author
Osborne P. (Osborne Perry) Anderson
1830–1872
An abolitionist, printer, and writer, he is remembered as the only surviving Black member of John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. His firsthand account, A Voice from Harper’s Ferry, preserves one of the most direct surviving perspectives on that pivotal event.
1 Audiobook
A voice from Harper's Ferry; a narrative of events at Harper's Ferry : with incidents prior and subsequent to its capture by Captain Brown and his men
by Osborne P. (Osborne Perry) Anderson
About the author
Born in West Fallowfield, Pennsylvania, in 1830, Osborne Perry Anderson trained as a printer and became deeply involved in the antislavery movement. He later lived in Chatham, Ontario, an important center of Black activism, where he joined John Brown’s circle as Brown planned the raid on Harpers Ferry.
Anderson took part in the 1859 raid and escaped, making him the only surviving Black member of Brown’s raiding party. In 1861 he published A Voice from Harper’s Ferry, a rare eyewitness narrative that helped shape how later generations understood the raid and the people who carried it out.
During the Civil War, Anderson served the Union cause as a recruiting officer for Black troops. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1872, but his life still stands out for its mix of action, testimony, and commitment to the fight against slavery.