Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > John Brown's "Pikes" Reply to topic
This is a standard topic  
Author Message
Sean Flynt




Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Likes: 10 pages
Reading list: 13 books

Spotlight topics: 7
Posts: 5,981

PostPosted: Tue 16 Jun, 2009 10:08 am    Post subject: John Brown's "Pikes"         Reply with quote

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! Big Grin

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).

-Sean

Author of the Little Hammer novel

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Tim Ormsby





Joined: 01 Feb 2009

Posts: 13

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 2:13 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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?
View user's profile Send private message
Martin Murd




Location: Pärnu, Estonia
Joined: 15 Jun 2009

Posts: 23

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 4:59 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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

Merlon
View user's profile Send private message
Gabriele A. Pini




Location: Olgiate Comasco, Como
Joined: 02 Sep 2008

Posts: 239

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 5:24 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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!"
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Maurizio D'Angelo




Location: Italy
Joined: 09 Feb 2009
Likes: 3 pages
Reading list: 3 books

Posts: 649

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 5:35 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Gabriele A. Pini wrote:
OT: We Italians have a little song for him:


it is true, the Italians are well aware of John Brown. I myself singing this song since I was a child.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Maurizio D'Angelo




Location: Italy
Joined: 09 Feb 2009
Likes: 3 pages
Reading list: 3 books

Posts: 649

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 5:51 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Chuck Russell




Location: WV
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Reading list: 46 books

Posts: 936

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 6:17 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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.
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Bruno Giordan





Joined: 28 Sep 2005

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 919

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 6:33 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Gabriele A. Pini wrote:
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!"


it is not native, Gabriele ...
View user's profile Send private message
Roger Hooper




Location: Northern California
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Likes: 1 page

Spotlight topics: 4
Posts: 4,393

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 8:16 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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.
View user's profile Send private message
Alan H. Weller




Location: Palo Alto, CA
Joined: 31 Oct 2006

Posts: 28

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 3:14 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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."
View user's profile Send private message
Martin Murd




Location: Pärnu, Estonia
Joined: 15 Jun 2009

Posts: 23

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 3:35 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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?

Merlon
View user's profile Send private message
Jessica Finley
Industry Professional



Location: Topeka, Kansas
Joined: 29 Dec 2003

Posts: 110

PostPosted: Wed 17 Jun, 2009 8:58 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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

Selohaar Fechtschule, Free Scholar
http://www.selohaar.org/fechtschule

Fühlen Designs, Owner/Designer/Seamstress
http://fuhlendesigns.com
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger
Mike West




Location: North Carolina
Joined: 06 Dec 2003
Likes: 4 pages

Posts: 86

PostPosted: Thu 18 Jun, 2009 9:13 am    Post subject: A pike?         Reply with quote

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.
View user's profile Send private message
Michael Ekelmann




Location: Seattle Metro Area, USA
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Likes: 1 page

Posts: 92

PostPosted: Sat 20 Jun, 2009 11:17 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

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.

“Men prefer to fight with swords, so they can see each other's eyes!" Sean Connery as Mulay Hamid El Raisuli in The Wind and the Lion
View user's profile Send private message


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Historical Arms Talk > John Brown's "Pikes"
Page 1 of 1 Reply to topic
All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum