There was an excellent documentary on John Brown on PBS last year. He publicly stated as a young man that God had charged him with the task of ending slavery! It always amazes me how the people with the craziest notions seem to get the job done. Not the notion of ending slavery of course, but the notion that the responsibility landed on his shoulders. Harpers Ferry set the wheels in motion irreversibly and John defiantly told them as much at his trail " The Truth goes marching on". The strangest thing about the tale is that there was a point when John gave up his quest, legal and health troubles led him to a quieter existence in upstate New York, then fate called him back.
I wonder when the tide will finally completely turn and John will be viewed in the proper light. The bravest and most honorable outlaw hero in American history. He is still viewed as a murderous lunatic by many. I've always loved that painting of him luming large in the forground, looking like a mad man Mosses in a tatered suit, while the civil war rages in his wake in the background.