The Soul of America

"John Brown’s body lies a moulderin’ in the grave.

John Brown’s Body lies a moulderin’ in the grave

But his soul goes marching on."

John Brown's Body, Traditional

The pre-dawn sky is grey - no morning light will suddenly burst forth as if a celestial light switch is flipped. On June 19, 1865 a celestial light flipped when Major General Gordon Granger issued an order proclaiming freedom for the enslaved people in Texas – Juneteenth.

Big Red is rolling west toward Harper’s Ferry, VA (West Virginia since 1863) – and appropriate place to celebrate Juneteeth.

With no sun at our back, the road feels damp with humidity – like a locker room. Taking mostly backroads to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park – we navigate the rolling Maryland hills to, over, and beyond Catoctin Mountain. But, even at 7:30 a.m., the traffic is too heavy to enjoy the views crossing the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. Folks headed home on a holiday Monday. As if on que, the sun appears as I enter the park.

John Brown’s Raid at Harpers Ferry on October 16, 1859, lit the fuse to the cannonade at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. John Brown tried to lead a slave rebellion by taking over the Harpers Ferry National Armory and Arsenal. Brown was captured and hanged. The North made Brown a martyr and the South was horrified both at an attempted rebellion and the martyrdom. Both sides swung toward war.

At the park the National Armory is long gone, but town buildings are restored to 19th century character. I park illegally to ascend to “John Brown Fort” to snap some pictures. As I returned, a Part ranger pulls up behind Big Red.

He is annoyed, “You cannot park here.”

“I know I just wanted to take a couple of pictures,” I offer.

“Well, if you park here cars will line up behind you,” still annoyed.

“I’m moving,” I offer. At 7:30 a.m. there are no cars in sight, but I understand.

Leaving Harpers Ferry, the entrance to Harper Ferry Road is closed. A detour takes a long winding way back to Harpers Ferry Road towards Sharpsburg.

Being Juneteenth, perhaps the detour and winding roads are metaphors for the journey of our nation’s race relations since October 16, 1959.

The Soul of America keeps marching on.

How about you? How do you celebrate a holiday? Share a story.

2nd Helping

Photo above. – View of the Engine House from “John Brown Fort” – the original site of the of Engine House and Armory. In the 1890s, the Engine House was located to the current site to allow the B&O Railroad to realign its tracks. John Brown was captured in the Engine House.

There are many versions of “John Brown’s Body” and Pete Seeger added his own lyrics to this version: Amazon.com :john browns body pete seeger. A more traditional version by Tom Glazer: Amazon.com :john browns body tom glazer

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Civil War Freedom Tour - Summer of 2023: