. In reality, he was a religious zealot and a murderous sociopath. Brown was hanged in Charlestown, Virginia (now West Virginia) for treason on December 2, 1859.
The alarm bell from the armory fire house is now part of a monument in Marlborough Massachusetts about two miles from where I live.
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the engine house and quickly overcame the defenders. Brown surrendered.
John Brown was better known at the time as Pottawatomie Brown for the grisly murders of five (some accounts say three) pro-slavery men
John Brown (1800-1859)
