Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1859-12-09

cutive authority could torefend the laws SENTENCE
upon the insane. If either could show or prove IN
sanity. either now or on trial ne could not oe exc
cuted as long as = am the Governor OF the Com
monwealth, until currd in an asylum; and II insane
at the time of committing the offence, he could not
be executed, cured or not cured, at ALL Bus THESE
men needed no mental cure; theirs was moral
malady of devils, which no power but dlvlne
could cast out. They were deliberate, cunning
malignant maleiactors, desperately bent on mis-
chief, with malice aforethought, gangrened by Sec
tional and social habitual hatred to Us ana ours
Their vengeance was whetted by previous colslofs
hundreds Of miles from us, and it Whetted Jagged
edges spears which it broughtthe hundreds OF miles
for our destruction. They came few, like thieves
in the night, did their deeds OF death ana were
easily crushed; but they were prompted by an evil
spirit of incendiarism which demOralizes numer-
Gus host of enemies behind them, who now blatant
" sympathize with their deeds in open day before
the world. These hired them to be assasslns, rop-
bers, murderers and traitors, without themselves
mourning the risk OF their crimes; and it is no won
der that they now sympathse with them even to
madness, and that John Brown despised the hypo-
critical cant of their pretence that he was insane.
The details of this conspiracy and OF It's denoue-
ment at Harper's Ferry are given In the various
accompanying reports. Much of the correspon-
dence and many of the papers OF the cqlprlts were
found. have had them collected and COPIED Dy
competent amanuenses, and they are heretosappen-
ded. Suffice it to say, in reference to my own OH
cial action that the first intelligence OF the out
break reached me in the morning OF the i!th Octo,
Der, ana was very vague. OruefS were uloPocCAo"
Immediately to Col Gibson of Jefferson, to call out
the necessary force of his own and adjacent regl
ments. But late in the evening of the same day,
about o'clock, the telegraph announced more Sc
rious and precise Of danger. The news was
that $50 marauders had seized the arsenal at Har,
per's Ferry, with all its arms and munitions and
were arming thesaves, and that actual murder was
done, and several citizens were killed and wound
ed Immediately called out the LIST regiment OF
volunteers, and as many men at the l79th regiment
of militia as could get ready to move by the hrst
train the following morning. And in one hour, at
sP NJ. ON the 18th, departed in person, with
Company F. Capt Cary for the scene -, At Wash
ington was joined by Capt. Marye OF the Alexan-
dria rifles, and proceeded with ninety one men
and officers At the Relay House in Maryland
received intelligence on the 18th that no more force
was necessary, and ordered back the force under
Col. August. And from that place telegraphed
Col Lee to make no terms with the insurgents
By o'clock on the 18th l arrived with the force
under my command Col. Lee made no terms, and
had subdued the insurgents before my arrival.
Immediately examined the leader, Brown, his lieu.
tenant, Stevens, white man named Coppec. and
negro from Canada. They made full confessions.
Brown repealed the idea that his design was to run
negro slaves off from their masters. He defantly
avowed that his purpose waste arm them and make
them fight by his side in defence of their freedom,
if assailed by their owners or any one else; and he