OSAWATOMIE
_Do men gather grapes of thorn or figs of thistles?_
--MATTHEW 6:16
At Nebraska City Brown met some distinguished persons: General Lane,
Colonel Samuel Walker, and Aaron D. Stevens. These men were commanders
in the Free-State army; they received him into their confidence, and
related to him their plans concerning the pending military operations;
the object of which was to destroy the pro-slavery forces that had
occupied strategic positions near Lawrence and Osawatomie, or drive them
from the Territory. He knew that the execution of these undertakings
would result in important events and decided to return to Kansas. It was
evident there was to be real fighting; fighting at close quarters; in
fact the fighting had already begun. August 5th, Captain Cracklin had
opened the campaign, prosperously, by a successful attack upon the
pro-slavery post at New Georgia, as has been heretofore stated. Mr.
Sanborn[178] claims that Brown had some share in Cracklin's victory, but
of course, he could not be simultaneously at both of these places. News
of this victory was received at Nebraska City in a message that came to
Walker; whereupon the party, except Brown, "proceeded to Lawrence as
fast as humanly possible." They all left Nebraska City August 9th:
thirty hours later, Lane arrived at Lawrence, Walker arriving shortly
afterward. But Brown stopped at Topeka on the 10th, where no fighting
was in contemplation; and his "whereabouts," from that date until the
17th, is reported as being "unknown."[179]
August 12th, Captain Bickerton defeated Major Buford's company of
Georgians, at Franklin; stormed and burned the block-house; captured
some arms and provisions, and recaptured the six-pounder brass cannon,
that Buford had taken possession of at Lawrence, May 21st. Buford wrote:
"Our money, books, papers, clothing, surveying instruments, and many
precious memorials of kindness and friends far away, were all consumed
by the incendiary villains who hold sway.... We are now destitute of
everything except our muskets, and an unflinching determination to be
avenged..." Bickerton lost one man killed and six wounded. Buford's loss
was four men wounded--one mortally.[180] But Brown was not present when
Bickerton pressed to close quarters at Franklin; Lane was there, and
Sanborn says that Brown was there:[181] "Returning about the 10th of
August," he says, "with General Lane, he proceeded with him to Lawrence
and to Franklin where there was some skirmishing." "On the 15th the
Free-State men assailed Fort Saunders, a strong log house on Washington
Creek, about twelve miles southwest of Lawrence. After the customary
fusillade, the pro-slavery men retreated without blood shed on either
side."[182] Still, no Brown. The following appeal, by General Lane, was
sent to him, from Topeka, on August 12th:
Mr. Brown:--General Joe Cook (Lane) wants you to come to
Lawrence this night, for we expect to have a fight on
Washington Creek. Come to Topeka as soon as possible and I
will pilot you to the place.
Yours in haste,
H. STRATTON.[183]
It seems from this that Brown was somewhere near Topeka, on the 12th,
and not at Franklin.
On the 16th the attack was made on Fort Titus. Of this Mr. Villard says:
There was real fighting at Fort Titus, which Captain Samuel
Walker, Captain Joel Grover, and a Captain Samuel Shombre
attacked, at sunrise August 16, with fifty determined men.
Captain Shombre was killed, and nine out of ten men with
him wounded, in a rush on the block-house. In a short time
eighteen out of the forty remaining attackers were wounded,
including Captain Walker. After several hours of fighting,
Free-State reinforcements appeared, including Captain
Bickerton, with the six pounder, and its slugs of molten
type. It was run to within three hundred yards of the fort
and fired nine or ten times.... As Titus still showed no
white flag, a load of hay was again resorted to with the
same success as at Franklin. As the wagon was backed up to
the log fort, and before the match was applied, the party
surrendered.... Walker captured thirteen horses, four
hundred guns, a large number of knives and six pistols, a
fair stock of provisions and thirty-four prisoners, six of
whom were badly wounded. One dead man was found in the
block-house before it was burned.
Again this question comes up: Where was Brown when this fighting was
taking place? Was he in this very creditable engagement? Continuing his
narrative, Mr. Villard says, on page 232:
The testimony as to whether John Brown was at Saunders and
Titus is conflicting. He himself left no statement bearing
upon it, and Luke Parsons, James Blood, O. E. Learnard and
others, are positive that he was not at either place. The
weight of evidence would seem to be on that side.
But John Brown did leave a statement bearing directly upon the question
as to whether, or not, he was present at any of these engagements. In
the interview which he gave out after his capture at Harper's Ferry, in
answer to the question: "Did you know Sherrod in Kansas? I understand
you killed him?" Brown replied: "I killed no man except in fair fight. I
fought at Black Jack, and at Osawatomie, and if I killed anybody it was
at one of these places."[184] Brown, therefore, was not present at any
of these battles. He was at Lawrence, however, on August 17th, _after_
the fighting was over. Mr. Villard says on page 233: "That Brown was at
Lawrence, when Walker arrived with his prisoners, admits of no doubt.
