| October 16 |  |
Editor says, what if the hero of the Harper's Ferry Raid was Robert E. Lee? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1859, on this day a company of US Marines intercepted a hijacked Baltimore & Ohio train in West Virginia. Onboard was a stolen cache of weapons which had been seized from the United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry by a band of murderous abolitionists. Their leader, "Captain" John Brown (pictured, left) advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to end slavery, having led the infamous Pottawatomie Massacre at "Bleeding Kansas".
All Change on the Baltimore & Ohio ExpressDuring the fierce fire fight that ensued, Brown and his two sons Owen and Oliver were all killed.
Modern history would malign the anti-hero of Harper's Ferry as a demented dreamer, a special category of terrorists reserved for the likes of Timothy McVeigh and Osama Bin Laden. Because an African-American baggage handler on the train named Hayward Shepherd had confronted the raiders but was rescued by the timely intervention of Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry (pictured, right). 
The brave rescue of a freed slave made Lee a national hero, and the award of a Badge of Military Merit doubtless influenced his later decision to accept the command of Union forces during the brief War of the States in 1861-2.
In his memoirs, President Abraham Lincoln acknowledged that Lee's style of audacious military leadership had saved the lives of a great many peace-loving Americans. Because at Bull Run, Lee forced an early, decisive battlefield victory over the Confederate Army in northern Virginia by appointing a like-minded subordinate who seized the armoury at Harper's Ferry.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Beasts Source: Wikipedia Labels: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, Virginia, Civil War, Robert E. Lee. Editor says, please note that extensive amounts of content have been repurposed from the source articles.
~ I'm not sure that in this case Lincoln would have had grounds to know that "hundreds of thousands" of Americans would otherwise have died. He would have been on sounder ground simply asserting that Lee's actions had helped save the lives of "a great many," or words to that effect. Fixed - thanks. Ed
~ Actually I'd doubt Lee would do any better, against the CSA, than his OTL Union counterparts...
~ First Bull Run was a VERY near run thing. If Lee does nothing more than force a different commander at Harper's Ferry than Patterson he wins. If he forces Scott to actually mobilize some cavalry he wins. If he wins the army still goes home - 90 day regiments. However it is Lee who molds the 3 year regiments in his image. Union is restored in 1862. Fixed - thanks. Ed
~ Would the Civil War or an equivalent have even come? It seems to me that Brown's raid was one of the major catalysts of the crisis of 1860.
~ That's a lot of 'ifs' there Scott. The only problem is all you've mentioned has to happen for a Union victory at First Manassas. The problem is all of the personnal you've just mentioned under Lee. They're bound to screw it up, under Lee, just like they did in the OTL. Consequentially I don't see Lee doing any better in 1862 until he gets competent corps commanders in place. And I don't think that's going to happen until mid-1863. What will change, however, in 1862 is the Peninsular Campaign probably won't happen. So we will see an entirely different set of campaigns in the post-First Manassas period. Whether Lee can do something significant, as a result, prior to Christmas 1862, is an interesting prospect, but Lee will be up against the likes of Joe Johnston, Jackson, & Longstreet. And they aren't going to be easy to defeat at any time, regardless of Lee & the particular corps commanders he may personally choose to replace the incompetent ones.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
