USA > Louisiana > The province and the states, a history of the province of Louisiana under France and Spain, and of the territories and states of the United States formed therefrom, Vol. IV > Part 23
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"It seems, then, to be plain, that the Legislature are now in ses- sion, so far as the place is concerned, in contravention of the act of Congress, and where they have no right to sit, and can make no valid legislation. Entertaining these views, I can give no sanc- tion to any bill that may be passed ; and if my views are not satis- factory to the Legislative Assembly, it follows that we must act independently of each other."
Upon the reading of this message both branches of the legis- lature mited in a memorial to the president to remove Governor
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Reeder, but the removal was made before the president received the memorial, and was officially announced on the last day of July. The governor had received notice through the secretary of state, on the 16th of July, of the president's intention to remove hiim, the reason assigned being the irregular purchase of public lands. John L. Dawson, of Pennsylvania, was offered the appointment as Governor Reeder's successor ; but declined it, and Secretary Woodson became acting governor.
The legislature adjourned August 30, after adopting a code of laws for the government of the territory. The basis of this code was the statutes of Missouri, but a number of "black laws" had been added that rivaled in severity the edicts of a Chinese emperor. For examples: It was made a criminal offense for free-state men to organize; only pro-slavery men could hold office; and assisting slaves to escape was punishable with death.
Notwithstanding that it was made unlawful for free-state men to organize, the work of organization went on. Frequent meet- ings were held, at all of which the recent assembly was denounced as a "bogus legislature," and absolute contempt for its enact- ments was expressed. At one of these meetings, held at Lawrence August 14, there was adopted a resolution calling for the election of delegates from each election district to meet at Topeka, Sep- tember 19, "to consider and determine upon all subjects of public interest, and particularly upon that having reference to the speedy formation of a State Constitution, etc." A call for a general free-state convention to meet at Big Springs, in Douglas county, on the 5th of September for the purpose of organizing a free-state party was also issued. At the appointed time about one hundred delegates gathered at Big Springs, all political parties being repre- sented, but all being in favor of the admission of Kansas as a free-state. The resolutons adopted were prepared by Gen. James 11. Lane and ex-Governor Reeder, and were afterward known as "Big Springs platform." In these resolutions plain English was used. The admission of Kansas as a free-state was demanded ; the "bogus legislature" was denounced as a "foreign body representing only lawless invaders;" and it was declared that the people of Kansas owed no allegiance or obedience to its tyrannical enactments, The convention declined to join with the pro-slavery men in the election of a delegate to congress on the Ist of October, but decided to hold an election of their own on the 9th, and on that date nominated A. H. Reeder as a candidate.
Accordi al, two elections were held. On the ist the pro- slavery men cast 2,721 votes for J. W. Whitfield, only 17 scat-
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tering votes being recorded in opposition. Ex-Governor Reeder received 2,849 votes at the election on the 9th, no votes being cast against him. The contest was carried to Washington, where congress refused to recognize either as delegate, which act left the territory without representation until the succeeding autumn.
The Topeka convention, of September 19, ordered an election of delegates to a constitutional convention to meet at Topeka on the 23d of October. The election occurred October 9, and the free-state committee issued a proclamation on the 16th, declaring the following named delegates elected: Samuel Mewhinney, William Graham, G. W. Smith, J. Il. Lane, J. K. Goodin, C. Robinson, J. S. Emery, Morris Hunt, J. A. Wakefield, A. Curtiss, J. M. Tuton, H. Burson, C. K. Holliday, W. Y. Roberts, P. C. Schuyler, J. Il. Pillsbury, James Phenis, Doctor Burgess, N. Van- dever, W. T. Turner, James McArthur, W. T. Morris, O. C. Brown, Richard Knight, F. Brown, H. Smith, W. G. Nichols, Robert Klotz, A. Hunting, M. F. Conway, Z. G. Thompson, George S. Hillyer, J. Whitney, Robert Riddle, M. J. Parrott, Matt France, S. N. Latta, D. Dodge, M. W. Delahay, G. A. Cutler, John Landis, C. W. Stewart, B. W. Field, R. H. Crosby, Caleb May, Sanford McDaniel, and James S. Sayle. The con- vention organized by the election of James HI. Lane, president, and Samuel C. Smith, secretary. It adjourned on the 11th of November, after having adopted a constitution which was sub- mitted to a vote of the people on the 15th of December. Section six in the "Bill of Rights" provided that, "There shall be no slavery in this State, nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime." This constitution was ratified by the people by a vote of 1.731 to 46, the pro-slavery men refusing to vote, though at Leavenworth they broke into the voting place and carried off the ballot-box. The Topeka government, established under this constitution, never became effectual, because it was not recognized by congress.
