WASHINGTON — He had a safe house, weapons and a mole planted among his unsuspecting victims. He had wealthy backers, a juicy military target outside Washington and fanatical followers ready t… ...

Abolitionist John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry on October 16, 1859, was meant to start an armed slave revolt, and ultimately end slavery. Though Brown succeeded in taking over the federal armory ...

On This Day: John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry. ... of Virginia during that time but is now the state West Virginia. The group hoped this would initiate a broader slave revolt.

Associated PressDennis Frye, chief historian at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, poses with a replica of the John Brown pike, Wednesday, May 20, 2009, at the park in Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

On October 16, 1859, Brown led his group to Harpers Ferry where he took over the arsenal and waited for the slaves to revolt. The revolt never came. Two days later Robert E. Lee and his troops overran ...

May 8, 1858 - John Brown meets with African American leaders to promote his plan to incite a slave revolt in Virginia. He presents his Provisional Constitution to the convention. 16.

John Brown spent his earliest years in northwestern Connecticut. When the boy was 5, his father, scrabbling for a living as a tanner, ... captured some hostages and waited for slaves to revolt.