Battle of Blackjack - Baldwin City, KS
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 46.042 W 095° 07.726
15S E 315054 N 4293113
Battle of Black Jack First Battle Between Free and Slave States fought on these Grounds June 2, 1856.
Waymark Code: WM19VAH
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 04/16/2024
Views: 0
County of marker: Douglas County
Location of marker: Black Jack Roadside Park, US 56, 3 miles E. of Baldwin City
Marker erected by: Kansas State Historical Society and the State Highway Commission
Marker Text:
BATTLE OF BLACKJACK
This "battle" was part of the struggle to make Kansas a free state. In May, 1856, Proslavery men destroyed buildings and newspaper presses in Lawrence, Free-State headquarters. John Brown's company then killed five Proslavery men on Pottawatomie Creek not far from this spot. In retaliation Henry C. Pate raided near-by Palmyra and took three prisoners. Early on the morning of June 2, Brown attacked Pate's camp in a grove of black jack oaks about 1/4 mile south of this sign. Both sides had several wounded and numerous desertions before Pate and 28 men surrendered, Brown claiming he had only 15 men left. As evidence of civil war, this fight received much publicity and excited both the North and the South.