John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry was an effort by abolitionist John Brown, from October 16 to 18, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. It has been called the dress rehearsal for or Tragic Prelude to the Civil War. Brown’s party of 22 was defeated by a company of U.S. Marines, under the overall command of Colonel Robert E. Lee. Other soon to be Confederates were Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart who were part of the troops guarding the arrested Brown, and John Wilkes Booth was a spectator at his execution. John Brown had originally asked Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, both of whom he had met in his transformative years as an abolitionist in Springfield, Massachusetts, to join him in his raid, but Tubman was prevented by illness and Douglass declined, as he believed Brown’s plan was suicidal. rochestermilitary.com