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Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War
A New York Times Notable Book for 2011A Library Journal Top Ten Best Books of 2011A Boston Globe Best Nonfiction Book of 2011Bestselling author Tony Horwitz tells the electrifying tale of the daring insurrection that put America on the path to bloody warPlotted in secret, launched in the dark, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in U.S. history. But few Americans know the true story of the men and women who launched a desperate strike at the slaveholding South. Now, Midnight Rising portrays Brown's uprising in vivid color, revealing a country on the brink of explosive conflict.Brown, the descendant of New England Puritans, saw slavery as a sin against America's founding principles. Unlike most abolitionists, he was willing to take up arms, and in 1859 he prepared for battle at a hideout in Maryland, joined by his teenage daughter, three of his sons, and a guerrilla band that included former slaves and a dashing spy. On October 17, the raiders seized Harpers Ferry, stunning the nation and prompting a counterattack led by Robert E. Lee. After Brown's capture, his defiant eloquence galvanized the North and appalled the South, which considered Brown a terrorist. The raid also helped elect Abraham Lincoln, who later began to fulfill Brown's dream with the Emancipation Proclamation, a measure he called "a John Brown raid, on a gigantic scale."Tony Horwitz's riveting book travels antebellum America to deliver both a taut historical drama and a telling portrait of a nation divided—a time that still resonates in ours.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 25, 2011
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7454 people want to read
About the author
Tony Horwitz
18 books863 followersDate of Birth: 1958
Tony Horwitz was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author whose books include Blue Latitudes, Confederates In The Attic and Baghdad Without A Map. His most recent work, published in May 2019, is Spying on the South, which follows Frederick Law Olmsted's travels from the Potomac to the Rio Grande as an undercover correspondent in the 1850s.
Tony was also president of the Society of American Historians. He lived in Massachusetts with his wife, novelist Geraldine Brooks.
Tony Horwitz was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author whose books include Blue Latitudes, Confederates In The Attic and Baghdad Without A Map. His most recent work, published in May 2019, is Spying on the South, which follows Frederick Law Olmsted's travels from the Potomac to the Rio Grande as an undercover correspondent in the 1850s.
Tony was also president of the Society of American Historians. He lived in Massachusetts with his wife, novelist Geraldine Brooks.
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November 10, 2022
“Once on the [gallows] platform, [John] Brown obligingly positioned himself beneath the hanging rope. Facing south and a little east, toward the Shenandoah River, he had a commanding view of the crowded field, the rolling farmland beyond, and the gentle arc of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Born in the hard, stony hills of northwestern Connecticut, he would cast his last gaze at the fertile valley of Virginia. And his final company on the gallows would be, not the black children and slave mother he’d hoped for, but the portly, top-hatted sheriff…and the jailer and slave dealer, John Avis. Brown raised his pinioned arms to shake their hands, and then the two men tied his ankles, pulled a white hood over his head, and adjusted the noose around his neck. Avis asked Brown to step forward, onto the trap door…”
- Tony Horwitz, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War
“Was John Brown simply an episode, or was he an eternal truth? And if a truth, how speaks that truth today?”
- W.E.B. Du Bois, John Brown
Today, John Brown – the wizened man with the beard of an Old Testament prophet, and the personality to match – is mostly remembered, if at all, as a footnote in the vast historiography of the American Civil War. Today, he is just another marker on a timeline that includes the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act, Dredd Scott v. Sandford, and Bleeding Kansas (where Brown first entered the public stage, in murderous fashion). Today, John Brown’s bracing moral clarity – and his lethally precipitate actions – are lost in a fog of euphemisms such as “state’s rights.”
But that is today.
In his own time, his contemporaries recognized what he had done and what he meant. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote that Brown’s assault on Harpers Ferry in 1859 “did more to shake the foundations of slavery than any single thing that ever happened in America.” Frederick Douglass, who knew Brown personally and disagreed with his plans, stated that: “If John Brown did not end the war that ended slavery, he did at least begin the war that ended slavery.” Herman Melville wrote a poem in which he called John Brown, quite simply, “[t]he meteor of the war.”
Tony Horwitz’s Midnight Rising is an attempt to recapture that John Brown, the John Brown who took it upon himself to nudge destiny along. As characters go, he is tough to beat: the man who led a rag-tag group of idealists and adventurers in a harebrained scheme to steal weapons from the U.S. Armory in Harpers Ferry, arm escaped slaves, and start a war; the man who went to Kansas and murdered pro-slave settlers in cold blood; the man who was not just an abolitionist, but a believer in equality; the man of whom Frederick Douglass once said: “I could live for the slave, but he could die for him;” the man who went to the gallows without flinching, his final written statement a prophecy: “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.”
Despite the exceptional raw materials for his book, the early going of Midnight Rising is unexpectedly slow. At 290 pages of text, this is a short book, and I never thought about quitting. Yet it surprised me how uninvolved I felt, even at the halfway point.
The problem is that this is not a typical Tony Horwitz book. Horwitz made his reputation (a sterling, Pulitzer Prize-winning reputation) writing what I call Historical Road Trips. He would choose a topic (the Civil War, Columbus, Captain Cook) and then hit the road (or the water), traveling to the locales himself, talking to local historians, researchers, and enthusiasts. He then produced books that combined the wit and charm of Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation with impeccable reportage and deep insight.
(A sad side note: Horwitz recently died, quite suddenly, at the age of sixty. Undoubtedly, he had many more stories to tell. The tragedy, as always: Life is too short; the library is too large).
Instead of taking that route here, Horwitz decides to present Midnight Rising as a straight history (with the exception of a brief, first-person prologue). The result is a semi-inert retelling of Brown’s early life, his bad business dealings, his growing radicalism, and his shadowy ties to the Secret Six (wealthy northerners who financed his escapades). I’m not saying this was terrible, by any means, but it fell far below my expectations from Horwitz, and did nothing to separate itself from Evan Carton’s Patriotic Treason.
Then comes the raid itself, which is delivered with novelistic detail, narrative coherence, and gripping style. Helped along by a great map of the area, Horwitz delivers the full, bloody, brutal raid, from the accidental shooting of a free black man by Brown’s men (an inauspicious way to begin their crusade), to the slaughter of escaping raiders as they floundered helplessly in the Potomac River, to their final capture in an engine house, by Marines commanded by some feller named Robert Lee, who would have a role to play in the war to come. It is the fullest, best account of Brown’s misbegotten action I have ever read.
Midnight Rising reaches a high peak at this point, and it is natural that there is a comedown as Horwitz deals with the judicial aftermath. Still, his recreation of the gunfight at the corner of Potomac and Shenandoah is worth the cover price.
That said, I can’t help but wish that Horwitz had given Midnight Rising his usual treatment. This is a topic that calls out for an on-the-ground exploration. I would have loved to have had Horwitz ask Americans – both white and black – what John Brown means to them, or if they recognized the name at all.
Because to me, the question of what John Brown symbolizes today is fascinating. Personally, I see in him a rebuke to the notion that the Civil War was ever about anything other than slavery. And his actions – in his willingness to hang from the neck until dead (the New York Tribune said he strangled, jerked, and quivered for five minutes) – serve as a counterpoint to the idea that Americans in the mid-19th century were entirely ignorant of the possibility that slavery was immoral. The proposition of slavery's evil was out there, whether it was believed or not. John Brown put it there, on the front page of every newspaper in the country.
And yet, John Brown can also be reckoned a terrorist and a murderer. He took judgment into his own hands. He was the jury and the executioner. Of course, he would say he had right on his side, that he had righteousness. He would say that he had God looking over his shoulder. Yet we today, in the Age of Terror, know all too well how many crimes have been committed in the name of God.
Unfortunately, in writing a traditional narrative history, Horwitz misses the opportunity to have engaged this discussion in his own inimitable style. That opportunity is now gone forever.
Still, we are left with something worthwhile. A book that serves to remind those who know of John Brown of his importance, and a book that serves to introduce John Brown to those who do not.
- Tony Horwitz, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War
“Was John Brown simply an episode, or was he an eternal truth? And if a truth, how speaks that truth today?”
- W.E.B. Du Bois, John Brown
Today, John Brown – the wizened man with the beard of an Old Testament prophet, and the personality to match – is mostly remembered, if at all, as a footnote in the vast historiography of the American Civil War. Today, he is just another marker on a timeline that includes the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act, Dredd Scott v. Sandford, and Bleeding Kansas (where Brown first entered the public stage, in murderous fashion). Today, John Brown’s bracing moral clarity – and his lethally precipitate actions – are lost in a fog of euphemisms such as “state’s rights.”
But that is today.
In his own time, his contemporaries recognized what he had done and what he meant. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote that Brown’s assault on Harpers Ferry in 1859 “did more to shake the foundations of slavery than any single thing that ever happened in America.” Frederick Douglass, who knew Brown personally and disagreed with his plans, stated that: “If John Brown did not end the war that ended slavery, he did at least begin the war that ended slavery.” Herman Melville wrote a poem in which he called John Brown, quite simply, “[t]he meteor of the war.”
