European University Institute Library

The "colored hero" of Harpers Ferry, John Anthony Copeland and the war against slavery, Steven Lubet, Northwestern University School of Law

eng

index present

non fiction

The "colored hero" of Harpers Ferry

electronic resource

dictionaries

915136561

Steven Lubet, Northwestern University School of Law

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

John Anthony Copeland and the war against slavery

On the night of Sunday, October 16, 1859, hoping to bring about the eventual end of slavery, radical abolitionist John Brown launched an armed attack at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Among his troops, there were only five black men, who have largely been treated as little more than 'spear carriers' by Brown's many biographers and other historians of the antebellum era. This book brings one such man, John Anthony Copeland, directly to center stage. Copeland played a leading role in the momentous Oberlin slave rescue, and he successfully escorted a fugitive to Canada, making him an ideal recruit for Brown's invasion of Virginia. He fought bravely at Harpers Ferry, only to be captured and charged with murder and treason. With his trademark lively prose and compelling narrative style, Steven Lubet paints a vivid portrait of this young black man who gave his life for freedom.--, Provided by publisher

The frozen river -- "A good abolition convention" -- The colony and the college -- "A most well disposed boy" -- "I have found paradise" -- "My object in coming to Oberlin" -- "Not a fugitive was seized" -- The new marshal -- "Recital of the wrong and outrage" -- Wack's Tavern -- A brace of pistols -- The Oberlin rescue -- "The Black Mecca" -- The felons' feast -- Votaries of the higher law -- "The bravest negroes" -- The invisibles -- The War Department -- Hall's Rifle Works -- "His negro confession" -- Nothing like a fair trial -- An abolition harangue -- Only slave stealing -- "This guilty land" -- The colored American heroes