Nat Brandt–Oberlin, in many ways, stood for what was happening just before the war started, that is the whole Abolitionist Movement.

KS–Nat Brandt is a former editor of American Heritage magazine and the author of several books about Oberlin. Brandt spent several months researching Oberlin¹s abolitionist ties for "The Town That Started the Civil War."

NB–Oberlin was an unusual town at that point. It was integrated. Its school, the Oberlin College - which was founded in 1833 - a year later accepted blacks. Oberlin was a key stop on the Underground Railroad. And in fact, fugitive slaves fleeing from the South across the Ohio River, for example on their way to Canada, very often they stopped and stayed in Oberlin. It became a haven second only to Canada for runaway slaves. Oberlin was considered radical at the time. The Anti-Slavery Societies that grew up in Ohio were started in Oberlin itself. And Oberlin touted itself as welcoming runaway slaves. It was very proud of its tradition.

KS–The Copeland family also seemed to find a warm welcome in Oberlin. John Copeland, Sr. quickly found work in the town and became active in the Underground Railroad. Along with John Mercer Langston - Oberlin, indeed Ohio¹s, most prominent black citizen - Copeland took part in an all-black statewide network dedicated to assisting escaping slaves. At the 1852 Ohio Black Convention, Langston and others spoke openly of their network and took measures to strengthen it.

That same year John Copeland, Sr. was named as a committee member to the Convention. But his eldest son John Anthony took a different road. Young Copeland was impressed by the firsthand accounts of escaping slaves he heard at Anti-Slavery meetings - and by his own family¹s history. He soon became embroiled in a daring slave rescue that was to put Oberlin on the map.

NB–This was big news, because at that time, there was the Fugitive Slave Act. And the rescue of a slave was in direct violation of a federal law.

This photo of John Brown was probably taken in Kansas, where he fought against pro-slavery forces that wanted to bring the Kansas Territory into the Union as a slave state. Photos like this would have been sold to raise funds for Brown¹s abolitionist activities. Just three and a half years later, Brown was convicted for treason and hung for his raid on Harper¹s Ferry. Used with permission from the Hudson Public Library and Historical Society.

KS–The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it a federal crime to assist runaways, even in free states like Ohio. In his book, Nat Brandt describes the re-capture of runaway slave John Price as an ambush planned by slave catchers from Kentucky. But things quickly went wrong. Two Oberlin students spotted the Kentucky men with Price in their buggy, racing south to catch the afternoon train from Wellington. Word spread and hundreds of residents from both communities descended on the Wellington hotel where the runaway was being held. While farmers, college students, and professors staged a diversion outside, a group of bold young men - John Copeland among them - broke down the back door and spirited John Price away. Again, Nat Brandt.

NB–It was a cause (to celebrate) at the time. Certainly, it made the front pages here in New York City, where I live, in 1858 when it occurred. And when the trial occurred in 1859.

KS–In all, twenty-seven men were indicted and most spent time in the Cuyahoga County Jail. John Copeland, Jr. was not among them. It was rumored that he had accompanied John Price to Canada. Certainly Copeland¹s adopted sister Katherine had already moved to Chatham, Ontario. A lower court suit against the slave catchers for kidnapping eventually won the Rescuers their release. But not before news of the unrepentant Oberlinians reached the ears of Abolitionist John Brown.

James Caccamo–John Brown is probably one of the most controversial people in American history, let alone Ohio history. And what do people think of him? Well, it¹s a mix, it¹s a real mix.

KS–James Caccamo is the archivist with the Historical Society of Hudson, Ohio, where John Brown and his family lived for many years. It was in his father¹s church that John Brown made his first impassioned speech opposing slavery in 1837. In 1856 Brown and a small group of followers invaded the Kansas Territory, where forces on both sides of the slavery issue were battling for control of the future state. But the nation was shocked when Brown and his men brutally murdered five slave-holding white settlers.

JC–In terms of free-holding white people in Kansas and free blacks in Kansas, John Brown was a hero, because he took action. And he helped to shape the state and keep it away from the slave-holding forces. Among a lot of other people, John Brown was a terrible extremist, a terrorist. And certainly what happened at Pottawatomie Creek was not a pretty thing. After he leaves Kansas, he comes out to Ohio, he goes to New England, he goes to New York State, he goes to Canada. He¹s trying to raise more money to support activities in the Kansas Territory.

KS–In fact, John Brown was planning an even more desperate attempt to free Southern slaves. In July of 1858, Brown held a clandestine meeting of free blacks in Chatham, Ontario, a predominantly black settlement and a terminus of the Underground Railroad. At Chatham, Brown unfolded a plan based on his belief that slave insurrection was the key to emancipation - and that he and his followers should strike the first blow. But news of the plan leaked out and Brown¹s raid on Harper¹s Ferry was put on hold. In the spring of 1859, just as new trials of the Oberlin Rescuers were getting underway, Brown appeared in Cleveland with booty and freed slaves from his Kansas raids. His words there fell on fertile ground. Lewis Sheridan Leary - John Copeland¹s young cousin - was among the crowd assembled to hear Brown speak.

