Editing Jefferson County, West Virginia (section)

===John Brown rebellion===
[[File:John brown interior engine house.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Coverage of John Brown's raid in Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, v. 8, no. 205 (November 5, 1859), p. 359]]
[[Jefferson County Courthouse (West Virginia)|The county's courthouse]] was the site of the trial for the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] after his October 1859 raid on the federal [[Armory (military)|armory]] in [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]]. Some 90 U.S. Marines serving under then Army Colonel [[Robert E. Lee]] and Lieutenants [[J.E.B. Stuart]] and [[Israel Greene]] put down the rebellion.

Brown was sentenced to death for murder, treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, and conspiring with slaves to rebel. On December 2, 1859, John Brown was taken from the Charles Town jail a short distance to an open field and hanged. Among those attending the Brown execution was a contingent of 1500 cadets from [[Virginia Military Institute]] sent by the [[Governor of Virginia]] [[Henry A. Wise]] under the supervision of Major [[William Gilham]] and Major [[Stonewall Jackson|Thomas J. Jackson]]. In the ranks of a Richmond militia company stood John Wilkes Booth. [[Walt Whitman]] was also present.