Again his voice was raised for the extreme penalty; again he asked a
sacrifice of blood." It appears, therefore, that Brown "terminated" a
seven days "life in the bush" on the 17th, and became active in public
affairs, for twenty-four hours. Referring to a concurrent incident
Colonel Walker says:
At a little way out of Lawrence I met a delegation, sent by
the committee of safety, with an order for the immediate
delivery of Titus into their hands. Knowing the character
of the men, I refused to give him up. Our arrival at
Lawrence created intense excitement. The citizens swarmed
around us, clamoring for the blood of our prisoner. The
committee of safety held a meeting and decided that Titus
should be hanged, John Brown, and other distinguished men
urging the measure strongly. At four o'clock in the evening
I went before the committee, and said that Titus had
surrendered to me; that I had promised him his life, and
that I would defend it with my own. I then left the room.
Babcock followed me out and asked me if I was fully
determined. Being assured that I was, he went back, and the
committee, by a new vote, decided to postpone the hanging
indefinitely. I was sure of the support of some 300 good
men, and among them Captain Tucker, Captain Harvey, and
Captain Stulz. Getting this determined band into line, I
approached the house where Titus was confined and entered.
Just as I opened the door I heard pistol shots in Titus's
room and rushed in and found a desperado named "Buckskin"
firing over the guard's shoulders at the wounded man as he
lay on his cot. It took but one blow from my heavy dragoon
pistol to send the villain heels-over-head to the bottom of
the stairs. Captain Brown and Doctor Avery were outside
haranguing the mob to hang Titus despite my objections.
They said I had resisted the committee of safety, and was
myself, therefore, a public enemy. The crowd was terribly
excited, but the sight of my 300 solid bayonets held them
in check.
This is a part of the record of these heroic days--days of strenuous
effort and of heroic achievement. The Free-State men were engaged in a
supreme effort to drive from the Territory the armed pro-slavery bands
that had been organized in the South to intimidate and subdue them. They
had fought a splendidly aggressive campaign, dislodging their foes from
all their positions, burning their forts, and capturing their supplies.
There was, as has been said, real fighting, fighting at close quarters,
and plenty of it. And now, in view of it, what is to be said about
Brown, the hypothetical Kansas hero, the "Fighting Leader of the
Free-State Cause?" Lane was in evidence; and Colonel Walker, and
Bickerton, and Grover, and the gallant Shombre, were in the thick of it;
but what part did Brown perform in these undertakings? What contribution
did he make to the winning of these victories? Nothing! Absolutely
nothing. He came out of the "brush" after the fighting was over, and
endeavored to incite a mob to hang a prisoner who was severely wounded.
This disreputable action is evidence that Brown was not in harmony with
the best thought of the occasion; that he mingled with the lawless
element--with the "Buckskin" class, that "fired over the guard's
shoulders, at the wounded man, as he lay on his cot." Brown was not
interested in these important public matters; he was not coöperating
with the Free-State men; his motives for returning to the Territory did
not relate to Territorial affairs. His plans had to do with something
else. They were of a personal character; and his presence at Lawrence on
the 17th, was simply an incident of his trip from Nebraska City to
Osawatomie, where he arrived, according to Bondi, "about the 20th, well
supplied with money," and with a "spick and span four mule team, the
wagon loaded with provisions,"[185] to make a coup in horses and cattle.
Brown had outfitted this four mule team at or near Topeka, and the
presence of it at Osawatomie on the 20th, with its stock of provisions,
is the best evidence of what he had been thinking about, and of what he
was doing, while the Free-State men were fighting the battles around
Lawrence.
Leaving Nebraska City on the 9th, Brown stopped at Topeka on the 10th.
Later developments show that he had planned a scheme of robbery upon a
larger scale than anything he had theretofore undertaken. As to the
Free-State campaign, the battles "at close quarters," the victories, the
rejoicings, the planning for future operations, he was indifferent,
except as they served his personal purposes.
Brown's arrival at Osawatomie was his first appearance there after the
Pottawatomie murders. By the 24th he had "enlisted" nine men: Wm.
Partridge, John Salathiel, S. B. Brown, John Godell, L. T. Parsons, N.
B. Phelps, Wm. B. Harris, Jason Brown, and J. Benjamin.[186] He had also
stolen enough horses to mount them. Of this Mr. Villard says:[187]
Naturally, as a good general, John Brown's first concern
was for the mounts of his men. Bondi avers that some of
Brown's men received prompt orders to capture all of "Dutch
Henry" Sherman's horses. He himself obtained, when these
orders were executed, "a four year old fine bay horse for
my mount" and "old John Brown rode a fine blooded bay."
The example set by the Browns, during May, June, and July, brought
forth many imitators. Robbery became an industry. A new Richmond was in
the Osawatomie field--a Captain Cline, with a company of mounted men,
every one of whose horses had been stolen. This seems to have been
sufficient recommendation, for Brown joined forces with Cline, and the
two commands set out, August 24th, for the south, marching eight miles,
and camping on Sugar Creek, Linn County.[188] On the 26th another merger
of the special interests was accomplished. Captain J. H. Holmes also had
a company which was consolidated with Brown's party. Captain Shore was
in the vicinity, with the Prairie City Rifles, but it seems that he was
not stealing anything. The Brown combination probably represented all
the plants, or commercial units, then doing "business" in that district.
