Part 3

+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | THE DE SOTA | | | | Washington, D. C., November 18, 1909. | | | | My Dear Sir: | | | | There has just been issued a small volume copyrighted, | | entitled., "The Raid Of John Brown As I Saw It" from the pen | | of "Rev. Samuel Vanderlip Leech, D. D., of Washington, D. C.," | | who has been a Methodist Episcopal Minister for 52 years. For | | this book The Maurice Engraving Company furnished the latest | | portrait of Captain John Brown. The edition is limited to four | | hundred copies. They are not sold at any store. The object of | | the publication is to place on the shelves of Libraries, | | Colleges, Universities and Historical societies, from the | | southern standpoint, an accurate narrative of the raid, and | | the events associated with it. I was 22 years of age, was | | preaching close to Harper's Ferry, saw the fighting and | | capture and visited Brown in his prison. I was a witness of | | the events of the forty four days intervening between the raid | | and his execution. | | | | His partisan biographers were not in Virginia at that time. | | Their books contain historical errors and much romance. Their | | abuse of the Virginians is unfair. I am a Republican, and have | | steadily voted for Republican Presidents. But I think the time | | has come when a truthful version of this famous raid should | | find a place in national literature. I think that you will | | agree with me. On receipt of a money order for 45 cents I will | | mail to you a post-paid copy of this small volume. | | | | With Respect, | | | | S. V. LEECH. | | | +------------------------------------------------------------------+