ebooks Avenging Angel John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry 1859 by Ron Field in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A fire bell in the night...By HMS WarspiteJohn Brown's 1859 raid on the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry; Virginia; was meant to trigger an insurrection by African-American slaves. What it provoked instead was a violent response by Virginia and Maryland state militias; who trapped Brown and his men at the Armory; and the dispatch of a detachment of U.S. Marines from Washington; D.C. led by U.S. Army Colonel Robert E. Lee; who decisively ended the violent siege. Brown's raid and his subsequent trail for treason helped further polarize opinion; North and South; over the institution of slavery and its future. The Civil War was less than a year and a half away; historians would later describe Brown's raid as the fire bell in the night that announced the coming of the war."Avenging Angel" is a new Osprey Raid series publication. In it; author Ron Fields narrates anti-slavery advocate Brown's trail of agitation and violence across the sectional crisis of the United States in the middle of the 19th century. Preliminary sections identify John Brown and the crisis over slavery; leading to Brown's formulation of a plan to trigger a slave insurrection. The planning and execution of the raid are described in a fair amount of detail; along with the mistakes that brought down the wrath of local citizens; state governments; and the federal government. The concluding portions of the book describe the fates of Brown and his co-conspirators. The book includes a nice selection of photographs; illustrations; maps; and diagrams.John Brown's raid seems to rarely get more than a brief mention in Civil War histories; this book is an excellent introduction into the subject; and a glimpse into the passions the raid aroused in the country. Civil War buffs may notice the handful of future Civil War leaders who managed to be present during the action; highly recommended to the general reader.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Not a Wilded-eyed Zealot wandering in the wilderness!By RickI found this book very informative. While most Americans know something about John Brown Harpers Ferry most of what we have gleaned comes from the song or a 3 sentence blurb in our American History school book. This book helps flesh out the story and gives the reader a better understanding of the times and events. The bibliography provides us with more books to read if one wishes to delve further into the story. The book also fleshes out John Brown in better detail so that he no longer seems to be the wild eyed zealot that he is normally portrayed as. In addition; while many books seem to play up the actions of Robert E Lee and J E B Stuart; the raid was itself over before either appeared on the scene; though Stuart's role should not be under stated. As a final thought it is always interesting in reading books such as this to pick up tidbits that may explain future events. In this case to me it was the statement by a militia officer referring to the U. S. Marines from D.C. as mercenaries.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Harper's Ferry as a RaidBy James D. CrabtreeAn interesting treatment of the Harper's Ferry incident; one in which radical abolitionists; led by John Brown; tried to seize the weapons stored there and arm slaves in order to overthrow the "slavocracy" of the South. The book goes point by point through the raid; how it was planned; what the objectives were and how it went wrong. This was assisted by the use of maps which show key locations and important movements. As always with these books; it has original illustrations; period illustrations and photographs to help tell the story.The only two weaknesses I noted in the book was the minimal discussion of the Westport Raid; which Brown had previously mounted in Missouri to free slaves and convey them to Canada. Westport; and indeed his overall experiences in Kansas; helped to shape his plan for Harper's Ferry. Also; in the conclusions part of the book the author implied that the poor showing of militia led to a military renaissance in the South; which no doubt assisted them in the coming Civil War. My own readings don't support this; if anything motivated the South to militarize it was the Nat Turner rebellion. State forces absorbed the militias and improved them during the war.Still; a great look at the raid from a military point of view!