In promptly effecting the merger of these interests, Brown showed his
capacity for affairs, and is entitled to receive for the second time the
"historic title of Captain,"--Captain of Industry. The men who belonged
to Holmes's Company were, Cyrus Tator, R. Reynolds, Noah Fraze (First
Lieutenant), William Miller, John P. Glenn, Wm. Quick, M. D. Lane, Amos
Alderman, August Bondi, Charles Kaiser, Freeman Austin, Samuel Hauser,
and John W. Fay,[189] and, probably, Frederick Brown. Thus organized and
equipped, the forces put into effect the purposes of their organization
without delay. Mr. Villard says:[190]
John Brown then rode off to raid the pro-slavery
settlements, on Sugar Creek.... They visited the home of
Captain John E. Brown, taking, as his toll, fifty
pro-slavery cattle and all the men's clothes the house
contained.... Other houses were similarly searched, and
their cattle taken, on the ground that they had originally
been Free-State before being purloined by the pro-slavery
settlers.
That they moved promptly, worked industriously, and obtained
satisfactory results without hindrance from any quarter, appears from
the further statement by Mr. Villard:[191]
On Thursday evening, August 28th, Brown reached Osawatomie,
traveling slowly because of the one hundred and fifty
cattle he drove before him. Both his company and Cline's
bivouacked in the town that night. The next morning,
(August 29) early, they divided their plunder and cattle,
and Brown moved his camp to the high ground north of
Osawatomie, where now stands the State Insane Asylum. An
ordinary commander would have allowed all his men to rest.
But not John Brown. He was in the saddle all day, riding
with James H. Holmes, and others of his men, along
Pottawatomie Creek, whence he crossed to Sugar Creek,
returning to Osawatomie with more captured cattle, by way
of the Fort Scott trail.
This last lot of cattle was probably the drove that the Quaker, Richard
Mendenhall, referred to, as quoted by Sanborn on page 326:
I next met John Brown again on the evening before the
battle of Osawatomie. He with a number of others, was
driving a herd of cattle, which they had taken from
pro-slavery men.
It is not probable that it will ever be known what Brown intended to do
with these cattle. Those who know what his intentions were in the
premises, have not revealed them. He was going East, later on, to work
out a scheme which he then had in his mind, to raise money. He also had
a fancy for fine animals and for the stock business. It is therefore
probable that he intended to establish a stock ranch at some point in
Kansas, further west, and put his son Frederick in charge of it; and
that the cattle which he was then collecting, and the four mule team
that he had bought, and the load of provisions, were to be used in
starting the enterprise. Mr. Villard quotes Holmes's estimate of Brown
as follows:[192]
To Holmes, John Brown appeared on that afternoon more than
ever the natural leader. He rode a tall strong chestnut
horse; his spare form was more impressive when he was
mounted than when he was afoot. Alert and clear sighted, he
closely watched the landscape for evidence of the enemy.
The enemy were the settlers who were being robbed.
This short narrative of Brown's operations in stealing horses and
cattle, at Osawatomie, discloses the secret motive that prompted his
return to Kansas from Nebraska. It gives reasonable grounds for the
assumption, that when his "whereabouts were unknown," from August 10th
to the 16th, inclusive, he was working out the details of the new
venture; financing it; purchasing the necessary outfit; and making plans
for handling the loot after it would be rounded up. It furnishes a
reason why he refused to join General Lane and his associates, in the
attack on Fort Saunders, and on Fort Titus; he had business engagements
and appointments elsewhere, that required his personal attention. But
what is of more historical importance, perhaps, than anything else, is,
that it reveals the general channel in which his mind ran; the things
upon which his thoughts and energies were concentrated; the occupation
he was following. Also, the magnitude of the hazardous performance
undertaken in this instance, and successfully executed, shows clearly,
that Brown was not a novice in the business. Only a strong, bold man, of
large experience, could enter such a district, and within four days
collect, equip and mount, upon stolen horses, a company of ten men,
himself included. Then, within two days more effect a consolidation,
under his leadership, of two other similar companies; and within three
more days gather up by force, two hundred and fifty head of cattle,
besides horses and other plunder, and assemble the whole at the general
rendezvous in Osawatomie. Only an expert in horse stealing, and in the
general plunder business, could accomplish so much in so short a time.
To counteract the effect of the Free-State victories, heretofore
referred to, and to restore pro-slavery supremacy, a pro-slavery army
numbering more than a thousand men, led by Major General David R.
Atchison, invaded the Territory. This formidable force left Westport
August 23d, and on the 29th arrived at Bull Creek, thirty miles from
Lawrence. To oppose it, the Free-State army was being mobilized under
the command of General Lane; who sent an urgent message to Brown, and
others at Osawatomie, asking them to report to him at Lawrence at once,
and take part in the impending battle. The message was delivered to
Brown by Alexander G. Hawse, on the evening of August 29th, as he
approached Osawatomie, "in a cloud of dust and driving the motley herd"
of stolen cattle "before him." Captain Shore received a similar request,
and promptly responded to the urgent call. He started for Lawrence about
three o'clock in the afternoon. Brown did not go. He could not be
expected to abandon the horses, and the cattle, and the plunder which he
had on hand; and the robber combine of which he was the head, and which
was operating so successfully, and which had before it a future so
promising. He was too busy. Besides, the troubles about Lawrence would
be "water upon his wheel." He was doing business under cover of the
distracting conditions then existing. Mr. Villard says, "After
consultation, it was decided that the call should be heeded on the next
day."
At the time Brown received this message, General Atchison had already
detached two hundred and fifty mounted men, with one field piece, to
march against Osawatomie and burn the place. The command of the
expedition was given to Brigadier General John W. Reid, who had served
in the war with Mexico. Reid made a night march from Bull Creek.
