John Brown An Unspoken Hero?

John Brown (Credit to wikipedia.com)

John Brown's name is always related to Harper's Ferry but there is more to the story than just Harper's Ferry. John Brown was born in Connecticut in the year of 1800. He was raised by a very religious father who made him memorize the Bible front and back. John Brown's father already had a passion for speaking out against actions such as slavery. John Brown enveloped his father's belief, which was his hatred of slavery. This hatred became prominent in John's life when his young slave friend was almost beat to death by his master.

Later in John Brown's life he pursued many professions such as preaching and being a shepherd. In the end John Brown's passion was fighting to end slavery. During his life, John Brown had children. John Brown married twice in his life and had seven children with his first wife and thirteen children with his second. Like their father, John Brown's children embraced their father's beliefs.

Depiction of John Brown in Kansas (Credit to weebly.com)

The beginning of John Brown's crusade occurred at Pottawatomie Creek where Bleeding Kansas occurred. Bleeding Kansas was a series of multiple conflicts between the North and the South predating the Civil Wars. The conflicts were over Kansas's right to decide on having slavery or not. John Brown and some of his sons were involved in this conflict resulting in the death of some of John Brown's children. John Brown also became an enemy of the state during these in the result of him killing a federal officer. Bleeding Kansas did not produce the result that John Brown wanted, which then resulted in John Brown's planning his raid on Harper's Ferry.

John Brown chose to invade Harper's Ferry for three reasons. The first was that he wanted to hit the state with the largest population of slaves, which was Virginia. The second reason was John Brown wanted to make a huge impact if his raid were successful. His main targets to hit were the arsenal and the armory. These buildings were where the ammunition was produced and stored for the U.S. militia. The third reason was that John Brown always stated that the mountains were the key to his plan. John Brown's original plan was to recruit and arm the local slaves. Then to take over the arsenal and armory and then escape in to the mountains and go to Maryland.

His plan did not go as he expected. John Brown and his men left from the  Kennedy Farm on a cold and dreary night to go to Harper's Ferry. The raiders first captured George Washington's great grand nephew as well as other civilians. Sadly, the first person to be killed during John Brown's raid was a freed slave. The raiders then tried to recruit slaves but they were unsuccessful. John Brown and his men took cover in the fire engine house.

The Fire Engine House (Credit to wvculture.org)

News of John Brown's Raid spread across the area. All of the local law enforcement was alerted as well as the Marines which Robert E. Lee led to Harper's Ferry. The townspeople also began to riot and take up arms against John Brown. Twelve people did die during the raid, Ten of those casualties were John Brown's raiders and the other two were marines. Although John Brown had a stronghold in the engine house in the beginning, the Marines busted through the engine house door and injured John Brown. John Brown was then captured and tried in Charles Town, West Virginia. The jury's decision was for John Brown to be hanged. It was not because of the killing of the federal officer in Pottawatomie Creek but because of the idea of starting a rebel of the slaves which was feared in a state such as Virginia.

Credit to Baas.com 

Some people consider John Brown a freedom fighter or a possibly a terrorist but it all depends on how you feel about the situation. John Brown's Raid is considered one of the reasons why the Civil War occurred. It sparked the idea of making people wonder is slavery okay? Overall, John Brown did make a change but he did it in the wrong he used violence instead of words and peaceful actions, which would later be shown during the Civil Rights era.

A Blast From The Past (Don Redman Concert)

Don Redman (Credit to Rebecca Shannnon)

Harper's Ferry National Historic Park is known for John Brown's raid and also for the Civil war. What people do not really know though is that Harper's Ferry has a prominent history with African Americans. Harper's Ferry did have a multitude of slaves in the area during the Civil War. But after the Civil War, Baptist missionaries came to Harper's Ferry and asked the government if they could inhabit one of the abandoned buildings.

Anthony Hall (Credit to: Library of Congress)

The missionary then established a school called Storer College.  The schools purpose was to teach former slaves and any person no matter race or gender to read and write. The school would later become known as a teachers college. The building was located on Camp Hill in Harper's Ferry, one of the main buildings was Anthony Hall which is now Mather Training Center for park rangers. Sadly, Storer College was shut down in 1955 because of the Brown versus Board of Education case. But because of the result of this trial, all attendees of Storer College were able to attend any college of their choice.

