The attack of John Brown upon Harper's Ferry came upon Virginia like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky.

John Brown was tried for treason, murder, and inciting slaves to insurrection.

The abolitionists were not like the rugged people out West, and they were not like John Brown, either. They were people who made speeches and did politics.

John Brown's effort was peculiar. It was not a slave insurrection.

In all her history, from the formation of the federal government until the hour of secession, no year stands out more prominently than the year 1858 as evidencing the national patriotism of Virginia.

Everything that anyone would ever look for is usually where they find it.