Arriving at Osawatomie, he immediately began his attack. His official
report of the fight is as follows:[193]
Camp Bull Creek, Aug. 31st
GENTLEMEN:--I moved with 250 men on the Abolition fort and
town of Osawatomie--the headquarters of Old Brown--on night
before last; marched forty miles and attacked the town
without dismounting the men, about sunrise on yesterday. We
had a brisk fight for an hour or more and had five men
wounded--none dangerously--Capt. Boice, William Gordon and
three others. We killed about thirty of them, among the
number, _certain_, a son of Old Brown and almost certain
Brown himself; destroying all their ammunition and
provisions, and the boys would burn the town to the ground.
_I could not help it_....
Your friend, REID.
Hon. William Higgins of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, then fourteen years of
age, drove one of the three teams that comprised Reid's means of
transportation. Concerning Reid's losses in the battle, he says: "The
total was three men wounded. Two of these were conveyed back to Missouri
in one of the wagons, while the other wounded man was able to ride his
horse. No one was killed."[194]
On the Free-State side the battle seems to have been opened by Dr.
Updegraff, of Osawatomie, and Holmes. The latter was "saddling up,"
presumably to join Brown in another day's ride after cattle, when the
presence of the enemy was announced, and rode up toward the Adairs until
he sighted Reid's troopers, upon whom he fired three times from his
Sharp's rifle.[195]
From Lawrence, September 7th, Brown wrote to his wife as follows:[196]
DEAR WIFE AND CHILDREN EVERY ONE:
I have one moment to write to you, to say that I am yet
alive, that Jason and family were well yesterday--John and
Family, I hear, are well (he being yet a prisoner). On the
morning of the 30th of August an attack was made by the
Ruffians on Osawatomie, numbering some four hundred, by
whose scouts our dear Frederick was shot dead, without
warning--he supposed them to be Free-State men, as near as
we can learn. One other man, a cousin of Mr. Adair was
murdered by them about the same time that Frederick was
killed, and one badly wounded at the same time. At this
time I was about three miles off, where I had some fourteen
or fifteen men over night that I had just enlisted to serve
under me as regulars. These I collected as well as I could,
with some twelve or fifteen more--and in about three
quarters of an hour I attacked them from a wood with thick
undergrowth. With this force we threw them into confusion
for fifteen or twenty minutes, during which time we killed
or wounded from seventy to eighty of the enemy--as they
say--and then we escaped as well as we could, with one
killed while escaping, two or three wounded and as many
more were missing. Four or five Free-State men were
butchered during the day in all. Jason fought bravely by my
side during the fight, and escaped with me, he being
unhurt. I was struck by a partly spent grape canister, or
rifle shot, which bruised me some, but did not injure me
seriously. "Hitherto the Lord has helped me,"
notwithstanding my afflictions, etc., etc.
JOHN BROWN.
On the same day he gave out the following statement for
publication:[197]
THE FIGHT OF OSAWATOMIE
Early in the morning of the 30th of August the enemy's
scouts approached to within one mile and a half of the
western boundary of the town of Osawatomie. At this place
my son Frederick (who was not attached to my force) had
lodged with some four other young men from Lawrence, and a
young man named Garrison, from Middle Creek. The scouts,
led by a pro-slavery preacher named White, shot my son dead
in the road while he--as I have since ascertained--supposed
them to be friendly. At the same time they butchered Mr.
Garrison, and badly mangled one of the young men from
Lawrence, who came with my son, leaving him for dead. This
was not far from sunrise. I had stopped during the night
about two and one half miles from them, and nearly one mile
from Osawatomie. I had no organized force, but only some
twelve or fifteen new recruits, who were ordered to leave
their preparations for breakfast and follow me into the
town, as soon as this news was brought to me.
As I had no means of learning correctly the force of the
enemy, I placed twelve of the recruits in a log-house,
hoping we might be able to defend the town. I then gathered
some fifteen more men together, whom we armed with
guns--and we started in the direction of the enemy. After
going a few rods we could see them approaching the town in
line of battle, about half a mile off, upon a hill west of
the village. I then gave up all idea of doing more than to
annoy, from the timber near the town, into which we were
all retreated, and which was filled with a thick growth of
underbrush--but I had no time to recall the twelve men in
the log house, and so lost their assistance in the fight.
At this point above named I met with Captain Cline, a very
active young man, who had with him some twelve or fifteen
mounted men, and persuaded him to go with us into the
timber, on the southern shore of the Osage, or Marais des
Cygnes, a little to the north west from the village. Here
the men, numbered not more than thirty in all, were
directed to scatter and secrete themselves as well as they
could, and await the approach of the enemy. This was done
in full view of them (who must have seen the whole
movement), and had to be done in the utmost haste. I
believe Captain Cline and some of his men were not even
dismounted during the fight, but cannot assert positively.
When the left wing of the enemy had approached to within
common rifle shot, we commenced firing, and very soon threw
the northern branch of the enemy's line into disorder. This
continued for some fifteen or twenty minutes, which gave us
an uncommon opportunity to annoy them. Captain Cline and
his men soon got out of ammunition, and retired across the
river.
After the enemy rallied we kept up our fire, until, by the
leaving of one and another, we had but six or seven left.
