Captain John Brown (1800 – 1859) Abolitionist Martyr, Insurrectionist – The Patricians Genealogical Research Foundation

“His zeal in the cause of my race was far greater than mine—it was as the burning sun to my taper light—mine was bounded by time, his stretched away to the boundless shores of eternity. I could live for the slave, but he could die for him.” Frederick Douglas (1881)

The Bleeding Kansas Civil War was the prelude to the American Civil War. In October of 1855, abolitionist John Brown and his compatriots led the charge against the territory’s pro-slavery elements. From then until his capture at Harper’s Ferry by U.S. Marines under the command of U.S. Army Colonel Robert E. Lee (1807 – 1870), he also participated in the so-called Underground Railroad.

As the recognized leader of the antebellum abolitionist movement, John’s life and martyrdom may well mark the beginning of the modern American civil rights movement. And he may well also be regarded as the father of American foreign wars of “conscience”, such as WWII and virtually all subsequent.

It’s interesting to note that U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (1822 – 1885) ‘s father, Jesse Root Grant, worked for a time for John’s father, Owen Brown. Owen was a Congregationalist during some period of his adulthood but appears to have left the church later in life. He was a highly self-righteous individual, much like his son was throughout most of his life. Well, John was clearly over the top by any standard of the self-righteous without a licensed business.

John’s abolitionist furor was likely stoked to a fever pitch by Abraham Lincoln‘s rhetorical victory (he later lost the Senatorial election in question) over incumbent U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas (1813 – 1861) during their 1858 series of debates that centered around the slavery issue. In any event, his raid on Harper’s Ferry was so brazen and reckless that it could only have been construed as an outright armed insurrection against the Federal government, which it was. Perhaps John was emboldened in seeing Abraham as a true kindred spirit who would one day rise in political power to lead the nation down the “righteous path”. And so it occurred a little over a year after his execution by hanging as a result of his high treason conviction.

Victor Hugo petitioned for John’s pardon by sending an open letter to the press. The following is the text of the letter that was published by the London News on the day of John’s execution.

“…Politically speaking, the murder of John Brown would be an uncorrectable sin. It would create in the Union a latent fissure that would in the long run dislocate it. Brown’s agony might perhaps consolidate slavery in Virginia, but it would certainly shake the whole American democracy. You save your shame, but you kill your glory. Morally speaking, it seems a part of the human light would put itself out, that the very notion of justice and injustice would hide in darkness, on that day when one would see the assassination of Emancipation by Liberty itself.

Let America know and ponder on this: there is something more frightening than Cain killing Abel, and that is Washington killing Spartacus…”

The lyrics of the patriotic American marching song entitled The Battle Hymn of the Republic were set to the melody of the popular John Brown’s Body folk song. Most Union soldiers, however, sang and marched in step with John Brown’s Body.

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Captain John Brown
Birth 9 MAY 1800 in Torrington, Litchfield, Connecticut
Death 2 DEC 1859 in Charles Town, Jefferson, West Virginia

Ancestry.com citation/Lineages

9th cousin 4x removed LOOMIS-SCOTT-HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS

11th cousin 4x removed SAYER SEARS-KNYVETT-BOURCHIER-HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS

18th cousin 3x removed MILLS-HIGLEY-BREWSTER-SMYTHE-CARRINGTON-HOLLAND-SIMMONS-COLLINS

18th cousin 4x removed MILLS-HUMPHREY-GRANT-GREY-HOLLAND-PLANTAGENET-FITZALAN-MOWBRAY-HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS

22nd cousin 5x removed LOOMIS-WHITE-WRIGHT-GREENE-LA ZOUCHE-ROHAN-LANDRY-BOURG-CYR-BRULE

husband of 9th cousin 5x removed LUSK-GOODRICH-FRANCIS-HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS

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