American Experience; John Brown's Holy War; Interview with historian Dennis Frye 1 of 6

fb you know i there were growing up your thirties and you're a lot less so while you search is just assess where you want a story thomas jefferson's crimes harpers ferry has won the most lovely places that he had seen an american fact in his writings on notes in virginia he discusses it as a place where the scenery was

worth the voyage across the atlantic yet by making fifties harpers ferry was one the grimy is the dirtiest ugliest industrial towns that you would find anywhere in the united states the armory at harpers ferry by the mid eighteenth fifties employed nearly four hundred and then it was one of the largest industrial complex is in the state of virginia a federal armory the product that they produced there was small arms rifles and muskets weapons made to arm the united states army weapons the reviews in the war between twelve weapons an american soldiers used in the mexican war that was a primary product was produced at harpers ferry also harpers ferry was an arsenal not to be confused with the armory the armory complexes where they manufactured the weapons of the factory the arsenal was a warehouse two large brick buildings that stood at the confluence the potomac

in shenandoah river owned by the united states government where by eating fifty nine one hundred thousand small arms rifles and muskets were stored you can listen to her it is that's true harpers ferry had from its inception men a government town george washington was instrumental in establishing the army arsenal where he wanted to have a installation in the south as well warn the north two sister ariz where they produced weapons that would defend the united states the other course was in springfield massachusetts to harpers ferry was the key southern charm and the men that work there were federal employees all weapons were owned by the federal government that the pay went

to federal employees most of the property market for it was owned by the federal government so a truly did represent a federal installation it represented the defense of the united states you must think of harpers ferry as the equivalent of a nuclear arms escalation and stop from a rock your knowledge and indeed analogy that object ok and you must think of harpers ferry as the equivalent of a modern nuclear arms insulation this was the place where they manufactured weapons to defend the borders of the united states of america lump it was a place where we had professionals skilled craftsman who knew their trade produced the very best product they experiment they manufactured new and improved weapons they learned how to produce better killing weapons at harpers ferry and so this was not just a factory where they stamp them out that was also a place where the government used

very important creative genius to try to improve the weapons or for the wood used to would be used to defend this country what it is john brown came to harpers ferry because of guns there were weapons there are thousands and thousands a weapons in a facility that was not well guarded and a facility that was fairly easy to access and in a facility that was very close to the mason dixon line there was less than thirty forty miles the separated harpers ferry from pennsylvania a brown intended to take the weapons that were at harpers ferry and use those governments weapons as his weapons to bring into slavery the

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