By Richard Smith, who came to Concord in 1998 because of his love for the Concord Authors and Concord history. He can usually be seen around Concord doing Living History as Henry Thoreau, especially at Walden Pond. He is married and his wife, Beth, is also an historian in Concord.
 In the decades before the Civil War a dedicated band of
abolitionists made Concord their home. While not everyone in Concord was
against slavery, the Concordians who did consider themselves abolitionists
were deeply committed to their cause. The Emerson, Thoreau and Alcott
families were all involved, yet some not so famous Concordians -- among them Mary Merrick
Brooks and "Squire" Sam Hoar -- dedicated their lives to the anti-slavery
movement.
The Underground Railroad went through Concord and several families,
including the Alcotts, hid runaway slaves in their homes. The Concord
Women's Anti-Slavery Society was an important force in New England.
Abolitionist leaders such as Wendell Phillips visited Concord frequently -- so
much so that by the 1850's the town was well known for its abolitionist
tendencies. Petition drives, anti-slavery fairs and boycotts of Southern
goods were all common occurrences in Concord.
And in 1857 John Brown came to town.
 
Murder in Kansas
Brown (photo above right) was a devout -- some said fanatical -- abolitionist. Born in
Connecticut in 1800, he had lived in Ohio and New York but in the
mid-1850's he and his family emigrated to the Kansas territory. Once there,
he and his sons got involved in the debate over the issue of Kansas entering
the Union and whether it would come in as a "Slave" state or "Free" state.
The issue turned bloody as pro-slavery "Ruffians" and anti-slavery "Free
State Men" poured into Kansas in order to force the issue one way or the
other with the use of guerilla tactics. Warfare erupted and a state of
civil war soon existed in the territory.
The Browns threw themselves into the fray with a vengeance! John
Brown was intent on wiping slavery from the face of the Earth and saw
himself as God's avenging Angel of Death. He believed that he was involved
in a Holy War against slavery.
In May 1856, Brown and his followers murdered five pro-slavery
settlers in cold blood near Pottawatomie Creek. The victims were mutilated,
some were beheaded, and the attack became known as the Pottawatomie
Massacre, a particularly horrific event even by "Bleeding Kansas"
standards! But John Brown believed that he was doing God's work and that he
had God on his side. What he didn't have was an unlimited supply of weapons
and money.
John Brown Supported in Concord
Brown came east in January 1857 to raise money so that his Holy War
could continue. He found willing supporters in Massachusetts, among them
Theodore Parker, a Unitarian minister and close friend of Ralph Waldo
Emerson, and Frank Sanborn (photo below right), a Concord schoolmaster. Brown lectured around
Boston; his audiences were keen on hearing about the events in Kansas. Brown
prudently omitted any mention of the Pottawatomie affair -- very few
abolitionists, even rabid ones, would have condoned Brown's actions.
In March, Brown visited Concord as a guest of Sanborn, and it was
then that he met 39 year-old Henry Thoreau who quickly became one
of Brown's most avid admirers. As Brown dined at the Thoreau boarding house,
he shared stories of his life and offered his views on slavery. He found the
entire Thoreau family to be a sympathetic audience and Henry himself saw
Brown as a true reformer, a man who practiced what he preached!
During the visit, Brown gave his anti-slavery lecture at the Concord Town
Hall. One hundred people attended, including Thoreau and Ralph Waldo
Emerson, who, like Henry, was impressed with Brown's zeal. Brown ended his
talk with a plea for funding and many in the audience contributed. Emerson
donated $25 and Thoreau himself "submitted a trifle". The next day Brown
returned to Kansas to continue his war.
He returned to Concord two years later. With long, white hair and a
flowing, white beard Brown now appeared very Biblical and Prophet-like,
which is just how he saw himself! As before, he was in Concord to solicit
funds and was a guest of Frank Sanborn, now an ardent disciple of Brown's who now also saw abolition as a Holy War.
Concord's Connection to "The Secret Six"
 Unknown to all but a very few, Sanborn was involved with a small
group of militant abolitionists dedicated to raising money and guns for
Brown. Known today as the "Secret Six," the group also counted among its
members Theodore Parker and George Luther Stearns. The "Secret Six" planned
to arm Brown so that he could take his holy war directly to the South. Tired
of peaceful abolitionism which don't seem to work, they felt the time was
right for more direct action in order to bring slavery to an end.
Sanborn's Concord friends Emerson, Thoreau and Alcott, were unaware
of his involvement with the Six. Also unknown were Brown's plans to stage a
raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia -- the very heart of slavery -- and attack the
Federal arsenal there. He planned to seize weapons and then use them to arm
slaves, hoping this would lead to a general slave insurrection and,
ultimately, the end of slavery.
As he did on his first visit Brown lectured at Concord's Town Hall, this time
on May 8, 1859, the day before his 59th birthday. Thoreau, Emerson and
Bronson Alcott were naturally in attendance, and like his friends, Alcott
was impressed with Brown. He saw nobility and passion in the man and his
cause and thought Brown "the manliest of men".
On this visit Brown raised $2000, money he put to good use five
months later. On October 16, 1859, he and a band of 21 men attacked Harpers
Ferry. The raiders were quickly discovered and outnumbered by local
townsfolk and barricaded themselves in a fire-house. The raid came to a
quick and bloody end when U.S. Marines arrived on the scene and stormed the
fire-house, killing ten of Brown's men. Five of the raiders escaped but
seven were captured, including a severely wounded John Brown. His dreams of
ending slavery were over.
Concord's Reaction to the Raid at Harper's Ferry
Brown would be tried for treason and for inciting a slave riot. He
was found guilty and was hanged on December 2, 1859. He would not be
forgotten by his Concord friends. At a memorial service for Brown, Henry
Thoreau said that Brown had "a spark of divinity in him" and that he was "a
transcendentalist above all." Bronson Alcott wrote that Brown was "worthy of
the glories of the cross." While most of the nation saw Brown as a fanatic,
the abolitionists of Concord saw him as a saint.
Of course, not everyone in Concord agreed with Thoreau and his friends. When Henry spoke out in Brown's defense on October 30th, a friend of Thoreau's, Minott Pratt, wrote that Henry was "a little extravagant in [his] eulogy of Capt. Brown." Edward Emerson mentioned in his journal that many Concordians came to Thoreau's "Plea for Captain John Brown" in order "to scoff".
At the memorial service for Brown on December 2, it should be noted that while Thoreau, Sanborn and Alcott were paying a glowing tribute to Brown inside First Parish, outside the church a crowd of their neighbors hanged and burned Brown in effigy. Like the nation, Concord itself was torn apart over Brown and his raid.
In the end, it was Thoreau's words that would be remembered. Speaking for many, he said, "No man in America has ever stood up so persistently and effectively for the dignity of human nature." John Brown was, he continued "the most American of us all."
Photos: Courtesy of Ameribilia and The Significance of Being Frank
Artwork: http://www.classic.themes.btinternet.co.uk
ConcordMA.com Subscribe
Table of contents
Search
Back issues
Contact us
 Previous page
Next page
|
