Lewis Sheridan Leary (March 17, 1835 – October 20, 1859), an African-American harnessmaker from
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students.
The town is the birthplace of th ...
, joined
John Brown's
raid
Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to:
Attack
* Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground
* Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business
* Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
on
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...
, where he was killed.
Life
Leary's father was a
free born African-American harnessmaker. Lewis Leary was born at
Fayetteville, North Carolina. His paternal grandparents were an Irishman, Jeremiah O'Leary, who fought in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
under General
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...
, and his wife of African, European and
Native American descent. His great grandfather, Aaron Revels, also fought in the revolution. Through Revels, he was a cousin to
Hiram Rhodes Revels
Hiram Rhodes Revels (September 27, 1827Different sources list his birth year as either 1827 or 1822. – January 16, 1901) was an American Republican politician, minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a college administrator. B ...
, the first African-American to serve in the United States Senate. His brother was North Carolina politician and lawyer,
John S. Leary
John S. Leary (August 17, 1845 – December 9, 1904) was an American lawyer and politician. He was of mixed ethnicity. He is described as one of the first black lawyers in North Carolina and was a member of the North Carolina State Legislature, ...
.
In 1857, Lewis Leary moved to Oberlin. There he married Mary Patterson, an African-American graduate of
Oberlin College. Leary became involved with
abolitionists
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
in Oberlin, which had an active community. Later, he met
John Brown in
Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1858, Leary participated in the
Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, when fugitive slave John Price was forcibly taken from the custody of a
U.S. Marshal
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
to prevent his being returned to slavery in the South. Leary was not among the 37 men (12 of them free blacks) who were indicted and jailed for their actions. As a result of negotiations between state officials (who had arrested the US Marshal and his party) and federal officials, only Simon Bushnell and
Charles Henry Langston
Charles Henry Langston (1817–1892) was an American abolitionist and political activist who was active in Ohio and later in Kansas, during and after the American Civil War, where he worked for black suffrage and other civil rights. He was a spoke ...
were tried; both were convicted, and served light sentences, in part because of Langston's eloquent speech in their defense.
Leary may have been the first recruit from Oberlin to join Brown's army. He left Mary and their six-month-old daughter Lois at home. Accompanied by
John A. Copeland, Leary went to
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the ...
, to join Brown. Leary died eight days after the attack from wounds suffered in the conflict at Harper's Ferry. Copeland was captured, tried and later executed. After Leary's death, the abolitionists
James Redpath
James Redpath (August 24, 1833 in Berwick upon Tweed, England – February 10, 1891, in New York, New York) was an American journalist and anti-slavery activist.
Life
In 1848 or 1849, Redpath and his family emigrated from Scotland to a farm nea ...
(editor for the ''New York Tribune'') and
Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney.
According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one whi ...
helped raise money for Mary and Louise Leary's support and the girl's education.
In 1869 the widow Mary Patterson Leary married again, to the Ohio abolitionist
Charles Henry Langston
Charles Henry Langston (1817–1892) was an American abolitionist and political activist who was active in Ohio and later in Kansas, during and after the American Civil War, where he worked for black suffrage and other civil rights. He was a spoke ...
. The family moved to
Lawrence, Kansas, where they remained for the rest of their lives. In 1872 Charles and Mary's daughter Caroline Mercer Langston was born. She would become the mother of the renowned poet
Langston Hughes.
Death
During the Harpers Ferry raid, Leary was mortally wounded. He survived his terrible wounds for eight hours after the capture of Brown's men, during which he was well treated and able to send messages to his family. His wife had not previously known of the planned raid. He is reported as saying, "I am ready to die." His body was first buried with 7 others killed in a pit along the Shenandoah (see
John Brown's raiders). In 1899 his body was reburied with most of the others killed next to John Brown's grave, at the
John Brown Farm State Historic Site
The John Brown Farm State Historic Site includes the home and final resting place of abolitionist John Brown (1800–1859). It is located on John Brown Road in the town of North Elba, 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Lake Placid, New York, where ...
in North Elba, New York.
Legacy and honors
A memorial service was held in Oberlin for Leary,
John A. Copeland, and
Shields Green
Shields Green (1836? – December 16, 1859), who also referred to himself as "'Emperor"', was, according to Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave from Charleston, South Carolina, and a leader in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, in October 185 ...
, on December 25, 1859. The latter two had been executed after being convicted at trial following the raid.
In 1865 after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, a monument was erected in Westwood Cemetery at Oberlin to honor the three. The monument was moved in 1977 to
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
Park on Vine Street.
"Monument to the Oberlinians Who Participated in John Brown's Raid On Harpers Ferry"
accessed May 21, 2007 The inscription reads:
These colored citizens of Oberlin, the heroic associates of the immortal John Brown, gave their lives for the slave. ''Et nunc servitudo etiam mortua est, laus deo'' (And now slavery is also dead, praise be to God).
S. Green died at Charleston, Va., Dec. 16, 1859, age 23 years.
J. A. Copeland died at Charleston, Va., Dec. 16, 1859, age 25 years.
L. S. Leary died at Harper's Ferry, Va., Oct 20, 1859, age 24 years.
See also
* John Brown's raiders
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leary
1835 births
1859 deaths
African-American abolitionists
American people of Irish descent
Langston family
American rebels
American revolutionaries
People from Fayetteville, North Carolina
People from Oberlin, Ohio
People killed during John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
Bodies dissected at Winchester Medical College