We then retired across the river. We had one man killed--a
Mr. Powers, from Captain Cline's company--in the fight. One
of my men, a Mr. Partridge, was shot in crossing the river.
Two or three of the party who took part in the fight are
yet missing, and may be lost or taken prisoners. Two were
wounded--namely. Dr. Updegraff and Mr. Collis. I cannot
speak in too high terms of them, and of many others I have
not now time to mention.
One of my best men, together with myself, was struck by a
partially spent ball from the enemy, in the commencement of
the fight, but we were only bruised. The loss I refer to is
one of my missing men. The loss of the enemy, as we learn
by the different statements of our own as well as their
people, was some thirty one or two killed, and from forty
to fifty wounded. After burning the town to ashes and
killing a Mr. Williams, they had taken, whom neither party
claimed, they took a hasty leave, carrying their dead and
wounded with them. They did not attempt to cross the river,
nor to search for us, and have not since returned to look
over their work.
I give this in great haste, in the midst of constant
interruption. My second son was with me in the fight, and
escaped unharmed. This I mention for the benefit of his
friends. Old Preacher White, I hear, boasts of having
killed my son. Of course he is a lion.
JOHN BROWN.
Lawrence, Kansas, Sept. 7, 1856.
In a third statement[198] Brown says: "In the battle of Osawatomie,
Capt. (or Dr.) Updegraff--and two others whose names I have lost, were
severely (one of them shockingly) wounded before the fight began, August
30, 1856."
The arrival of Reid's forces at Osawatomie, was a complete surprise.
Brown knew nothing of their coming until after the battle was on. Mr.
Villard states[199] that John Brown and his party, with the exception of
Holmes, who spent the night in town, crossed the Marias des Cygnes to
their camp on the Crane claim (about two miles from the town), taking
their cattle with them. Captain Cline and about fifteen men remained in
the town. Two of Brown's men, Bondi and Benjamin, were on guard (over
the cattle) on the morning of the 30th, until the firing began. Brown
was preparing breakfast at the cattle camp, where a messenger is said to
have arrived with the news that Frederick Brown had been killed;
whereupon Brown is said to have "seized his arms" and "cried, 'Men come
on!' and with Luke F. Parsons hurried down the hill to the crossing
nearest the town." But the men, it seems, finished their breakfast
before responding to this request and still had time to overtake their
leader. Mr. Villard says that "After finishing their coffee, most of
them overtook their leader before he reached the town"; and that
Parsons, upon following Brown into the timber where the fighting was
going on, "met Captain Cline and his company of fifteen well-mounted men
retiring through the town, abandoning their cattle and their other
plunder. One of his (Cline's) men, Theodore Parker Powers, was killed in
the few minutes they were at the front."
From the data at hand it appears that the battle was opened by Holmes,
who fired upon Reid's advance immediately upon the latter's arrival;
that Dr. Updegraff, and other citizens of Osawatomie, turned out, and
with Captain Cline defended the town for "an hour or more" during which
time Powers, of Cline's company, was killed and Dr. Updegraff and two
others were severely wounded. These were all the casualties that befell
the Free-State men in the actual fighting; and Brown states that they
occurred "before the fight began": by which he meant, before he arrived
upon the scene, which was at the time Parsons met Cline retiring in
disorder from the field. None of Brown's men was hit while fighting. One
of them, Geo. W. Partridge, was killed in the retreat while crossing the
river. It seems therefore, that Brown arrived late in the engagement and
that he, very wisely, attempted nothing "more than to annoy, from the
timber near the town, into which we were all retreated."
Comment or criticism, favorable or unfavorable, as to what John Brown
did or did not do in this fight is equally unimportant. Brown's men were
not a military company organized for the defense of Osawatomie. They
were a gang of "rustlers," as cattle thieves are sometimes called. Such
organizations are not under obligations to fight anybody; and they do
not fight, except as their personal interests or advantage may seem to
require at the time. In this case the prospects for defeating Reid's
command of two hundred and fifty men, getting his horses, and saving
their own plunder, were so unfavorable, that Brown and his men were
justified in getting away from the trouble as best they could; and that
is what they did, leaving the town to be pillaged and burned by Reid's
army. That "they stood not upon the order of their going" is evident
from the fact that Brown lost his hat while making good his escape from
the trouble. Of this incident Sarah Brown says:
On the day that my brother Frederick was killed near
Osawatomie, my father lost his hat in fighting.[200]
General Reid's estimate of the battle as quoted by Mr. Villard,[201] is
perhaps more nearly the truth: "Merely the driving out of a flock of
quail." And it may be truthfully said that some of the birds flew as far
as Lawrence, before alighting; "indeed, Bondi, Benjamin and Hawes set
off at once for Lawrence and so by himself did Holmes."[202] As for
Brown, he went deep into the friendly brush and hid. To a legislative
committee, February 18, 1857, he read, from a prepared address, that
about the first of September he was "obliged to lie on the ground,
without shelter, for a considerable time; and at times almost in a state
of starvation, and dependent on the charity of a Christian Indian."
Brown's son Frederick was killed by the Rev. Martin White, who was with
the patrol that was scouting the head of Reid's column as it approached
Osawatomie. Frederick had come from Lawrence the day before with Hawes.
