John Brown never expected to end up a prisoner in Charles Town’s jail. His raid had been a complete failure—he hadn't seized weapons, rallied enslaved people, or freed anyone. His attack was a debacle.

Despite the local outcry to lynch Brown, he had the constitutional right to a trial. He faced serious charges: murder, treason, and inciting rebellion. Each was a capital offense. The trial proceeded with a jury of all White men, including slaveholders. Despite his objections, Brown was found guilty after just 45 minutes of deliberation.

On November 2, Brown was sentenced to hang one month later. His trial polarized the nation, with some condemning him as a traitor, while others, like William Lloyd Garrison, defending his actions.

On sentencing day, Brown delivered a five-minute speech, declaring:

I deny everything but what I have all along admitted, of a design on my part to free slaves. [H]ad I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of any of their friends . . . it would have been all right. I believe that to have interfered as I have done . . . in behalf of [God’s] despised poor, in no wrong, but right.

From defeat to victory. From ashes to fire. Brown, in just six weeks between his capture and execution, had placed not himself but slavery on trial. John Brown had become “the conquering prisoner of Charles Town jail.”

Perhaps Brown did not fail.