Stevens was one of Brown's most ardent followers and the only one with military experience (during the Mexican War). While helping Brown free an enslaved woman in Kansas, he'd shot a slave owner in what he claimed to be self-defense. During Brown's Harpers Ferry raid, Stevens served as his second-in-command. He was shot while carrying a flag of truce and then captured. Though badly wounded, he stayed strong in his beliefs. Stevens was tried in Charles Town and found guilty of trying to start a slave revolt. He was executed on March 16, 1860.