das Ding an sich

Today’s Document from the National Archives:

Robert E. Lee’s demand for the surrender of John Brown and his party, October 18, 1859

On October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown and his “army” of some 20 men seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) in preparation for his war for slave liberation. By the morning of October 18, when Brown refused to accept the terms of this note, marines under the command of Bvt. Col. Robert E. Lee, stormed the building and captured Brown and the survivors of his party. The operation that Brown envisioned as the first blow in a war against slavery was over in 36 hours.

~reblogged by Trent Gilliss, senior editor, beingblog.