John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
1859

Funded by wealthy abolitionists including Gerrit Smith (one of the "Secret Six" involved in the planning), John Brown attacked the US armory in Harpers Ferry Virginia with intentions to commandeer weapons and distribute them to slaves so they could fight back. The plan went off badly, and Brown's forces were met with a resounding defeat. John Brown himself was sentenced to execution and hanged. He became a martyr for his cause, which wasn't the intention of the Virginians who hung him. Whether he was a hero or just a madman is still debated. Abolitionists glorified him, using his death as a figurehead to spur them onward on his mission to end slavery.