Minority Report of the Senate Committee Testimony Before the Committee
Mr. MASON submitted the
following REPORT The Select Committee of
the Senate appointed to inquire into the late invasion and seizure of
the
public property at Harper's Ferry, beg leave to submit their report: On the 14th of December,
1859, the resolutions annexed were adopted by the Senate of the "Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire into
the
facts attending the late invasion and seizure of the armory and arsenal
of the
United States at Harper's Ferry, in Virginia, by a band of armed men,
and
report “Whether the same was
attended by armed resistance to the authorities and public force of the
United
States, and by the murder of any of the citizens of Virginia, or of any
troops
sent there to protect the public property; "Whether such invasion and seizure was made under color of any organization intended to subvert the government of any of the States of the Union; what was the character and extent of such organization; and whether any citizens of the United States not present were implicated therein, or accessory thereto, by contributions of money, arms, munitions, or otherwise;
“What was the
character and extent of the military equipment in the hands or under
the control
of said armed band; and where and how and when the same was obtained
and
transported to the place so invaded. "That said
committee report whether any and what legislation may, in their
opinion, be
necessary on the part of the In conducting
this inquiry
the committee examined a number of witnesses, who were summoned before
them
from different States of the Upon the first subject of
inquiry to which their attention was directed by the resolutions, to
wit:
Whether "the invasion and seizure of the armory and the arsenal of the
United States at Harper's Ferry, in Virginia, by a band of armed men,
was
attended by armed resistance to the authorities and public force of the
United
States, and by the murder of any of the citizens of Virginia, or of any
troops sent
there to protect the public property." The committee find, from
the testimony, that this so-called invasion originated with a man named
John
Brown, who conducted it in person. It appears that Brown had been for
some
previous years involved in the late difficulties in the To carry these plans
into execution, it appears that,
in the winter of 1857-58, he collected a number of young men in the
Territory
of Kansas, most of whom afterwards appeared with him at Harper's Ferry,
and
placed them under military instruction at a place called Springdale, in
the
State of Iowa, their instructor being one of the party thus collected,
and who,
it was said, had some military training. These men were
maintained by Brown; and in the spring
of 1858 he took them with him to the town of In conducting the
inquiry, the committee deemed it a matter of importance to have the
testimony
of Forbes. It appeared, however, that not long after the explosion at
Harper's
Ferry, Forbes left the country, and the committee were not able to
procure his
attendance before them. As to the attack
itself at Harper's Ferry, the committee find that Brown first appeared
in that neighborhood
early in July, 1859. He came there under the assumed name of Isaac
Smith,
attended by two of his sons and a son-in-law. He gave out in the
neighborhood
that he was a farmer from New York, who desired to rent or purchase
land in
that vicinity, with a view to agricultural pursuits, and soon
afterwards
rented a small farm on the Maryland side of the river, and some four or
five
miles from Harper's Ferry, having on it convenient houses, and began
farming
operations in a very small way. He had little or no intercourse with
the people
of the country; and when questioned through the curiosity of his
neighbors,
stated further that he was accustomed to mining operations, and
expected to
find deposits of metal in the adjacent mountains. He lived in an
obscure
manner, and attracted but little attention, and certainly no suspicion
whatever
as to his ulterior objects. Whilst there, he kept some two or three of
his
party, under assumed names, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, who there
received,
and from time to time forwarded to him, the arms of different kinds of
which he
was subsequently found in possession. Cook, one of his men spoken of
above, it
appears, hl1d resided at Harper's Ferry and its neighborhood for some
twelve
months before Brown appeared, pursuing various occupations. He left the
Ferry a
few days before the attack was made, and joined Brown at his country
place. The
whole numbers assembled with Brown at the time of the invasion were
twenty-one
men, making with him in all twenty-two. On Sunday night, the
16th of October, 1859, between 11 and 12 o'clock at night, Brown,
attended by probably
eighteen of his company, crossed the bridge connecting the The invasion thus silently
commenced, was as silently conducted, none of the inhabitants having
been
aroused. Armed parties were then stationed at corners of the streets.
