SETTING FORTH REASONS WHY O. P. ANDERSON AND A. HAZLETT ESCAPED
FROM THE ARSENAL, INSTEAD OF REMAINING, WHEN THEY HAD NOTHING TO
DO--TOOK A PRISONER, AND WHAT RESULTED TO THEM, AND TO THIS
NARRATIVE, THEREFROM--A PURSUIT, WHEN SOMEBODY GOT KILLED, AND OTHER
BODIES WOUNDED.
Of the six men assigned a position in the arsenal by Captain Brown,
four were either slain or captured; and Hazlett and myself, the only
ones remaining, never left our position until we saw, with feelings of
intense sadness, that we could be of no further avail to our commander,
he being a prisoner in the hands of the Virginians. We therefore,
upon consultation, concluded it was better to retreat while it was
possible, as our work for the day was clearly finished, and gain a
position where in the future we could work with better success, than to
recklessly invite capture and brutality at the hands of our enemies.
The charge of deserting our brave old leader and of fleeing from danger
has been circulated to our detriment, but I have the consolation of
knowing that, reckless as were the half-civilized hordes against whom
we contended the entire day, and much as they might wish to disparage
his men, they would never have thus charged us. They know better. John
Brown’s men at Harper’s Ferry were and are a unit in their devotion to
John Brown and the cause he espoused. To have deserted him would have
been to belie every manly characteristic for which Albert Hazlett, at
least, was known by the party to be distinguished, at the same time
that it would have endangered the future safety of such deserter or
deserters. John Brown gave orders; those orders must be obeyed, so
long as Captain Brown was in a position to enforce them; once unable
to command, from death, being a prisoner, or otherwise, the command
devolved upon John Henry Kagi. Before Captain Brown was made prisoner,
Captain Kagi had ceased to live, though had he been living, all
communication between our post and him had been long cut off. We could
not aid Captain Brown by remaining. We might, by joining the men at
the Farm, devise plans for his succor; or our experience might become
available on some future occasion.
The charge of running away from danger could only find form in the
mind of some one unwilling to encounter the difficulties of a Harper’s
Ferry campaign, as no one acquainted with the out-of-door and in-door
encounters of that day will charge any one with wishing to escape
danger, merely. It is well enough for men out of danger, and who could
not be induced to run the risk of a scratching, to talk flippantly
about cowardice, and to sit in judgment upon the men who went with John
Brown, and who did not fall into the hands of the Virginians; but to
have been there, fought there, and to understand what _did_ transpire
there, are quite different. As Capt. Brown had all the prisoners
with him, the whole force of the enemy was concentrated there, for
a time, after the capture of the rifle factory. Having captured our
commander, we knew that it was but little two of us could do against
so many, and that our turn to be taken must come; so Hazlett and I
went out at the back part of the building, climbed up the wall, and
went upon the railway. Behind us, in the Arsenal, were thousands of
dollars, we knew full well, but that wealth had no charms for us, and
we hastened to communicate with the men sent to the Kennedy Farm. We
travelled up the Shenandoah along the railroad, and overtook one of the
citizens. He was armed, and had been in the fight in the afternoon.
We took him prisoner, in order to facilitate our escape. He submitted
without resistance, and quietly gave up his gun. From him, we learned
substantially of the final struggle at the rifle factory, where the
noble Kagi commanded. The number of citizens killed was, according
to his opinion, much larger than either Hazlett or I had supposed,
although we knew there were a great many killed and wounded together.
He said there must be at least seventy killed, besides wounded. Hazlett
had said there must be fifty, taking into account the defence of the
three strong positions. I do not know positively, but would not put
the figure below thirty killed, seeing many fall as I did, and knowing
the “dead aim” principle upon which we defended ourselves. One of
the Southern published accounts, it will be remembered, said twenty
citizens were killed, another said fifteen. At last it got narrowed
down to five, which was simply absurd, after so long an engagement. We
had forty rounds apiece when we went to the Ferry, and when Hazlett and
I left, we had not more than twenty rounds between us. The rest of the
party were as free with their ammunition as we were, if not more so. We
had further evidence that the number of dead was larger than published,
from the many that we saw lying dead around.
When we had gone as far as the foot of the mountains, our prisoner
begged us not to take his life, but to let him go at liberty. He said
we might keep his gun; he would not inform on us. Feeling compassion
for him, and trusting to his honor, we suffered him to go, when he
went directly into town, and finding every thing there in the hands
of our enemies, he informed on us, and we were pursued. After he had
left us, we crawled or climbed up among the rocks in the mountains,
some hundred yards or more from the spot where we left him, and hid
ourselves, as we feared treachery, on second thought. A few minutes
before dark, the troops came in search of us. They came to the foot
of the mountains, marched and counter-marched, but never attempted
to search the mountains; we supposed from their movements that they
feared a host of armed enemies in concealment. Their air was so
defiant, and their errand so distasteful to us, that we concluded to
apply a little ammunition to their case, and having a few cartridges on
hand, we poured from our excellent position in the rocky wilds, some
well-directed shots. It was not so dark but that we could see one bite
the dust now and then, when others would run to aid them instantly,
particularly the wounded. Some lay where they fell, undisturbed, which
satisfied us that they were dead. The troops returned our fire, but it
was random shooting, as we were concealed from their sight by the rocks
and bushes. Interchanging of shots continued for some minutes, with
much spirit, when it became quite dark, and they went down into the
town. After their return to the Ferry, we could hear the drum beating
for a long time; an indication of their triumph, we supposed. Hazlett
and I remained in our position three hours, before we dared venture
down.