The two stopped over night at the Carr cabin, adjoining his uncle
Adair's place, where they had left their horses. Frederick arose early
to feed them, and noticing two or three mounted men approaching, walked
out to see who they were. The parson knew him, and recognized him as
being one of a party that had raided his home, and his stables, on the
night of August 13th, whereupon he shot him through the heart as he
stood in the road. Mr. Villard treats this incident facetiously. He
says:[203]
Thus on August 13th, the home of the Rev. Martin White was
raided by Free-State men, among them James H. Holmes, and
ten pro-slavery horses were weaned from their allegiance to
a wicked and failing cause. White, a prejudiced witness,
asserted that the horses were laden with plunder, but upon
this point the memories of Holmes and Bondi, both
participants, failed them.
Continuing he says:[204]
White pretended to recognize the boots on Brown as a pair
stolen from his son in the raid upon White; but there is no
evidence to show that Frederick Brown was at that time
elsewhere than in Lawrence.
It may be said with equal irrelevancy, that there is no evidence to show
that Frederick was elsewhere than in the raid. The author knows, or
ought to know, the exact facts concerning that feature of this
deplorable incident. He could have obtained the information from Holmes,
one of the principals, or from others whom he met, who had knowledge of
the facts. However, it is probable that Frederick was a party to this
robbery. He returned to Kansas with his father from Nebraska City.
"Frederick felt," according to the testimony of Henry Thompson, "that
Pottawatomie bound him to Kansas. He did not wish to leave. He felt that
a great crime had been committed and that he should go back to Kansas
and live it out."[205] August 10th, father and son arrived at Topeka and
disappeared. But since Osawatomie was the field of their prospective
operations, and robbery the purpose for which they intended to enter it,
Frederick probably went direct from Topeka to Osawatomie, and
participated, with Holmes and Bondi, in an outrage for which he paid the
forfeit of his life. His presence in the robbery is not the only
probability in the case. The stolen stuff had to be sold somewhere, and,
because of his experience in the business, and his knowledge of how to
do such things, it is quite probable that after raiding the parson's and
other homes, he went north with the horses that had been stolen, and
disposed of them, and had just returned with the proceeds, August 29th,
for another consignment of horses; or, possibly, to drive the cattle,
which his father was to steal during his absence, to their destination.
The death of Frederick was the beginning of the utter collapse and
failure of Brown's "get-rich-quick" expedition. His camp was raided a
few hours later, and his property--the cattle and other loot of the
recent foray, and probably the four mule team and provisions--was all
taken by the enemy. "The horses and cattle, at hand, were gathered up
and carried off, including Cline's booty from South Middle Creek."[206]
The statement put forth, that after the battle Brown "encamped" several
days on the Houser farm, about two and one-half miles from Osawatomie,
and attempted to fortify it,[207] is merely trifling with history. Aside
from his personal statement that he was hiding, and starving, during
this time, it follows, logically, that if Brown were human, and could
have obtained facilities for so doing, he would not have refrained,
until September 7th, from writing to his wife at North Elba, the sad
news concerning the death of their son. And further, if John Brown had
believed that his relation to this battle was honorable, and that the
part which he had performed in it was in any sense heroic or creditable,
he would not have concealed himself and the facts concerning his heroism
from the public for eight days. It appears that Brown arrived bareheaded
at the Adair home on the evening of the 30th, saw the dead body of his
son, took his cap, and disappeared, leaving the burial of the body to be
attended to by others.[208] The truth seems to be that he was ashamed
because of his disgraceful conduct; and terror stricken because of the
calamities which he had brought upon the people of the ill-fated town:
and that he slunk out of sight and hid to avoid arrest, and the public
condemnation that was his due. But when at Lawrence, Bondi, Benjamin,
and Holmes gave out their exaggerations concerning the battle, but
nothing about the robberies; and told of their personal prowess in the
engagement, and of their leader's heroism (?) therein; and when Brown
discovered that his band of thieves had come to be recognized as a
military organization; and that he, the Loki of Osawatomie, had become
the "Hero of Osawatomie"; then, and not till then, came he out of
hiding, and affirmed what had been put forth by his men concerning him,
and accepted the honors which were accordingly thrust upon him.
With these September days came the climax of the aggressive Free-State
campaign. Also, came the collapse of the pro-slavery effort to fasten
slavery upon Kansas by force of arms. Lawrence was the headquarters for
the Free-State men, and their activities gave to the place an atmosphere
of war. Lane led an expedition against Atchison's army which he
encountered at Bull Creek. September 7th, the day Brown arrived from
Osawatomie, an expedition was launched against Leavenworth, under the
command of Colonel James A. Harvey, but it was ordered back to Lawrence,
by General Lane, before it arrived at its destination. On September 9th,
General John W. Geary arrived in the Territory. He had been appointed
Territorial Governor to succeed Governor Shannon.
"Almost simultaneously with Harvey's movements, Aaron D. Stevens, alias
Charles Whipple, raided Osawkie, a pro-slavery settlement, taking eighty
horses and nearly as many arms."[209] Falling back from the front of
Atchison's army at Bull Creek, Lane personally led an attack upon
Hickory Point, and finding the pro-slavery men too strong, sent to
Lawrence for assistance. "Whipple and fifty men responded; but on their
arrival Lane wanted Bickerton's cannon, and sent to Lawrence for it."
