The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-04-06
SECOND CONFLICT OF THE CIVIL WAR.

SECOND CONFLICT OF THE CIVIL WAR.
The second conflict of the Civil
War took place at Harper's Ferry, the
first having occurred in Lancaster
county, Pa, as described in the Aneyl-
can a week ago, when Edward Cor
] such, of Baltimore county, Md, was
killed in an attempt to capture a
runaway slave.
John Browns invasion of Harper S
Ferry in 1889 was the torch that set
a6re the smouldering passions of the
North and South. During the eight
years elapsing between the killing of
Mr.. Gorsuch and John Browns raid
the country was perceptibly moving
toward Civil War. The supporters
of slavery, infamed by the failure of
the compromise measures, which did
not bring them single slave State
in the large territory acquired from
Mexico, became violently aggressive
and finally summoned their forces in
1854 to repeal the Missouri compro-
mise for the purpose of forcing sla-
very into Kansas and Nebraska. The
bloody conflict between the Free State
men and the Missouri invaders made
adjustment of the dispute more diff
cult with each succeeding day, and
the Dred Scott decision, substantially
declaring that the black man had no
rights which the white man was bound
to respect, deepened and intensified
the convictions of the North.
A DEAD-LETTER LAW.
The compromise measures gave the
slaveowners only the fugitive slave
law, that was a dead letter in the
North, and that Knocked their efforts
to regain fugitive slaves. California
was already a free State, ard the
other Mexican territories gave no
promise of Strengthening slavery.
Kansas and Nebraska were made free
states after the defeat of those who
had desperately battled for slavery,
and it soon became evident that the
fate of the Dred Scott decision would
be reversal by the sovereign power
of the republic. Thus both sections
were steadily but surely drifting to
the fearful arbitrament of Civil War,
is the observation of Mr.. A. K. Nc
Clure.
The second battle of the Civil War
began at Harper's Ferry on the 10th
of October, 1859, by force COM
manded by John Brown as captain,
and consisting of John Brown and his
three sons, Owen, Oliver and Wat
son; William and Adolphus Thomp-
son, brothers of Henry, husband Of
Captain Browns oldest daughter ;
John Henri Kagi, Aaron Dwight
Stevens, John Edwin Cook, William
H. Leeman, George Plummer Tidd,
Jeremiah G. Anderson, Albert Haz-
lett, Stewart Taylor, Edwin and Bar.
clay Coppock and Francis J. Merriam,
white men, and Osborne P. Ander-
son, William Copeland, Lewis Sher-
rard Leary and Shields Green, COL
ored.
BASE OF OPERATIONS.
John Brown made his base of opera
tions in preparing for his Virginia
campaign, the object Of which was to
incite the slaves to insurrection, at
Chambersburg. I saw him nearly
every day for several weeks in the
crowd that usually assembled about
the postohice before the arrival of the
evening mail, says Mr.. Mcclure. He
made himself known to number OF
our citizens, including myself, as DR..
Smith, and as engaged in prepara-
tions for the development of minerals
in Maryland. He was very modest
and unassuming, and no one in the
entire community suspected his true
identity. He attracted no attention
because his business was presumably
legitimate, and one in which the peo-
pie of the town had little interest. In
his conversation with citizens he care
fully avoided any expressions on the
subject of slavery, and he was regard.
ed as a quiet, intelligent business
man.
Two days before the attack on Har.
per's Ferry handsome young man
entered my Office and asked me tc
write his will. He was accompanied
by friend, whom he introduced as
Mr.. Henry, but who, in fact, was ].
Henri Kagi. We retired into the
private Office and 1 wrote his will
After making few special bequests
willed the bulk of his estate to the
Antislavery Society of Massachusetts,
but there was nothing very remarka
Bile in that, and / gave it no more
than passing thought. When the
writing of the will was finished he
signed it Francis J. Merriam" He
was unusually bright and intelligent
and said he was going on a journey
South, and thought it best to dispose
of his property to guard against acci'
dents.
My surprise may be we'll under
stood when, within three days, I reae
the startling story of the battle o
Harper's Ferry, and among the name:
of those engaged in it was Francis ]
Merriam. He was one of the few WHIT
were unharrued in the conflict ant
made his escape. He managed to ge
to the railroad in Maryland, passed
on to Philadelphia, where he remain
ed overnight at the Merchants Hotel
registering his true name, and pro
ceeded next morning to Boston.
When Brown began his campaign
| against Horner1c Ferry he renfef