Their
next movement was to take possession, by detached parties of three or
four, of
the arsenal of the United States, where the public arms were chiefly
deposited,
a building' not fiH from the engine-house; and by another party, of the
workshops and other buildings of the armory, about half a mile off, on
the
Shenandoah river, called" Hall's rifle works." These dispositions
made, an armed party was sent into the adjoining country, with a view
to the
seizure of two or three of the principal inhabitants, with such of
their slaves
as might be found, and to bring them to Harper's Ferry (in the language
of
Brown) as "hostages;" Cook, who had become well acquainted with the
country around Harper's Ferry, acting as their guide. They thus seized
Colonel
Lewis W. 'Washington, with several of his slaves, (negro men» at
his residence,
some five or six miles distant; and in like manner a gentleman named
Allstadt,
who lived near the road leading from Colonel Washington's to the Ferry,
two or
three miles distant from the latter, with some five or six of his
slaves, (also
negro men.) They-brought off also from Colonel Wa8hington's such
arms as they
found in his house, with a wagon and four horses, for subsequent use,
as will
be shown. This party with their prisoners arrived at the Ferry a little
before
day, and the latter were carried at once to the room adjoining the
engine-house, where they were kept in custody.
Having thus far
apparently perfected his plans, a party was sent, taking Washington's
wagon and
horses, and five or six of the captured slaves, into Maryland to bring
the arms
deposited at Brown's house there to a point nearer the Ferry and more
accessible. On their way, they seized a gentleman named Byrne, who
lived in The first alarm that was
given, indicating the presence of the hostile party, appears to have
been on
the arrival there of the mail train of cars on the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad,
on its way from Wheeling to Baltimore, and which arrived at Harper's
Ferry at
its usual hour, about half past one o'clock in the morning. On the
arrival of
Brown's party, he had stationed two men, well armed, on the bridge,
with
directions to permit none to pass. This bridge is a viaduct for the
railroad to
cross the river, having connected with it a bridge for ordinary travel.
When
the train arrived, it was arrested by this guard, and very soon
afterwards a Negro
named When daylight came, as
the inhabitants left their houses, consisting chiefly of workmen and
others
employed in the public works, on their way to their usual occupations,
and
unconscious of what had occurred during the night, they were seized in
the
streets by Brown's men and carried as prisoners to the engine-house,
until,
with those previously there, they amounted to some thirty or forty in
number.
Pikes were put in the hands of such of the slaves as they had taken,
and they
were kept under the eyes of their captors, as sentinels, near the
buildings
they occupied. But their movements being conducted at night, it was not
until
the morning was well advanced that the presence and character of the
party was
generally known in the village. The nearest towns to
Harper's Ferry were During the day it
appears that all of Brown's party, who were not with him in the
engine-house,
were either killed or captured, except those who were on the The party immediately under
Brown remained barricaded in the engine-house during the whole of that
day,
(Monday.) They had confined with them ten most respectable and valuable
citizens, kept, as stated by Brown, in the nature of "hostages," for
the security of his own party, he assuming that a regard for the safety
of
the" hostages" would deter their friends and neighbors from
attempting their rescue by force. During the day an
irregular fire was kept up against the engine house by the people who
assembled, and which was returned by the party within through
loop-holes made
in the wall, or through the doorway, partially opened. In this manner two of
Brown's party were killed at the doorway; and in the afternoon a
gentleman of
the village, Mr. Beckham, was killed by a shot from the engine-house.
