Complex sentence: In 1859 he attended the execution of John Brown at Charles Town, purchasing a number of the pikes with which Brown had planned to arm slaves as part of his abortive slave revolt, which started and finished at Harper's Ferry earlier that year.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1859 he attended the execution of John Brown at Charles Town. Ruffin purchased a number of the pikes with which Brown had planned to arm slaves as part of his abortive slave revolt, which started and finished at Harper's Ferry earlier that year.