irginia”(Bradford 54). “After several setbacks, he finally launched the venture onOctober 16, 1859, and with a force of 18 men, including hissons, he seized the United States arsenal and armory atHarpers Ferry, Virginia, and won control of the town. ‘After his initial success, he made no attempt at offensiveaction, but instead occupied defensive positions within thearea’”(Oates 88). His force was surrounded by the localmilitia, which was reinforced on October 17 by a company ofU.S. Marines under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee. Ten of Brown’s men, including two of his sons, were killedin the consequent battle, and he was wounded and forced tosurrender. He was arrested and charged with variouscrimes, including treason and murder. “He distinguishedhimself during his trial, which took place before aVirginia court, by his powerful defense of his efforts inbehalf of the slaves”(Oates 90). Convicted, he was hangedin Charleston, Virginia in December of 1859. For manyyears after his death, brown was generally regarded byabolitionists as a martyr to the cause of human freedom.By 1860, the North and the South had developed intotwo very different regions. “Divergent social, economic,and political points of view gradually drove the twosections farther and father apart”(Oates 99). Each triedto impose its point of view on the country as a whole. Although compromises had kept the Union together for manyyears, in 1860 the situation was explosive. The electionof Abraham Lincoln as president was viewed by the South asa threat to slavery and ignited the war. During thecampaign many Southerners had threatened that their stateswould secede from the Union if Lincoln was elected becausethey feared that a Lincoln administration would abolishslavery. Few people in the North believed them. A monthbefore the election, however, Governor William Henry Gistof South Carolina wrote to the gove...
