Secret Six

The so-called Secret Six, or the Secret Committee of Six, were a group of men who secretly funded the 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry by abolitionist John Brown.^[1] Sometimes described as "wealthy," this was true of only two. The other four were in positions of influence, and could, therefore, encourage others to contribute to "the cause."

The name "Secret Six" was invented by writers long after Brown's death. The term never appears in the testimony at Brown's trial, in James Redpath's The public life of Capt. John Brown (1859), or in the Memoirs of John Brown of Franklin Benjamin Sanborn (1878). The men involved helped Brown as individuals and did not work together or correspond with each other. They were never in the same room at the same time, and in some cases barely knew each other.