John Brown and 22 men attack the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry to seize both ammunition and arms from the facility. He planned to arm slaves in the region in order to start a large scale southern slave revolt. Receiving little resistance from an unsuspecting Harpers Ferry, he quickly gained control of the armory, arsenal, and engine house, and taking several hostages consisting of prominent citizens and slaves. Brown sent men into the surrounding areas to arm the slaves, believing that the slaves would support his cause and come to his aid -- soon, Brown was surrounded by Marines under the command of Robert E. Lee and J. E. B. Stuart. The soliders stormed the engine house where Brown and his men were taking refuge, killing eight of Brown's men and two of his sons.
John Brown was driven to his execution site in a wagon seated atop his casket. The execution site was a field which was located along present day Samuel Street in Charles Town. Once he had arrived, Brown was surrounded by an extremely strong military presence, troops and Corps of Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), in order to ward off another uprising by Brown's men. Francis Smith, superintendent of VMI, was put in charge of the actual execution on orders from the Governor of Virginia. Brown continued to have a pulse for 35 minutes after he was hung.
Interestingly enough, Major Thomas Jackson was in command of the artillery from VMI at the execution of John Brown. In only a short period of time, Major Jackson would achieve the nickname "Stonewall" and become famous throughout history.
The Shepherdstown Register reports that due to the breaking of the ice on the Potomac River, 80 to 100 feet of the old dam was washed away.
After much tension, the Civil War broke out when Confederate forces bombarded the Union controlled Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay.
The Virginia State Convention moves to secede from the Union by an emotional vote of 88 to 55, after previously voting against secession only weeks before.
The movement to secede from the Union was ratified, however the majority of Western Counties (supposedly) opposed it's ratification. This was not the case with Jefferson County, nor Berkeley County, where vote tallies appear to have been botched. In fact, original maps show Jefferson and Berkeley Counties remaining as part of Virginia. Historical evidence proves that the two counties resident's actually were in favor of succession, and sympathies still lie with South today.
The Ordinance of Secession is online at the Library of Virginia. The original ordinance was inscribed on parchment and signed by 92 convention members. Later during the second and third conventions, 142 members of the convention signed a ceremonial parchment of the ordinance.
President Lincoln approves the act of admission into the Union with a gradual emancipation of slaves in "West" Virginia.
West Virginia officially becomes the 35th state of the Union. Notice that the map in the background does not include Jefferson or Berkeley counties in West Virginia.
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