Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1902-04-18
THE JOHN BROWN RAID.

THE JOHN BROWN RAID.
Interesting Statement from Capt. G.
Schoppert, who Killed two ofthe Rait
ers.
(From The ShepherdStOwn Register Thurs
day, February is, 1907
Editor:-We publish below graph
ac count of the John Brown Raid a
Harper's Ferry in 1853, written
Captain G.. A. Schoppert, of Waynes
boro Va, who was at the time an
employee in the Government Armory
and who shot two of the Raiders Lea
man and son of John Brown during
the insurrection. Capt. Schopper
wrote the statement at the request O
DR.. A. s. Reynolds, who handed it t.
us for publication. 1t is rs follows
l, Ct. A. Schoppert, write what l know
personally and what l did during th
John Brown Raid at Harper's Ferry
between October, the 18th and Goth
| 1859, [ think it was the 18th of OctO
| ber-I know it was on Monday morn
ing-that l started to go to my work
| when, as l was going out of my yarG
on Union street, Bolivar, l saw VIM
Vented crossing the street about on,
hundred yards ahead of me, | would
have Overtaken him, but my wife call
ed me and asked me to carry a large
bucket of slop to the hog pen, as il
was too heavy for her. | make this
statement to show that | would have
been taken prisoner by Brown. If
had not been called back, for Wentzel
and l were unusually the first to enter
the armOry yard in the morning He
was taken prisoner and l escaped by
being called back by my wife.
l started to the armOry again, and
when got to Camp Hill l met DIR.
Starry riding very fast, he stopped and
warned me not to go down, that Went
eel was a prisoner. DIR. Starry had
been prisoner all night and had Just
made his escape. He told me all about
what was out in as few words as pos
sible, and told me to stop all hands as
fast as they came along then be went
on as rapidly as possible to Charles
town to get company of soldiers to
come down. | reported to the men,
and as soon as the crowd began to
gather went to my brothers house
to tell him not to go to work, but
when l got there be had gone, he work
ed at the Rifle Works on the Shenan-
doah, l then went down ON the cliffs
in front of the Rifle Works, and saw
about twenty men outside the gate,
all of them hands that worked there.
There was big negro guarding the
gate on the inside, the gate was locked.
Daniel oung was acting as spokes-
man with the negro, who was armed
with spear. When l got there Young
was about through with bis talk with
the guard He said, Come boys, we will
go aud get some guns and clean them
up"
We all then went to Camp Hill, were
we formed a company of a hundred
men and elected William Moore as
captain. He was and employee in the
armory. He had us in line and then
We broke ranks to hunt guns, we had
sporting rifles and all kind
of arms. Some of the men told us
there had been a lot of new muskets
taken to a new shop in the upper end
of the armory yard about two weeks
before and stored there, never having
been used.
They went down and found that
Brown had no guard there, SO they
broke a window out and got the new
muskets and bag of caps. We then
moulded bullets on cook stoves on
Camp Hill until we had two bullets to
each man.
We formed ranks again. and while
we were talking about how We would
make the attack Capt. John Avis ar
rived from Cha rlestown, when Capt.
Moore resigned in his favor, Capt.
Avis took charge OF company and di-
vided us into five squads. He sent one
squad up the Potomac to cross at the
Did Furance, go down the canal tow
path and enter the railroad bridge
from the Maryland side and take the
guard Brown had put on the bridge;
another squad was to take the rifle
works; one take the Shenandoah river
bridge; one was to 60 to the west end
Of the railroad trestllng on the gov
ernment canal bridge; and then he
took charge of the fifth squad and
went to the Ferry. The first squad to
do any fighting was that which
was to cross the river. They
shot one man. and the rest ran to the
engine house and reported to Brown,
who then started Leaman out to 60
cross the Potomac river and get Coax
and COppick, who were in the Mary.
land mountains, to come and retake
the bridge 80 that he could retreat, Lea
man walked under the trestle until be
got within 40 or so feet of the bridge
that with ten men was guarding. He
came to and arch in the wall that was
left for the race from the new shop
that had never been finished. He
crawled out of the arch and started
across the river, walking on loose rocks
that had been built for fish pot dam.
He was about 40 feet from the wall
when We saw him. Every one of the
crowd fired, or rather tried to fire at
him, but only two guns went off.
When they fired he started to run,
but the stones rolled under his feet and
he fell into the dam over his head.
When be came up he had lost his rifle.
He waded on about tWO-thirdS of the
way across and came to a rock that
stood up out of the water about four
feet. He got behind that and stopped,
l then took one of the guns that had
gone off and we reloaded it and climb
ed down the wall and waded out after
him. There was in our squad a boy
by the name of John Price. He fol-
lowed me. He had no gun, So [ gave
him large horse pistol that [ had and
told him to go below the rock, where
the water was not SO deep, when l got
around where he could see me Leaman
got up On top of the rock. Price was
closer to him than was and called OH
him first to surrender, but he made no
answer.
l then asked him if he was going to
surrender. he still made no answer, but
drew a butcher knife out of its sheath,
cut his belt, and pulled off his coat.
He dropped his coat andicartridge box
on the rock and stood up on the rock
with the butcher knife in one hand
and six shooter pistol in the other, l
called on him again TO know if he was
going TO surrender. but he WOuld NOT