John Brown
John Brown’s 1859 Harpers’ Ferry raid renewed old fears of slave insurrection and Virginia militia companies were rapidly formed or re-formed. Prewar business-as-usual continued in Stafford where slaves now worked as domestic and plantation/farm workers. Falmouth’s “Captain Pickett” continued to whip errant slaves for fees. Also continuing in the area was the “underground railway” run by whites and free blacks. (Image: Library of Congress)