While these events were transpiring, Wilson Shannon, of Ohio, had become governor of the territory. His commission was issued August 10, and he took the oath of office before acting Governor Woodson on the 7th of September and entered upon the duties of the position.
Wilson Shannon was born at Belmont, O., February 24, 1802. He was educated at the Ohio University at Athens, and made his first appearance in public life in 1832, when he was nom- inated for congress by the Democrats, but was defeated by thirty-seven votes, his opponent being Gen. James M. Bell. In
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1838 he was elected governor of Ohio, but was defeated for re-election by Tom Corwin two years later. In 1844 he was appointed minister to Mexico by President Tyler, and upon the expiration of his teri led a gold-seeking party to California. The undertaking was not successful, and he returned to Ohio. He was again elected to congress in 1852, and after serving one term was appointed governor of Kansas. He resigned at the expiration of a year, though he continued to reside in Lecompton, where he engaged in the practice of law. He died there August 30, 1877.
Governor Shannon was a strong pro-slavery man. As a mem- ber of congress he had voted for the Kansas-Nebraska bill; he accepted the acts of the first territorial legislature as legal and pledged himself to their enforcement; and soon after becoming governor he presided at a "Law and Order" convention at Leaven- worth, where emigrant aid societies were denounced as treason- able organizations and the Topeka constitution was declared unworthy of consideration. This meeting endorsed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and issued an address to the people, calling upon them to unite with the "Law and Order" party for the expulsion of abolitionisin from Kansas. The free-state people had defined their position in the Big Springs platform. By this pro-slavery convention, which was held November 14, the issues were clearly drawn, and the contest began in earnest.
The name "Border Ruffian" originated at the time of the elec- tion in March, 1855. Immediately after this election the northern press teemed with accounts of outrages committed ; the emigrant aid societies issued appeals for volunteers; Indreds answered the call and went to the relief of "Bleeding Kansas." All through the spring and summer of 1855, emigrants from the free states poured into the territory. Along the roads could be seen trains of prairie schooners, westward bound, and frequently could be heard, to the air of Auld Lang Syne, Whittier's Kansas Emi- grant's Song, beginning :
"We cross the prairies as of old The pilgrims crossed the sea, To make the West, as they the East, The homestead of the free."
This steady influx of immigration opened the eyes of the pro- slavery men to the fact that the fight was to a finish ; and clashes between adherents of the two contending forces were frequent. Sometimes these encounters proved fatal. In April Malcolm
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Clark, a pro-slavery man, was killed at Leavenworth by a free- state enthusiast named McCrea. In May a pro-slavery mob tarred and feathered William Phillips, a Leavenworth lawyer, because he had sworn that frauds were committed at the elec- tion on the 30th of March. In August Rev. Pardee Butler, a free-state man, was turned adrift on the Missouri river at Atchi- son, on a raft of two logs. His baggage and a loaf of bread were given him, while attached to the raft were flags bear- ing such mottoes as: "The way they are served in Kansas," "Let future emissaries of the North beware," "Our hemp crop is sufficient to reward all such scoundrels," etc. Butler's offense was speaking too freely and refusing to sign a series of resolu- tions adopted at a pro-slavery meeting a short time before. Toward the latter part of October Samuel Collins was killed at his saw-mill near Doniphan, by Patrick Laughlin and three or four armed associates. News of these outrages spread rapidly through the free states, keeping the excitement at fever heat ..
