The First Battle of the Civil War?

This is a quite good treatment of John Brown’s famous “raid” on Harper’s Ferry (October 16 -18, 1859). Dr. Poland, a retired university professor, opens with a concise look at Brown’s early life thorough the events of “Bleeding Kansas” and its aftermath. He then discusses the origins of Brown’s plan to spark a widespread slave rebellion by an audacious attack on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry.

Poland examines the development of Brown’s plans, with a look at the many people involved. He notes that while some abolitionists supported Brown and his proposed attack plan, others – including Frederick Douglass – were decidedly opposed. He then gives us a good, detailed look at the preparations for the operation, the recruiting personnel and the acquisition of equipment, and outlines how Brown expected the events to unfold.

There follows a fast-paced account of execution of the “raid” and its suppression, which cuts back and forth among the various actors – Brown, townspeople, Lee, and more -- and incidents on an almost minute-by-minute basis. Poland ends with a look at Brown’s trial and execution, and offers some discussion about the raid’s impact, which clearly helped bring civil war closer.

This reviewer’s principal reservation about this very good account of the Harper’s Ferry event, is that Poland is too dismissive of the role of the British adventurer Hugh Forbes in these events; he should not have accept hostile contemporary views of the man uncritically. Nevertheless, America’s Good Terrorist is a good book on a still controversial subject.

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Note: America’s Good Terrorist is also available in several e-editions.