I'm sure many of you have seen this AP story in the last couple of days. It's a rare treat to have wire-service coverage of polearms, complete with photos that give some idea of scale! :D

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/1096861.html

Ironically, the CSA later commissioned some of these weapons, though I'm not sure they actually made it into service. Perhaps CSA officials were so impressed by the anti-Brown/anti-abolition propaganda that they overestimated the weapon's combat value (not unlike the widespread affection for the large bowie--a feeling that apparently didn't survive much beyond the eager soldier's enlistment tintype).

Ok I'm australian so I have no idea who John Brown was and why he was using pikes. Can anyone shed some light on this?

I was wondering that myself and a bit of netcrawling rewarded me with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist)

I add a short copy from wikipedia as well.

Quote:

John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an American abolitionist who advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to end all slavery. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas and made his name in the unsuccessful raid at Harpers Ferry in 1859.

Edit: Fixed the link to wikipedia

OT: We Italians have a little song for him:

"John Brown giace nella tomba là nel pian,
dopo una lunga lotta contro l'oppressor.
John Brown giace nella tomba là nel pian,
ma l'anima vive ancor!"

"John Brown lie in the grave in the plain,
after a long fight with the oppressor.
John Brown lie in the grave in the plain,
but the soul live still!"

I know that is not relevant to this topic ... but
That song made me remember when I went from Rome to Nettuno. I wanted to pay tribute to the fallen Americans in Italy. I visited Nettuno American Cemetery. I want to thank the children of those fallen.

Maurizio

good ole John Brown. I've seen the pikes up close. there pretty neat. I did my college internship for the Harper's Ferry NHP back in 98. don't think i have any pictures of them though. hmmmm does anyone want any? I might be able to stop in the park sometime if I'm on delivery in the area in the fall.

This song has many verses, some with the first line repeated twice, others are more complex.

John Brown’s body lies a-moldering in the grave,
While weep the sons of bondage whom he ventured all to save;
But tho he lost his life while struggling for the slave,
His soul is marching on.

From PBS:

"John brown dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery; for him, any means used to achieve this goal were justified. He was prepared to kill or be killed in this effort, a decisive break with the nonviolent reisistance embraced by most abolitionists at that time.

"He has been called a saint, a fanatic, and a cold-blooded murderer. The debate over his memory, his motives, about the true nature of the man, continues to stir passionate debate. It is said that John Brown was the spark that started the Civil War. Truly, he marked the end of compromise over the issue of slavery, and it was not long after his death that John Brown's war became the nation's war."

A bit of off-topic..

Alan H. Weller wrote:

From PBS: "....... Truly, he marked the end of compromise over the issue of slavery, and it was not long after his death that John Brown's war became the nation's war."

There are many, who are credited with the same strange honour. Each by their own deeds.


But, back to that spear-story. Is anyone from this forum handled one of those spears? Either original or reproduction?

As a native Kansan, i am interested to see this thread! I was unaware of the pike part of the story. Fascinating, and thank you for posting it!

Perhaps many of you haven't seen the mural of John Brown which is inside our Capitol Building, but I have always had a strong affinity for it as a work of art.

http://haysvillelibrary.files.wordpress.com/2...apitol.jpg

More like a modern partizan, or sword staff, but then again, the Naginata were called a Halberd by many westerners of that era.

Some enterprising smith might be able to market and, sell a few replicas.

Thanks for posting.

I'd heard of Georgia pikes
http://www.hsgng.org/pages/joebrownpike.htm
from one of my ACW reenactor friends. I didn't know that John Brown had made pikes first. Ironically, the governor's name was Joe Brown.