The Trial Of John Brown, At Charlestown, Virginia, For Treason And Murder
Harper's Weekly, 12 November 1859
(Virginia Historical Society, Accession no. 2003.31.3)

At his trial, the still wounded John Brown lay stretched out on a cot, seemingly oblivious to the proceedings. When asked if he chose to speak, Brown rose to argue that his deeds were justified because they were based on Christian principles and his goal was to end slavery. His address to the court was masterful. Ralph Waldo Emerson later ranked it with Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" as the two greatest speeches in all of American history.