1859-10-16, abolitionist John Brown initiated a raid on Harper’s Ferry to start a revolt in Southern states by taking over a U.S. arsenal in Virginia and arming slaves with the weapons there.
Brown’s raid was defeated by a company of U.S. Marines, killing two of his three sons. He was convicted of treason and hanged on December 2nd, 1859. Later, president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis cited the attack as grounds for Southerners to leave the Union, “even if it rushes us into a sea of blood”.