He Supressed A Slave Revolt In Only An Hour

The white abolitionist John Brown assisted fugitive slaves and attacked slave owners. In 1859, Brown made an effort to incite an armed slave uprising. He assaulted and took control of the American arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with the help of 21 other members of his group.

In less than an hour, a platoon of US Marines headed by Lee overcame him. John Brown became a martyr and a symbol for people who had the same ideals since he was subsequently hung for his crimes. In response to the death penalty, Ralph Waldo Emerson predicted that "[John Brown] will render the gallows magnificent like the Cross."

According to historian Stephen Oates, John Brown "was a trigger of the Civil War... he put fire to the spark that led to the blow up." It has been suggested that John Brown accomplished more for the abolitionist cause by his death and subsequent martyrdom than anything he did while alive.