This was the most memorable battle of the Border War. It was fought August 30,
1856. Capt. John Brown, Dr. W. W. Updegraff and Capt. Cline commanded the
defense, and Gen. John W. Reid the attacking party of 400 Missourians. Gen.
Reid's command, after crossing the Marias des Cygnes, at Bundy's Ford, four miles
northwest of Osawatomie, approached the town about daylight, Rev. Martin
White acting as guide. Frederick Brown was making preparations to return to
Lawrence that day, and on his way to Rev. S. L. Adair's, met Gen. Reid and Rev.
White with a small body of men in advance of the main force. He saluted them
with "Good morning, boys; are you going to Lawrence to-day?" Rev. White
replied:"Why, I know you!" and taking deliberate aim with his rifle, fired at Brown,
shooting him dead in the road, about a mile west of town. This was twenty
minutes before sunrise. Messengers were immediately dispatched to notify the
people in town, and Capt. Brown, who was a half-mile east of town. He, Dr.
Updegraff and Capt. Cline collected their men together as rapidly as possible. At
first it was designed to make use of the block-house as a defense, but learning
that Reid had a cannon with him, this plan was abandoned and Brown and his
men, forty-one in number, all told, took up their positions in the timber along the
south side of the Marais des Cygnes, facing south; Capt. Brown, with seventeen
men, on the right, Dr. W. W. Updegraff with ten men, in the center, and Capt.
Cline, with fourteen men, on the left. There was also an independent command
still further to the left, in the Emigrant Aid Company's mill, consisting of "Pap"
Austin, an ex-regular soldier, and his large rifle, to which he had applied the fancy
name of "Kill Devil", carrying an ounce ball. When the forces were arranged in the
woods the enemy was passing within about 600 yards of them, Mr. Holmes, a
volunteer, advanced towards the top of the hill, on the southwest of the town to
reconnoiter, and finding the enemy close at hand, fired at them, striking one of
them in the mouth or chin and causing him "to bleed like a pig" as one of his
companions afterwards expressed it. He then retreated to the woods, the enemy
following him closely and forming a line from O. C. Brown's house to William
Chestnut's premises-the high ground west of where the "John Brown
monument"now stands. They then fired three guns, as they afterwards stated to
Robert Reynolds, one of the prisoners whom they took, as a signal to the State
force to surrender. Capt. Brown had given orders to his men not to fire a shot
until he gave the orders, but when these alleged signal guns were heard, the
men became so impatient, believing the enemy had opened fire upon them, that
they could not be restrained. Jason Brown raised his gun to fire, and the rest
under Capt. Brown's immediate command did the same, although as one of the
number states,"they knew it was contrary to orders." This first attack, which was
made on the right wing of the Free-state line, was partially repulse, when the
enemy brought up their cannon and placed it in position within about 400 yards
of the timber where Capt. Brown's men were stationed, at each successive shot
moving it farther east to scour the timber. The cannon was loaded with grape
shot but did no damage, the missiles passing over the heads of the men. During
this time the Free-state forces kept moving east and returning the fire of the
enemy, who finally ceased firing the cannon, dismounted and made a charge in to
the timber when the main body of the Free-state men, having gallantly held their
ground for an hour against ten times their number, were compelled to surrender
or retreat. Most of them escaped across the Marais des Cygnes, some swimming
and others in a skiff. Robert Reynolds, H. K. Thomas and Charley Keiser were
taken prisoners by Capt. Warren Harris, of Platte county, MO and taken under
guard to the town. While attempting to swim his horse across the river, George
Partridge was shot. Samuel Wright sprang into the river on the same horse,
swam across, and, by means of the bushes climbed the steep bank on the north
side of the river and escaped. The Missourians, on entering the town, commenced
to pillage and burn it, first firing on the block-house, in which were stationed
several men, who escaped before the cannon was brought up. There were no
women in town except those belonging to the families of Messrs. Chestnut and
Sears. Every house but four was burned-Mr. Starkey's, Mr. Woodbury's and two
small cabins. The invaders left town with twelve covered wagons, two filled with
wounded men and a large part of the remainder of the plunder.
