John Brown of Osawatomie, by D. H. Montgomery

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IN the autumn of 1859 the whole country was startled on hearing that ‘John Brown of Osawatomie’ had made a raid into Virginia, seized the government buildings at Harper’s Ferry,* and attempted to liberate the slaves in that vicinity. John Brown’s whole band consisted of only about twenty men, partly whites and partly negroes. After hard fighting, he was captured, with six of his companions, and hanged at Charlestown, Virginia. On the day of his execution, he handed this paper to one of his guards: “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” Within a year and a half from the day of his death, the North and the South were at war with each other, and a Northern regiment on its way to the contest was singing,

“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul is marching on.”*

by D. H. Montgomery 1837-1928

From ‘The Leading Facts of American History’ by David Henry Montgomery (1837-1928).

Harper’s Ferry, now in West Virginia, was at that time in Virginia as the State had not yet be split by the war. Brown’s target was the Federal Armory, and the weapons it contained. The raid was carried out on 16th-18th October, 1859.

According to John Kimball, an eyewitness writing for The New England magazine (New Series) Volume 1 (1889-1890), the song was originally a comic song of improvised lines culminating triumphantly in “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave, / His soul’s marching on,” or sometimes “He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord / His soul’s marching on.” As the lyrics were generally boisterous, more decorous words were later substituted to fit the rousing melody (an old Methodist tune for the hymn ‘Say brothers, will you meet us?’). The most famous substitution is surely The Battle-hymn of the Republic published in 1862 by abolitionist Julia Ward Howe, which opens with ‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.’

Précis

Brown continued his bloody campaign by trying to take the Federal Armory in Harper’s Ferry, but this time he and his men were captured. Brown was hanged, protesting to the last that America’s slavery crimes would be purged only by blood. Less than two years later, the Civil War broke out, and Brown was sung as a hero by some.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

Why was John Brown of Osawatomie executed in 1859?

Suggestion

For leading an assault on Harper’s Ferry.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

There was a Federal armoury in Harper’s Ferry. John Brown tried to capture it in 1859. He was caught and hanged.

Précis

Questions for Critics

Sevens

Jigsaws

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