John Brown entered the world on May 9, 1800 in a little saltbox house in Torrington, Connecticut. Few people realize the famous abolitionist was born here; especially since the house was destroyed by fire many years later. Though his family moved out of the state when he was young, he later returned to Hartford to have his photograph taken by Augustus Washington, Hartford’s African-American photographer. He also purchased the pikes for his raid on Harper’s Ferry in Collinsville and Unionville.
Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia was an event that helped spark the Civil War. As an extreme abolitionist, Brown felt it was his duty to free the slaves. He proposed to do this by leading a group of men to capture the armory at Harpers Ferry and initiate a slave uprising. In October 1859 Brown attempted this insurrection, but failed miserably, and he was captured and hanged.
During the months following the raid, angry feelings ran strong. Some Connecticut businessmen even tried to suppress the fact that Brown was from the state because it was “bad for business”. Articles in the Hartford Courant repeatedly referred to Brown as “mad” saying that this was an “individual aberration” and an “isolated piece of madness”. Clearly many disagreed with his actions.
To some, however, Brown was a hero. The Hartford Times said that during the raid he possessed “a coolness and courage seldom equaled.” The Times also argued that this was a “legitimate result of the increasing warfare…against Southern men and Southern institutions.” Brown’s legacy was also celebrated in “John Brown’s Body,” a popular marching song during the Civil War. The tune was adapted for perhaps the most famous of all Civil War marching songs, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic."
John Brown will always be viewed as a passionate abolitionist who felt that he had to take matters into his own hands. Some people continue to see him as a violent lunatic, and others continue to revere him as a hero. Whatever ones viewpoint may be, Brown will always be one of the most famous men of the Civil War era to be born in the state of Connecticut.
