[2] In 1861, the bell was removed from Harpers Ferry, then part of Virginia, by Union army soldiers from Marlborough, Massachusetts, who left it with a resident of Williamsport, Maryland.

[4] The men raised money to bring the bell to Marlborough, where it was hung outside the city's Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) building, dedicated on March 28, 1893.

[1] Over the years, citizens of Harpers Ferry have tried in vain to have the bell returned, potentially to be exhibited atop the reconstructed firehouse where John Brown was captured.

I suppose it requires a lot of energy that, frankly, no one has," James A. Addy, mayor of the Appalachian town of 310 that is about 60 miles (97 km) from Washington, D.C., said.

"[11] "Oh, they've wanted it back," said Joan Abshire, a member of the Marlborough Historical Society who compiled a comprehensive study of the bell.

The men from Marlborough saved it from obliteration, claimed Gary Brown, chairman of the city's Historical Commission, "Had they not taken the bell, it wouldn't exist.