Charlestown, VA

CHARLESTOWN, c. h., p. v., seat of justice of Jefferson co., Va., 168 ms. N. of Richmond ; from W. 65 ms. Pop. 1,507. (Fanning's, 1853)

Place Unit Type
City or Town
Containing Unit
Date Type
The Commonwealth of Virginia sentences John Brown to death Legal/Political
Albert Hazlett convicted of murder in Charlestown, Virginia Legal/Political
Burning haystack panics Virginians anticipating an attempt to rescue John Brown Legal/Political
Colonel Robert E. Lee leads federal troops back to Harpers Ferry to support Virginia's execution of John Brown Legal/Political
Four Harpers Ferry raiders hanged in Charlestown, Virginia Legal/Political
Four of John Brown's raiders sentenced to death in Charlestown, Virginia Legal/Political
Hazlett and Stevens, the last of John Brown's captured co-conspirators, go on trial in Virginia Legal/Political
John Brown and his fellow prisoners are held at Charlestown pending trial before a Virginia court Lawmaking/Litigating
- John Brown and his fellow prisoners are held at Charlestown, Virginia pending trial Lawmaking/Litigating
John Brown and his surviving raiders are taken to Charlestown, Virginia under heavy guard Battles/Soldiers
John Brown appears before a Virginia court for the first time Lawmaking/Litigating
- John Brown stands trial in Charlestown, Virginia Lawmaking/Litigating
John Brown writes a letter of farewell to his sisters from his cell in Charlestown, Virginia Legal/Political
John Brown writes his last letter to his family Legal/Political
John Copeland, African-American Harpers Ferry raider, convicted in Charlestown, Virginia Legal/Political
Virginia executes John Brown Personal
Date Title
Carlisle (PA) American, “Arrest of a Supposed ‘Harper’s Ferry Insurrectionist,’” October 26, 1859
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "Additional Particulars of the Insurrection," October 27, 1859
Entry by Susan Bradford Eppes, October 28, 1859
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "Trial of Brown, the Insurgent," November 3, 1859
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "Conviction of Brown!," November 3, 1859
Raleigh (NC) Register, “Brown’s Virginia Counsel,” November 9, 1859
Eliza Margaretta Chew Mason to Lydia Maria Child, November 11, 1859
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "Trial of the Harper's Ferry Insurgents," November 17, 1859
Savannah (GA) News, “Incendiarism in the South,” November 17, 1859
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "Gov. Wise to Mrs. Child," November 17, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "A Recoil of the Gun," November 18, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "The Virginia Panic," November 19, 1859
New York Herald, “Intense Alarm and Excitement in Virginia,” November 20, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, “The Straw Stack War,” November 22, 1859
Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "The Devil Not As Black As He Is Painted," November 24, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "Well Done, Old Brown," November 26, 1859
Entry by Edmund Ruffin, November 30, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "Old Brown to be Gagged," November 30, 1859
John Thomas Lewis Preston to Margaret Junkin Preston, December 2, 1859
Entry by Thomas Jonathan Jackson, December 2, 1859
Entry by Susan Bradford Eppes, December 2, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "How a Brave Man Dies," December 6, 1859
Hartford (CT) Courant, "Arrest of a Militia Officer," December 8, 1859
San Francisco (CA) Evening Bulletin, “The New Crusade against the Union,” December 29, 1859
New York Times, “The Trial of Stevens,” January 4, 1860
Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “The Re-Interment of Coppic [Coppoc],” January 12, 1860
Boston (MA) Liberator, “Trial of Stevens at Charlestown,” February 10, 1860
New York Times, “The Last of the Harper’s Ferry Slaughter,” March 17, 1860
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, “Execution of Hazlett and Stephens,” March 22, 1860
Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “Fugitive Slave,” April 5, 1860
Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “In A Quandary,” July 12, 1860
How to Cite This Page: "Charlestown, VA," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/19649.