One of the graduates from Storer College was Don Redman. Don Redman later became a prominent figure in the jazz world. Don Redman was a conductor as well as a performer. Louis Armstrong claimed that Don Redman was one of the best conductors he had ever performed with in his career. Every year, Harpers Ferry National Historic Park hosts the annual Don Redman concert in honor of Mr. Redman's amazing talent. The concert is held for the Don Redman award which is presented to , "jazz stalwarts based on contributions in jazz education and music, as well as individual musicianship, humanity and dignity that illuminate the spirit of Don Redman" (National Park Service ). With this presentation the concert commenced on June 25th. The event was also free to the public.

A week before the jazz concert, a jazz camp was held for a number of students. The students practiced for the concert, which was then preformed before the official Don Redman concert commenced. The night was full of music for a man who celebrated his passion.

Below this blog entry is a video performance of Don Redman and his orchestra in 1934. (Credit to TheDylabuz and Warner Brothers)

History In The Making (Harpers Ferry Quarter Launch)

John Brown's Fort. Credit to History.com 

Every year, the US Mint releases a quarter featuring a National Park. There will be a total of 56 quarters released throughout the years. In previous years, parks such as Shenandoah National Park and Yellowstone National Park have released quarters. So far only 33 quarters have been released, it was announced last year that Harper's Ferry would release the 33rd quarter. The quarter would be featured in the America The Beautiful program that US Mint has started.
The event took place on June 8th. This event took a lot of planning. The quarter was engraved with John Brown's Fort on the back. Although there are multiple landmarks in Harper's Ferry to put on the quarter such as Jefferson Rock . But John Brown's Fort was chosen because of its message that no human should be owned. John Brown is considered a tyrant by some but a freedom fighter by others. John Brown had the right idea that people should be free, he just used the wrong method by using violence instead of words. The quarter can be seen below in the picture.
The quarter launch had attendees ranging from children to senior citizens. Around 500 people attended the event. The event had multiple presenters the emcee for the event was Olympian Vicki Bullet who won a medal in basketball. There were also representatives for the West Virginia governor and senator. The event officially ended with the release of the quarter. Every child got a free quarter who attended the celebration. The coins were released by spilling out of a replica of John Brown's Fort. Attendees could buy rolls of quarters to commemorate the event. The quarter went into circulation on the date of June 6th. Since the event Harper's Ferry has been selling packages of quarters in the bookstore, with the other 32 quarters that have been released.Coin collector or not, many people had a great time at the event and it will surely be an event I will remember.

Credit to Callie Long

Harpers Ferry Trails and Fun

Have you ever explored a national park? If not it is quite the experience, from the museums to the park rangers it is an event for the whole family. Ever since I was little my dad has taken me to National Parks. But, this summer I am lucky enough to work at Harper's Ferry National Historic Park. What people do not know is that Harper's Ferry is not only a small downtown with museums and exhibits. The National Park of Harper's Ferry consists of over 25 miles of trails and multiple battlefields as well. If you have not checked out Harper's Ferry yet I suggest you do!!!! Here are a couple of trails to check out if you go to the park.

Credit to Pat & Chuck Blackley 

One of the most popular trails at Harper's Ferry is Maryland Heights. Although the hike is strenuous you get to see the view of all of downtown Harper's Ferry. The short route to the overlook is about 1-4 miles but the entire hike is 4-6 miles depending on your pacing.

Credit to National Park Service

The most strenuous trail at Harper's Ferry is Loudoun Heights. The trail is about 7.5 miles long. With this trail being the most strenuous it is also the longest for people who hike it, the trail totals to about 4-6 hours depending on pacing. An interesting fact about Loudoun Heights is that it crosses paths with the Appalachian Trail which runs through Harper's Ferry.






Even if you do not hike, Harper's Ferry offers an eclectic range of museums and tours. As well as ranger led tours and wildlife spotting.