One Of The Raiders

John Henry Kagi one of John Brown’s Raiders, was born March 15th 1835 in Bristolville, Ohio.

John Henry Kagi the son of a respected blacksmith was born March 15th 1835 in Bristolville, Ohio. John was mostly self-taught, but well educated. In 1855 he taught school in Virginia, however do to his abolition views he didn’t last long in the South. He moved on to Nebraska where he became a lawyer and newspaper reporter writing for the New York Times. He was shot by a pro-slavery judge, the bullet only being stopped by a book from going into his heart. After a long recovery, and a visit home to Ohio, Kagi went to Kansas and joined John Brown. In Brown he found a like minded spirit, and KagI would become John Brown’s Secretary of War. Kagi helped Brown with his raid on Harper’s Ferry, designed to get weapons to be used in a slave revolt. Kagi was only 24 when he was shot to death on October 17th 1859 during the raid.