Matters culminated in an open outbreak in November. Charles W. Dow, a free-state settler at Hickory Point, ten miles south of Lawrence, was killed by Franklin N. Coleman, a pro-slavery man. Dow's body was left lying in the road until his free-state friends took charge of it and gave it decent burial, while Cole- man immediately fled the country. At the funeral of Dow, November 21, the free-state men determined to find the murderer and bring him to justice. That night Coleman's cabin was burned, as well as the cabin of one of his friends named Buck- ley. One of the free-state men who took an active part in all these proceedings was Jacob Branson, the man with whom Dow had lived. Buckley "swore his life" against Branson. On the night of the 22d, Branson was arrested by Sheriff Jones, who was really a resident of Westport, Mo., though he held the appointment of the "bogus legislature" as sheriff of Douglas county. But the free-state men were on the alert. As the sheriff and his posse were returning to Lecompton with their prisoner, they were met by a party of free-state men, who released Bran- son from custody. Jones hurried to Franklin, from which place he sent a messenger to Governor Shannon with the information that a rebellion had broken ont, and asked for three thousand men to assist him in carrying out the laws. Governor Shannon ordered Gen. W. P. Richardson of the territorial militia to col- leet as large a force as he could in his district and to report as quickly as possible to S. J. Jones, sheriff of Douglas county. Adjutant General Strickler received a similar order. A procla-
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mation calling upon all loyal citizens to aid in enforcing the laws and restoring peace was also issued by the governor.
It was now November 27. Two days later the pro-slavery forces began to collect at Franklin, four miles cast of Lawrence, near the mouth of the Wakarusa river. Besides the territorial militia under General Richardson, there was a large force of border ruffians from Missouri under Sheriff Jones. On the same day the free-state men of Lawrence decided to form a military organization for the defense of the town. Dr. Charles Robin- son was elected commander-in-chief, and Gen. James H. Lane was made second in command. As soon as it was known that a movement of this kind was on foot, free-state men flocked to the Lawrence standard, and in a little while eight hundred men were enrolled, among them being John Brown and four of his sons. When Sheriff Jones learned of the situation at Lawrence, he notified the governor that a thousand men were under arms there, and asked that the Federal troops at Fort Leavenworth be added to his forces to overawe the citizens. But Colonel Sum- ner, in command at the fort, refused to move umtil he received orders from Washington. Before these orders could be com- municated, the free-state men at Lawrence sent a special mes- senger to Governor Shannon, with a letter giving their side of the story. Up to this time the governor, relying chiefly upon information furnished by his pro-slavery friends, had looked upon the free-state men as a set of illiterate, lawless vagabonds. But the letter was in such terms of respect for the law, and bore such evidences of truth, that he determined to investigate a little for himself. He promised the free-state messenger that he would do all he could to prevent bloodshed, and on the 5th of Decem- ber went to the camp of Sheriff Jones at Franklin. When he saw what kind of men the sheriff had secured from Missouri, he ordered them to disband and return to their homes. On the 7th the governor visited Lawrence, where, on the 8th, a treaty of peace was made and signed by the governor, Doctor Robinson and General Lane. The next day Governor Shannon returned to the pro-slavery camp and ordered the forces there to disband. Thus ended the "Wakarusa War."
Among the defenders of Lawrence was a young man named Thomas W. Barber. It is said that his wife begged him not to go to Lawrence, having a presentiment that some harm would befall him. He only langhed at her fears and joined the free- state forces. December 6, finding that the trouble was likely to be adjusted through the efforts of Governor Shannon, he, with
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his brother and another man, left Lawrence for home. About four miles southwest of Lawrence they met a pro-slavery party on the way to Jones' camp. Two of the number detached then- selves from the party and rode forward to meet the Barbers and their associate. One of these two was George W. Clarke, the Pottawatomie Indian agent. After a few words with the free- state men, Clarke drew a pistol and shot Thomas Barber through the body. The wounded man rode a short distance after being shot, when his brother assisted him to dismount, and soon after he breathed his last. Of all the murders committed in Kansas during the border difficulties, none was more brutal or unpro- voked than that of young Barber. Whittier wrote a poem on the event, and the county of Barber bears his name.
After the adoption of the Topeka constitution, December 15, 1855, the free-state men proceeded to form a state government according to its provisions. January 15, 1856, an election of state officers and members of a legislature was held. At this election Dr. Charles Robinson was chosen governor, and W. Y. Roberts, lieutenant governor. The legislature met on the 4th of March, listened to Governor Robinson's message, elected James II. Lane and A. H. Reeder United States senators, pre- pared a memorial to congress asking admission into the Union, appointed three commissioners to draft a code of laws, and then adjourned until the 4th of July, to await the action of congress. The Topeka constitution was submitted to the United States senate, March 24, by Lewis Cass of Michigan, and a few days later was presented in the house by Daniel Mace of Indiana. The memorial asking for admission was also presented in both houses. On the 3d of July a bill for the admission of Kansas passed the house by a vote of 99 to 97, but it was lost in the senate.