Tony Horwitz’s Midnight Rising is an attempt to recapture that John Brown, the John Brown who took it upon himself to nudge destiny along. As characters go, he is tough to beat: the man who led a rag-tag group of idealists and adventurers in a harebrained scheme to steal weapons from the U.S. Armory in Harpers Ferry, arm escaped slaves, and start a war; the man who went to Kansas and murdered pro-slave settlers in cold blood; the man who was not just an abolitionist, but a believer in equality; the man of whom Frederick Douglass once said: “I could live for the slave, but he could die for him;” the man who went to the gallows without flinching, his final written statement a prophecy: “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.”
Despite the exceptional raw materials for his book, the early going of Midnight Rising is unexpectedly slow. At 290 pages of text, this is a short book, and I never thought about quitting. Yet it surprised me how uninvolved I felt, even at the halfway point.
The problem is that this is not a typical Tony Horwitz book. Horwitz made his reputation (a sterling, Pulitzer Prize-winning reputation) writing what I call Historical Road Trips. He would choose a topic (the Civil War, Columbus, Captain Cook) and then hit the road (or the water), traveling to the locales himself, talking to local historians, researchers, and enthusiasts. He then produced books that combined the wit and charm of Sarah Vowell’s Assassination Vacation with impeccable reportage and deep insight.
(A sad side note: Horwitz recently died, quite suddenly, at the age of sixty. Undoubtedly, he had many more stories to tell. The tragedy, as always: Life is too short; the library is too large).
Instead of taking that route here, Horwitz decides to present Midnight Rising as a straight history (with the exception of a brief, first-person prologue). The result is a semi-inert retelling of Brown’s early life, his bad business dealings, his growing radicalism, and his shadowy ties to the Secret Six (wealthy northerners who financed his escapades). I’m not saying this was terrible, by any means, but it fell far below my expectations from Horwitz, and did nothing to separate itself from Evan Carton’s Patriotic Treason.
Then comes the raid itself, which is delivered with novelistic detail, narrative coherence, and gripping style. Helped along by a great map of the area, Horwitz delivers the full, bloody, brutal raid, from the accidental shooting of a free black man by Brown’s men (an inauspicious way to begin their crusade), to the slaughter of escaping raiders as they floundered helplessly in the Potomac River, to their final capture in an engine house, by Marines commanded by some feller named Robert Lee, who would have a role to play in the war to come. It is the fullest, best account of Brown’s misbegotten action I have ever read.
Midnight Rising reaches a high peak at this point, and it is natural that there is a comedown as Horwitz deals with the judicial aftermath. Still, his recreation of the gunfight at the corner of Potomac and Shenandoah is worth the cover price.
That said, I can’t help but wish that Horwitz had given Midnight Rising his usual treatment. This is a topic that calls out for an on-the-ground exploration. I would have loved to have had Horwitz ask Americans – both white and black – what John Brown means to them, or if they recognized the name at all.
Because to me, the question of what John Brown symbolizes today is fascinating. Personally, I see in him a rebuke to the notion that the Civil War was ever about anything other than slavery. And his actions – in his willingness to hang from the neck until dead (the New York Tribune said he strangled, jerked, and quivered for five minutes) – serve as a counterpoint to the idea that Americans in the mid-19th century were entirely ignorant of the possibility that slavery was immoral. The proposition of slavery's evil was out there, whether it was believed or not. John Brown put it there, on the front page of every newspaper in the country.
And yet, John Brown can also be reckoned a terrorist and a murderer. He took judgment into his own hands. He was the jury and the executioner. Of course, he would say he had right on his side, that he had righteousness. He would say that he had God looking over his shoulder. Yet we today, in the Age of Terror, know all too well how many crimes have been committed in the name of God.
Unfortunately, in writing a traditional narrative history, Horwitz misses the opportunity to have engaged this discussion in his own inimitable style. That opportunity is now gone forever.
Still, we are left with something worthwhile. A book that serves to remind those who know of John Brown of his importance, and a book that serves to introduce John Brown to those who do not.
February 13, 2021
Let me begin by saying that John Brown's mission to end slavery was noble (that's right, I'm taking a stance against slavery – controversial, I know). However, author Tony Horwitz' treatment of the John Brown story offers a more complicated narrative that begs questions that have been easy enough to dismiss in hindsight (especially since the beatification of Brown is passed down through such a catchy tune).
The task at hand for Horowitz was, in many ways, similar to that confronted by Eric Metaxas in Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet Spy (which I, by coincidence, read a few weeks back). Bonhoeffer (who was killed for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler) and Brown were both men who sought to oppose institutions that most of us agree were completely amoral. However, as Horwitz described in a PBS interview, the means by which these acts occurred is not something we, as a society, typically sanction.
A twice married man (though not at the same time), John Brown had twenty children (though eight died while they were very young). A die-hard Calvinist and abolitionist, morals were not something to be taken lightly in the Brown household. Just look at the happy faces of his second wife, Mary Ann, and daughters Annie and Sarah (I'm kidding- I know the photography of the era involved a lot of holding still).
Brown comes across as kind of fanatical by nature. Though I try to avoid condemnation by association, it was interesting to me that John Wilkes Booth (an eyewitness to John Brown's execution, and volunteer in the militia that raided Harper's Ferry) was reported to respect Brown's methods (though, obviously, not his mission). Brown seemed more Fred Phelps than Abe Lincoln, but one can only guess at who Brown would have been at another time in another place.
This was an interesting read that I would certainly recommend, but it left me feeling a bit inarticulate vis-à-vis my feelings on Old John Brown.
The task at hand for Horowitz was, in many ways, similar to that confronted by Eric Metaxas in Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet Spy (which I, by coincidence, read a few weeks back). Bonhoeffer (who was killed for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler) and Brown were both men who sought to oppose institutions that most of us agree were completely amoral. However, as Horwitz described in a PBS interview, the means by which these acts occurred is not something we, as a society, typically sanction.
Religious fundamentalism? The right of the individual to oppose their government? All these issues are still troubling and relevant. And that's why I think Brown is still with us. He — he worries us. What do we do with this homegrown American terrorist?Here's where the Bonhoeffer parallel ends, and where John Brown starts raising quite a few red flags for this reader. At the very least, the image of John Brown as the ultimate abolitionist, without whom we might never have gotten around to freeing the slaves, began to feel naïve.
A twice married man (though not at the same time), John Brown had twenty children (though eight died while they were very young). A die-hard Calvinist and abolitionist, morals were not something to be taken lightly in the Brown household. Just look at the happy faces of his second wife, Mary Ann, and daughters Annie and Sarah (I'm kidding- I know the photography of the era involved a lot of holding still).
Brown comes across as kind of fanatical by nature. Though I try to avoid condemnation by association, it was interesting to me that John Wilkes Booth (an eyewitness to John Brown's execution, and volunteer in the militia that raided Harper's Ferry) was reported to respect Brown's methods (though, obviously, not his mission). Brown seemed more Fred Phelps than Abe Lincoln, but one can only guess at who Brown would have been at another time in another place.
This was an interesting read that I would certainly recommend, but it left me feeling a bit inarticulate vis-à-vis my feelings on Old John Brown.
May 7, 2025
I have to admit my embarrassment about my initial lack of knowledge about this author. What I have come to understand is that he is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for national reporting who I knew nothing about until I read about him from his wife, author, Geraldine Brooks in her book, “Memorial Days.” Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In her book, she shared openly about the loss of him, by emotionally addressing her grief. He was on a book tour in 2019 promoting his latest book, “Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide” when while walking, he collapsed from cardiac arrest due to myocarditis. He sadly died on the spot. He was only 60 years young.
Because I was so in tune to Brooks book about their relationship, I became curious about Horwitz the writer. So, I thought I might be interested in reading something he would have written. Of course, it also helps that I do like to read a bit of history, every now and then, too. Thus, this is how I came to check out one of his books. This 2011 book finally became available at my local library early this month (May, 2025).
Even though this was non-fiction, I found myself riveted to the pages, as if it were a historical fiction read. His writing was provocative. His descriptions of the people of that time were engrossing and seductive. Most compelling was the blatant and harsh bigotry shared by the author of how the blacks were treated. It was like reading something out of today’s newspapers.
I know I sound like I am overstating this, because the author was obviously writing about a time in history that was discussing slavery. But that wasn’t my point. It was the attitude of the people he conveyed through his writing. The lack of respect, and dehumanizing of others because of the color of one’s skin, showed clearly a racist behavior that unfortunately plays out in today’s world.
As a society TODAY there is a glaring and undisguised promotion of hate based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, and socioeconomic background. And, when systemic biases/racism exists, they are used as political tools that reject the values of equality, coexistence and the rule of law in favor of raw power for white nationalist, fascist behavior. So much of Horwitz’s writing was a mirror into today’s politics.
So, who was John Brown and why was he interested in abolishing slavery? After all, he was a white man. Brown was raised as a Calvinist where life was a constant struggle against sin. The Browns believed they must bear witness against the sins of a nation. So, for John Brown to take the direction he eventually did, he naturally believed he was destined. Also, “John Brown, raised by disciplinarians, became one himself.”
