William Lloyd Garrison writing to John Brown before Brown’s execution.

GARRISON  TO  JOHN  BROWN

Writing to Brown on November 1, 1859, one month and one day before Brown’s execution,  Garrison says:

“My brave but unfortunate friend,… Protract to the utmost, your Trial,  your delivery is at hand.”

This letter was found in the records collection of Executive papers of Henry A. Wise, who was Governor of Virginia at the time of the Harper’s Ferry Raid.  We’re grateful to Lois E. Horton, Professor of History Emerita, George Mason University, who found this letter and shared it.

(For further comment see the article Garrison on Nonviolence, Violence, and the Use of Force)

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