On January 24, President Pierce, in a special message to con- gress, recognized the legality of the "bogus legislature," and referred to the Topeka government as being revolutionary and rebellions. He asked congress to pass an act authorizing the people of Kansas to hold a constitutional convention. Encour- aged by this attitude of the president, the grand jury of Doug- las county indicted Doctor Robinson, ex-Governor Reeder, Gen- eral Lane, and a number of other free-state leaders, for treason. Warrants for their arrest were placed in the hands of United States Mar had Donalson.
On March to, the lower house of congress appointed a com- mittee to investigate Kansas affairs. This committee was made
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up of William A. Howard, of Michigan, John Sherman, of Ohio, and Mordecai Oliver of Missouri. They arrived at Lawrence on the 18th of April and soon began their investigation. While ex-Governor Reeder was with this committee at Tecumseh, he was summoned to appear before the Douglas county grand jury, then sitting at Lecompton. He ignored the summons. The next day, May 8, the committee met at Lawrence. Deputy United States Marshal W. T. Fain appeared there with a writ of attach- ment for Reeder for contempt of court. Reeder insisted that he was privileged from arrest, and defied the officer to arrest him. That night he went to Kansas City, where he remained in hiding for twenty-four hours and then escaped down the river, disguised as a laborer.
Doctor Robinson was arrested at Lexington, Mo., while on his way cast in the interests of the free-state cause. He was taken back to Lecompton, where he was kept a prisoner till Sep- tember 10, when he was released on bail. While he was in jail, Mrs. Robinson went east, where, by lecturing on the Kansas sit- uation, she secured a great deal of assistance for the free-state movement.
Although the treaty of peace at Lawrence quieted affairs and caused the withdrawal of the threatening forces recruited from Missouri, Sheriff Jones still held the warrants for the arrest of the rescuers of Branson, which he hoped to execute at his earli- est opportunity. The principal leaders of the resene had absented themselves from the town, but Jones was ready, on the slightest pretext, to wreak his vengeance on Lawrence for which he had a violent hatred. His opportunity soon cante ..
Ou the toth of April he tried to arrest S. N. Wood, one of the rescuers of Branson who had recently returned from the East, but Wood refused to recognize Jones' authority. Jones then attempted to take him by force, but failed. The next day he made a second effort, this time calling upon a number of citi- zens to assist. Like Wood, they refused to recognize Jones as an officer and paid no attention to his summons. On the 23d he again appeared on the scene with a detachment of United States troops. The lieutenant in command read a letter from Colonel Summer announcing that the soldiers were sent to aid Jones in making arrests. Several of those he had called upon to assist him on the 20th were arrested without resistance. That night, while waiting to arrest Wood, Jones was shot and wounded, but not seriously. This attempt upon his life filled Jones with a desire to punish the people of Lawrence, though
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at a public meeting next day the shooting was condemned. Cir- cumstances about this time played into the hands of the sher- iff. After the escape of Reeder the United States marshal issued a proclamation, declaring the citizens of Lawrence guilty of resisting the execution of judicial writs, and calling upon law- abiding citizens to assemble at Lecompton to aid in enforcing the laws. Large numbers of these "law-abiding citizens" came from Missouri, and within a week after the proclamation a pro- slavery force of about eight hundred men, with four pieces of artillery, was camped before Lawrence. When the marshal issued his proclamation, the people of Lawrence held a meeting, denied that they were anything but law-abiding citizens and appealed to the governor for protection. Governor Shannon sent this reply to the Lawrence committee :
"There is no force around or approaching Lawrence, except the legally constituted posse of the United States Marshal and the sheriff of Douglas county, each of whom, I am informed, has a number of writs for execution against persons now in Law- rence."
