On October 17, 1859, John Brown and his small band of followers, swooped down on Harpers Ferry. The B & O right-of-way was the scene of the first fighting and two railroad employees were among the first casualties. Upon arrival of the eastbound night passenger express at Harpers Ferry the train was surrounded by a cordon of riflemen. In the darkness a shot was fired and Station Porter Haywood Sheppard fell, dying. During the wild firing Station Master Beckham also was killed. When word of this incident reached the B & O President, John W. Garrett, he immediately notified the Secretary of War. To quell the uprising, a detachment of ninety Marines, under Colonel Robert E. Lee, was sent to the scene. The Abolitionist leader, and his followers, were captured after a pitched battle, and Brown was tried and hanged on December 2, 1859. Because the Baltimore & Ohio was the main east-west link available to the Government for the movement of its soldiers, the B & O carried much military freight and many troops during the Civil War years. At the start of the war the railroad operated almost normally, running through areas held by both armies. But, as the battles progressed, there were frequent interruptions to rail service and repeated damage to B & O tracks and equipment. The record of the Civil War disaster, from 1861 to 1865, was unequaled by the history of any other private industry in America. That the railroad's engineers and workmen rebuilt the road in the face of enemy gunfire is a memorable tribute to their skill and courage. After the end of hostilities, thousands of troops traveled over the full length of the B & O main line, from Washington, D. C. to Parkersburg, W. Va., where they boarded steamers for Cincinnati, Louisville and other river cities. 1958 Patrons