5. John Brown was convicted of treason, but not against the United States
Following his capture during the raid he led against the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, then in Virginia, abolitionist John Brown and his followers faced charges levied against them by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Despite the arsenal being federal property and the capture effected by US Marines (led by Army Colonel Robert E. Lee) Brown and his followers were sent to Charles Town for trial on state charges, which included multiple counts of murder, inciting slaves to rebel against their owners, and treason against Virginia. The jury in Charles Town took less than an hour to convict Brown after a weeklong trial. He was sentenced to be hanged on December 2, 1859.
During the month between his sentencing and the scheduled date of execution concerns over other supporters of Brown attempting to rescue him led to steadily increasing security precautions. A detachment of cadets from the Virginia Military Institute were detailed to provide security at the hanging, led by Thomas J. Jackson, an instructor at VMI not yet known by his nickname, Stonewall. On the day before the execution railroad traffic through Charles Town was suspended, not to resume until the day following the hanging. The US Senate later investigated the entire affair, but the report of the allegedly bipartisan committee was largely inconclusive.