Shepherd Heyward

1931 Monument

In 1931 a monument to Shepherd (39°19′24″N 77°43′48″W / 39.32330°N 77.73005°W / 39.32330; -77.73005) was erected by both the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The text of the granite monument read:

On the night of October 16, 1859, Heyward Shepherd, an industrious and respected colored freeman, was mortally wounded by John Brown’s raiders, in pursuance of his duties as an employee of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, he became the first victim of this attempted insurrection. This boulder is erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans as a memorial to Heyward Shepherd, exemplifying the character and faithfulness of thousands of Negros who under many temptations throughout subsequent years of war. So conducted themselves that no stain was left upon a record which is the peculiar heritage of the American people, and an everlasting tribute to the best in both races.

1932 Plaque

The monument was immediately challenged by many as perpetuating the "faithful slave" concept of slavery as a justification for the practice.

The NAACP responded by preparing a plaque to be displayed at Storer College in Harpers Ferry, where the firehouse used by John Brown as a fort had been placed. The president of the college refused to allow the plaque to be mounted because of the militant text. In 2006 the plaque was finally placed on the side of the firehouse. The text of the plaque reads:

HERE JOHN BROWN AIMED AT HUMAN SLAVERY A BLOW THAT WOKE A GUILTY NATION. WITH HIM FOUGHT SEVEN SLAVES AND SONS OF SLAVES. OVER HIS CRUCIFIED CORPSE MARCHED 200,000 BLACK SOLDIERS AND 4,000,000 FREEDMEN SINGING "JOHN BROWN'S BODY LIES A-MOULDERING IN THE GRAVE BUT HIS SOUL GOES MARCHING ON!" IN GRATITUDE THIS TABLET IS ERECTED THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE MAY 21, 1932

1955 Plaque

A plaque to contexualize the original 1931 monument was placed in 1955 by the National Park Service. The text of the plaque read:

John Brown’s raid on the armory at Harpers Ferry caused the death of four townspeople. One of those died in the fighting was Heyward Shepherd, a railroad baggagemaster and a free black. Although the true identity of his assailant is uncertain, Shepherd soon became a symbol of the "faithful servant" among those who deplored Brown’s action against the traditional southern way of life. This monument, placed here in 1931, reflects those traditional views.

1994 Plaque

Another plaque was installed near the 1931 monument to place the monument in context by the National Park Service. It reads:

On October 17, 1859, abolitionist John Brown attacked Harpers Ferry to launch a war against slavery. Heyward Shepherd, a free African-American railroad baggage master, was shot and killed by Brown’s men shortly after midnight. Seventy-two years later, on October 10, 1931, a crowd estimated to 300 whites and 100 blacks gathered to unveil and dedicate the Shepherd Monument. During the ceremony, voices rose to praise and denounce the monument. Conceived around the turn of the century, the monument endured controversy. In 1905, the United Daughters of the Confederacy stated that erecting the monument would influence for good the present and coming generations, and prove that the people of the South who owned slaves valued and respected their good qualities as no one else ever did or will do.