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John Brown
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station played a role in abolitionist John Brown's raid on the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry -- one of the sparks that ignited the Civil War.
On Sunday evening, October 16, 1859, Brown and his supporters slipped into Harpers Ferry from the Kennedy Farm in nearby Washington County, where they had been organizing the raid since July. They seized the arsenal, killed seven men, and injured a dozen others. They cut communication lines, but a passing train crew telegraphed the news from Frederick. The next day, three Frederick volunteer fire companies organized as militia units (Independent Rifles, Junior Defenders, and United Guard) became the first out-of-state responders. They rode the train from this station to Harpers Ferry, where they patrolled the streets and guarded railroad bridges. After a company of U.S. Marines under Col. Robert E. Lee soon stormed the building and captured Brown and his men, Frederick militia units guarded the prisoners. |