The American Civil war had a multitude of causes, but one notable catalyst was John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Brown came to Chatham to enlist men in his plan to attack and sieze a federal arsenal in the northern U.S.A. He did not find what he was looking for in Chatham though. Many Blacks from Chatham-Kent went to fight in the Civil war, despite the U.S still being rampant with slavery. A good portion of the few black officers that fought in the war were from Chatham-Kent.