John Brown's treason is a fascinating one -- some people wanted to try
him for treason against the US (Harpers Ferry armory being a federal
installation), others wanted him committed as a madman and not tried at
all (I think Governor Henry Wise hoped to defuse the situation this way,
but eventually decided Brown was not insane and was chargeable under
Virginia's treason statute) and of course, some wanted him to be tried as
a traitor against the state.  That Brown was not Virginian, and so should
not be expected to owe Virginia allegiance was offered as a defence
against the charge of treason.  Presumably Brown still would have been
charged with murder or incitement to servile insurrection or some other
capital charge -- but some people still insisted on the treason charge.
As an observation here, one could note that Brown was simply hanged and
never exposed to the old traditional punishments.  His body was returned
to the family and taken back to New York for burial.  During the Civil
War, though, rumors circulated among federal troops (at least in the
Valley campaigns) that Brown's corpse had been turned over to a medical
school for anatomy lessons.


>We think of treason as rebellion against your own government, which
interpretation is derived from the old law of treason as David has
accurately described it. Slaves in rebellion were committing treason against
their government and their governors (or owners). Inciting slaves to rebel
could be covered by the same interpretation of the law of treason. In 1859,
Virginia tried, convicted, and executed John Brown for treason. Brown never
lived in Virginia except for a short time in a jail, but his attempt to lead
an insurrection was covered by a Virginia treason statute.

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
[log in to unmask]


David Kiracofe
College of Charleston
Department of History
66 George Street
Charleston, SC 29424

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