The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-11-03

the muzzles and knives of the rufhans, and
they were restrained by their apprehension that
they might be slaughtered by the desperadoes,
By this hesitation, they allowed the insurgents
TO hold the Arsenal all day Monday. On Mon
day night, that gallant and noble Virginian,
Colonel Robert Lee, worthy of any service on
earth, arrived with his regular corps of marines.
He waited only for light, then rendered the as
sault, in State pride, TO the Virginia volunteers
who were there. Their feelings for the prison
ers made them decline the risk of staying their
own frieads and Lee could not delay moment
/ to retake the Arsenal, punish the impudent in
vaders, and release the prisoners at the neces.
sary risk of their own lives. His gallantry was
mortified that the task was so easy. he saw a
United States Arsenal in the possession of BAN
dts, from the superintendent of which his pro.
fession had been elected and he felt the regu-
lar army and his native State were alike dis
honored. With modification and chagrin, in
expressible, he picked twelve marines, and took
the engine-house, in ten minutes, with the loss
! Of one marine killed and one wounded, without
hurting hair of one Of the prisoners. And
now / say to you, that would have given my
arm to its shoulder, for that feat to have been
performed by the volunteers of Virginia on
| Monday before the marines arrived there.
But there was no cowardice or panic on the
part of the inhabitants who were made prison
ers, or on the part of the volunteers who first
reached the scene. They first were bewildered
by surprise; they were caught, unsuspecting
and unarmed, and knew not what to make OF
the extraordinary thing; they could not, at first,
conceive what it meant.
They more than 100 of them, were prisoners
before they realized the purpose of the inva-
ders, and then they could not ascertain their
Numbers, and could not but believe that they
were in very considerable force to attempt so
daring an act. And so thought the volunteers,
who had but few arms, no cartridges, and no
training, and who were wholly ignorant of the
force they had to overcome, and who felt for
their neghbors and friends, the prisoners, with
great anxiety, after seeing how remorseessly
Turner and Beckham had been shot down.
They vigorously piled their firearms, and made
one assault, and retired only after sustaining
severe volleys of balls from rifles securely en-
trenched behind brick walls densely looped to
receive them, while they were without any artil-
lery, or means of battering doors or walls. The
prisoners were the walls of the marauders,
stronger with the volunteers than bricks and
mortar. They loved Washington, and Alstadt,
and Mills, and other prisoners, and would not
risk their lives. This was wrong but natural
and not cowardly. chided them for their mis-
take, and told them that, had 1 arrived there in
time, | would have stormed the stronghold in
the shortest possible time; and that if Gen.
George Washington had been one of the prison
ers, and even his life had been imperilled by the
attack, it should not have been DELAYED five min
utes. The lives outside, in this case, were as
precious as the lives inside of the prison and to
prove that it was not inhumanity to risk the
lives of the prisoners, would have gladly risked
my own life to rescue them, at every hazard of
horr ltuao md ,,,ob e
degradation at allowing these marauders to hold
that Arsenal with its prisoners, for FIVE minutes.
would not have parleyed with them moment,
would have ordered the attack, and led it.
l would proudly have risked my life to have
gotten my guard there in time, and TO have
taken the place with our own Virginia BOYS.
was ready to weep when l found the whole
force overcome was only some twelve or fifteen
men, and the Virginia volunteers had not cap
tured them before Col. Lee arrived
But, my fellow-citizeHs, you must not imagine
that this invasion was so insignificant, or that
Commander Brown was mad, because this force
was so small. His force, small as it was, was
large enough to divide, to penetrate sleeping
country around, and to take a United States
Arsenal, with all its arms. Taking these, his
expectation was to be Joined immediately by
hundreds and thousands of whites and blacks ;
and his purpose was to turn the arms of the
United States, which be had captured, on the
Shareholders of Maryland and Virginia In this
consisted his disappointment and failure. No
negroes rose up to seize the arms he had cap
tured. The negroes he had captured, as soon
as they crossed the river with Cooke, and got
out of his wagon, ran back in trepidation 20
their masters. All of Mr.. Alstadts returned,
and all of Mr.. Washington's but one-his car.
riage-driver-the negro who drove the wagon
into town when his master was made prisoner ;
be was drowned in the Potomac; his body was
| found on Wednesday morning. And this is
the only consolation which have to offer Won
in this disgrace-that the faithful slaves re.
fused to take up arms against their masters,
and those which were taken by force from their
happy homes deserted their hberators as soon
as they could dare to make the attempt Not a
slave around was found faithless, and not one
has lost his life, except the one of excellent
character who was shot by Browns party on
the bridge, and except this servant of Col.
Washington, whose body was found in the river.
and whom Cooke may have shot in attempting
to escape from him.
Brown was not mad, but he was misinformed
as to the temper and disposition of our slaves
he ought to have known that all the slaves on our
Northern border are held as it we're by suffer
liberators in Pennsylvania, easier than iberators
can come to their emancipation. He was igno
rant, it seems, of the patriarchal relations in
which our slaves everywhere are held by then
masters, and what bonds of affection and com
| mon interest exist between them and their mas
tiers. And thus it was that the cold Brown
the fanatic of Ossawatomie and Lawrence anC
| Fort Scott memory, who denounced the Mis-
sourians as Border Rufians," became himsel
the Border Ruffian of Virginia, and is now ,
prisoner of Treason to her authority. Tn,
slaves he would incite to instruction and mas
sacre would not take up arms against thei
masters. His spears were untouched by them
And they are themselves mistaken who TAX
him to be a mailman. He is a bundle of tn
best nerves l ever saw, cut and thrust, and bleed
ing and in bonds. He is o man of clear head
| OF courage, fortitude, and simple ingenious
ness. de is cool, collected, and indomitable
and 1t is but just to him TO say, that he was blu
, name to his prisoners, as attested to me b
: Col. Washington and Mr.. Mills /; and he in
spired me with great trust in his integrity, as
man OF truth. tie is a fanatic vain and paI
rulous, but firm, and truthful and intelligent
His men, too, who survive, except the free nc
5 groes with him, are like him. BE processes I
e be a Christian, in communion with the Cor
I gregationalist Church of the North, and openl
D breaches his purpose of universal emancips
r ton; and the negroes themselves were to b
, the agents, by means of arms, led on by whit
D commanders. When Col. Washington was I,
4 ken, his watch, and plate, and Jewels. an
I money, were demanded, to create what the
# call " a safety fund.-" to compensate the II
:. orators for the trouble and expense of takip
r away his slaves. This, by law, was to b
e done with all shareholders. Washington. {
course, refused to deliver up anything; and
!, is remarkable, that the only thing of materi.
c value which they took, besides his slaves, wa