When militant abolitionist John Brown planned his raid on Harpers Ferry, he tried to secure the support of Frederick Douglass by meeting with the famed statesman at an abandoned quarry south of Chambersburg in August 1859.

But, the two men had very different ideas about ending slavery.

Brown chose a radical approach - leading a raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry while Douglass favored a slave rebellion that would crumble the southern economy.

On Saturday, more than 50 guests travelled through time with Greg Artzner as Brown and Fred Morsell as Douglass as the re-enactors brought history to life in Minnich Manor in Quincy Village.

Hosted by Franklin County Historical Society-Kittochtinny and sponsored by Franklin County Visitors Bureau and Pennsylvania Humanities Council the evening was one of the Quad State John Brown Sesquicentennial events being celebrated this year in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Artzner, who lives in upstate New York, grew up interested in the civil rights movement.

Wearing brilliant blue contact lenses to cover his brown eyes, sporting white hair and beard and dressed in a brown wool suit, Artzner recounted the meeting between his character and Douglass at the quarry - thought to be the current site of the Southgate Shopping Center.

"He was trying to get Douglass to join him at Harpers Ferry, but Douglass wasn't having anything to do with that. So it was a big argument," said Artzner.

"I'm interested in the Civil War era, and it's nice to have a piece of living history coming before us tonight," said Charlie Szoch, Fayetteville. "I think in the era Brown lived he probably was considered to be a terrorist, but 150 years later I think he's looked upon as a liberator."

Artzner said the idea that Brown is a terrorist is "nonsense."

"John Brown was fighting terrorists. John Brown was a true American revolutionary who believed that the revolution wasn't finished and what needed to be done was to finish the American Revolution so that it worked for everyone not just the white people," said Artzner.

With a booming voice, Morsell - a child of the Civil Rights Movement - told the captivated audience that Douglass didn't support an attack on the federal government and couldn't support Brown's raid.

"I travel around the United States. I go to places where people are receptive to the message - where they want to come and be enlightened about the things they don't know about and where they want to be uplifted," said Morsell.

To learn more

For a full schedule of Quad State John Brown Sesquicentennial events in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, visit the Web site http://www.johnbrownraid.org.

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Chambersburg Public Opinion, Used by Permission