It was
clearly shown that he was entirely unarmed, and had exposed his person
only for
an instant on the railroad bridge opposite to the house. To conclude this
narrative, it appears that as soon as intelligence could be conveyed to
The official report of
Colonel Lee, found in the appendix to this report, will show in what
manner the
affair was ended by the capture of Brown and his remaining party, and
the
rescue in safety of those he detained as prisoners. Colonel Lee, it will
be seen, found it necessary to carry the house by storm, the party
within
refusing to surrender except on terms properly held inadmissible. In
this
affair one marine was killed, and another slightly wounded. Such, it is believed,
are succinctly the facts attending this great outrage; and the
committee find
in response to so much of the resolutions of the Senate, that the
armory and
other public works of the United States were in the possession and
under the
control of this hostile party more than thirty hours; that besides the
resistance offered by them to the military force of Virginia, they
resisted by
force the lawful authority of the United States sent there to
dispossess them,
killing one, and wounding another of the troops of the United States,
and as
shown that, before they were thus overpowered. they killed in the
streets three
of the citizens of Virginia who were alone and not even in military
array,
beside the negro who was killed by them on their first arrival. It does not appear that any
of the public property was stolen or carried away, although a large sum
of
money was in the paymaster's office near to the engine-house, and
doubless
would have been seized had they known where it was. There was nothing
to
protect it but the ordinary safety of an iron door. In answer to the
inquiry contained in the third resolution of the series, "Whether such
invasion and seizure was 'made under color of any organization,
intended to
subvert the government of any of the States of the Union, what was the
character
and extent of such organization-, and whether any citizens of the
United States,
not present, were implicated therein, or accessory thereto, by
contributions of
money, arms, munitions, or otherwise," the committee report: There will be found in
the Appendix, a copy of the proceedings of a convention held at
Chatham, in
Canada, before referred to, of the provisional form of government
there
pretended to have been instituted, the object of which clearly was to
subvert
the government of one or more of the States, and of course to that
extent the
government of the United States. The character of the military
organization is
shown by the commissions issl1ed to certain of the armed party as
captains,
lieutenants, &c., a specimen of which will be found in the
Appendix. It
clearly appeared that the scheme of Brown was taking with him
comparatively but
few men, but those had been carefully trained by military instruction
previously, and were to act as officers. For his military force he
relied, very
clearly, on inciting insurrection amongst the slaves, who he supposed
would
flock to him as soon as it became known that he had entered the State
and had
been able to retain his position-an expectation to no extent realized,
though
it was owing alone to the loyalty and well-affected disposition of the
slaves
that he did not succeed in inciting a servile war, with its necessary
attendants of rapine and murder of all sexes, ages, and conditions. It
is very
certain from the proofs before the committee, that not one of the
captured
slaves, although arms were placed in their hands, attempted to use
them; but on
the contrary, as soon as their safety would admit, in the absence of
their
captors, their arms were thrown away and they hastened back to their
homes. It is shown that Brown
brought with him for this expedition arms sufficient to have placed an
effective
weapon in the hands of not less than 1,500 men; besides which, had be
succeeded
in obtaining the aid he looked to from the slaves, he had entirely
under his
control all the arms of the United States deposited in the arsenal at
Harper's
Ferry. After his capture, beside the arms he brought in the wagon to
the Ferry,
there were found on the Maryland side, where he had left them, 200
Sharp's
rifled carbines, and 200 revolver pistols, packed in the boxes of the
manufacturers, with 900 or 1,000 pikes, carefully and strongly made,
the blade
of steel being securely riveted to a handle about five feet in length;
many
thousand percussion caps in boxes, and ample stores of fixed
ammunition,
besides a large supply of powder in kegs, and a chest that contained
hospital
and other military stores, beside a quantity of extra clothing for
troops. For an answer to the
inquiry,
how far" any citizens of the United States, not present, were
implicated
therein or accessory thereto by contributions of money, arms,
munitions, or
otherwise," the committee deem it best to refer to the evidence which
accompanies this report. It does not appear that such contributions
were made
with actual knowledge of the use for which they were designed by Brown,
although it does appear that money was freely contributed by those
styling themselves
friends of this man Brown, and friends alike of what they styled "the
cause of freedom, " (of which they claimed him to be an especial
apostle,)
without inquiry as to the way in which the money would be used by him
to
advance such pretended cause. The evidence fully shows that he had the
pikes
manufactured in The history of the rifles and
pistols is most interesting
to this inquiry. It appears from the evidence that, in 1856, these 200
Sharp's carbines
had been forwarded by an association in Massachusetts called the" Massachusetts
State Kansas Committee," at first to Chicago, on their way to
Kansas.
