1859

Damien Searls, editor of the NYRB edition of The Journal 1837-1861 remarks that he

condensed the thirty-nine pages on John Brown (October 19-22, 1859) into a few of the most powerful lines, then kept Thoreau's references to Brown in later entries, to suggest the depth of his engagement.

 The references are all laudatory. His reference to a militia muster some weeks before, on September 8, was anything but. Yet what were Massachusetts's well-equipped regiments worth to the Union government a year and a half later? A great deal, I should say.