The Raid On Harpers Ferry

The Raid On Harpers Ferry. Captain John Cook And His Capture. To spark a civil war, John Brown came to Ritner Boarding House in Chambersburg, PA, where he began to plan his famous raid on Harper’s Ferry, in 1859. At the time, Brown was calling himself Isaac Smith. By mid summer, he had rented the Kennedy farm, located near Sharpsburg, MD, where weapons and supplies were stored. . . On October 16, John Brown and several of his raiders attacked Harper’s Ferry. Only a few managed to escape, including Captain John Cook, who was up on Maryland Heights. Fleeing to South Mountain, Captain Cook, along with a few others, joined together to make their escape into Pennsylvania, possibly using portions of the Underground Railroad to prevent capture. . . Moving northward towards Chambersburg, Captain Cook was captured at Mont Alto Gap on October 25, 1859 by Daniel Logan and his men. He was transferred to Charlestown (West Virginia) where he was hung (sic) on December 16, 1859. . . He (John Brown) gave me orders to trust no one with our secret, and to hold no conversation with the slaves, which orders I obeyed with but a single exception. The exception I illude is simply this: I met a party of four negroes, two free and two slave, near Bolivar, Jefferson County, Virginia. I asked them if they had ever thought about their freedom. They replied “they though they ought to be free,” but expressed doubts that they ever would be.” . . Testimony of John Cook, 1859 . This historical marker is in Monterey in Franklin County Pennsylvania