Harpers Ferry Incident- October 16th, 1859

On October 16^th, 1859 John Brown led 21 men to the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Brown’s intention was to raid the arsenal and distribute the weapons to slaves in the area. With this in mind they were going to spark a slave revolt. This plan did not last long because federal troops emerged on the scene capturing Brown along with all of his men. Brown was then tried for treason, convicted, and executed for his actions. When all of this went down many northerners saw Brown as a hero while southerners saw him as a “lunatic supporting anti-slavery movement”. This incident showed rising conflict between the North and South.