He hated the idea of slavery due to a combination of personal experiences, religious beliefs and his view of slavery as a moral and political evil. He witnessed firsthand the brutality of slavery and believed it was a transgression against God which fueled his commitment to abolish it. Thus, turning him into an abolitionist. An abolitionist being a person who favored the ending of the practice of slavery.
The author tells the story leading up to and the actual raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859. An event that intensified animosities and contributed to the break out of the civil war and the divide between the North and the South and difficulty towards reconciliation between the two factions.
Particularly interesting was when the author chose to walk in Brown’s footsteps by visiting the actual location of the raid itself. He shared…
“…walking in the footsteps of history isn’t the same as being there. I could tread where Brown’s men did glimpse some of what they saw, but the place I wanted to be was inside their heads. What led them to launch a brazen assault on their own government and countrymen? Why were millions of other Americans willing to kill and die in the civil war that followed? How did one event connect to the other?”
Through meticulous historical research the author takes us through time and attempts to answer these very questions. With pictures and stories and journal entries of what took place that led up to the fateful days to come, during and after, readers learn about the true history of the time. And, why it was so important to fight for the cause.
Of particular importance is the author’s appendix which pays homage to the raiders killed in action, captured, escaped, killed or wounded by raiders. There are also notes at the end of the book that support his extensive research. As well as an artist rendering of Harpers Ferry 1859 on the opening and closing pages of the book.
This is a beautifully articulate narrative of one of America’s most troubling and brutal historical figures. Even if in Brown’s violence he made a statement, it was a time and a place in history that something needed to change. And, now that we are standing at a pivotal time in our own history in which prejudice and hate rears its ugly head again, we cannot ignore the magnitude of what the message of hate does to a nation.
Books like this need to be read, to remind us that we have got to stop the cycle of hate and prejudice. We need to embrace our differences so that violence like this does not have to occur.
No doubt the civil war was a devastating war. We cannot afford to go there again. Consider…Russia/Ukraine. Israel/Gaza. Our current: United States – Red vs Blue – Un-united States? Perhaps books like this remind us of the cost of wars.
Of particular note: Horwitz published this book in 2011. I am reading and reviewing this in 2025. Still, I can’t help but tie this directly to today’s politics. The author may not have intended to compare what was done ‘yesterday’ with today (especially since he died in 2019 and this was published in 2011 long before Trump was on the scene). But as we well know, the Holocaust being a vivid example, the past and the present have a way of melding together on their own. We can’t help but find a connection. And, in so doing, it really isn’t comforting at all.
Why does history have to repeat itself in these abominable and atrocious ways? What does it take for humanity to learn from these historical lessons?
Perhaps make readers of history of us all. So, we don’t repeat ourselves again and again.
In her book, she shared openly about the loss of him, by emotionally addressing her grief. He was on a book tour in 2019 promoting his latest book, “Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide” when while walking, he collapsed from cardiac arrest due to myocarditis. He sadly died on the spot. He was only 60 years young.
Because I was so in tune to Brooks book about their relationship, I became curious about Horwitz the writer. So, I thought I might be interested in reading something he would have written. Of course, it also helps that I do like to read a bit of history, every now and then, too. Thus, this is how I came to check out one of his books. This 2011 book finally became available at my local library early this month (May, 2025).
Even though this was non-fiction, I found myself riveted to the pages, as if it were a historical fiction read. His writing was provocative. His descriptions of the people of that time were engrossing and seductive. Most compelling was the blatant and harsh bigotry shared by the author of how the blacks were treated. It was like reading something out of today’s newspapers.
I know I sound like I am overstating this, because the author was obviously writing about a time in history that was discussing slavery. But that wasn’t my point. It was the attitude of the people he conveyed through his writing. The lack of respect, and dehumanizing of others because of the color of one’s skin, showed clearly a racist behavior that unfortunately plays out in today’s world.
As a society TODAY there is a glaring and undisguised promotion of hate based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, and socioeconomic background. And, when systemic biases/racism exists, they are used as political tools that reject the values of equality, coexistence and the rule of law in favor of raw power for white nationalist, fascist behavior. So much of Horwitz’s writing was a mirror into today’s politics.
So, who was John Brown and why was he interested in abolishing slavery? After all, he was a white man. Brown was raised as a Calvinist where life was a constant struggle against sin. The Browns believed they must bear witness against the sins of a nation. So, for John Brown to take the direction he eventually did, he naturally believed he was destined. Also, “John Brown, raised by disciplinarians, became one himself.”
He hated the idea of slavery due to a combination of personal experiences, religious beliefs and his view of slavery as a moral and political evil. He witnessed firsthand the brutality of slavery and believed it was a transgression against God which fueled his commitment to abolish it. Thus, turning him into an abolitionist. An abolitionist being a person who favored the ending of the practice of slavery.
The author tells the story leading up to and the actual raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859. An event that intensified animosities and contributed to the break out of the civil war and the divide between the North and the South and difficulty towards reconciliation between the two factions.
Particularly interesting was when the author chose to walk in Brown’s footsteps by visiting the actual location of the raid itself. He shared…
“…walking in the footsteps of history isn’t the same as being there. I could tread where Brown’s men did glimpse some of what they saw, but the place I wanted to be was inside their heads. What led them to launch a brazen assault on their own government and countrymen? Why were millions of other Americans willing to kill and die in the civil war that followed? How did one event connect to the other?”
Through meticulous historical research the author takes us through time and attempts to answer these very questions. With pictures and stories and journal entries of what took place that led up to the fateful days to come, during and after, readers learn about the true history of the time. And, why it was so important to fight for the cause.
Of particular importance is the author’s appendix which pays homage to the raiders killed in action, captured, escaped, killed or wounded by raiders. There are also notes at the end of the book that support his extensive research. As well as an artist rendering of Harpers Ferry 1859 on the opening and closing pages of the book.
This is a beautifully articulate narrative of one of America’s most troubling and brutal historical figures. Even if in Brown’s violence he made a statement, it was a time and a place in history that something needed to change. And, now that we are standing at a pivotal time in our own history in which prejudice and hate rears its ugly head again, we cannot ignore the magnitude of what the message of hate does to a nation.
Books like this need to be read, to remind us that we have got to stop the cycle of hate and prejudice. We need to embrace our differences so that violence like this does not have to occur.
No doubt the civil war was a devastating war. We cannot afford to go there again. Consider…Russia/Ukraine. Israel/Gaza. Our current: United States – Red vs Blue – Un-united States? Perhaps books like this remind us of the cost of wars.
Of particular note: Horwitz published this book in 2011. I am reading and reviewing this in 2025. Still, I can’t help but tie this directly to today’s politics. The author may not have intended to compare what was done ‘yesterday’ with today (especially since he died in 2019 and this was published in 2011 long before Trump was on the scene). But as we well know, the Holocaust being a vivid example, the past and the present have a way of melding together on their own. We can’t help but find a connection. And, in so doing, it really isn’t comforting at all.
Why does history have to repeat itself in these abominable and atrocious ways? What does it take for humanity to learn from these historical lessons?
Perhaps make readers of history of us all. So, we don’t repeat ourselves again and again.
June 29, 2012
Well, light summer reading this is not, but if you're looking for an affecting portrait of John Brown, this is the book for you. Even if you don't think you want that kind of book you might want to give this one a go.
Tony Horwitz is a masterful writer and his straightforward style is perfect for this story. I found myself near tears upon several occasions while reading this book, and that is in part because Horwitz knows how to tell it. His background as a journalist keeps him from getting flowery or boring, and my historian husband says that the book also holds water, history wise.
Upon finishing this book I'm left thinking about whether or not John Brown was insane. Lots of people speculated, still do, that he was. Is it because he put his convictions above everything, and I do mean everything, else? It's simultaneously admirable and sad that he and his family endured a life of poverty and sorrow, because he refused to compromise or stay silent in the face of slavery. His final raid on Harpers Ferry didn't prove successful, but Horwitz argues that it was the catalyst for The Civil War, so ultimately it accomplished his goal. His intensity and willingness to do anything, sacrifice anything, sounds terrifying. Frederick Douglass thought he was a crack pot, even William Lloyd Garrison, who was famous for not equivocating on the issue of slavery, was dubious. But was he crazy, or was he just the most committed abolitionist ever, and right to boot?
Tony Horwitz is a masterful writer and his straightforward style is perfect for this story. I found myself near tears upon several occasions while reading this book, and that is in part because Horwitz knows how to tell it. His background as a journalist keeps him from getting flowery or boring, and my historian husband says that the book also holds water, history wise.
Upon finishing this book I'm left thinking about whether or not John Brown was insane. Lots of people speculated, still do, that he was. Is it because he put his convictions above everything, and I do mean everything, else? It's simultaneously admirable and sad that he and his family endured a life of poverty and sorrow, because he refused to compromise or stay silent in the face of slavery. His final raid on Harpers Ferry didn't prove successful, but Horwitz argues that it was the catalyst for The Civil War, so ultimately it accomplished his goal. His intensity and willingness to do anything, sacrifice anything, sounds terrifying. Frederick Douglass thought he was a crack pot, even William Lloyd Garrison, who was famous for not equivocating on the issue of slavery, was dubious. But was he crazy, or was he just the most committed abolitionist ever, and right to boot?
