In this month’s story, I want to introduce you to a guest post by Brian Bandy, my son. He’s a history enthusiast like myself and agreed to help me review this amazing book. A great writer, I’ll just let him tell you about this story…
“History will date Virginia emancipation from Harper’s Ferry. True, the slave is still there…but it is a timber, not a tree. John Brown has loosened the roots of the slave system; it only breathes,-it does not live,-hereafter.”
In this quote from the book, Midnight Rising, by Tony Horwitz, shows us the life, birth, and death of John Brown. It explains the events after his hanging in vivid detail that brings the history to life. It explores the thoughts of John Brown, his compatriots, his family and the rest of America in amazing detail.
John Brown
Possibly the most controversial figure at the time after the failed Harper’s Ferry raid. He planned an entire raid on a U.S. arsenal and he did it with about 20 men maybe for the entire raid. He also singlehandedly lit the dynamite that would lead to the civil war about 1-2 years later. He also, in his involvement in the Pottawatomie Massacre, devastated his family. 2 of his kids couldn’t support him anymore after it and became emotional wrecks. Then he lost 3 more of his kids at Harper’s ferry. Basically, he lost most, if not all of his family during the last years of his life.
What I took away from this tile is that Tony Horwitz wrote an absolutely amazing story that I think you will love if you like the Civil War era. I don’t really like the era much myself, and I still think the book was amazing. If you don’t get the book you will be missing one of the best stories about John Brown.
What follows are a few links to the book publisher as well as some more information about John Brown and this amazing time in American history. Have fun!