Battle of Osawatomie - Osawatomie, KS - U.S. Civil War Sites on Waymarking.com

No study of the American Civil War would be complete without researching events leading to the first shots being fired. Arguably, the first lives were lost of the American Civil War at the Battle of Osawatomie.

In 1855, Brown learned from his adult sons in the Kansas territory that pro-slavery forces there were militant and that their families were completely unprepared to face attack. Determined to protect his family and oppose the advances of pro-slavery supporters, Brown left for Kansas, enlisting a son-in-law and making several stops just to collect funds and weapons.

Brown and the free state settlers were optimistic that they could bring Kansas into the union as a slavery-free state. But in late 1855 and early 1856 it was increasingly clear to Brown that pro-slavery forces were willing to violate the rule of law in order to force Kansas to become a slave state. Brown believed that terrorism, fraud, and eventually deadly attacks became the obvious agenda of the pro-slavery supporters, then known as "Border Ruffians." After the winter snows thawed in 1856, the pro-slavery activists began a campaign to seize Kansas on their own terms.

The land the state park resides is where on August 30, 1856, a battle ensued between Brown and 30 of his abolitionist suporters, against a militia of 250 pro-slavery men. The attack was disasterous for Brown, as he lost the fight and was force to retreat, but also the death of his son and three other men.

After the retreat, the pro-slavery men burned the town of Osawatomie. While watching the town burn, John Brown was attributed as to saying, "Good sees it, I have only a short time to live - only one death to die, and I will die fighting for this cause. There will be no more peace in this land until slavery is done for."

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/19/2009 iconions visited it

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