January 24, 2025
”Harpers Ferry wasn’t simply a prelude to secession and civil war, in many respects it was a dress rehearsal. The debate and division stirred by the crisis unsettled decades of compromise and prevarication. On the subject of John Brown, there was no middle ground; North and South, citizens picked sides, and braced for conflict that now seemed inevitable.”
Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War is not a biography of Brown. Rather, it is a detailed history of his Harpers Ferry raid that cemented his place in American history. In just the first fourth of his book Horwitz dispatches with John Brown’s life up until his concentration on his raid into Virginia (including his notorious actions in Bleeding Kansas). The remaining three quarters of the history are entirely devoted to the famous raid, including its preparations and far reaching aftermath. Because of this, because of its expansive concentration on Harpers Ferry, Horwitz’s book can be illuminating even to those who have already read one or more biographies of Brown.
In light of what became the stock story, taught in schools for over a century — that John Brown was a deranged mad man and that his raid was an insignificant, trifling event — Horwitz spends much time recounting how contemporaries viewed Brown and his actions at the time. When Brown was hung by the State of Virginia, church bells tolled in the North, vigils were held. He was immediately seen by many in the North (including such luminaries as Thoreau, Emerson, and Longfellow) as a martyr to the cause of freedom. Meanwhile, Brown’s deed, and the North’s reaction convinced the South that Northern abolitionist were ready to take away their property, and pushed them far closer to secession than they had previously been. The State of South Carolina (the first to secede) named Brown as evidence in their declaration of secession. And even enemies who hated him and all he stood for acknowledged his great significance, as in these words of John Wilkes Booth (who witnessed Brown’s hanging):
”John Brown was a man inspired, the grandest character of the century.”
Horwitz also examines Brown’s motivations and curious actions at Harpers Ferry. Looking into what Brown’s men, his family and his financial supporters all said, and taking Brown’s own statements into account, Horwitz leans toward the position that Brown expected his raid to fail, perhaps even counted on it failing, realizing what powerful after effects his symbolic strike would have. Horwitz notes Brown’s statement that referenced the Old Testament story of Sampson bringing down the temple to kill more Philistines through his death than his life:
”I expect to effect a mighty conquest, even though it be like the last victory of Sampson.”
John Brown
And writes further:
”Northern admirers may cast Brown as a Christ figure, and he was willing to play that part, but the role he wrote for himself at the end was that of God’s avenger, wounded and in bonds, triumphantly crying at the last, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’”
In his epilogue, Horwitz considers John Brown’s legacy. Langston Hughs, the brilliant poet of the Harlem Renaissance, was told tales of John Brown and his men over and over by his grandmother, whose first husband was one of Brown’s raiders. The great poet memorialized Brown and his brave deed with this poem:
October 16: The Raid
Perhaps
You will remember
John Brown.
John Brown
Who took his gun,
Took twenty-one companions
White and black,
Went to shoot your way to freedom
Where two rivers meet
And the hills of the
North
And the hills of the
South
Look slow at one another—
And died
For your sake.
Now that you are
Many years free,
And the echo of the Civil War
Has passed away,
And Brown himself
Has long been tried at law,
Hanged by the neck,
And buried in the ground—
Since Harpers Ferry
Is alive with ghosts today,
Immortal raiders
Come again to town—
Perhaps
You will recall
Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War is not a biography of Brown. Rather, it is a detailed history of his Harpers Ferry raid that cemented his place in American history. In just the first fourth of his book Horwitz dispatches with John Brown’s life up until his concentration on his raid into Virginia (including his notorious actions in Bleeding Kansas). The remaining three quarters of the history are entirely devoted to the famous raid, including its preparations and far reaching aftermath. Because of this, because of its expansive concentration on Harpers Ferry, Horwitz’s book can be illuminating even to those who have already read one or more biographies of Brown.
In light of what became the stock story, taught in schools for over a century — that John Brown was a deranged mad man and that his raid was an insignificant, trifling event — Horwitz spends much time recounting how contemporaries viewed Brown and his actions at the time. When Brown was hung by the State of Virginia, church bells tolled in the North, vigils were held. He was immediately seen by many in the North (including such luminaries as Thoreau, Emerson, and Longfellow) as a martyr to the cause of freedom. Meanwhile, Brown’s deed, and the North’s reaction convinced the South that Northern abolitionist were ready to take away their property, and pushed them far closer to secession than they had previously been. The State of South Carolina (the first to secede) named Brown as evidence in their declaration of secession. And even enemies who hated him and all he stood for acknowledged his great significance, as in these words of John Wilkes Booth (who witnessed Brown’s hanging):
”John Brown was a man inspired, the grandest character of the century.”
Horwitz also examines Brown’s motivations and curious actions at Harpers Ferry. Looking into what Brown’s men, his family and his financial supporters all said, and taking Brown’s own statements into account, Horwitz leans toward the position that Brown expected his raid to fail, perhaps even counted on it failing, realizing what powerful after effects his symbolic strike would have. Horwitz notes Brown’s statement that referenced the Old Testament story of Sampson bringing down the temple to kill more Philistines through his death than his life:
”I expect to effect a mighty conquest, even though it be like the last victory of Sampson.”
John Brown
And writes further:
”Northern admirers may cast Brown as a Christ figure, and he was willing to play that part, but the role he wrote for himself at the end was that of God’s avenger, wounded and in bonds, triumphantly crying at the last, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’”
In his epilogue, Horwitz considers John Brown’s legacy. Langston Hughs, the brilliant poet of the Harlem Renaissance, was told tales of John Brown and his men over and over by his grandmother, whose first husband was one of Brown’s raiders. The great poet memorialized Brown and his brave deed with this poem:
October 16: The Raid
Perhaps
You will remember
John Brown.
John Brown
Who took his gun,
Took twenty-one companions
White and black,
Went to shoot your way to freedom
Where two rivers meet
And the hills of the
North
And the hills of the
South
Look slow at one another—
And died
For your sake.
Now that you are
Many years free,
And the echo of the Civil War
Has passed away,
And Brown himself
Has long been tried at law,
Hanged by the neck,
And buried in the ground—
Since Harpers Ferry
Is alive with ghosts today,
Immortal raiders
Come again to town—
Perhaps
You will recall
October 20, 2012
Having grown up in eastern Kansas, I've been fascinated by John Brown ever since I saw, as a school child, the stunning mural of him in the Kansas State Capitol building. (The painting is "Tragic Prelude" by Kansas artist John Steuart Curry.) When I learned that Horwitz, one of my favorite historians, had taken up Brown's story, I knew I had to read it, and what better time than on the anniversary of the Harpers Ferry raid Oct. 16? Horwitz does thorough and impeccable research, gives his readers the necessary background, and then relates events simply and clearly. One of many facts I hadn't known was that Ralph Waldo Emerson, the most eminent intellectual of the period, considered Brown's brief 600 word speech at his sentencing to be one of the finest in America's history. Emerson wrote that it and the Gettysburg Address were "the two best specimens of eloquence we have had in this country."
Regarding Brown, who can fail to be moved by someone who lays his life on the line to oppose injustice when all odds are against him? And who later, refusing friends' attempts to rescue him from jail as he awaited execution, chose martyrdom as the most effective blow he could strike against slavery? Whether or not one agrees with his tactics, he stands as a towering figure speaking truth to power at a critical point in American history, and as a source of inspiration in the ongoing struggle of oppressed peoples for freedom.
Regarding Brown, who can fail to be moved by someone who lays his life on the line to oppose injustice when all odds are against him? And who later, refusing friends' attempts to rescue him from jail as he awaited execution, chose martyrdom as the most effective blow he could strike against slavery? Whether or not one agrees with his tactics, he stands as a towering figure speaking truth to power at a critical point in American history, and as a source of inspiration in the ongoing struggle of oppressed peoples for freedom.
July 23, 2019
Well-written, just dry IMO.
December 26, 2016
Years before the South seceded from the Union, John Brown attempted to hold Harper’s Ferry in the slave state of Virginia. What did he want from the raid? He wanted to spark a revolution and the war to come. He wanted to arm the slaves in that town, empty the armory and begin making his way down South freeing the slaves. John Brown was an abolitionist who completely believed that slaves should be free and that the institution of slavery should not exist. Brown was willing to take lives and die for the cause as was evident on October 16, 1859 and through the thirty six hours that followed.
Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War is the story of John Brown. Divided into three parts, Horwitz takes his time dissecting the life of Brown looking at his upbringing and belief system, the raid itself and the aftermath. This book was very well rounded and showed a very in-depth look at a man who had a passion for ending slavery. It is brutal, honest and straightforward with its delivery. Horwitz provides fact along with quotes from not only Brown himself, but those that surrounded him, fought against him, family members and politicians. This was extremely well developed, well executed and powerful.
