What sparked the beginning of the Civil War?
1 Answer
Taking of Harpers Ferry by John Brown and his band of sons and raised militia
Explanation:
John Brown, a minister/school teacher, had escaped from Bloody Kansas determined to lead a slave uprising in Virginia. He began smuggling guns to the Kennedy farmhouse located in Maryland across the river from Harpers Ferry. Once his group of supporters arrived many to include his sons; they then marched to Harpers Ferry VA to demand the surrender of the Federal armory located there. Harpers Ferry now located in WVA was centrally located at the confluence of the Shenandoah River and the Potomac River and was located on a high bluff that made it very hard to lay seige to the town. The group took several prominate citizens of the town captive (including a relative of George Washington) and held the town for several days. President James Buchanan then dispatched Colonel Robert E. Lee ( to be the leader of the forces of the Army of Virginia of the Confederate Army in 1862) along with Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart (soon to become the greatest calvary general of the Confederate Army) with a small army to demand the surrender of the Brown militia. Lt. Stuart presented the demand but was fired upon by Brown insurrectionist. Several of Brown's sons were killed in the exchange and Brown was captured and later hung at Charlestown VA (now WVA). The worst part of this whole action was that a free negro train station attendant was killed by Brown's men.