This building in downtown Hudson is the site of the original First Congregational Church, which moved its congregation to new quarters in 1865. In 1837, John Brown gave his first public speech opposing slavery in the church, upon hearing of the death of Elijah Lovejoy. Brown¹s family lived in Hudson for more than 20 years and many members of his family - including his father Owen - were prominent Abolitionists. Brown made his last appearance in Hudson at his father¹s Free Congregational or "Oberlin" Church on Streetsboro Street on his way to Harper¹s Ferry in 1859. Photo by Karen Schaefer

JC–Older people in Brown¹s generation I don¹t think were as taken in. It¹s that youth. I mean when you look at who goes to Harper¹s Ferry and who dies in the raid, almost invariably, they¹re substantially younger than Brown. There¹s nobody of Brown¹s generation who dies in that raid...He didn¹t fool Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass didn¹t want any part of it. He saw through it, told Brown not to do it - and they were good friends.

KS–Brown¹s son, John, Jr., also met with Leary that year at the home of Oberlin College professor James Monroe. It was Monroe who temporarily hid the runaway John Price in his home following the Oberlin Rescue. John Copeland, Jr. was also present. The previous year, Copeland had been a student at the college, studying to be a teacher.

JC–People like Copeland. I think that what you¹ve got is something pretty typical, in that idealistic young men sometimes let their common sense take a second seat to a greater ideal. You¹re a young man, you¹re a college student, and here¹s this fiery, dynamic person with those cold, blue eyes and he¹s telling you, you¹ve got to do this, its¹ going to work. I can honestly see how someone like Copeland might get caught up in the enthusiasm of what¹s going on.

KS–No one will ever know what was in the minds of those three young men from Oberlin as they off for Harper¹s Ferry in October of 1859. But even before their deaths, the minds of those who loved them were in turmoil. While in prison at Charleston awaiting execution, John Copeland wrote letters home to his family. One was published in the Oberlin Evangelist after his death. Two of Copeland¹s letters are still preserved in the Oberlin College Archives.

Leary was one of three Oberlin men who died at Harper¹s Ferry. He and Copeland were cousins through another Oberlin black family - the Evans - who were also deeply involved in the Underground Railroad and the Abolitionist Movement. Photo courtesty of Oberlin College Archives

John¹s cousin Lewis Sheridan Leary, age 24, died of wounds received in the battle. Along with Shields Green - 23 - John Copeland was convicted of treason and met his death by hanging on Dec. 16, 1859. He was just 25 years old. But that was not the end of his story. The week before young Copeland was scheduled to be hung, his parents John and Delilah approached Oberlin professor James Monroe.

DCB as James Monroe–As I received them, I saw that they were in deep distress. The mother especially, exhibited such intense suffering - that it was a question whether she would sink to the floor, in utter exhaustion, before the conference could be completed. It was noticeable, however, that the grief which tortured her did not spring mainly from the thought of her son¹s execution. John Brown had been executed and so had been many of the great and good. The gallows upon which her son perished seemed irradiated by the goodly fellowship in suffering of prophets and reformers. This could be borne. The intolerable agony was caused by a report, which had come over the wires, and which appeared to be well founded, that the body of her son had been, or soon would be, taken to medical college at Winchester, Virginia, for the purposes of dissection. Under these circumstances, the parents had come to me to ask that I would go promptly to Winchester and recover the body of their son.

KS–Monroe - who later wrote of his experiences - expressed serious misgivings about the undertaking. Nevertheless, armed with a telegram from the Governor of Virginia, Monroe set off for Winchester a few days later. What he found there was a countryside nearly in arms over the recent raid.

DCB as James Monroe–Great excitement still prevailed in Virginia. Soldiers were still marching and counter-marching, military reviews were being held, and that military spirit was being awakened which was maintained from that time until the close of the war. The very presence of a Northern abolitionist in Virginia, upon such an errand, in such a state of public feeling, might be regarded as, in itself, a grave offense. [Pause] It was near sunset when I reached Winchester. As I entered the clerk¹s office, I was reminded that I must register my name and address. As several rough and rather spiritous looking persons were standing about, it occurred to me, that the word Oberlin written upon the page of the register, for the inspection of such people, might produce a degree of excitement unfavorable to my object in visiting the place. Calling again to mind the name of the township in which Oberlin was situated, I went promptly to the clerk¹s desk, the men dividing to enable me to do so, and wrote in a good bold hand "James Monroe, Russia." I withdrew, and the crowd went up to examine the record. I left them studying upon it.

Under these circumstances, the parents had come to me to ask that I would go promptly to Winchester and recover the body of their son.

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KS–When Monroe met with the college officials, he found them willing to let Copeland¹s body be taken home for burial in Oberlin. But the next morning, Monroe received a curious delegation at his room in the hotel.