I chose this book because I wanted to educate myself on what happened the night of the raid and the days that followed. This offered so much more than just a look at what happened that night. I don’t if anyone can ever truly understand Brown but there was something so amazing about his conviction and his need to free the slaves. He was determined and he committed heinous acts in his quest to end slavery but he was convinced of his calling and he died for it. That’s what made this book so extraordinary. It did a great job in highlighting these aspects of Brown’s life and his need to make a difference. I enjoyed learning about him, and the events that led to that fateful night in October of 1859. Knowing that the events at Harper’s Ferry would make the country ripe for a Civil War made it even more interesting. Horwitz did a great job extending the story. If you are interested in the events that lead up to the Civil War then this is definitely a book I can recommend. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Want to read
August 23, 2019
May 20, 2024
Detailed and readable account of John Brown’s raid and how it spurred on the beginning of the Civil War. Horowitz does an admirable job of exploring whether Brown was a hero or a madman while contextualizing his actions within the political climate of the time.
September 15, 2024
I really dig how this book is like “John Brown ruled but like, he was NOT good at literally anything except being based af”.
Very fair, book! Very fair.
Very fair, book! Very fair.
March 6, 2024
This was a very thorough look at Brown, his zeal, his plans, his death, and his effect. Before I read the book, I think I would have said he was an abolitionist hero; the book certainly showed that after his death, slavery was on the chopping block, so he did force the issue! However, I couldn’t help but view him more negatively after learning so much about him, some of which was unsavory, cruel, and foolhardy. I think that Horwitz made it clear that Brown was an egomaniacal radical whose plans were ill-formed and led his followers into danger. The book made me look at those who supported Brown, such as Thoreau and Alcott, more critically as well. Slavery is dead wrong, but so is pulling innocent settlers in Kansas out of their beds to be killed in cold blood. I couldn’t help but equate him with other people who take matters into their own hands through violence — abortion clinic bombers or January 6th rebels conspirators. I’m almost sorry I learned so much because I would have liked to continue to view him as someone who honorably strove to bring slavery to an end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2016
”In firing his gun, John Brown has merely told what time of day it is. It is high noon, thank god.” – William Lloyd Garrison
John Brown and his famous Harper’s Ferry raid were two major catalysts of the American Civil War. A fervent abolitionist, Brown believed he was appointed by God to help end the institution of slavery. But unlike other abolitionists of his day, Brown rejected the pacifist approach and turned to violence to achieve his aims. He became a national name during the Kansas skirmishes of the late 1850s (“Bleeding Kansas”). When southern agitants threatened free-state sympathizers with violence, Brown responded in kind, brutally slaying five pro-slavery settlers in the Pottawatomie Massacre and raising a small militia to combat pro-slavery forces harassing northerners.
But Brown had higher goals in mind. In 1859, Brown led a group of 21 men into Virginia on a daring raid. The group captured the federal armory at Harpers Ferry with only a little difficulty, but things quickly fell apart. Brown’s mission was ostensibly to inspire a slave uprising, but he and his band did little to inform the slave population and incite rebellion. Instead, they holed up in the armory with their hostages, exchanging fire with the townspeople for three days until the U.S. Army (led by Robert E. Lee, of all people) arrived and stormed the armory. Brown and his surviving men would all hang. Less than two years later, the Confederate states seceded and the Civil War began.
At first glance, Brown’s raid was a complete failure. The raid was pretty much doomed from the outset and freed zero slaves. Many people, north and south, thought Brown was a total madman. But this book makes a good case that Brown was not crazy, but a fanatic in the full sense of the term. Brown was a deeply religious man, single-minded and obstinate, completely obsessed with ending slavery in the U.S. The Harpers Ferry raid, which was a national sensation, was one of the last two straws (along with the election of Abraham Lincoln) that broke the South’s back and led to secession. After the Harpers Ferry raid, and the very different receptions it received north and south of the Mason-Dixon line, it became crystal clear that the slavery question could only be resolved one way. As Brown himself said on the day of his execution, ““I John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with blood.” The interesting question is if Brown realized how inflammatory the raid would prove to be. Horowitz makes the argument that Brown (who had no problem whatsoever of becoming a martyr) probably knew the raid was tactically flawed from the start, but the aftermath would push the slavery compromise to the breaking point. If that’s true, Brown was certainly correct.
History would prove to be on John Brown and the other abolitionists’ side. It’s hard to feel much sympathy for the snarling slaveholders that opposed Brown. But John Brown was far from perfect, and this book also explores his dark side. In Kansas, Brown and his men hacked pro-slavery settlers to death with broadswords. He led a number of his sons, relatives, and neighbors to death on the Harpers Ferry attack and his other raids, and put his abolitionist crusade above his long-suffering (and often virtually abandoned) wife. All in all, this was an interesting, well-written account of John Brown’s life and the famous raid that launched the Civil War. 3.5 stars, recommended.
John Brown and his famous Harper’s Ferry raid were two major catalysts of the American Civil War. A fervent abolitionist, Brown believed he was appointed by God to help end the institution of slavery. But unlike other abolitionists of his day, Brown rejected the pacifist approach and turned to violence to achieve his aims. He became a national name during the Kansas skirmishes of the late 1850s (“Bleeding Kansas”). When southern agitants threatened free-state sympathizers with violence, Brown responded in kind, brutally slaying five pro-slavery settlers in the Pottawatomie Massacre and raising a small militia to combat pro-slavery forces harassing northerners.
But Brown had higher goals in mind. In 1859, Brown led a group of 21 men into Virginia on a daring raid. The group captured the federal armory at Harpers Ferry with only a little difficulty, but things quickly fell apart. Brown’s mission was ostensibly to inspire a slave uprising, but he and his band did little to inform the slave population and incite rebellion. Instead, they holed up in the armory with their hostages, exchanging fire with the townspeople for three days until the U.S. Army (led by Robert E. Lee, of all people) arrived and stormed the armory. Brown and his surviving men would all hang. Less than two years later, the Confederate states seceded and the Civil War began.
At first glance, Brown’s raid was a complete failure. The raid was pretty much doomed from the outset and freed zero slaves. Many people, north and south, thought Brown was a total madman. But this book makes a good case that Brown was not crazy, but a fanatic in the full sense of the term. Brown was a deeply religious man, single-minded and obstinate, completely obsessed with ending slavery in the U.S. The Harpers Ferry raid, which was a national sensation, was one of the last two straws (along with the election of Abraham Lincoln) that broke the South’s back and led to secession. After the Harpers Ferry raid, and the very different receptions it received north and south of the Mason-Dixon line, it became crystal clear that the slavery question could only be resolved one way. As Brown himself said on the day of his execution, ““I John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with blood.” The interesting question is if Brown realized how inflammatory the raid would prove to be. Horowitz makes the argument that Brown (who had no problem whatsoever of becoming a martyr) probably knew the raid was tactically flawed from the start, but the aftermath would push the slavery compromise to the breaking point. If that’s true, Brown was certainly correct.
History would prove to be on John Brown and the other abolitionists’ side. It’s hard to feel much sympathy for the snarling slaveholders that opposed Brown. But John Brown was far from perfect, and this book also explores his dark side. In Kansas, Brown and his men hacked pro-slavery settlers to death with broadswords. He led a number of his sons, relatives, and neighbors to death on the Harpers Ferry attack and his other raids, and put his abolitionist crusade above his long-suffering (and often virtually abandoned) wife. All in all, this was an interesting, well-written account of John Brown’s life and the famous raid that launched the Civil War. 3.5 stars, recommended.
February 17, 2016
"Midnight Rising" sheds some light on a historical footnote that many people no longer know much, if anything, about. As someone who loves reading about the Civil War period in American history I was familiar with the generalized versions of John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry Virginia in 1859, but Mr. Horwitz's engaging and well researched account give that incident a much wider significance for the modern reader.
This text offers an excellent accounting of the political atmosphere in America prior to 1859, especially in how it relates to the question of slavery. Horwitz displays a talent for making what could be a dry history tale into the most relevant political lessons. He also does a lively and detailed job showing how John Brown lived and developed as a rabid abolitionist as destiny propelled him to his fate at Harper's Ferry. Most of the information included in this part of the book I knew nothing, or very little, about.
The book is also strengthened by the inclusion of numerous photographs and illustrations that enhance the text, and put faces to the many names and characters that people the story. Most of them, with a few exceptions, have been lost to general history and are unfamiliar to us. Mr. Horwtiz makes them real, and more importantly, relevant!
Tony Horwitz is best known for writing books that combine history with modern travelogues, and interweaving the tales together. It is a formula that he utilizes quite well, however "Midnight Rising" does not follow that pattern, and many readers seemed disappointed by this shift in Horwitz's focus. I am not among them. This book is a work of popular history, much like the books of Erik Larson, and I hope Mr. Horwitz continues writing in this tradition, as he is quite skilled at it.
The book flags a little after the execution of Brown and some of his men, and gets a little redundant. Almost as if the author did not know how to conclude the text. It is still interesting; it just drops in quality from the first ¾ of the text. However, the book ends on a strong note with a poem by Langston Hughes, who in a remarkable coincidence was linked to one of Brown's raiders.
