Abolitionist John Brown hated slavery and intended to extinguish it. He attempted to seize arms from the U.S. Arsenal in Harpers Ferry for his cause. Brown spent months planning his raid at the Kennedy Farm in Maryland and assembled an army. On October 16, 1859, Brown led a group of abolitionists on a six-mile march from the Kennedy Farm across the railroad bridge into Harpers Ferry, Virginia. They seized control of the town to steal weapons. A passing train reached Frederick, Md., and its occupants sent a telegram notifying the Federal Army of the attack, enabling soldiers to respond before Brown could fully accomplish his goal.
Brown was soon captured during a skirmish led by U.S. Marines and soldiers. In December 1859, Brown was tried and hanged in Charles Town, Virginia.
Prior to John Brown's raid, negotiations between the differing North-South factions might have been possible. However, after the attack - and Brown's trial and hanging - emotions ran so high that armed conflict became an inevitable outcome. The Civil War began 16 months after Brown's hanging. The John Brown Raid is said to be the spark which became the inferno of the American Civil War.