DCB as James Monroe–A tall, lean, red-haired young man from Georgia acted as their chairman. "Sah," said he, "these gentlemen and I have been appointed a committee by the medical students to explain this matter to you. It is evident, sah, that you don¹t understand the facts of the case. Sah, this nigger that you are trying to get don¹t belong to the Faculty. He isn¹t theirs to give away. Me and my chums nearly had to fight to get him. I stood over the grave with a revolver in my hand while my chums dug him up. Now, sah, after risking our lives in this way, for the Faculty to attempt to take him from us, is mo¹ Œan we can b¹ar."

KS–Monroe was forced to abandon his mission. But not before he saw the body of another Oberlin man - Shields Green - laid out in the dissecting room of the Winchester Medical College.

Monroe returned home empty-handed on Christmas Eve. The next day - Christmas Day, a Sunday - a memorial service for the three young men was held in Oberlin¹s First Church. It was there that Monroe gave what he called Œa full account of his failure.¹

DCB as James Monroe–In one sense it was a failure, but in another sense it was not. At first I dreaded to meet the parents; but when I did meet them, I experienced unexpected relief. They had found much comfort in the fact that, by the kind providence of God, every reasonable effort had been made in their own behalf, and in the memory of their son. Their satisfaction was increased by the accounts which came in of the manly bearing of their boy in the time of the terrible ordeal; and they were finally enabled to say to the great apostle, ŒFor I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.¹

The Copeland Family Farm was not built until after John A. Copeland¹s death in 1859. John¹s parents and their remaining children moved from their Morgan Street home to the original plot of 11 acres on Hamilton Road in 1863. Photo courtesy of Oberlin Electronic Group

NH–I did think it had a tremendous impact on his family, especially his brothers. His younger brother William, after finishing Oberlin College, became a lawyer. After the Civil War, he went down to Little Rock, Arkansas and was actually - in the Reconstruction Period - was in the state legislature there. He ran for secretary of State. Actually, interestingly enough, he became a police officer and was the first police officer in the state of Arkansas to be killed in the line of duty.

KS–Since buying the old Copeland property, Nancy Hendrickson has traced more of the family¹s history. She has also found direct descendants of the branch of the Copelands who remained in North Carolina throughout the Civil War. Thomas Copeland, 84, was born in Raleigh and now lives in California. He is a survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His sister Maycie, 82, was married to a Tuskeegee airman. In recent years, housing developments have begun to creep closer to the family farm in Oberlin. Both the Copelands and the Hendrickson¹s are interested in preserving it.

Thomas Copeland–It was originally about 70 acres, I think. Now Nancy Hendrickson and her husband live there in the original house, which is about a hundred and fifty years old, that John Anthony Sr. built. You know, there is still the family cemetery there, too, with all these first names on it.

Maycie Copeland–It would be nice if they just had a museum and some history and all that. But the other thing is, getting it funded is the big thing. We are going to try to do what we can.

KS–The families¹ dream is to create a living history museum that would preserve a last, lingering example of a 19th century black family farm. It would also tell the story of the Copeland family. Author Nat Brandt believes it¹s a story worth telling.

This monument was originally erected in 1865 in Westwood Cemetery, but was moved in 1971 to Martin Luther Kings, Jr. Park on the corner of Park and E. Vine Streets. The inscription reads: "These colored citizens of Oberlin, the heroic associates of the immortal John Brown, gave their lives for the slave. Et nunc servitudo etiam mortua est, laus deo. S. Green dies at Charleston, Va., Dec. 16, 1859, age 23 years. J.S. Copeland died at Charleston, Va., Dec. 16, 1859, age 25 years. L.S. Leary died at Harper's Ferry, Va., Oct. 20, 1859, age 24 years." Photo courtesy of Jonah Volk

NB–I think they were courageous. I can¹t imagine living at that time and being as brave as they were. To go up against - whether it was state authorities or federal authorities - to speak your mind, to put your words into action, I don¹t think I have the guts to do that.

KS–Historians still debate the role that the Harper¹s Ferry raid played in pushing the nation into Civil War. Most agree that response to the raid helped elect Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency in 1860. Some may always see the actions of men like John Copeland as little more than foolhardy. But history will most likely remember him as John Copeland: A Hero of Harper¹s Ferry. In Oberlin, Karen Schaefer, 90.3 WCPN®, 90.3 FM.

The last letters of John Copeland were read by Kyle Primous.

Professor James Monroe's story was read by David C. Barnett.

Original Music performed by Richard Anderson, Renita Jablonski, Kyle Primous and Karen Schaefer, with Bill Rice, guitar, And production assistance from audio engineers Al Dalhausen and Jeff Carlton.

Special thanks to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music for use of Richard Anderson¹s recording of "Follow the Drinking Gourd"

Suggested Websites Oberlin College Archives: http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/ Oberlin Electronic Group (Copeland Letters): http://www.oberlin.edu/~EOG/ Harper¹s Ferry National Historic Park: http://www.nps.gov/hafe/home.htm John Brown: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/brown/