At At page 245 of the
testimony, a full account of this application
for the arms will be found, as given by H. B. Hurd, who was the
secretary of
the association. He states that, "When Mr. Brown was pressing his claim
for the aid desired, I asked him this question: 'If you get the arms
and money
you desire, will you invade How and why these
arms (the two hundred Sharp's
rifles) were originally purchased by this Massachusetts State Kansas
Committee,
will appear from the testimony of George L. Stearns, who was its
president or
chairman, at page 22'7 of the testimony. It is shown by Hurd that,
after the
national committee, for the reason stated, had refused to entrust them
to
Brown, on his application, they" were voted back," as Hurd calls it,
to the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee; and, on page 229 of the
testimony,
will be found a letter from Stearns to Brown, dated at Boston, on the
8th of
January, 185'7, advising him that he was directed by his committee to
send him
an order on Edward Clark, of Lawrence, in Kansas Territory, for the two
hundred
rifles, "with four thousand ball cartridges, thirty-one military
caps," (afterwards corrected as thirty-one thousand percussion caps,)
which he states were then stored at Tabor, in Iowa, with directions to
hold the
same as agent of the society, subject to their order, and, at the same
time,
authorizing him to draw on their treasurer, at Boston, for a sum of
money not
to exceed five hundred dollars. At page 228 of the testimony will be
found the
following question, put to Stearns, with his answer: "Question. Was it at Brown's request
that you put him in possession of these arms in January, 1857? "Answer. No, sir; but because we
needed an agent to secure them," &c. And again, at page 230, he
was asked: "Did I understand you to say that this was voluntarily
proffered to him, and not at his request?" (Meaning the arms) The committee are not
disposed to draw harsh, or
perhaps uncharitable conclusions; yet they cannot fail to remark that
these
arms, which had been refused to Brown by the national committee, for
the very,
satisfactory reason that he gave evasive answers to their inquiry how
they were
to be used, were proffered to him, and without request on his part, by
the
Massachusetts committee; and this proffer is found attended by the
fact, not a
little to be remarked, that contemporaneous with it-that is to say, in
January,
185'7-this Mr. Stearns gave authority to Brown to purchase from the
Massachusetts
Arms Company two hundred revolver pistols, which Stearns alleges
he paid for out
of his own funds, (page 22'7 of the testimony,) giving to Brown at the
same time
authority to draw on him at sight for $'7,000, "in sums as it might be
wanted, for the subsistence of one hundred men, provided that it should
be
necessary at any time to call that number into the field for active
service in
the defense of Kansas, in 1857." Considering the
comparative tranquil condition of
Kansas at the period referred to it is not easy to reconcile this act
of
the" Massachusetts State Kansas Committee" and its chairman with a
reasonable regard to the peace of the country, or the lives of their
fellow-citizens. These arms, however, with the two hundred rifles, were
left
from that time in Brown's possession, although as stated by the witness
St0arns, at page 228 of the testimony, "the exigency contemplated did
not
occur," and therefore no part of the $7,000 was drawn by Brown. At what time Brown
procured the pistols, or transported them to the West, appears only
from the
testimony of Stearns, who says he paid for them, and the freight on
them to
Iowa, on production to him of the railroad receipt afterwards, in 1858,
but it
does appear that they were sent along with the Sharp's rifles from Ohio
to him,
in the neighborhood of Harper's Ferry. In 1858, Brown it appears
told Stearns
that both the rifles and the pistols were then" stored in The testimony of the
witnesses, Hurd and Stearns, would show that the arms refused to Brown
by the
national committee, had been afterwards voted to him by
the Massachusetts
committee-reference to Hurd's statement (page 250) and to the order
given by
Stearns to Brown (page 234) for the arms, would from their dates seem
to contradict
this, but only as to the order of time. The facts interesting to this
inquiry
are only, were the arms placed under control of Brown; by whom; and
when? and
this is clearly shown. It. is shown fully,
from the testimony, that, although Brown when he first went to Kansa's
was
accompanied by two of his sons; with their families, yet that he never
removed
his family from ,New York, and that he subsequently freely and fully
avowed
that he never had an idea of settling in Kansas, but was attracted to
remain