Colonel Harvey, who had just got back from the Leavenworth campaign,
also went to his assistance, arriving on the 14th. Lane in the meantime
had abandoned the siege, but Harvey attacked them at once, and after a
spirited fight captured the force. His loss was five men wounded. The
pro-slavery loss was one man killed and four wounded. There was no
robbery involved in this battle.[210] Later, Captain Wood, United
States Army, met and captured one hundred of Harvey's men including
their arms, and the cannon.
The withdrawal of Lane from Lawrence, with a large portion of the
organized Free-State forces, left the town quite unprepared to resist
the advance against it by General Atchison's army, which arrived at
Franklin on the 13th. This was the most formidable force that had ever
invaded the Territory. It comprised, at this time, twenty-seven hundred
men, including a battery of artillery. The principal subordinate
commanders were Generals John W. Reid, B. F. Stringfellow, W. A.
Haskell, and J. W. Whitfield. On the afternoon of the 14th, Atchison
made a reconnoissance, his advance guard drawing the fire of the
Free-State pickets in front of Lawrence. His attack upon the town on the
morning of the 15th, was prevented by the armed intervention of the
Federal Government. During the night of the 14th, detachments of United
States cavalry and artillery arrived at Lawrence, and took up positions
to defend the town. The Territorial Governor, Geary, appeared upon the
scene on the morning of the 15th, and, proceeding to Atchison's camp,
notified him that he could proceed no farther. This forceful
intervention was fatal to the pro-slavery propaganda. Upon receiving the
Governor's ultimatum, the pro-slavery leaders disbanded their army and
gave up the struggle. Geary's interference was not wholly unexpected.
The "hand writing" had heretofore been seen "upon the wall." Before
Atchison's advance upon Lawrence, a South Carolinian, connected with the
invading army, stated the situation in this way: "And why should we
remain? We cannot fight, and of course, cannot prevent our enemy from
voting. The object of our mission will then, of course, be defeated and
we had as well return."[211]
Brown was well received by the Free-State leaders, on his arrival at
Lawrence. He was fresh from the "bloody field of Osawatomie." He gave
his story to the press, and posed as the hero of a splendidly fought
battle against odds of nearly ten to one; and, although defeated, had
inflicted _heavy losses_ upon the enemy.
After his arrival, the Sunday morning council reassembled,
and decided on the movement against Leavenworth. Most of
the men thereupon offered the command to John Brown, a
responsibility he declined, out of deference to other
leaders, and it was then entrusted to Colonel James A.
Harvey.[212]
Referring to the defense of Lawrence, Mr. Villard says, with reference
to September 14th:
But the day before Lieutenant Colonel Johnston's arrival,
these amateur fortifications were filled with very earnest
Free-Soil men, ready to defend Lawrence at any cost. In the
absence of Lane, the command was as much in the hands of
Major J. B. Abbott and Captain Joseph Cracklin of the
"Stubbs" as of any one else. Some partisans of John Brown
have attempted to prove that he was in command, but the
evidence is conclusive that he declined Major Abbott's
offer of the command of a company, and then, at his
request, went from one of the "forts" to another,
encouraging the men, urging them to fire low, and giving
them such military information as was his, everywhere,
according to Major Abbott, with excellent results.[213]
Of the invaders, Mr. Villard says:[214]
They had with them no less than twenty-seven hundred men,
some of them completely uniformed and well equipped.
Besides infantry and cavalry, there was a six-pounder
battery; in all a remarkably strong force. Its advance
guard had come in sight of the men on guard at Lawrence on
the afternoon of the 14th, and after an hour's shooting at
long range, the Missourians had retired upon Franklin.
Naturally the people of Lawrence were in great alarm; few
were able to sleep that night, remembering as they did,
Atchison's last visit to their town. There was, therefore,
general rejoicing when, on the next morning, Lieut. Col.
Johnston's troops were found to be encamped on Mount Oread,
the hill overlooking Lawrence, where they had arrived
during the night.
The people of Lawrence might well be in a state of alarm during the
night of the 14th, believing that with the dawn of the 15th, Atchison's
guns would open upon the town. But Brown was not there on the morning of
the 15th to help meet the shock of the impending battle. True to the
mercenary character of his conduct, he declined all offers of command on
the 14th, and left the town to its fate, going to the home, in the
country, of Augustus Wattles.[215]
Upon assuming control of affairs as Territorial Governor, General Geary
released the Free-State leaders who had been arrested and held as
prisoners at Lecompton during the later months of Governor Shannon's
administration, an act that caused great rejoicing at Lawrence.
On the 13th, Charles Robinson addressed the following letter to Brown:
Lawrence, September 13, 1856.
CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN:
Dear Sir: Governor Geary has been here and _talks very
well_. He promises to protect us, etc. There will be no
attempt to arrest anyone for a few days, and I think no
attempt to arrest you is contemplated by him. He talks of
letting the past be forgotten, so far as may be, and of
commencing anew. If convenient, can you not come to town
and see us? I will then tell you all that the Governor
said, and talk of some other matters.
Very respectfully,
C. ROBINSON
In response to this letter. Brown called upon the Governor on the 14th;
told him the story of his "defense" of Osawatomie, and obtained from him
the following beautiful letter:[216]
Lawrence, Sept. 14, 1856.
CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN.
