Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget I. — John Brown By Seymour B. Young, President of the First Council of Seventy. There are other virtues than cheerfulness and a smiling countenance; one of these is stamina; another, greater still, is loyalty. Early in the ministry of the Prophet Joseph Smith he predicted the Civil War. The following is a revelation from the Lord, recorded in section 87 of the Doctrine and Cove- nants: Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventu- ally terminate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place; For behold the Southern States shall be divided against the North- ern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations. And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshalled and disciplined for war. Some of the above predictions were literally fulfilled during the late Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was chosen the standard-bearer to save the Union, and dining the great struggle of the Civil War, on the 12th day of August, 1862, he issued his proclamation of freedom for the slaves. Their emancipation dated from January 1, 1863. This prepared a way for the fulfilment of that portion of the prophecy by the Prophet Joseph Smith, stating that slaves should be mar- shalled and disciplined for war, contending against their former masters. Several years subsequent to this prophecy, however, Joseph Smith advised, with a view of preventing the war, that the Government purchase the slaves of the South, paying the owners from moneys obtained by the sale of the public lands, thus giving freedom to the slaves, and remuneration to the slave holder for his property. He hoped by this means to maintain peace between the North and the South. Emerson, a few years later, made a similar proposition,

62 IMPROVEMENT ERA looking to the settlement of the slave question, but neither were heeded by the ruling power of the nation. Hence, no preparation was made for the permanent freedom of the slaves, until the Civil War incidentally brought about their emancipation. The fact was that bleeding Kansas and the Mis- souri Compromise, discussed in the daily press and newspapers, during the decade between 1850 and 1860, had become constant sources of irritation between the slave owners of the South and the non-slave holders of the North. Notwithstanding the wise suggestions of prudent men, look- ing to the prevention of trouble over the slave question, the flame of discord and hatred continued to be fanned until it burst into the fierce and fiery struggle between the North and the South, the latter aiming at the destruction of the Union, while the former determined to preserve it at any cost. We need only refer to the late world war for the ful- filment of the prophet's words, "and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations." Early in the year 1859, John Brown, a declared apostle of Abolitionism, gathered around him a company of sixteen devoted followers, and marched to Harper's Ferry, in old Virginia, and captured the United States Armory, located at that place, and sent out invitations to the black slaves of the South to come and join his standard, at the Armory, there to be supplied with arms and ammunition, and thus be made ready to fight for their freedom. The attack upon the Armory and its capture was sudden and unexpected, but as soon as Governor Wise learned of conditions, he ordered out the state militia, and a company sufficiently large was marched to Harper's Ferry, and John Brown and his small party of followers were made prisoners without the firing of a gun, or the shedding of blood. Their trial and conviction resulted in the sentencing and execution of John Brown, three of his sons and two of his sons-in-law, while the other members of his company, eleven in all, after proper examination were set at liberty, on the plea that they followed John Brown for the purpose of having an outing, to have a lark and a camp out in the wilds, not dreaming that he was going to lead them in an attack upon the state for any purpose whatever. At the time of this event, people began to question one another. Isn't this the beginning of the war between the North and the South? But the excitement of the John Brown episode soon passed, and to show how little weight had been made on the public mind by his capture and execution, and

LEST WE FORGET 63 that of his sons, some one wrote the following jingle, which became quite a popular neighborhood song: 'In Harper's Ferry section, they've had an insurrection, John Brown thought the nigger would sustain him, But old Governor Wise put his specs upon his eyes; And sent him to the happy land of Caanan. But John Brown, like Banquo's ghost, would not down, and people began to ask themselves, "Was John Brown's ef- fort to free the slaves all in vain, did he give his life for nothing?" Ajnd the answer seemed to be impressed upon the minds of these inquirers that coming events had cast their shadows before. The efforts of John Brown, his cap- ture and execution, were indeed a foreshadowing of the com- ing war, and then public sentiment had seemingly under- gone a decided change, and the following lines were com- posed and sung round the camp fires of the Union soldiers: John Brown's hody lies a mouldering in the grave, Weep, ye sons of bondage whom he venturedTall to save, Now, while the grass grows green above his grave, His soul goes marching on, glory, glory hallelujah, Glory, glory hallelujah. Glory, glory hallelujah, his soul goes marching on. In the autumn of 1860, at the November election for President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was elected president for the coming four years, gaining a decided vic- tory over the Democratic nominee of the North, Stephen A. Douglas, also defeating Breckenridge who was a nominee of the people of the Southern States. It was believed by the people who elected Lincoln that the right man had been chosen and one who would meet with firmness and bravery every requisition and maintain the safety of the Union, for already the black clouds of the Civil War were ominously looming in the south.