“An Angel of Light”: Thoreau’s Plea for Captain John Brown

On November 1, 1859, Thoreau delivered a speech in Boston that sparked the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator to comment that John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia “seems to have awakened the hermit of Concord.” Delivered at Tremont Temple, this speech praised Brown’s character in the aftermath of his attempt to incite an armed slave revolt in Harpers Ferry. Thoreau described Brown as “an old-fashioned man in respect for the Constitution,” “a man of great common sense,” even “an angel of light.” Return to 1859 and experience Henry Thoreau, portrayed by historian Richard Smith, reading his “Plea for Captain John Brown” at the Meeting House! After the address, “Mr. Thoreau” will take questions from the audience. Part of the Series “Boston is Thoreau Country: A Multimedia Series Celebrating Thoreau’s Legacy in the Hub,” Co-Presented by Old South Meeting House, The Thoreau Society, and the Boston Literary District. Co-Sponsored by the Walden Woods Project. $6; FREE FOR OSMH MEMBERS.