As General Reid's command approached the town in the morning, David R.
Garrison and George Cutter, who remained in the house of Mr. Carr over night,
attempted to escape to the timber along the Pottawatomie, and give the alarm to
the town. A detail of Missourians was made to pursue them, Garrison was killed,
and Cutter seriously wounded and left for dead. The invading force retired from
the town about 10 o'clock a. m., taking with them as prisoners William Bainbridge
Fuller, Robert Reynolds, Charley Keiser, H. K. Thomas, Mr. Morey, young Spencer
Brown, who was taken prisoner at the burning of his father's house, and William
Williams, from Miami Village. Of these prisoners, Williams, formerly of Westport,
Mo., which place he had been forced to leave on account of his free-state
proclivities, was taken to the edge of the town site and there shot; Charley
Kaiser was shot September 1-the second day following. Keiser was one of the
party under Captain John Brown who captured F. N. Coleman, the murderer of
Charles W. Dow, at the battle of Black Jack, and Coleman had then made threats
against him. When therefore, Keiser found that Coleman was among his captors,
he declared to his companions his belief that he would be killed. The party
encamped, Sunday night, on the east side of Cedar Creek, on the old Sante Fe
road, and Keiser was taken out on Monday morning to a guard of Kickapoo
rangers and shot. Besides the Free state losses mentioned, must be added
Theron P. Powers, who was, at the time of the invasion, lying sick in a house near
the timber. He crawled out of the house and into the woods for protection, and
was lying there completely exhausted, when he was found by the ruffians and
shot. Among those who participated in the defense of Osawatomie were John
Brown, Sr., Captain; Dr. W. W. Updegraff, Captain; --Cline, Captain; Harrison
Updegraff, Charley Keiser, Cyrus Tator, George Ferris, August Bondi, Robert
Eaton, George Grant, George Partridge, William Partridge, Samuel Wright, J. M.
Anthony, William Quick, Hugh Kilbourn, William A. Sears, ____Mills, R. W. Wood, D.
W. Collis, Capt. Holmes, H. K. Thomas, James Clark, J. J. Holbrook, Jacob Benjamin,
Caleb Shearer, __Baker, __Woodbury, Henry Kilbourn, Freeman Austin, Luke
Parsons. As before stated, Frederick Brown and David Garrison were killed on the
approach to the town, and George Cutter badly wounded; George Partridge and
T. P. Powers were killed during the progress of the battle and the retreat; William
Williams on the outskirts of the town and Charley Keiser at Cedar Creek. Dr.
Updegraff and D. W. Collis were wounded. The Freeman Austin, or "Pap Austin,"
alluded to, was encountered on the return march of the Missourians. After
burning and sacking the town, they started eastward, with the purpose of
crossing the Marais des Cygnes, in the vicinity of the Emigrant Aid Company's mill.
Here they encountered Austin and the "kill devil" Austin opened fire upon them,
calling out "Come on boys, plenty of men here," loading and firing as rapidly as
possible. Not anxious to encounter :plenty of men" Reid faced about and left
Osawatomie by the way he came, crossing the Maria des Cygnes at Bundy's Ford,
four miles above.
The Free-state men who escaped re-assembled at a log house north of the river,
Brown and Updegraff among them. The next day they removed to the south side,
and commenced fortifying another camp, but were prevented by sickness from
carrying out their design.
The losses of the Missourians are not generally known--probably not much
greater than those of the Free-state men. There are numerous surmises and
guesses as to what those losses were; but according to Reid's own statement, it
was two killed and a few wounded. The disparagement in number-ten to one -
and with but eighteen of the number armed with Sharpe's rifles, was too great
for Capt. Brown or any of his men to reasonably expect to win a victory, even if
they had had plenty of ammunition. The most that could be done under the
circumstance was to make a show of resistance, and to retreat across the Marais
des Cygnes when their ammunition was exhausted, which they did.
Nothing was ever done by the Free-state forces to punish Gen. Reid for thus
attacking and destroying a defenseless town, or to interrupt his return march to
Missouri, except a faint feint by Gen. Lane, at which he was adept.