On This Day, 1859. President Buchanan ordered Col. Robert E. Lee to retake Harper’s Ferry - after the Virginia town (now West Virginia) was seized by abolitionist John Brown /1
Brown hoped that his raid on Harper's Ferry would spark a nationwide slave revolt. He asked two leading abolitionists—Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman—to join him. Tubman was ill and declined; Douglass thought Brown's plan faulty and declined as well /2 
As for Col. Robert E. Lee, he would, of course, soon leave the U.S. Army and lead Confederate forces in the Civil War
A rarity: A president traveling to Capitol Hill to testify before Congress. Gerald Ford did so on this day in 1974, amswering questions about his pardon of Richard Nixon /1
Ford said that legal action against Nixon would only further polarize the nation; he wanted America to move on. The Nixon pardon undoubtedly contributed to Ford's narrow 1976 election loss: Had he won 3,687 more votes in Hawaii and 5,559 in Ohio, he would have beaten Jimmy Carter
You probably know that In September 1975, there were two assassination attempts against President Ford. You might NOT know that a month later, there was a third scare: A car rammed into the president's limo at an intersection in Hartford. Conn. /1
The car that rammed into President Ford's limo was driven by 19-year old James Salamites. He and the other teens in the car found themselves looking down the barrels of many guns - while the president's car, with ony minor damage, sped away /2
The accident involving the president's limo was actually the fault of Secret Service and the Hartford cops - who failed to secure the intersection. Salamites had a green light. Ford, shown here arriving at the Hartford airport, later called Salamites to see how he was doing
Speaking of presidential limos, you might not know that the 1961 Lincoln Continental (SS100X) that President Kennedy was murdered in was refurbished - and used by four more presidents. Here's Nixon riding in it
