More John Brown: Online Information

While doing some searching on the web for John Brown information I have come across a multitude of pictures and perspectives on this historically controversial figure. And, with this being the sesquicentennial anniversary of his famous effort at Harper's Ferry, his coverage has naturally increased. Two sites that I have been impressed with are the Civil War Preservation Trust's site and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History's site.

The CWPT has had an ongoing effort to preserve land at historic Harper's Ferry for a number of years and they have been largely successful. Their site is quite brief in nature on the surface, but once you explore it, there is actually a lot of information to be had. I especially liked the map that showed the route of Brown and his raiders from their base at the Kennedy Farm in Maryland to the town of Harper's Ferry. Also, there are three excellent published articles. Two are by Harper's Ferry Historian Dennis Frye that were featured in the latest issues of the CWPT's magazine Hallowed Ground. One of these articles is a brief history of the raid, while the other looks at how the event has been commemorated over the years. Great stuff! Another article, borrowed from Civil War Times Illustrated about the raid, is by Tim Rowland. The site includes an impressive photo gallery of images of participants and places associated with the raid, but unfortunately the images do not have labels that describe the people or their significance. In addition, there are online lesson plans for teachers, online resources for more learning, and several primary resources about this monumental event. The CWPT's John Brown site is located at: http://www.civilwar.org/150th-anniversary/john-browns-harpers-ferry.html

The Gilder Lehrman online exhibition of John Brown is an ongoing project that is being featured in conjunction with a formal exhibition now being shown at the New York Historical Society. The site will feature additional information each month while the exhibition is in progress.

The site offers some special images of primary source documents that describe the national events that led up to Harper's Ferry, Brown's personal history up to Harper's Ferry, the political violence that helped lead to Civil War, and Brown's legacy from the end of the war to the present. This site is located at: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/online/johnbrown/#1

Happy browsing!