Charles Frederic William Leonhardt was born in Grottkau, Upper Silesia, Prussia or Poland on May 13, 1827. He was educated to become a Greek Catholic priest but did not finish. He served his required time in the Prussian army. He fled Hungary with Louis Kossuth because of the revolution of 1846 and came to America via Turkey. After a varied career, Charles came to Kansas in either 1856 or 1857 and became a follower of John Brown. He was also believed to be a member of the secret Danite organization. Because he was the best trained both educationally and militarily, he was chosen by Brown to lead the raid on Harper's Ferry. Charles tried to dissuade Brown from this action, however, the raid took place anyway. Leonhardt might have been the one to fire the haystacks to tell Brown the results of the trials. Before returning to Kansas in 1870, Leonhardt received a law degree from the University of Cincinnati, served in the Union army, and married Esther Lewis, a Quaker. Esther was active in the Underground Railroad in spite of her religious beliefs. Leonhardt was as active in Kansas politics as his impaired health would permit, and he died in 1884 at Paola (Miami County). He is buried in Paola although cemetery records at Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan (Riley County) show that he is buried there with his wife.
From the description of Charles F.W. Leonhardt papers, 1856-1954. (Kansas State Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 50929518
