The Public Life of Captain John Brown: With an Autobiography of his Childhood and Youth

by James Redpath

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Genres: Biography

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1860

About the author

1833-1891

Reviews

[Richard]

Written by a man actively involved in the antislavery movement, and begun less than a month after Brown's execution, this book absolutely boils over with abolitionist fervor. Using Brown's own statements, and those of a number of individuals directly involved in his affairs, the author paints a vivid picture of a saintly martyr courageously wielding the very sword of almighty God. Brown's detractors, to no one's surprise, labeled him a dangerously demented fanatic.
Owing to the rather bizarre Harper's Ferry fiasco, it is tempting to ignore James Redpath's exceedingly effusive praise and view Brown as simply insane. However, this book, even with it's barrage of hyperbole, renders that view impossible to defend. Based on Browns's own words, which were always intelligent, articulate, and well reasoned, and the very high esteem he garnered from everyone one who knew him (even many of his enemies), and the simple fact that he was acting within the moral right, he seemingly was as close to a saintly martyr as any man could be. History, and our collective conscience, seem to have proven this so.
I believe this volume should be required reading in all American high schools. It's combination of an incendiary slice of American history and an in depth character study of an extremely unusual and noteworthy man is both informative and fascinating. Although Lincoln is revered for his Emancipation Proclamation, history seems to have forgotten that it was in fact John Brown who essentially fired the first shots of the Civil War and subsequently freed all the Americans in bondage.

[Al Duran]

This was the first major biography of John Brown published soon after the raid on Harper’s Ferry and Brown’s execution. The writer, James Redpath, was an American journalist and abolitionist. He also was an acquaintance and supported of John Brown and wrote a favorable biography of the latter. This journalistic biography is eminently readable and full of information, but unfortunately too favorable to Brown. Redpath made the error, as many supporters of Brown did also during the Civil War, of absolving him of the massacre at Pottawattomie on the night of May 24-25, 1856 of five pro-slavery “ruffians” soon after the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas. Redpath understood Brown’s evasive, but not untruthful comments on the massacre, as exculpatory and placed Brown at Middle Creek, twenty-five miles from Pottawattomie, at the time of the killings. Although Brown did not engage in the stabbing of the men, he was certainly there and was the leader of the group that committed this homicidal revenge for the attack on Lawrence. Redpath’s comment that the victims “were tried, made confession, [and] allowed time to pray…” (page 119) is completely imaginary.