Samuel V. Leech

Born in 1837, Samuel Vanderlip Leech was an American Methodist Episcopal minister, lecturer, and author. Sources describe him as an abolitionist preacher in what is now West Virginia, and he later published several works along with some of his sermons.

He is best remembered for The Raid of John Brown at Harper's Ferry as I Saw It, published in 1909. In that book, Leech says he was 22 years old, preaching near Harper's Ferry, saw the fighting and capture, and witnessed events between the raid and John Brown's execution, giving his account the immediacy of personal memory.

Leech also wrote other titles, including Ingersoll and the Bible, The Three Inebriates, From West Virginia to Pompeii, and Seven Elements in Successful Preaching. He died in 1916.