There were some six or seven in Brown's party who did not
know anything of our Constitution, and were also ignorant of the plan of
operations until Sunday morning, October 16. Among this number were Edwin and
Barclay Coppoc, Merriam, Shields Green, Copeland, and Leary. The Constitution
was read to them by Stephens, and the oath afterward administered by Captain
Brown. On Sunday evening Captain Brown made his final arrangements for the
capture of Harper's Ferry, and gave to his men their orders. In closing, he
said: “And now, gentlemen, let me press this one thing on your minds. You all
know how dear life is to you, and how dear your lives are to your friends; and
in remembering that, consider that the lives of others are as dear to them as yours
are to you. Do not, therefore, take the life of any one if you can possibly
avoid it; but if it is necessary to take life in order to save your own, then
make sure work of it.”
SOURCE: Franklin
B. Sanborn, The Life and Letters of John Brown, p. 552
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