How many people total did John Brown kill?

Answer 1

John Brown and his men were probably not responsible for more than ten or eleven deaths.

The deaths were the result of two different attacks. The first incident, known as the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre, occurred during the border wars in "bleeding" Kansas in May 1856. Brown's men attacked five pro-slavery settlers, hacking them to death with broadswords. Most historians believe Brown participated in the massacre. Brown himself denied direct involvement even though he condoned (and probably planned) the attack.

The second incident was the Raid on Harper's Ferry, Va. (now W. Va.) in October 1859. After their raid on the town, Brown's men, garrisoned inside the armory which they had successfully captured, killed four or five men (and wounded about ten more) in their gun battle with militia and troops outside.

One other death occurred a day earlier: a man was shot and fatally wounded when Brown and his men stopped and fired on a B&O train arriving into Harper's Ferry. The man, Hayward Sheppard, was a baggage master, shot while alerting passengers of the danger. Ironically, Sheppard, the first casualty of the raid, was a free black man.

Answer 2

The anti slavery abolitionist John Brown successfully captured the Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in Virginia. Before he was captured by Col. Robert E. Lee, at least two civilians were killed as they tried to capture John Brown and his men. Brown could have been charged with murder, kidnapping and sedition against the United States however the Governor of Virginia charged him with a strange charge of treason against the State of Virginia.

Answer 3

At Harper's Ferry, John Brown's band killed:

A free slave who was the Chief of the Harper's Ferry Station's baggage Handling,

2-3 militiamen who, under the flag of truce, tried to negotiate with John Brown but were shot at,

the Mayor of Harper's Ferry,

2 marines troopers during the last stage of fighting.

Answer 4

John Brown killed 5 people at Pottawatomie Creek