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Thoreau, Henry David (1817-1862) Martyrdom of John Brown

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05925.02 Author/Creator: Thoreau, Henry David (1817-1862) Place Written: Concord, Massachusetts Type: Broadside Date: 2 December 1859 Pagination: 1 p. ; 29.9 x 16.8 cm. Order a Copy

Program created by Thoreau for the funeral service for John Brown to be held in the Concord Town Hall on December 2nd. Event will include "Reading of pertinent passages. Selections from Brown's last words. Service for the death of a martyr." Also contains a "Dirge" in Brown's honor, written by Sanborn to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" The first verse states "To-day beside Potomac's wave, Beneath Virginia's Sky, They slay the man who loved the slave, and dared for him to die." Concord was the home to many of Brown's most famous and ardent supporters. The dirge is misdated 30 December at the bottom. "30" has been changed to "22", probably meant to be 22 November, when Sanborn wrote it.

Franklin Sanborn was a member of the Secret Six, the group that aided John Brown. He was a schoolmaster and friend to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Sanborn, F. B. (Franklin Benjamin), 1831-1917
Brown, John, 1800-1859

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