Letter from Colonel Robert E. Lee Demanding the Surrender of John Brown

This letter of October 18, 1859, is a formal summons by Colonel Robert E. Lee for the surrender of John Brown and his fellow insurgents barricaded in the armory at Harpers Ferry, located on the borders of Virginia and Maryland. John Brown was a radical abolitionist, willing to use violence to rid the nation of slavery. Brown considered Harpers Ferry a perfect location to launch an armed slave insurrection and guerilla war, using the 100,000 weapons stored in the armory. His 21-man "army of liberation" fought for 36 hours before capture by the U.S. Marines, who stormed the building. In December 1859, Brown was tried and hanged for treason, conspiring with slaves to rebel, and murder. 

Text adapted from “On the Other Side” in the October 2004 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.

Transcript

A.

Hd-qrs: Harpers Ferry
18th Oct 1859

Colonel Sec U.S.A. command the troops sent by the President of the U.S. to suppress the insurrection at this place; demands the surrender of the persons in the Armoury buildings.

If they will peaceably surrender themselves & restore the pillaged property; they shall be kept in safety to await the orders of the President.

Col Sec represents to them in all frankness that it is impossible for them to escape, that the armoury is surrounded on all sides by troops; & that if he is compelled to take them by force he cannot answer for their safety.

(Signed) R E Lee
Col Command
U.S. Troops