John Brown believed he could free the slaves, and he selected Harpers Ferry as his starting point. Determined to seize the 100,000 weapons at the Arsenal and to use the Blue Ridge Mountains for guerrilla warfare, abolitionist Brown launched his raid on Sunday evening, October 16, 1859. His 21-man “army of liberation” seized the Armory and several other strategic points. Thirty-six hours after the raid begun, with most of his men killed or wounded, Brown was captured in the Armory fire engine house (now known as “John Brown’s Fort”) when U.S. Marines stormed the building.

Brought to trial at nearby Charles Town, Brown was found guilty of treason, of conspiring with slaves to rebel, and murder. He was hanged on December 2, 1859. John Brown’s short-lived raid failed, but his trial and execution focused the nation’s attention on the moral issue of slavery and headed the country toward civil war.

It is said that the ghost of John Brown himself haunts the streets of Historic Harpers Ferry! In the early 80s, during a reenactment weekend, several witnesses saw a re-enactor with an amazingly similar appearance to legendary abolitionist John Brown. He was very polite, although a little frightening with his wide-eyed appearance. He even agreed to be photographed. However, when the photos were developed, Brown had disappeared!

From historicharpersferry.com:

History of Harpers Ferry:

• visited by George Washington on his very first surveying expedition at the age of 17.
• was cited by Thomas Jefferson, after a visit, as such a beautiful spot that it was worth a trip across the Atlantic.
• was the starting place of the Lewis and Clarke expedition.
• was the site of the first crossing of the Potomac by a railroad, on the first structural steel bridge in the world.
• was the industrial town where using interchangeable parts in a manufacturing process was first invented and proven practical.
• was the site of the John Brown raid which precipitated the Civil War.
• was the first command of Stonewall Jackson, who raised and trained his famed Brigade here.
• was the site of three Civil War battles, the major one involving over 30,000 troops on both sides which resulted in the largest surrender of US troops until Bataan in WWII.
• was a bastion of elevating African Americans, with the first real academic college (Storer College) to educate freed slaves in all aspects of higher learning, rather than sewing and other trades.
• was the site of the Founding in the US of the Niagara movement, which later evolved into the NAACP.
• was a town which, despite unfortunate racism by some, way before its time encouraged African-American entrepreneurs, one of whom built and managed the fabled Hilltop House Hotel.
• was a major retreat center in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century for many notables, including seven presidents, Mark Twain, and many others.
• was cited by art history experts as the most “painted town” in America, because of its spectacular scenery.