there only in the hope that by keeping alive the irritation and excited
feeling
of the settlers on the subject of slavery, and stimulating and
accustoming them
to war and bloodshed, he would be enabled in some way to lead them
across the
borders to incite a servil6 war in Missouri, from whence he might be
able to
extend it to other slaveholding States. Ultimately disappointed in
this, and so
early as the fall of 1857, he seems to have conceived the plan of a
distinct
invasion of one of the slaveholding States, under the organization and
in the
manner in which it was afterwards carried into execution in The testimony shows
generally how these contributions were made occasionally in large sums
paid
directly to Brown, but more usually by collections made in the villages
and
towns throughout the country by itinerant lecturers; these lectures
appear to
have been patronized by the principal men in the States where they were
delivered. Their topics were. various, but all directed in some manner
to what
was called" the general cause of freedom;" sometimes for the creation
of a fund to aid fugitive slaves in their escape; at other times with
no
definite character ascribed to them, except that the funds collected
were to be
used in promoting human freedom; and at other times, as would seem, for
the
personal expenses or to reimburse supposed losses of Brown. See the
evidence of
J. R. Giddings, pages 150, 151, and 152, of the testimony. He was a
lecturer
through the Northwestern States, one class of his lectures devoted, as
he
states, to "an exposition of the doctrines of the higher law," and
which he expounds, at page 151 of the testimony, thus: "What I mean by
the higher law is that power which for the last two centuries has. been
proclaimed by the philosophers and jurists and statesmen of Germany,
Europe,
and the United States, called, in other words, the law of nature; by
which we
suppose that God, in giving man his existence, gave him the right to
exist; the
right to breathe vital air; the right to enjoy the light of the sun; to
drink
the waters of the earth; to unfold his moral nature; to learn the laws
that
control his moral and physical being; to bring himself into harmony
with those
laws, and enjoy that happiness which is consequent on such obedience.” To the question,
"In your lectures, was the theory of that law applied to the condition
of
African slavery in the "Unquestionably,
to al1. Wherever a human soul exists, that law applies. I mean by the
term' soul,' that immortal principle in man that exists
hereafter, which
is called the
human soul; and wherever such soul exists there is the right to live;
the right
to attain knowledge; the right to sustain life, obey the laws of
his Creator,
and enjoy heaven or happiness. "Question. Was
that theory or doctrine of a higher law, in your lectures, applied
specially to
the condition of African slavery in this country? Answer. To all human beings, wherever they
are." And further, he states: "I will say that the meanest slave who treads
the
footstool of God holds from his Creator the same right to live and
attain
knowledge
and to liberty that
you and I possess." And in answer to a further question, he
states: "The views given
in my lectures go to this extent, that whenever, without going into any
other
State, we have the opportunity to sustain the right of a fellow-being,
it is
our duty to do it. I have never felt myself called upon to advocate nor
to
encourage the entering into other States to speak thus to slaves; but
wherever,
in my own State, where I can do it without violation of law, or
enactments
erroneously called law, I uniformly arm the slave; I uniformly
tell him
to defend his life and his liberty; I uniformly teach him his rights,
so far as
I can." As a further
exposition of the views entertained by those devotees to the so-styled
"cause of freedom," the committee refers to the evidence of George
L. Stearns, at page 240. This gentleman, although not a lecturer, was,
as shown
by his testimony, one of the most active and successful workers in
that"
cause." For his views as to the legitimate use of money contributed to
this" cause," see page 242, where he states: "From first to last, I understood John ]3rown
to
be a man who was opposed to slavery, and, as such, that he would take
every
opportunity to free slaves where he could; I did not know in what way;
I only
knew that from the fact of his having done it in Missouri in the
instance
referred to; I furnished him with money because I considered him as one
who
would be of use in case such troubles arose as had arisen previously in
Kansas;
that was my object in furnishing the money; I did not ask him what he
was to do
with it, nor did I suppose he would do anything that I should
disapprove." To the question" Do you disapprove of such a
