John Brown's Raid

John Brown was born in Torrington, Connecticut, in 1800, into a deeply religious family. His father opposed slavery, then when he was five his family moved to northern Ohio to a place that would become known for its antislavery views. In his 50 years, Brown moved about the country, settling in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, and taking along his growing family everywhere with him. John Brown would father 20 children. He worked at various times as a farmer, wool merchant, tanner, and land speculator. He was never financially stable and ended up filing for bankruptcy in his forties. He kept supporting the places he wanted to support. He helped finance the publication of David Walker's Appeal and Henry Highland's "Call to Rebellion" speech. John Brown gave land to fugitive slaves. Since, he did that he and his wife decided to raise black youth as one their own.  He also participated in the Underground Railroad and, in 1851, helped establish the League of Gileadites, an organization that worked to protect escaped slaves from slave catchers. On October 16, 1859, he led 21 men on a raid of the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. He planned to arm slaves with the weapons he and his men seized from the arsenal. Their plan was thwarted, however, by local farmers, militiamen, and Marines led by Robert E. Lee. Within 36 hours of the attack, most of Brown's men had been killed or captured.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html