Frederick Douglass, the most famous Black visitor to Harpers Ferry in the 19th century, came on Memorial Day 1881 to deliver a commencement address at Storer College. His speech, John Brown: An Address, honored his friend and fellow abolitionist.

“If John Brown did not end the war that ended slavery,” Douglass declared, “he did at least begin the war that ended slavery.”

Douglass and Brown had once planned to free enslaved people through guerilla raids in the Appalachian Mountains, expanding the Underground Railroad with armed protection. But they disagreed on Brown’s first strike: Harpers Ferry. Douglass called it a “steel trap” and refused to join the raid.

Their last meeting, in a quarry near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, was just weeks before the attack. Douglass warned that seizing a federal arsenal would spark national outrage. Brown went ahead; 36 hours later, he was captured. Douglass fled briefly to Canada, fearing arrest as a conspirator.

At Storer College—West Virginia’s first integrated school—Douglass praised Brown’s sacrifice. “I could live for the slave,” he said. “He could die for him."

In a powerful moment of symbolism, Douglass shared the stage with Andrew Hunter—the prosecutor who had condemned Brown to death. The sight of them, side by side, reflected the enduring complexity of Brown’s legacy.

“To the outward eye of man, John Brown was a criminal,” Douglass admitted. “But the spirit which made those deeds possible was worthy of highest honor.” Brown, he concluded, was mightier “with the sword of truth.”