Lewis Sheridan Leary (March 17, 1835 - October 20, 1859) "A man who won't die for something is not fit to live. " ~ Rev., Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This day, October 16, marks the 149th anniversary of the John's Brown raid on Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia in 1859. It was an attempt to capture the arsenal and seize the weapons by John brown and 21 men: 5 blacks, including Dangerfield Newby, who hoped to rescue his enslaved wife, and 16 whites, two of whom were Brown's sons. This raid would strike a blow against the terrible system of Slavery that kept millions of people of African descent in bondage. Abolisionist and African American leader, Frederick Douglass told Brown that it would be a “grave mistake.” John Brown knew that this daring feat was nearly impossible, but he was willing to try, and most of all he was willing to die. For the raid, Brown trained and brought with him five young African Americans, who were also willing and ready ...