Whether John Brown was insane, a domestic terrorist, or a firebrand and avenging angel is left to the reader to decide. Horwtiz stays remarkably neutral in the text (which is a good thing) and the book does a wonderful job showing how full circle the net of history is when Horwitz details how many events that converged in Harper's Ferry in 1859 came back around to that place, or some of its people, in the decades following. The ironies abound and "Midnight Rising" is compelling and thoughtful history!
This text offers an excellent accounting of the political atmosphere in America prior to 1859, especially in how it relates to the question of slavery. Horwitz displays a talent for making what could be a dry history tale into the most relevant political lessons. He also does a lively and detailed job showing how John Brown lived and developed as a rabid abolitionist as destiny propelled him to his fate at Harper's Ferry. Most of the information included in this part of the book I knew nothing, or very little, about.
The book is also strengthened by the inclusion of numerous photographs and illustrations that enhance the text, and put faces to the many names and characters that people the story. Most of them, with a few exceptions, have been lost to general history and are unfamiliar to us. Mr. Horwtiz makes them real, and more importantly, relevant!
Tony Horwitz is best known for writing books that combine history with modern travelogues, and interweaving the tales together. It is a formula that he utilizes quite well, however "Midnight Rising" does not follow that pattern, and many readers seemed disappointed by this shift in Horwitz's focus. I am not among them. This book is a work of popular history, much like the books of Erik Larson, and I hope Mr. Horwitz continues writing in this tradition, as he is quite skilled at it.
The book flags a little after the execution of Brown and some of his men, and gets a little redundant. Almost as if the author did not know how to conclude the text. It is still interesting; it just drops in quality from the first ¾ of the text. However, the book ends on a strong note with a poem by Langston Hughes, who in a remarkable coincidence was linked to one of Brown's raiders.
Whether John Brown was insane, a domestic terrorist, or a firebrand and avenging angel is left to the reader to decide. Horwtiz stays remarkably neutral in the text (which is a good thing) and the book does a wonderful job showing how full circle the net of history is when Horwitz details how many events that converged in Harper's Ferry in 1859 came back around to that place, or some of its people, in the decades following. The ironies abound and "Midnight Rising" is compelling and thoughtful history!
October 9, 2021
Really interesting book, especially as I'd always wondered who on earth John Brown was when I was growing up singing "John Browns body lies a moulderin' in the grave, but his truth goes marching on..." in the 1970s in Christchurch New Zealand. The infiltration into NZ by American culture is much deeper and profounf than we even suspect. It was amazing to learn about the austere fanatical real life figure and his brave, reckless crusade against slavery. It's remarkable, and quite wonderful, to think that a man could be so committed to ending slavery that he could concoct and carry out the attack on Harper's Ferry that kicked off the US Civil War.
January 12, 2013
This is well done, and it's interesting to see Horwitz write a straight-up historical narrative. People expecting a lot of material on historical memory ala Confederates in the Attic will be disappointed. The structure and pacing are good and for the most part Horwitz provides the right amount of context on issues and places for a popular history. I don't know, however, that I really understand John Brown's personality better for having read it. Except for near the end, when Horwitz makes a good case that Brown knew the Harper's Ferry raid would fail, the book focuses more on actions than character when it comes to brown. Several of his supporters come through more vividly, which raises the interesting probability that Brown just never betrayed himself much, even in letters to his family (it's also nice to get a bigger sense of Brown's army as a movement, the kind of people it attracted.) The last chapter, when Horwitz talks about the coming of the civil war, is excellent, but given his past work that should hardly be surprising.
Horwitz also strikes me as a Brown apologist in this. It's a position with which I sympathize, but it can also minimize some important questions. My understanding of the massacre Brown and his people committed in Kansas, for example, it that it was a terrorist act in the literal sense of the word; Brown sought to kill pro-slavery whites in a manner horrible enough to scare other pro-slavery whites into rethinking or subduing their political position. Horwitz situates Brown's actions amid similar acts – both organized and vigilante, fair fights and attacks on unarmed civilians – committed by proslavery factions against antislavery ones during "Bloody Kansas." The frequency of violence, however, contextualizes the moral quandaries here; it doesn't negate them. What do we, here today, make of someone whose tactics seem inexcusable, except that he mobilized them against possibly the greatest national shame in US history (the systematic genocide of Native Americans being the other possible contender)? That's exactly the kind of place where I'd expect Horwitz's journalistic approaches from past books to let him thrive, but oh well. Horwitz does give his readers enough for people to approach these questions for themselves, even if he does seem to plant himself in the Brown as visionary than crackpot camp. In all, a good exercise in historical story telling.
Horwitz also strikes me as a Brown apologist in this. It's a position with which I sympathize, but it can also minimize some important questions. My understanding of the massacre Brown and his people committed in Kansas, for example, it that it was a terrorist act in the literal sense of the word; Brown sought to kill pro-slavery whites in a manner horrible enough to scare other pro-slavery whites into rethinking or subduing their political position. Horwitz situates Brown's actions amid similar acts – both organized and vigilante, fair fights and attacks on unarmed civilians – committed by proslavery factions against antislavery ones during "Bloody Kansas." The frequency of violence, however, contextualizes the moral quandaries here; it doesn't negate them. What do we, here today, make of someone whose tactics seem inexcusable, except that he mobilized them against possibly the greatest national shame in US history (the systematic genocide of Native Americans being the other possible contender)? That's exactly the kind of place where I'd expect Horwitz's journalistic approaches from past books to let him thrive, but oh well. Horwitz does give his readers enough for people to approach these questions for themselves, even if he does seem to plant himself in the Brown as visionary than crackpot camp. In all, a good exercise in historical story telling.
September 12, 2018
Want to know about John Brown? This is the book. I read it in shifts so that's why it took as long as it did. But having been to Harper's Ferry...and living in Northeast Kansas...I still didn't know the John Brown story like Horwitz tells it.
May 26, 2019
3.5
I enjoyed what I learned - the book was a just a little dry.
I enjoyed what I learned - the book was a just a little dry.
July 7, 2025
John Brown is one of those historical figures I knew of through my boyhood-adulthood fascination with the American Civil War. Other than the references to his infamous Raid on Harpers Ferry in other books and the fictional account in “The Good Lord Bird”, I haven’t had much of a look at him and his life story. “Midnight Rising” is a solid examination of this influential figure in the fight to end slavery.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Midnight Rising as I previously read Tony Horwitz’s “Confederates in the Attic” which was his personal experiences with contemporary Civil War reenactors. I will say that as much as I don’t agree with Hortwitz’s subjects in the last book, it did hold my interest a bit more. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Midnight Rising’s content, I just found it dry at parts and I did find myself taking long breaks when reading it. But in general Horwitz did a solid job writing a historical text about Brown’s life and actions at Harpers Ferry. I knew the generalities of the Raid including certain details like the presence of future Confederate officers (Lee, Jackson, and Stuart) playing parts in putting an end to Brown’s Raid. But getting more details on the fighting and participants, while a little bit harder to follow at points, was much appreciated.
Even more appreciated that details on Harpers Ferry was the examination of Brown’s life before/after the infamous fight. I knew little of the Bloody Kansas period so I appreciated getting a good look at the conflict and Brown’s role in it. Likewise, the immediate aftermath of the Raid revealed some cool details like how Brown behaved during his trial/in the lead-up to his execution and other details like John Wilkes Booth dressing up as a soldier to see the execution. The big part though was Horwitz’s painting a picture of Brown as a truly unusual fellow and how that led him to being an odd duck among 19th Century White Americans in race relations. He was weird (not his progressive views on race though, just everything else) but something that inspired others be it his followers, abolitionists that kept him at arm’s length and even the future Confederates that condemned him.
“Midnight Rising” while not changing my view too much about Tony Horwitz as a writer/Civil War fanatic does a very good job painting a portrait of John Brown, his life, his failed Raid, and the long lasting impact it had on the United States. Definitely worth reading for Civil War scholars and even those that aren’t.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Midnight Rising as I previously read Tony Horwitz’s “Confederates in the Attic” which was his personal experiences with contemporary Civil War reenactors. I will say that as much as I don’t agree with Hortwitz’s subjects in the last book, it did hold my interest a bit more. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Midnight Rising’s content, I just found it dry at parts and I did find myself taking long breaks when reading it. But in general Horwitz did a solid job writing a historical text about Brown’s life and actions at Harpers Ferry. I knew the generalities of the Raid including certain details like the presence of future Confederate officers (Lee, Jackson, and Stuart) playing parts in putting an end to Brown’s Raid. But getting more details on the fighting and participants, while a little bit harder to follow at points, was much appreciated.
Even more appreciated that details on Harpers Ferry was the examination of Brown’s life before/after the infamous fight. I knew little of the Bloody Kansas period so I appreciated getting a good look at the conflict and Brown’s role in it. Likewise, the immediate aftermath of the Raid revealed some cool details like how Brown behaved during his trial/in the lead-up to his execution and other details like John Wilkes Booth dressing up as a soldier to see the execution. The big part though was Horwitz’s painting a picture of Brown as a truly unusual fellow and how that led him to being an odd duck among 19th Century White Americans in race relations. He was weird (not his progressive views on race though, just everything else) but something that inspired others be it his followers, abolitionists that kept him at arm’s length and even the future Confederates that condemned him.
