In 1858, Lewis Leary, a free Black man, helped rescue a runaway enslaved man in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue but wasn’t arrested. He joined Brown on October 12, 1859, leaving behind his wife and baby daughter. He was part of the initial team that rounded up hostages and then was charged with defending the U.S. Rifle Factory. Leary was badly wounded while trying to escape across the river and died 10 hours later.