Absalom Hazlett: Soldier in John Brown's Army
Pennsylvania
Absalom Hazlett was born near this spot and grew up a committed abolitionist. He became a lieutenant in John Brown's provisional army and took part in the raid on Harper's Ferry Arsenal in Virginia in eighteen fifty-nine, an audacious attempt to seize weapons and arm enslaved people to fight for their own freedom. The raid failed.
Hazlett was captured, tried, convicted, and hanged for his role in the conspiracy. He was in his early twenties. The Harper's Ferry raid sent shockwaves through the nation.
It deepened the divide between North and South, hardened positions on both sides, and is widely considered one of the key sparks that led directly to the Civil War. His act reverberated across history.