transaction as that at Harper's Ferry," he answered: "I should have
disapproved of it if I had known of it; but I have since changed my
opinion; I
believe John Brown to be the representative man of this century,
as Washington
was of the last-the Harper's Ferry affair, and the capacity shown
by the
Italians for self government, the great events of this age. One will
free
Europe, and the other And so in the testimony of Samuel G. Howe, a
physician
of “I contributed to his aid at various times. "Question: His aid in what way? "Answer: In the same way that I
contributed to the aid of other anti-slavery men; men who give up their
occupations, their industry, to write papers or to deliver lectures, or
otherwise to propagate antislavery sentiments. I give as much
money every year
as I can possibly afford. I am in the habit of contributing in that
way." And at page 167: Of these three witnesses,
one, Giddings, represented a district in the House of Representatives
from It has been already
stated in this report that Brown, learning, during or just after the
adjournment
of the convention at "Within a day or
two following the convention at Chatham, John Brown said to me that he
had
received a copy of a letter written by Senator Henry Wilson, of
Massachusetts,
from Washington city, to Dr. Howe, of Boston," &c. And, on page 101 he
continues: "On the occasion of which I have just spoken,
at
Chatham, Brown said to me that Colonel Forbes, maddened by the
non-receipt of
moneys which he had expected to receive, had threatened to divulge
Brown's
plans, and had done so by coming to Washington and stating to Senator
Henry
Wilson, of Massachusetts, that Brown had a purpose in view of effecting
an
insurrection in the Southern States." The committee at
once apprized the Hon. Henry Wilson,
senator of the United States from Massachusetts, of' the testimony of
this
witness, and invited him to attend the committee, as well to put any
questions
he might think proper to the witness, as to give his own testimony, if
any he
had, in relation to this matter, The testimony of Mr. Wilson will be
found
commencing at page 140. It shows that the communication made to him by
Forbes
induced him to write a letter at once to Dr. Howe, at "I wrote to him
for the purpose of saying it was rumored that some of the arms that had
been
contributed by gentlemen in the East for the defense of Kansas had
passed into
the hands of John Brown, and were held somewhere in his hands, and that
they
ought to get them out of his hands and put them in the hands of some
reliable
man in Kansas who would use them only for the purposes of defense, for
which
they were contributed; that if these arms should be used for any
illegal
purpose, they would involve the men who contributed for the other
purpose in
difficulties. That was the substance of the letter; that if they should
be used
for any illegal purpose whatever, they would be involved in difficulty,
and they
should get them out of his hands at once. " Mr. Wilson continued: "I received a letter, three or four days
after I
wrote mine, from Dr. Howe, to this effect: that they had sent to Brown
to
deliver the arms into the hands of somebody in Kansas; at any rate,
they had
sent to him to take the arms into Kansas, or deliver them up in some
way;
and" I supposed at the time the arms were those referred to as being in
Iowa, which were sent out there and stationed on the way. I received
this
letter a day or two after I wrote. That was the substance of it. The
whole
matter, I supposed then, was a quarrel between Brown and Forbes, and I
paid but
little attention to it; and never, until the outbreak took place,
dreamed or
heard from any quarter whatever anything in regard to it. I heard
nothing from
Forbes or Brown or any other source." At page 158, in the testimony of Dr. Howe, he
says, in
answer to a question: "In the year 1858 I
received a communication from a Mr. Forbes, then in This letter, it seems,
however, was not written by Dr. Howe himself, but by the chairman of
the"
Massachusetts Aid Committee." When asked the question, "Who was the
chairman who wrote the letter you refer to?" he answered, "I should
prefer' not to answer that question," adding, "I am here to answer
all I have done myself, freely and frankly, but I would respectfully
ask to be
excused from answering any questions touching the actions of anybody
else. I
can only answer for my view as one of the committee." He subsequently
added, however, "Perhaps I am over sensitive about it, and
inasmuch as
the gentleman's name is perfectly well known as chairman of the
committee, and
is in print, I give it Mr. George L. Stearns. At page 160, this
witness also stated that about the same time with the letter from
Forbes he
received one from Mr. Wilson of the Senate; that he preserved a copy of
Mr.
