Barclay Coppock
Encyclopedia
Edwin Coppock, Barclay's brother, redirects here.
Barclay Coppock (January 4, 1839 – September 4, 1861) was a follower of John Brown
and a Union Army
soldier in the American Civil War
. Along with his brother Edwin Coppock (June 30, 1835 - December 16, 1859), he participated in Brown's raid
on Harpers Ferry
. In historic documents their last name was variously spelled "Coppock", "Coppoc", or "Coppac". The Coppock brothers were raised in Springdale, Iowa
, where they met Brown while he was raising support for his Kansas anti-slavery raids. Edwin was hanged in Charlestown, Virginia, while Barclay eventually escaped to Canada; his flight was aided by Iowa governor Samuel Kirkwood, who refused to extradite him when Barclay was discovered hiding in Iowa.
"His escape was aided by the Gurney sect of Quakers and in particular, one twenty year old man, Richard Beeson Engle via the 'underground railway.' When Barkely Coppock escaped from the captors of the John Brown party at the Harpers Ferry raid in October, 1859, he was sent by the underground railway to the Engle home in Mahoning County and to young Engle, twenty years of age, was assigned the task of guiding him in safety to Canada. This he did, although the country was filled with men searching for Coppock. Engle was supplied with ample funds and the excitement died down, they went to Springdale, Iowa, where Coppock had relatives. From that point it was an easy matter for Rev. Engle to get them to Kansas, just then in the war of organization, the fight being over whether it should be slave or free."
Edwin Coppock is buried in Hope Cemetery in Salem, Ohio
. Barclay later joined the Union Army during the American Civil War
and served as a recruiting officer. Barclay was killed in action when his train plunged into a ravine on the Platte River
. Confederate Raiders had cut through the supports of the train bridge, the incident now called the Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy
.
Barclay Coppock (January 4, 1839 – September 4, 1861) was a follower of John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
and a Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
soldier in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Along with his brother Edwin Coppock (June 30, 1835 - December 16, 1859), he participated in Brown's raid
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an attempt by white abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave revolt by seizing a United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia in 1859...
on Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
. In historic documents their last name was variously spelled "Coppock", "Coppoc", or "Coppac". The Coppock brothers were raised in Springdale, Iowa
Springdale, Iowa
Springdale is a small unincorporated community in Cedar County, Iowa, United States. Historically, the town was predominantly settled by Quakers, and was a way-station in the Underground Railroad. Its most famous residents were the militant abolitionist John Brown, who resided at John H...
, where they met Brown while he was raising support for his Kansas anti-slavery raids. Edwin was hanged in Charlestown, Virginia, while Barclay eventually escaped to Canada; his flight was aided by Iowa governor Samuel Kirkwood, who refused to extradite him when Barclay was discovered hiding in Iowa.
"His escape was aided by the Gurney sect of Quakers and in particular, one twenty year old man, Richard Beeson Engle via the 'underground railway.' When Barkely Coppock escaped from the captors of the John Brown party at the Harpers Ferry raid in October, 1859, he was sent by the underground railway to the Engle home in Mahoning County and to young Engle, twenty years of age, was assigned the task of guiding him in safety to Canada. This he did, although the country was filled with men searching for Coppock. Engle was supplied with ample funds and the excitement died down, they went to Springdale, Iowa, where Coppock had relatives. From that point it was an easy matter for Rev. Engle to get them to Kansas, just then in the war of organization, the fight being over whether it should be slave or free."
Edwin Coppock is buried in Hope Cemetery in Salem, Ohio
Salem, Ohio
Salem is a city in northern Columbiana County and extreme southern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. At the 2000 census, the city's population was 12,197....
. Barclay later joined the Union Army during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and served as a recruiting officer. Barclay was killed in action when his train plunged into a ravine on the Platte River
Platte River (Missouri)
The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, about long, in southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri in the United States. It is sometimes known as the Little Platte River to distinguish it from the larger Platte River, also a tributary of the Missouri, in nearby Nebraska; the Platte...
. Confederate Raiders had cut through the supports of the train bridge, the incident now called the Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy
Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy
The Platte Bridge Railroad Tragedy was a bushwhacker attack on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad during the American Civil War on September 3, 1861, in which the train derailed on a bridge over the Platte River east of St. Joseph, Missouri, killing between 17 and 20 and injuring 100...
.