Abolitionist John Brown's raid on October 16, 1859, began by cutting the telegraph lines east and west of Harpers Ferry, Virginia. As John Brown's Raid began, raiders Charles Plummer Tidd and John Edwin Cook cut the telegraph lines east and west of Harpers Ferry, Virginia. This was done to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal. It has been called the dress rehearsal for, or tragic prelude to, the Civil War.

CD 740

Image courtesy of the National Park Service