''''Wilson’s letter" until recently, when, in the general destruction
of
my [his] papers of no consequence, at the beginning of the year, I
destroyed it
among others, but I have a distinct recollection of its contents "Question, "'Till you state the contents? This witness having promised, on his return
to Boston,
to make search for all documents connected with this subject which could be found, replied by letter to the
chairman, which will be found at page 112, and in which he states that
the
letter from Mr. Wilson could not be found. He sent, however, copies of
two
letters to Mr. Wilson, dated respectively on the 12th and 15th of May,
1858,
which will be found at page 176. The latter is brief, and in the
following
words: "DEAR SIR: When I last
wrote to you, I was not aware fully of the true state of the case with
regard
to certain arms belonging to the late And on page 177 will be
found
two letters of George L. Stearns, as chairman of the Massachusetts
State Kansas
Committee, dated the 14th and 15th of May, 1858, referred to by Dr.
Howe as the
measures taken by the committee to divest Brown of these arms. Howe's
letter to
Wilson of the 15th of May, cited above, shows very clearly that he was
then
strongly impressed with the necessity of arresting certain measures
projected
by Brown, whatever they were, and of which it would appear, at the date
of his
previous letter to Mr. Wilson, he had not been fully aware, but which
he then
characterizes as "a monstrous perversion of a trust" in "the
application of means raised for the defense of Kansas, to a purpose
which the
subscribers of the fund would disapprove and vehemently condemn."
Stearns,
however, as shown by his letters to Brown, in executing the orders of
the committee
to prevent the misuse of the arms by Brown, contented himself with
reminding
Brown that those arms were" to be used for the defense of Kansas,"
and warns him only" not to use them for any other purpose," but to
hold them subject to his order as chairman; adding that a member of the
committee would go to Chatham to confer with Brown as to the best mode
of
disposing of them. The following day, the 15th of May, he again wrote
to Brown,
telling him that he could find no member of the committee who could
spare the
time to go to The committee cannot but
remark on the feeble, and, as
it resulted, the abortive effort of the chairman of the Massachusetts
committee
to prevent a murderous use of these arms by Brown; certainly in
striking contrast
with the assurance given by Dr. Howe to Mr. Wilson, that prompt
measures had
been taken, and would be resolutely followed, to prevent such a "
monstrous perversion of the trust" connected with them. But a perusal
of
the testimony at large of Mr. Stearns may show that he had 'at best but
vague
and undefined opinions as to what would be a perversion of the trust
spoken of
by Dr. Howe. The history of the large
armament collected by Brown at
Harper's Ferry is thus clearly traced. The rifled carbines,
manufactured in Connecticut,
intended, as would appear, to be original1y used in intestine strife in
Kansas,
and sent there for that purpose, were voluntarily, by the Massachusetts
Kansas Committee,
through its chairman, placed in the hands of Brown, with vague and
inexplicit
instructions as to their use, about the time when it would appear that
he
finally conceived the purpose of exciting servile war in some of the
slaveholding
States. They were allowed to remain in his possession, notwithstanding
his
failure or refusal to give them up after that committee and its
chairman had
been warned of his purpose to put them to some use not warranted by
those who
owned them. The revolver pistols, as shown by the testimony of Stearns)
chairman
of that committee, was a volunteer gift from him to Brown, at about the
same
time the carbines were handed over to him, and whether thus beyond his
control
or not, were not recalled from his possession. The expedition, so
atrocious in its
character, would have been arrested, had even ordinary care been taken
on the
part of the The facts exposed in this
part of the testimony speak for themselves. It will be remembered that
the
period referred to, when Mr. Wilson communicated his suspicions to Dr.
Howe,
and through him to the chairman of the Massachusetts committee) was so
late as
May, 1858. Order had then been restored in Upon the whole testimony,
there can be no doubt that Brown's plan was to commence a servile war
on the
borders of Virginia, which he expected to extend, and which he believed
his
means and resources were sufficient to extend through that State and
throughout
the entire South. Upon being questioned, soon after his capture, by the
Governor of Virginia, as to his plans, he rather indignantly repelled
the idea
that it was to be limited to collecting and protecting the slaves until
they
could be sent out of the State as fugitives. On the contrary, he
vehemently
insisted that his purpose was to retain them on the soil, to put arms
in their
hands, with which he came provided for the purpose, and to use them as
his
soldiery. (Pages 61, 62) This man (Brown) was
uniformly spoken of, by those who seemed best to have known him, as of
remarkable reticence in his habits, or, as they expressed it,
"secretive.
