Midnight rising : John Brown and the raid that sparked the Civil War / Tony Horwitz.
In this book the author tells the tale of the daring insurrection that put America on the path to bloody war. Plotted 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, this work portrays Brown's uprising 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 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." This book travels antebellum America to deliver both a historical drama and a telling portrait of a nation divided, a time that still resonates in ours.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780805091533
- ISBN: 080509153X
- ISBN: 9780312429263
- Physical Description: xii, 365 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 25 cm
- Edition: 1st edition
- Publisher: New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2011.
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-344) and index.
- Formatted Contents Note:
- October 16, 1859 -- The Road to Harpers Ferry. School of adversity ; I consecrate my life ; A warlike spirit ; First blood ; Secret service ; This spark of fire -- Into Africa. My invisibles ; Into the breach ; I am nearly disposed of now -- They Will Brown Us All. His despised poor ; A full fountain of bedlam ; So let it be done! ; Dissevering the ties that bind us ; Immortal raiders.
- Target Audience Note:
- 1200L Lexile
- Study Program Information Note:
- Accelerated Reader AR UG 9.2 18 151779.
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Available copies
- 40 of 41 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Brown Library System.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 41 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George H. & Laura E. Brown Library | 973.711 Hor (Text) | 30308100901777 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