“Midnight Rising” while not changing my view too much about Tony Horwitz as a writer/Civil War fanatic does a very good job painting a portrait of John Brown, his life, his failed Raid, and the long lasting impact it had on the United States. Definitely worth reading for Civil War scholars and even those that aren’t.
August 1, 2017
Where is the John Brown biopic that we deserve? I think it's best found in this telling, which goes deep into his background, motivations, flaws and strengths with unflinching honesty. So deep, that sometimes in the lead-up and wind-down from the cataclysmic attack, it gets a little dry, but the faithfulness to detail is appropriate.
There is nothing more American than the concept of blood redemption, so it's worth exploring this with eyes wide open, lest the wrong people get the wrong lessons. But to me, as flawed as he was, Brown did the wrong thing for all the right reasons, and that clarity of purpose kicked off the reckoning that left us better. The work isn't done, but without Brown, it's possible we never started.
There is nothing more American than the concept of blood redemption, so it's worth exploring this with eyes wide open, lest the wrong people get the wrong lessons. But to me, as flawed as he was, Brown did the wrong thing for all the right reasons, and that clarity of purpose kicked off the reckoning that left us better. The work isn't done, but without Brown, it's possible we never started.
October 6, 2025
I had no idea (or at least, did not remember learning) who John Brown was prior to this book. Quite the backstory. He was a terrible businessman but a great visionary and writer/speaker who inspired a lot of people and in some ways “got the ball rolling” towards the American Civil War. I wish we knew what he was expecting going into the raid on Harper’s Ferry—was he confident in his death during the raid, expecting to be hanged and preparing to take on the role of martyr, or did he think he’d capture the town and proceed south to free the nation? His preparations seemed to fit well into the outcome either way.
February 13, 2020
What a fascinating story.
August 7, 2017
In modern history textbooks, John Brown's Raid merits a few scant paragraphs. This seems to downplay the impact of the event, which was a direct contributor to the Civil War. Pulitzer winning journalist Tony Horwitz takes on this historical event in his second foray into the Civil War. Unlike Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War, this is a straight history book, and so lacks the humorous and thought provoking personal views of the author, but it is an excellent book in its own right. (Confederates in the attic was one of my favorites from last year.) Horwitz spends the first third of the book giving us a short biography of John Brown, his family, his deep spiritual beliefs and how he came to support violent action on behalf of abolition, and his actions in Kansas during the fight to determine its status as a slavery or free state. The next section covers his preparations for the Harper's Ferry raid, and a breakdown of the event itself. Finally, Horwitz covers Brown's trial, the trials of his men, their executions, and the impact of the whole affair.
John Brown's life and death inspired letters and poetry by Louisa May Alcott, Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He counted many other literary and philosophical thinkers of the time as his friends and acquaintances. A song, John Brown's Body, was composed, and became a marching song for the North in the coming Civil War. His trial was one of the first breaking news events of the country, and was followed by communities across the country. His coffin was followed from Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) to his home in Elba, New York, and pieces of his hanging rope and coffin were taken as relics. In the south, John Brown's raid was used to raise support for succession. And one witness to Brown's hanging used it as inspiration for his own violet act on behalf of the south; John Wilkes Booth.
John Brown was neither a saint nor a devil. Horwitz has compiled a well researched, fair, and thought provoking analysis of a man and his actions; a man who, in all fairness, was a terrorist. Obviously Brown was on the morally right side, against slavery and for abolition. He was much more progressive than most other abolitionists at the time, as he believed and actually acted as though blacks were his equals. But few things in life are as morally clear cut as slavery. The book perfectly encapsulates the saying that one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. It poses uncomfortable questions about religious fervor and extremism, and violent action on what is believed to be morally right. In his introduction Horwitz alludes to 9/11 terrorists, who believed that they were attacking a morally corrupt country. Personally, I thought of the constant conflict in Israel and Palestine, and of people who attack women's health clinics and doctors. At what point in society is violence justified to right a wrong? Can violence inspired by religion ever be justified in a pluralistic society? I love when books raise such thought provoking questions.
John Brown's life and death inspired letters and poetry by Louisa May Alcott, Herman Melville, Henry David Thoreau, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He counted many other literary and philosophical thinkers of the time as his friends and acquaintances. A song, John Brown's Body, was composed, and became a marching song for the North in the coming Civil War. His trial was one of the first breaking news events of the country, and was followed by communities across the country. His coffin was followed from Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) to his home in Elba, New York, and pieces of his hanging rope and coffin were taken as relics. In the south, John Brown's raid was used to raise support for succession. And one witness to Brown's hanging used it as inspiration for his own violet act on behalf of the south; John Wilkes Booth.
John Brown was neither a saint nor a devil. Horwitz has compiled a well researched, fair, and thought provoking analysis of a man and his actions; a man who, in all fairness, was a terrorist. Obviously Brown was on the morally right side, against slavery and for abolition. He was much more progressive than most other abolitionists at the time, as he believed and actually acted as though blacks were his equals. But few things in life are as morally clear cut as slavery. The book perfectly encapsulates the saying that one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. It poses uncomfortable questions about religious fervor and extremism, and violent action on what is believed to be morally right. In his introduction Horwitz alludes to 9/11 terrorists, who believed that they were attacking a morally corrupt country. Personally, I thought of the constant conflict in Israel and Palestine, and of people who attack women's health clinics and doctors. At what point in society is violence justified to right a wrong? Can violence inspired by religion ever be justified in a pluralistic society? I love when books raise such thought provoking questions.
December 28, 2016
Reading “Midnight Rising” is like being shown how your favorite uncle was actually a mass murderer in his younger days. It’s that kind of jarring. Here, the subject is John Brown, whose body lies a-moldering in the grave, as you recall. Having not really thought about John Brown, my conception was that he was an abolitionist prior to the Civil War that lead an armed raid that helped start the war. I think that’s a reasonable synopsis of the synopsis we were taught in our 10th grade US history books. Tony Horwitz examines the abolitionist’s actions with post 9/11 eyes, and while he doesn’t point out similarities, he lays out the story and the analysis of Brown’s actions so that you understand that Brown was what we now call a home-grown terrorist. And he was successful at what he really wanted to accomplish. The book goes through Brown’s life, including details from his parents’ lives, and through his youth and adulthood. Horwitz provides a good amount of detail on his early life, including his time in Kansas prior to the taking of Harpers Ferry. I found the planning and execution of the Harpers Ferry raid, though, to be the most interesting part of the story. Horwitz presents the raid as it happens, then comes back around to show how Brown’s strategic thinking was flawed. Time and again, you see Brown’s failings during this action. And when the action completes, Horwitz analyzes what Brown said and what Brown actually did to show that his intent wasn't the taking and the freeing of the slaves, it was to create the spark that propelled the country toward war. But that might be to give Brown too much credit – there was a lot of luck in getting to the outcome he ended up with, and he frankly seemed somewhat crazed, especially to have involved his children to the extent that he did.
Interesting was the role of Robert E. Lee as the soldier in charge of quelling the rebellion. His response, which is likely the best response to terrorist activities, is to downplay the incident in his reports back to his superiors while crushing what amounted to a small and not-well-thought-out insurrection. Of all the players in the story of Harpers Ferry, Lee appears to be the one with an eye to maintaining the Union. How things changed.
Also interesting in this story is how the people describe the captured and killed raiders working with Brown. For a few of the soldiers, Horwitz recounts how people noted they were extremely physically fit. You are left with the thought that some of Brown’s team would be portrayed with wrestlers turned actors in a modern movie of the event. I don’t recall reading about people in the 1800s commenting on a man’s physique, and I always stereotyped a man of the 1800s being an emaciated soldier. I need to adjust. There were other types of men involved in the raid, some weak-willed, some dashing, and Horwitz describes their differences so completely that I got the feel of an “Oceans 11” type of group. Who has the movie rights here, and what are they waiting for?
Interesting was the role of Robert E. Lee as the soldier in charge of quelling the rebellion. His response, which is likely the best response to terrorist activities, is to downplay the incident in his reports back to his superiors while crushing what amounted to a small and not-well-thought-out insurrection. Of all the players in the story of Harpers Ferry, Lee appears to be the one with an eye to maintaining the Union. How things changed.
Also interesting in this story is how the people describe the captured and killed raiders working with Brown. For a few of the soldiers, Horwitz recounts how people noted they were extremely physically fit. You are left with the thought that some of Brown’s team would be portrayed with wrestlers turned actors in a modern movie of the event. I don’t recall reading about people in the 1800s commenting on a man’s physique, and I always stereotyped a man of the 1800s being an emaciated soldier. I need to adjust. There were other types of men involved in the raid, some weak-willed, some dashing, and Horwitz describes their differences so completely that I got the feel of an “Oceans 11” type of group. Who has the movie rights here, and what are they waiting for?
