John Henry Kagi (15 March 1835 - 17 October 1859) was an American lawyer, abolitionist and second-in-command to John Brown who participated in Brown's failed raid on Harper's Ferry. He was killed by the Virginia militia during the raid.
Biography[]
Kagi was born in Ohio in 1835 to Abraham Kagi and Anna Fansler. He worked as a schoolteacher in Virginia in 1855, but was sacked due to his anti-slavery views.
After being sacked, Kagi travelled to Nebraska City and stayed at the cabin of his sister Barbara and her husband Allen Mayhew. He helped them to create a cave underneath their cabin for escaped slaves to hide in which was established as a station in the Underground Railroad network. He was able to gain a licence to practice law in Nebraska, but soon went to Kansas to fight in one of the anti-slavery volunteer forces active during the "Bleeding Kansas" conflict. He initially served under James H. Lane, but went on to enlist in Aaron Stevens's militia. It was during Bleeding Kansas that both Kagi and Stevens met John Brown for the first time. The two men were deeply influenced by Brown and became his closest advisers.
During the course of the war, Kagi participated in the assault on Fort Titus, the headquarters of pro-slavery militia leader Henry Theodore Titus. The battle was a success, with Titus surrendering after being wounded and the fort being burned to the ground after all of Titus's slaves were freed. Kagi was captured a month later but escaped with several other prisoners. He was shot by pro-slavery judge Rush Elmore, slightly wounding him, but returned fire and shot Elmore in the leg before escaping.
Kagi moved south to Canada with Brown's group to organize their effort. Brown and his advisers decided to establish a free state for freed slaves in the Appalachian Mountains, with Brown appointing Kagi the Appalachian Free State's "Secretary of War". Afterwards the group returned to Kansas and lived in a reinforced cabin. An armed posse found the cabin while Brown was away in November 1858 but Kagi successfully lead the others in defeating them. On 20 December Kagi lead a party of eight men to free slaves while Brown lead another party of twelve. Brown's party was able to free ten slaves, but Kagi's party only freed one and killed his owner.
Brown, Kagi and Stevens planned to capture an armoury at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in order to steal the weapons and use them to start a slave rebellion and establish the Appalachian Free State. While Brown planned the raid, Kagi acted as the group's business agent, buying weapons and other essential supplies and storing them in his house. On 19 August, Brown and Kagi met with former slave and activist Frederick Douglass in an attempt to persuade him to help incite the slave rebellion. Douglass refused, warning Brown not to go through with the raid; however, they were able to convince Douglass's friend Shields Green to accompany them to Harper's Ferry. They also approached Harriet Tubman, who agreed to participate in the raid but was prevented by illness.
Kagi went down to Harper's Ferry with the rest of Brown's men on 16 October. After the armoury was secured and the telegraph wires were cut, Kagi and two others went to secure Hall's Rifle Works. However, a train was able to get through and alerted the North Virginia Army to Brown's raid. Colonel Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart were sent to Harper's Ferry to crush the raid. Kagi sent messages from the Rifle Works to Brown telling him to evacuate but was ignored.
The Rifle Works was attacked by the Virginia Militia during the battle. One of Kagi's men was captured and the other killed. Kagi attempted to flee across the Shenandoah River but was caught in the shallows and shot by the militia. His body was later buried in an unmarked grave, along with nine others, next to John Brown's grave.