Abolitionist John Brown (1800-1859) was captured and sentenced to die following his raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, [West] Virginia. Fearing the possibility of another uprising by Brown's supporters, the Governor of Virginia accepted the offer of Virginia Military Institute's (VMI) Superintendent, Francis H. Smith, to send a part of the Corps of Cadets to provide an additional military presence at the execution, which was to take place at Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia).

Smith consulted his faculty and selected upperclassmen to prepare for duty at Charles Town. Official VMI records do not include a list of the selected cadets. The only known list was published in the Petersburg, Virginia newspaper on December 8, 1859.

By directive of the governor, Smith was placed in charge of the execution itself. Overall command of the cadet detachment was given to VMI faculty member William Gilham, who also commanded two cadet infantry companies consisting of 64 total cadets. His colleague, Stonewall Jackson, was placed in command of the artillery, which consisted of two howitzers manned by 21 cadets.

The VMI cadets reached Charles Town on November 26th, 1859 and were relieved from duty on December 6th. They returned to Lexington, Virginia where they were greeted by the Governor and members of the Virginia Assembly.

Primary Resources

The Archives has several primary resources related to the John Brown execution including:

• Letters from Superintendent Francis H. Smith to Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise, November 19 and November 22, 1859
• VMI Order Number 237, November 19, 1859
• Letter from Stonewall Jackson to Mary Anna Jackson, December 2, 1859
  • The original letter is housed in the Dabney-Jackson collection at the Library of Virginia.
• Letter from John T. L. Preston to his wife, December 2, 1859
  • This letter was published in the Lexington (Virginia) Gazette on December 15, 1859
• Francis H. Smith’s report to Henry A. Wise, January 16, 1860