John Anthony Copeland Jr. was a man whose life and death embodied the struggle for freedom and justice in a nation deeply divided by slavery. Born free on August 15, 1834, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Copeland was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death in 1859 for participating in a failed rebellion. After his execution, his body was subjected to medical dissection and callously discarded without respect or dignity.
John Copeland Jr. was born on August 15, 1834, in Raleigh, North Carolina, into a family of free African Americans. His father, John Copeland Sr., had been emancipated by the will of his enslaver, who was also his father. His mother, Delilah Evans, was born free. In 1843, the Copeland family moved to Oberlin, Ohio, a hub of abolitionist activity, to escape the racial persecution they faced in the South. Oberlin was a rare haven of racial integration and progressive ideals, and it was here that young John Copeland Jr. grew into a passionate advocate for freedom.
Copeland attended Oberlin College’s preparatory division, where he developed a reputation for intelligence and leadership. He became deeply involved in the Oberlin Anti-Slavery Society, a group dedicated to ending the institution of slavery through activism and direct action. His commitment to the cause was further solidified during the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue of 1858, a dramatic event in which Copeland and others freed John Price, a runaway slave who had been captured under the Fugitive Slave Act. Although Copeland was indicted for his role in the rescue, he evaded arrest and continued his fight against slavery.
In 1859, Copeland was recruited by his uncle, Lewis Sheridan Leary, to join John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. Brown, a radical abolitionist, and a prominent advocate for armed resistance within the American abolitionist movement, believed violent action was necessary to end slavery after decades of peaceful efforts had failed. He led an attack on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with the goal of sparking a slave liberation movement that would spread throughout the South. Motivated by his unwavering dedication to the cause of freedom, Copeland joined the raid without hesitation.
During the assault, Copeland was tasked with capturing Hall’s Rifle Works alongside John Henry Kagi, a white raider. The raid, however, quickly fell apart. Kagi and several others were killed while attempting to escape, and Copeland was captured alive in the Shenandoah River while trying to escape. He was taken to Charles Town, Virginia, where he stood trial alongside John Brown and other raiders.
Copeland’s trial, along with John Brown’s, became a national spectacle, covered extensively in newspapers across the country. The raid and subsequent trials exposed the deep divisions between the North and South over the issue of slavery. While many in the North viewed Brown and his men as martyrs for the cause of freedom, Southerners saw them as dangerous insurgents threatening their way of life.
Copeland was charged with murder and conspiracy to incite slaves to rebellion. Despite the efforts of his attorney, George Sennott, who argued that Copeland could not be guilty of treason under the Dred Scott decision (which denied African Americans citizenship), Copeland was found guilty and sentenced to die by hanging.
In the days leading up to his execution, Copeland wrote letters to his family, reflecting on his sacrifice and the cause for which he was willing to die. In one letter to his brother, he drew parallels between his fight for freedom and the American Revolution, emphasizing that the struggle for liberty was not limited to white Americans. “If I am dying for freedom,” he reportedly said on his way to the gallows, “I could not die for a better cause. I had rather die than be a slave.”
Copeland’s execution on December 16, 1859, was witnessed by 1,600 spectators. But the humiliation did not end there. After he was pronounced dead, his body was taken to Winchester Medical College, where it was dissected by medical students. Despite his family’s desperate efforts to recover his remains, including appeals to the governor of Virginia, Copeland’s body was never returned. His bones were discarded, and his family was left to mourn without the closure of a proper burial.
In Oberlin, a memorial service was held for Copeland and two other raiders, Shields Green and Lewis Sheridan Leary. An empty casket represented Copeland’s missing body, showing how he was denied dignity even in death. Three thousand people came to the service, showing how much his life and sacrifice meant to them.
The Harpers Ferry raid and the subsequent trial of John Copeland Jr., John Brown and other raiders heightened tensions between the North and South, which had been growing for decades. Within a year, the South seceded from the United States, forming the Confederate States of America and sparking the Civil War in 1861. The war, fought over the issues of slavery and states’ rights, ultimately led to the abolition of slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865.
In 1865, after the Civil War, a monument was erected in Westwood Cemetery, Oberlin, to honor the three citizens of Oberlin who participated in John Brown’s raid: John Anthony Copeland Jr., Shields Green, and Lewis Sheridan Leary. The monument was later moved in 1977 to Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Vine Street in Oberlin. The inscription on the monument reads:
“These colored citizens of Oberlin, the heroic associates of the immortal John Brown, gave their lives for the slave. Et nunc servitudo etiam mortua est, laus deo. (And now slavery is finally dead, thanks be to God.)
S. Green died at Charleston, Va., Dec. 16, 1859, age 23 years.
J. A. Copeland died at Charleston, Va., Dec. 16, 1859, age 25 years.
L. S. Leary died at Harper’s Ferry, Va., Oct 20, 1859, age 24 years.”
This monument stands as a lasting tribute to their bravery and sacrifice in the fight against slavery, reminding us of their crucial role in the struggle for freedom and justice.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-browns-raid-on-harpers-ferry
https://oberlinreview.org/30203/arts/oberlin-monuments-honor-abolitionist-movement-african-american-legacy/
https://www.americanheritage.com/node/133544