Receiving no encouragement from the governor, the committee next appealed to the marshal and to Colonel Sumner to stop the depredations of the pro-slavery army gathered about the town. But no relief was granted. As a last resort it was deter- mined to organize for the purpose of resisting any invasion of the mob. A new committee of safety was appointed, but before arrangements for the defense of the town could be completed the invasion came. On the morning of May 21, Deputy Marshal Fain drove into Lawrence and without resistance arrested George W. Smith and George W. Deitzler on writs from the United States district court. Having made these arrests he dismissed the marshal's posse, which at once joined the forces of Sheriff Jones. In the afternoon Jones and his posse, all armed to the teeth took possession of Lawrence. The Free-State hotel and the offices of the Herald of Freedom and the Kansas Free State, the two free state papers, were destroyed. The printing presses were broken in pieces, and the type was thrown into the river. Residences were pillaged ; stores were broken open and robbed ; and Doctor Robinson's house was burned to the ground, after which the mob withdrew. More than one hundred fifty thou- sand dollars worth of property was stolen or destroyed on this
The sick of Lawrence marks the beginning of the "Border War." Before that time a large majority of the free state men
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had advised conservative methods. Even after the city had been phindered by the pro-slavery mob, the leaders looked with dis- approval on anything like a retaliation that involved a violation of law. But forbearance was no longer a virtue with the free- state men. Hardly had the roar of the cannon that battered down the walls of the Free-State hotel ceased to reverberate over the prairies, than bands of free-state men assumed the aggressive and began the persecution of pro-slavery settlers. John Brown, hearing of the threatened attack on Lawrence, started with the Pottawatomie Rifles to the relief of the town. The company was commanded by his son but marched in two divisions, Brown, the elder, leading the second division. When within about thirty miles of Lawrence they learned that Lawrence had been sacked by the enemy, whereupon they returned toward Osawatomie. On the way back Brown took his four sons and three others and, separating from the main body, went on a little expedition of his own. That night, May 24, five pro-slavery men living on Pottawatomie creek, in Franklin county, were called out of their homes and killed. They were William Sher- man, usually called "Dutch Henry," Allen Wilkinson, James P. Doyle and his two sons. The killing of these men is known as the "Pottawatomie Massacre." It was not definitely known for several days afterward that Brown and his men did the deed. On the 27th a non-partisan meeting was held, the murders were denounced, and resolutions in which the citizens pledged them- selves to oppose such a course on the part of either side, were adopted.
But "Old John Brown" cared nothing for resolutions or pledges. Ilis mission was to fight. On the 2d of June, H. C. Pate, a deputy United States marshal, with a posse of about seventy-five Missourians, made a raid upon the little town of Palmyra (now Baldwin City), and took several free-state men prisoners. From Palmyra he started for Prairie City to cap- ture John Brown. Three miles from Prairie City he found Brown with a force of twenty-five men waiting in a grove of blackjack oaks for his coming. In the fight that ensued Pate and twenty-eight of his men were taken prisoners. The rest escaped to Missouri. Because of the place where this engage- ment occurred, it has been called the battle of Black Jack.
Two attacks were made by the free-state men on the town of Franklin, situated five miles east of Lawrence, and a rendezvous for pro slavery men. The first was on the night of June 5. Owing to the darkness the plans were not carried ont, and but
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little was accomplished, aside from the capture of the military stores. The second attack was made August 12, and was more successful. The garrison was smoked out of the blockhouse with a wagon load of burning hay, and forced to surrender. One cannon, fifty muskets, and a supply of ammunition were capt- ured. Other victories for the free-state men were the capture of "Fort Saunders," twelve miles southwest of Lawrence, where a force of Georgians were quartered, and that of "Fort Titus," a short distance south of Lecompton. This "fort" was really the residence of Col. II. T. Titus, fortified as a place of defense. It was taken August 16, by a company of free-state men under Capt. Samuel Walker. A quantity of supplies and a garrison of twenty men were captured, and the house was burned.
Osawatomie was twice attacked by pro-slavery men. The first time no opposition was encountered, and a force led by John W. Whitfield, the pro-slavery delegate to congress, plundered the town. The second assault was made August 30 by a force of two hun- dred and fifty or three hundred Missourians under the command of Gen. John W. Reid. This time the place was defended by John Brown and forty-one men. Although outnumbered eight to one, the free-state men made a good fight, killing one and wound- ing several of their assailants. The free-state loss was four killed, among them being Frederick Brown, a son of John Brown. He was killed by a preacher named Martin White. All the houses except four were burned.
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