tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20136268.post922163216922710137..comments2024-02-08T23:48:48.397-05:00Comments on <p><big>JOHN BROWN TODAY</big></p><p><i><center>A Biographer's Blog</center></i></p>: John Brown: Six Longstanding Errors and Assumptions CorrectedLouis A. DeCaro, Jr. . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/10895195726778019518noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20136268.post-84644846764298839132016-08-18T21:48:33.705-04:002016-08-18T21:48:33.705-04:00Hi Rich,
Thanks for your comment and question.
...Hi Rich,<br /><br />Thanks for your comment and question. <br /><br />Realf was part of JB's company until 1858. Initially, when he had problems with his hired military trainer, Hugh Forbes, Brown sent Realf to NYC to do damage control, and possibly retrieve his correspondence with the problematic Forbes. When Realf went to NYC, he did not connect with Forbes or retrieve JB's correspondence. After talking with an associate of Brown in the city, Realf took a boat to England (his homeland) without any communication with Brown and remained there for a year. When he returned to the States, he went to New Orleans and was living in the South at the time of the raid. When his name became known as an associate of Brown's, Realf cooperated with the government, somewhat appealing to his ostensible new life in the South as an honest man, and throwing himself on the mercy of the government. He literally redeemed himself by testifying before the Mason Committee, which was driven by proslavery interests. In so doing, he fully divulged all that he knew about Brown, and subsequently wrote a letter to the brother of one of the raiders in which he listed Brown's errors, most of which assuaged the Southern mentality, such as the notion that Brown overestimated black support. Redpath, who was a true blue abolitionist, naturally saw Realf as the sell-out that he was. The truth seems to be that Realf chickened out, fled to England, then when his conscience got the better of him perhaps, he came back and entered the South--perhaps to redeem himself to Brown. But when Brown failed and was executed, he could only appeal that he had lived a decent life in the South, had associated with Southerners across a number of states, and had come to appreciate their perspective. In the end, he informed on Brown and belittled his plans before the nation in order to make himself look reasonable for having abandoned Brown. If Realf wasn't a Judas, he was at least a coward and a hypocrite. Unfortunately, sometimes leaders have to rely on men of varying qualities, and Realf was a man lacking in the qualifies most needed for that hour.--LDLouis A. DeCaro, Jr. . .https://www.blogger.com/profile/10895195726778019518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20136268.post-80205390893398634862016-08-18T16:57:46.795-04:002016-08-18T16:57:46.795-04:00Hello,
I enjoyed your last post. But, I have a que...Hello,<br />I enjoyed your last post. But, I have a question not related to it. In James Redpaths preface to his biography on Brown, he calls Richard Realf a Judas. Any idea why?Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16531841368322565077noreply@blogger.com