Harpers Ferry Raid (Nash, 1998)

Unlike Lincoln, John Brown was prepared to act decisively against slavery.  On October 16, 1859, he and a band of 22 men attacked a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).  He hoped that the action might provoke a general uprising of slaves throughout the upper South or at least provide the arms by which slaves could make their way to freedom.  Although he seized the arsenal, federal troops soon overcame him.  Nearly half his men were killed, including two sons.  Brown himself was captured, tried, and hanged for treason.  So ended a lifetime of failures.  In death, however, Brown was not a failure.  His daring if foolhardy raid, and his impressively dignified behavior during his trial and speedy execution, unleashed powerful passions, further widening the gap between North and South.