Disunion Feed

Staunton Vindicator @StauntonVindicatorOct 21, 1859 · Staunton, Va.

So mad and hopeless an enterprise could hardly be credited. But it is true — no less strange than true. These men must have been not only the wildest and silliest of fanatics, but wholly unacquainted with our State and our people.

Original passage & context
"So mad and hopeless an enterprise could hardly be credited. But it is true, and no less strange than true. [...] They must have been not only the wildest and silliest of fanatics, but wholly unacquainted with our State and our people."

Democratic Valley paper's first-issue reaction: dismissal as delusion, days before the same press turned to dread. Fragments from the same article joined with [...].

Read it in the original — Staunton Vindicator, Oct 21, 1859 (Valley of the Shadow) ↗

Southern press · Democratic Condensed — not verbatim Verified against the source — see the record
Staunton Vindicator, "The Doings at Harper's Ferry," Oct. 21, 1859 (Valley of the Shadow transcription) ↗

Next in order

Gov. Henry A. Wise @GovWise · Richmond, Va.

They are mistaken who take him to be a madman. He is a bundle of the best nerves I ever saw — cut and thrust and bleeding and in bonds. Clear head, courage, fortitude. A fanatic, vain and garrulous — but firm, truthful, and intelligent.

Original passage & context
"And they are themselves mistaken who take him to be a madman. He is a bundle of the best nerves I ever saw — cut and thrust and bleeding and in bonds. He is a man of clear head, of courage, fortitude and simple ingenuousness. [...] He is a fanatic, vain and garrulous, but firm, truthful and intelligent."

The governor preparing to hang Brown vouches for his sanity, nerve, and truthfulness — the assessment that helped make Brown a martyr. Text from the LoC scan of a contemporary reprint, OCR-reconciled (e.g. 'siuipl' -> 'simple'); wording varies slightly across 1859 reprints.

Read it in the original — Orleans Independent Standard, Nov 4, 1859 (LoC scan) ↗

Political · Democrat Condensed — not verbatim Source scan differs from our text — see the record
Speech of Gov. Henry A. Wise, Richmond, Oct. 21, 1859, as reprinted in the Orleans Independent Standard (Irasburgh, Vt.), Nov. 4, 1859, p. 3 ↗

Where this sits

America has argued itself to the edge before. The words come from 1854–1861; the arguments are the ones we are still having.

One passage from the Harpers Ferry weeks, Oct 18, 1859 – Dec 2, 1859 — 22 posts, each linked to its primary source.

Part of 134 verified passages across 5 flashpoints, Jan 6, 1854 – Apr 13, 1861 — read the feed from the start.

Read on, in order← Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, Oct 20, 1859Gov. Henry A. Wise, Oct 21, 1859 →

Anywhere in the feedA passage at random →

In contextHarpers Ferry, 1859

The other flashpointsKansas-Nebraska, 1854The Sumner caning, 1856Dred Scott, 1857The secession winter, 1860–61

How this was made