March 31, 2014
John Brown-American hero or one of our first home grown terrorist? Perhaps the greatest quandary in American history is how we approach the story of John Brown. Convinced that the United States was being consumed by the sin of slavery, Brown decided to do something. He gave lectures, he helped slaves escape from the South, but ultimately he realized that nothing seemed to be working. As slavery began to spread westward into Missouri and Kansas in the late 1850’s, Brown felt that only violence could bring about the end of slavery. If it took the death of innocent people, then so be it. From “Bleeding Kansas” to the raid on Harper’s Ferry, Brown and his meager group of followers (mostly his own family) terrorized the country and helped to precipitate the great American Civil War.
Told in a straight forward, chronological manner, the story of Brown is fascinating. Author Tony Horwitz doesn’t seem to make any straight forward moral choices in determining whether Brown was right or wrong in his actions. He takes great pains to point out the destruction of Brown’s own family-many of his sons were killed or scarred emotionally for life. One son died, leaving a 17 year old pregnant widow who died only a month after the birth of her stillborn child. Brown and his family suffered much in their desire to end slavery. But, many were killed in his raids, who had nothing to do with slavery, or perhaps only tangentially involved. Even at Harper’s Ferry, those killed by Brown’s group had little to do with the practice of slavery. The killing themselves were more accidental then premeditated. Very quickly, Brown was caught (by troops serving under Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart no less) and brought to a speedy trial. Going to the gallows, Brown felt that by sacrificing his life, he was ultimately giving America the chance to repent of the sin of slavery and if violence was needed to end it, then so be it.
The moral choices discussed in this book are extremely difficult. Brown was right, slavery was a sin upon America and all its citizens. Is it right to merely stand by and watch an atrocity or do you have a moral imperative to do something? Could slavery have been abolished without the Civil War? Without resorting to violence? These questions are difficult and perhaps no one answer can be given. But the story is an important one in American history and Tony Horwitz has done an excellent job with a complicated subject.
Told in a straight forward, chronological manner, the story of Brown is fascinating. Author Tony Horwitz doesn’t seem to make any straight forward moral choices in determining whether Brown was right or wrong in his actions. He takes great pains to point out the destruction of Brown’s own family-many of his sons were killed or scarred emotionally for life. One son died, leaving a 17 year old pregnant widow who died only a month after the birth of her stillborn child. Brown and his family suffered much in their desire to end slavery. But, many were killed in his raids, who had nothing to do with slavery, or perhaps only tangentially involved. Even at Harper’s Ferry, those killed by Brown’s group had little to do with the practice of slavery. The killing themselves were more accidental then premeditated. Very quickly, Brown was caught (by troops serving under Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart no less) and brought to a speedy trial. Going to the gallows, Brown felt that by sacrificing his life, he was ultimately giving America the chance to repent of the sin of slavery and if violence was needed to end it, then so be it.
The moral choices discussed in this book are extremely difficult. Brown was right, slavery was a sin upon America and all its citizens. Is it right to merely stand by and watch an atrocity or do you have a moral imperative to do something? Could slavery have been abolished without the Civil War? Without resorting to violence? These questions are difficult and perhaps no one answer can be given. But the story is an important one in American history and Tony Horwitz has done an excellent job with a complicated subject.
August 23, 2015
This is just a great book about a fascinating period in American history. What struck me as I read was how different the country was in 1859 (total lack of national security state, for one), as well as how similar it was (the everpresence of white supremacy). This is a page turner for sure - a brief overview of John Brown's background, his self-ascribed messianic mission, and then a blow-by-blow account of the raid on Harper's Ferry, as well as its aftermath and impact upon kick-starting the Civil War.
I think one important takeaway for me, that the author might not agree with, is that John Brown's actions did at best mixed results when it comes to immediately furthering the cause of abolition. Most of the North, even the abolitionists, condemned the raid on Harper's Ferry and viewed it as foolish and dangerous. Some eventually came to his defense, however, through the highly politicized trial and then his execution. John Brown wanted to be a martyr, and he achieved that aim, and in doing so, he eventually brought the glow of righteousness to the abolitionist cause. But only in failure and death. We can only wonder how he would have been viewed if the raid had succeeded in initiating a large-scale slave revolt.
On the other hand, what is inarguable is that Brown's actions spoke directly to the worst fears of the secessionists in the South, and inflamed their fury to the point that secession was almost inevitable. So in that sense, Brown really did ignite the Civil War. But it's important to remember that the North was not taking up John Brown's abolitionist cause when they took up arms. They were fighting primarily to prevent the South from escaping the Union. It was the Confederacy that was fighting for utopian visions of a new nation, free from the North's industrial mode of production, and free to exploit black people as much as they damn well pleased.
Was the South wrong? Yes. But that doesn't mean that the North, or even Lincoln, had moral aims in mind. And this book does a great deal to shed light on that as well.
I think one important takeaway for me, that the author might not agree with, is that John Brown's actions did at best mixed results when it comes to immediately furthering the cause of abolition. Most of the North, even the abolitionists, condemned the raid on Harper's Ferry and viewed it as foolish and dangerous. Some eventually came to his defense, however, through the highly politicized trial and then his execution. John Brown wanted to be a martyr, and he achieved that aim, and in doing so, he eventually brought the glow of righteousness to the abolitionist cause. But only in failure and death. We can only wonder how he would have been viewed if the raid had succeeded in initiating a large-scale slave revolt.
On the other hand, what is inarguable is that Brown's actions spoke directly to the worst fears of the secessionists in the South, and inflamed their fury to the point that secession was almost inevitable. So in that sense, Brown really did ignite the Civil War. But it's important to remember that the North was not taking up John Brown's abolitionist cause when they took up arms. They were fighting primarily to prevent the South from escaping the Union. It was the Confederacy that was fighting for utopian visions of a new nation, free from the North's industrial mode of production, and free to exploit black people as much as they damn well pleased.
Was the South wrong? Yes. But that doesn't mean that the North, or even Lincoln, had moral aims in mind. And this book does a great deal to shed light on that as well.
February 22, 2017
Having lived in Ohio for my entire life I've come to appreciate the states roots in the Civil War. I knew who John Brown was and could tell you that his raid on Harpers Ferry was what helped cause the Civil War, and also vaguely mention that he had killed some pro-slavery border ruffians in Kansas. But I had no idea that he was from Cleveland or that the city and Case Western Reserve played a role in his life and his plans to lead a slave revolt in the South. Horowitz writes in a narrative manner which makes it feel more like reading a novel than a historical text. He detail Browns early life, his sympathies for African Americans, his fiery evangelical Christianity, and how he was one of the few people who not only believed in abolition of slavery but full equality for blacks. His actions galvanized Southern fire eaters to motion towards secession and northern abolitionists to switch from peaceful protests to militant abolition.
March 21, 2015
John Brown is among the most enigmatic figures in American History. Horwitz's dispassionate perspective avoids an agenda-driven view of Brown. Here we meet a difficult man whose passionate hatred of slavery and love of humanity (but not necessarily human beings) drive his motivations.
I was struck by the devotion of his followers to him and his cause. The closing chapters on the trial and brief period before his and his followers executions are particularly illuminating. Horwitz's analysis about the significance of Brown's raid is as balanced as could be hoped for.
I only wish that more had been written on Brown's earlier life and the events that shaped him. I also would have liked to have learned more about his family and his accomplices. Nevertheless, this is a satisfying read and should be valued by anyone interested in pre-Civil War history.
I was struck by the devotion of his followers to him and his cause. The closing chapters on the trial and brief period before his and his followers executions are particularly illuminating. Horwitz's analysis about the significance of Brown's raid is as balanced as could be hoped for.
I only wish that more had been written on Brown's earlier life and the events that shaped him. I also would have liked to have learned more about his family and his accomplices. Nevertheless, this is a satisfying read and should be valued by anyone interested in pre-Civil War history.
December 4, 2019
The late Tony Horwtiz has written a well-paced and very good history of the Harpers' Ferry uprising. The research is solid even if the book is not scholarly perse. The author clearly sympathizes with Brown. The major impulse one finds in the book is his discontinuity with *Confederates in the Attic.* For an author who made his mark mocking--tastefully--southern pretensions to separate cultural and political identify, he totally downplays the seditious aspects of Brown's attempt to attack the federal state.
June 30, 2020
"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land can never be purged away but with blood."
John Brown was a fascinating man, and he truly was the catalyst for civil war in America. Tension had been brewing for decades, but Brown's series of rabid anti-slavery attacks and raids between 1854-1859, culminating with his raid on Harpers Ferry, were ultimately the tipping point. Horwitz does a fantastic job showing how Brown was at the center of it all, from the events in the years leading up to Harpers Ferry to the aftermath of his capture and hanging.
John Brown was a fascinating man, and he truly was the catalyst for civil war in America. Tension had been brewing for decades, but Brown's series of rabid anti-slavery attacks and raids between 1854-1859, culminating with his raid on Harpers Ferry, were ultimately the tipping point. Horwitz does a fantastic job showing how Brown was at the center of it all, from the events in the years leading up to Harpers Ferry to the aftermath of his capture and hanging.
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