" It does not appear that he entrusted even his immediate followers
with
his plans, fully, even after they were ripe for execution. Nor have the
committee been enabled clearly to trace knowledge of them to any. The
only
exception would seem to be in the instance of the anonymous letter
received by
the Secretary of War in the summer preceding the attack, referred to in
his
testimony. The Secretary shows that he could get no clue to the writer;
nor
were the committee enabled in any way to trace him. Considering that
the letter
was anonymous, as well as vague and apparently incoherent in its
statements, it
was not at all remarkable, in the opinion of the committee, that it did
not
arrest the attention of the officer to whom it was addressed. The point chosen for the
attack seems to have been selected from the two-fold inducement of the
security
afforded the invaders by a mountain country, and the large deposit of
arms in
the arsenal of the Of the list of "insurgents" given in Colonel
Lee's report, (fourteen whites and five negroes,) Brown, Stevens, and
Coppic,
of the whites, with Shields Green and Copeland, of the negroes,
captured at the
storming of the engine-house, were subsequently executed in Virginia,
after
judicial trial; as were also John E. Cook and Albert Hazlett? who at
first
escaped, but were captured in The committee, after
much consideration, is not
prepared to suggest any legislation, which, in their opinion, would be
adequate
to prevent like occurrences in the future. The only provisions in the
Constitution
of the United States which would seem to import any authority in the
government
of the United States to interfere on occasions affecting the peace or
safety of
the States, are found in the eighth section of the first article,
amongst the
powers of Congress, "to provide for calling for the militia to execute
the
laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;" and in
the fourth section of the fourth article, in the following words: "The
United States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a republican
form of
government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and, on
the
application of the legislature or of the executive, (when the
legislature
cannot be convened,) against domestic violence." The "invasion"
here spoken of would seem to import an invasion by the public force of
a
foreign power, or (if not so limited and equally referable to an
invasion by
one State of another) still it would seem that public force, or force
exercised
under the sanction of acknowledged political power, is there meant. The
invasion (to call it so) by Brown and his followers at Harper's Ferry,
was in
no sense of that character. It was simply the act of lawless ruffians,
under the
sanction of no public or political authority-distinguishable only from
ordinary
felonies by the ulterior ends in contemplation by them, and by the fact
that
the money to maintain the expedition, and the large armament they
brought with
them, had been contributed and furnished by the citizens of other
States of the
Union, under circumstances that must continue to jeopard the safety and
peace
of the Southern States, and against which Congress has no power to
legislate. If the several
States, whether from motives of policy
or a desire to preserve the peace of the Union, if not from fraternal
feeling,
do not hold it incumbent on them, after the experience of the country,
to guard
in future by appropriate legislation against occurrences similar to the
one here
inquired into, the committee can find no guarantee elsewhere for the
security
of peace between the States of the Union. So far, however, as the
safety of the public property is involved, the committee would
earnestly
recommend that provision should be made by the executive, or, if
necessary, by
law, to keep under adequate military guard the public armories and
arsenals of
the United States, in some way after the manner now practiced at the
navy-yards
and forts. Before closing their
report, the committee deem it
proper to state' that four persons summoned as witnesses, to wit: John
Brown,
jr., of Ohio, James Redpath of Massachusetts, Frank B. Sanborn, of
Massachusetts,
and Thaddeus Hyatt, of New York, failing or refusing to appear before
the
committee, warrants were issued by order of the, Senate for their
arrest. Of
these, Thaddeus Hyatt only was arrested; and on his appearance before
the
Senate, still refusing obedience to the' summons of the committee, he
was by
order of the Senate committed to the jail of the And the committee asks to be discharged
from the further consideration of the subject. J. M. MASON, |