TOPIC:  The shot came like a meteor in the dark!  John Brown, the infamous fighter on the Kansas plains and detester of slavery, led a band of nineteen men on a desperate nighttime raid on the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.  There they planned to begin a war to end slavery in the United States.  John Brown’s Raid tells the story of the first shots that led to disunion and the Civil War. 

SPEAKERS:  Jon-Erik Gilot has been indelibly fascinated with Harpers Ferry since his first visit as a child—so much so that he later proposed to his wife on Maryland Heights. A native of historic Mount Pleasant, Ohio, Jon-Erik has spent more than fifteen years in the fields of history and preservation. He works as an archivist and records manager in Wheeling, West Virginia; since 2021 he has also served as curator at the Captain Thomas Espy Grand Army of the Republic Post in Carnegie, PA. Outside of work, Jon-Erik is a historic landmarks commissioner with the City of Wheeling, West Virginia, and a board member with the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation.

Kevin R. Pawlak is a historic site manager for Prince William County’s Office of Historic Preservation and a Certified Battlefield Guide at Antietam National Battlefield. He previously worked as a park ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Kevin is the author of four books about the American Civil War, including To Hazard All: A Guide to the Maryland Campaign, 1862, part of the Emerging Civil War Series.

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