The mid-day train [October 18] brought Governor Wise,
accompanied by several hundred men from Richmond, Alexandria, Baltimore, and
elsewhere. Accompanied by Andrew Hunter, the Governor repaired to the
guard-room where the two wounded prisoners lay, and had a conversation with
Brown. The Governor treated the wounded man with a courtesy that evidently
surprised him. Brown was lying upon the floor with his feet to the fire and his
head propped upon pillows on the back of a chair. His hair was a mass of
clotted gore, so that I could not distinguish the original color; his eye a
pale blue or gray, nose Roman, and beard (originally sandy) white and blood-stained.
His speech was frequently interrupted by deep groans, reminding me of the
agonized growl of a ferocious beast. A few feet from the leader lay Stephens, a
fine-looking fellow, quiet, not in pain apparently, and conversing in a voice
as full and natural as if he were unhurt. However, his hands lay folded upon
his breast in a child-like, helpless way, — a position that I observed was
assumed by all those who had died or were dying of their wounds. Only those who
were shot stone-dead lay as they fell.
Brown was frank and communicative, answering all questions
without reserve, except such as might implicate his associates. I append
extracts from notes taken by Mr. Hunter: —
“Brown avers that the small pamphlet, many copies of which
were found on the persons of the slain, and entitled Provisional Constitution
and Ordinances for the People of the United States, was prepared principally by
himself; under its provisions he was appointed Commanderin-Chief. His two sons
and Stephens were each captains, and Coppoc a lieutenant; they each had
commissions, issued by himself. He avers that the whole number operating under
this organization was but twenty-two, each of whom had taken the oath required
by Article 48; but he confidently expected large reinforcements from Virginia,
Kentucky, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and several other Slave States,
besides the Free States, — taking it for granted that it was only necessary to
seize the public arms and place them in the hands of the negroes and
non-slaveholders to recruit his forces indefinitely. In this calculation he
reluctantly and indirectly admitted that he had been disappointed.”
“When Governor Wise went away, some of us lingered, and the
old man recurred again to his sons, of whom he had spoken several times, asking
if we were sure they were both dead. He was assured that it was so. ‘How many
bodies did you take from the engine-house?’ he asked. He was told three. ‘Then
they are not both dead; there were three dead bodies there last night.
Gentlemen, my son is doubtless living and in your power. I will ask for him
what I would not ask for myself; let him have kind treatment, for he is as pure
and noble-hearted a youth as ever breathed the breath of life.’ His prayer was
vain. Both his boys lay stark and bloody by the Armory wall.”
SOURCES: Franklin B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters
of John Brown, p. 569-70; Excerpt from Harper’s Weekly, New York, New York, Saturday, November 5, 1859, p.
10, the last paragraph of above has been edited and is slightly different from
the original.
