A Voice from Harper's Ferry. A Narrative of Events at Harper's Ferry; with Incidents Prior and Subsequent to its Capture by Captain Brown and his Men

Boston, 1861. 1st ed. Hardcover. Very Good. 72p. Modern black buckram with original wrapper bound in. 18 cm. Edges neatly trimmed, presumably when rebound. Text slightly browned. Modest foxing. Old dog-earing on a half-dozen leaves. Faint evidence of an old waterstain in upper right corner of most leaves. Crease on on one text leaf in text but everything is readable. Former owner's name ("J[ohn] W[esley] Cromwell from H. Jackson") inked on front cover of original wrapper. Signature of Cromwell's granddaughter ("Adelaide M. Cromwell") on the new front endpaper. Osborne, an African American, was the only member of John Brown's raiding party to avoid death or capture and execution after the failed raid. This scarce account is the only eyewitness account by any of John Brown's raiders. Most historians now seem to believe Anderson's explanation of the nature and timing of his escape to Canada. Some earlier historians had argued that Anderson and a companion had deserted the rest of the band the night before the end of the raid. While OCLC locates dozens of holdings, Osborne Anderson's interesting account is seldom offered for sale. (Inventory #: 91548)