My Dear Sir: I take this opportunity to express to you my
sincere gratification that the late report, that you were
killed, at the battle of Osawatomie, is incorrect. Your
course, so far as I have been informed, has been such as to
merit the highest praise from every patriot, and I
cheerfully accord to you my heartfelt thanks for your
prompt, efficient, and timely action against the invaders
of our rights and the murderers of our citizens. History
will give your name a proud place in her pages and
posterity will pay homage to your heroism in the cause of
God and humanity.
Trusting that you will conclude to remain in Kansas, and
serve during the war, the cause you have done so much to
sustain, and with earnest prayers for your health, and
protection from the shafts of death that so thickly beset
your path. I subscribe myself,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
C. ROBINSON.
But Brown was seeking neither honors nor honorable mention for honorable
purposes; he sought only for something of commercial value. He wanted
"assistance"; something upon which he could work the public for money.
Robinson, therefore, addressed to him a second letter, a letter of
credit, as follows:
_To the Settlers of Kansas_--
If possible please render Captain John Brown all the assistance he may
require in defending Kansas from invaders and outlaws, and you will
confer a favor upon your co-laborer and fellow citizen. C. ROBINSON.
Brown obtained these letters by dissimulation. He took advantage of the
Governor's confidence in his statements and deeply imposed upon him. He
concealed from him the plans which he had formed for working a colossal
graft upon the Free-State sentiment in the East; and the fact that he
intended to use these letters in pursuance of them. He was equivocal,
too, as to his plans for leaving the Territory. If he had given Charles
Robinson even a hint that he had been robbing the settlers in the
Osawatomie district of their horses, cattle, and clothing; and had thus
provoked Reid's descent upon the town, and the burning of it, as a
retaliatory measure, and that he intended to use the letters he asked
for in grafting operations, they would not have been written.
Brown's latest biographer regards the foregoing letters of special
interest, because of Governor Robinson's subsequent criticism of Brown's
actions--assuming that the spirit of these letters in inconsistent with
his later estimate of the rectitude of Brown's conduct.[217] The point
is not well taken. The Governor's endorsement is, plainly, dependent
upon the information which he had received relating to it. He said: Your
course, _so far as I have been informed_, has been such as to merit the
highest praise from every patriot, and he then proceeds to state what
the heartfelt thanks are for: "For your prompt, efficient, and timely
action against the _invaders_ of our right and the _murderers_ of our
citizens." This plain language cannot be distorted into an approval, by
the Governor, of Brown's crimes in murdering and plundering pro-slavery
settlers; who came into the Territory to build homes for their families,
as Brown and his sons originally came to do; and whose rights, as
settlers, were equal to those of their Free-State neighbors. Equality of
settlers' rights, was the basic principle of the Free-State contention.
Robinson wrote it into the platform of the party and unalterably
maintained it, to a victorious finish. The war that was being carried on
by the Free-State men, was directed against the invasion of the
Free-State settlers' rights by pro-slavery men who were non-residents of
the Territory.
John Brown remained at the Wattles farm until the 22d. Meanwhile plans
were matured for his sons, John and Jason, and their families, to quit
the Territory. During the first days of October they left Kansas for the
East. Brown's farewell is recorded by Mr. Villard, as follows:[218]
On departing from the Territory, Brown left the remainder
of his Osawatomie volunteer-regular company under the
command of James H. Holmes, with instructions to "carry the
war into Africa." This Holmes did by raiding into Missouri
and appropriating some horses and arms and other property,
for which he was promptly and properly indicted and long
pursued by the Kansas and Missouri authorities.
The foregoing is the record, to date, of John Brown's "activities" in
Kansas. The peace and tranquility of the Osawatomie district to which he
came in October, 1855, had not theretofore been disturbed by any
distracting contentions. The settlers were pursuing the even tenor of
their way. They were comfortable, prosperous, and contented; living in
the security vouchsafed, by the usages of our civilization and the laws
of our country, to all of its citizens. They so continued to live,
during a period of eight months thereafter, wholly unsuspicious of the
designs their neighbor, Brown, was maturing against their peace, their
property, and their lives.
From 1854 to 1860, the great political contest in the country was over
the question of the extension of slavery into the public domain. It was
the paramount issue in National politics. New alignments were then
formed throughout the country in relation to it, as men were differently
moved by their sympathies or interests. In Kansas, the division in
public sentiment was more pronounced than elsewhere, for reasons that
have been stated. Naturally, the settlers in the Osawatomie neighborhood
were divided upon this political question; but certainly not with very
much greater intensity of feeling than this same neighborhood was
divided afterward, upon the great moral question of prohibition, or upon
the equally great economic question of free-coinage of silver. The
differences of opinion there did not promote or arouse personal
animosities, or bitterness of feeling, among the settlers. Ample
authority for this conclusion of fact is found in the letters written,
at the time, by John Brown and others of his family, and in the
statement which he voluntarily made in 1857, before a committee of the
Massachusetts legislature, heretofore quoted. A large majority of the
settlers in that district belonged to the Free-State party which made
the security and peace of the Free-State settlers complete, beyond
debate. These conditions of peace and tranquility continued undisturbed,
until the night of May 24, 1856, when John Brown opened his "school" of
plunder, and cast the baleful shadow of his presence upon the
settlement. The Pottawatomie horror inaugurated a season of
assassination and robbery unprecedented in Kansas history: a period of
public disorder and crime, that ended only when the Territory was
finally rid of John Brown and his marauders.