All defendants in the Columbus Jones kidnapping case acquitted in Massachusetts

A Barnstable County jury found Gorman Cowell, captain of the brig Roleson, his first mate, John Orlando, and the brig's owner not guilty on charges of kidnapping.  The case had resulted from the returning of the stowaway fugitive slave Columbus Jones to slavery from Hyannis, Massachusetts the previous May.  The argument for the verdict was largely based upon the doubtful jurisdiction of the county over events that happened off-shore. (By John Osborne)  
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Newspaper feud in Nashville over Harpers Ferry results in murder on the street

Allen A. Hall, a reporter for the Nashville Daily News, killed George T. Poindexter, the editor of the Nashville Union and American with a shotgun blast. Following the Harpers Ferry Raid, the papers had exchanged a furious series of editorials.  Hall had called Poindexter a "Black Republican" angering Poindexter to the point that Hall, fearing for his safety when his antagonist approached the News offices, shot him down on the street.  (By John Osborne)
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Burning haystack panics Virginians anticipating an attempt to rescue John Brown

A haystack burned on a farm during the night three miles from Charlestown, Virginia causing excitement among the already nervous population preparing for the execution of John Brown and his men.  A thousand Virginia militiamen were already estimated to be in or near the town as wild rumors of attempted rescue circulated.  This fire brought a panicked call from militia commanders for the dispatch of even more troops.  (By John Osborne) 
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Deadly fire burns overnight in Atlanta, Georgia

An extensive fire broke out in downtown Atlanta, Georgia just before midnight and burning for several hours.  Several blocks were destroyed in the commercial district and a significant number of businesses were lost.  Three children were burned to death during the night and their seriously injured.  Damage was estimated at $300,000.  (By John Osborne) 
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Mozart Hall Democrats nominate Fernando Wood for mayor of New York City

Fernando Wood had served as Mayor of New York City from 1854 until his narrow electoral loss in 1857.  His Democratic organization, the Mozart Hall, nominated him unanimously for another term at their convention.  In the 1860 elections, he was once again elected and led the city's opposition to the policies of President Lincoln during the Civil War.  (By John Osborne) 
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Burned out Buffalo grain elevator collapses and kills two clean-up workers

Fire had destroyed the massive New York Central Grain Elevator in Buffalo, New York on the evening of November 7, 1857.  On this day, around a dozen workers salvaging the damaged grain from the site were buried when the ruins of the burned structure collapsed.  Two men died and at least three others were seriously injured. (By John Osborne)
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Juan Rafael Mora

Scanned by
Library of Congress
Notes
Cropped, sized, and prepared for use here by John Osborne, Dickinson College, November 13, 2009.
Image type
print
Use in Day View?
No
Courtesy of
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Permission to use?
Yes
Original caption
Juan Rafael Mora
Source citation
Prints Collection, Library of Congress
Source note
Image first appeared in Harper's Weekly, Volume 3 (1859), p. 668. 

Deposed president of Costa Rica received in Washington

Juan Rafael Moro Porras, the deposed president of Costa Rica, paid a visit to Washington D.C. on his way into exile after being overthrown in a coup d'etat the previous August.  He met both President Buchanan and Secretary of State Cass before touring the U.S. Capitol.  He left the next day for New York.  He went to El Salvador from where he launched the following year a futile effort to win back his position.  He was captured and executed by firing squad on September 30, 1860.  (By John Osborne)
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Harpers Ferry Raid (Nash, 1998)

Textbook
Gary B. Nash et al., eds., The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, 4th ed. (New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1998), 496.
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 li
The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society
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