Charles Town Commemorates a Piece of its History
November 2nd, 2009Charles Town, West Virginia, APUS’ headquarters, is replete with history. As a history buff, I have found the history of this town fascinating. For those of you who don’t know, Charles Town and Jefferson and Berkley County were part of the state of Virginia until 1863 when President Lincoln transferred them to West Virginia. Some of the descendants of residents from the 1800’s still consider themselves Virginians. During the War Between the States, the area was vital to both sides and the occupancy of the town changed hands numerous times. Currently, the area is recognizing the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry and his trial in Charles Town, Virginia. Because these sesquicentennial events are occurring throughout 2009 and 2010, I thought I would provide a brief summary of John Brown, his life’s dedication to the abolition of slavery, the raid, and the trial.
John Brown was an American abolitionist born in Connecticut. After an unsuccessful attempt at becoming a Congregationalist minister, Brown married Dianthe Lusk and moved to New Richmond, Pennsylvania where he opened a tannery, a venture that became quite successful for the family. In 1832, following complications from the birth of Brown’s seventh child, his wife, Dianthe, died. Soon after, however, Brown married sixteen-year-old Mary Ann Day with whom he had an additional 13 children.
