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db t h e h onorable t h e Se nate
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YOu r me morialist in be h al f o f t h e N e w E ngl an d E mi gr ant Aid
Co mp any l o c ate d in Bo st o n M assach us e tts re s p e ctfu ll y re pre s e nts
Th at sev e ral g en t l e m en w h o h ad l o ng be e n aw ar e o f t h e sev e r e
u nne c e ss ar i l
y en du r d by i m mig rant s Wh i l st
g an d O p e n i n g u p t o c i v i l i z ati o n, ne w se c
at t h e w e st, de e m i ng th e i r t ask at be st a
and be l i e v i ng t h a t m u ch o f t h e t o i l m i ht
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l i g h t e n e d t h e p i o ne e r l i fe be m ade m o r e c o m fo rtabl e and t h e
n e fi t s an d bl e ss i ngs of s o c i e ty be in a gr e at m e as u r e
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di v idual s o r fam i l i e s , fe w in num be r,
m s far di st an t fro m ea ch o t h
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s e ttl e men ts w e re fo rm e d S ai d g e n
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M ass a ch u s etts fo r a ch art e r , and an ac t
by y o u r m e m o ri al i st was pa ss e d F e bruary 2 1 A D
ing El i T h ay e r o f W o rce st e r ; Am o s A L aw renc e o f
o fi C ainbridg ie
and Th o m as H W e bb
J; M
th ei r ass o ci ate s s u cc e ss o rs and ass i g ns by t h e nam e o f
Engl and Em i g ran t Aid C o mp any fo r t h e p ur p ose o f
dire ct i ng e mig rat i o n w e st w ard an d ai di ng in p ro v i di ng acc om m oda
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EN GL AN D
N EW
E M I GRAN T AID
C O M P AN Y
c o p y o f th i s ac t o f i n c o r p o r at i o n (m ark e d A) a cc o m p an i e s th i s
m e m o r i al
Th e a c t o rg an i z i n g t h e T e rr i t o r y o f K an s as h av i n g be e n th e n re
c e n t l y p ass e d an d t h e gl o w i ng d e scr i p t i o ns g i v e n o f th at r e g i o n b e
g i nni n g t o at t r act t h e att e n t i o n o f th o s e wh o w e r e s e e k i n g n e w h o m e s
t h e c o m p any s e n t th i th e r e x p l o r i n g ag e n t s w h o s e fa v o r abl e r e p o rts
P u bl i c n o t i c e by n e ws
d e te r m i n e d i t t o c o m m e n c e o p e r ati o n s t h e r e
p ap e rs an d p am phl e t s w as g i v e n o f t h e c o m p any s i n t e n t i o n s t h e
s o l e i n du c e m e n t s h e l d o u t t o t h e p e rs o ns th u s n o t i fi e d be i ng ch e ap
far e ( o b t ai nabl e by t h e p u r c h as e o f m any i n ste ad o f s i n g l e t i ck e ts )
fi rs t cl ass c ars a cc o m p any in g c o n du c t o rs to se e t o t h e i r c o m fo rt c o n
v e n ie n c e
and p r o t e c t i o n fro m i m p o s i ti o n o n t h e
r o u t e t h e ad v i c e
a nd aid o f ag e n ts w i th i n t h e T e rr i t o r y in r e g ar d t o t h e s e l e ct i o n o f
s i t e s an d t e m p o r ar y acc o m m o dat io n s wh i l st t h u s o cc u p i e d Th e
g r e a t a id t h e c o m p an y c o n t e m p l at e d fu r n i sh i n g w as n o t o ffe r e d t o in
div idu al s as s u ch bu t t o s e ttl e m e n ts in t h e w ay o f e r e c t i n g saw m i lls
gr i s t m i lls & c fo r t h e ad v an tag e and be n e fi t o f wh ol e c o m m u n i t i e s
N u m e r o u s ap pl i c ants p r e s e n t e d th e m s e lv e s an d m any h u nd r e d s
w e n t t o K an s as u nde r t h e au sp i c e s o f t h e c o m p any d i r e c tl y ; an d
t h e m o v e m e nt i n di r e ctl y i n d u c e d th o u s an d s fro m t h e N e w E n gl an d
t h e m i ddl e an d n o rthw e s t e r n S t at e s t o m i gr at e als o
Th e s e
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g e n t i ndustr i o u s l aw abi di n g l i be rty l o v i ng — t h e
w e ll t o d o
cl ass s o c all e d — bo th w i ll i ng an d abl e t o t ak e c ar e o f t h e m s e l v e s
an d fam i l i e s wh i ls t in h e al t h b u t l i abl e t o s u ffe r s o m e wh a t if o v r
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t ak e n by s i ck n e ss and t h u s pr e v e n t e d fr o m g e tt i ng be fo r e h an d
ag ai n st o l d ag e
d i s e as e o r de cr e p i tu de
T h e s e w e n t o u t th e r e fo r e
t o be t te r th e i r c o n di ti o n an d w e l l h av e th e y do ne s o as t h e m an y
thr i v i ng s e t tl e m e n ts by t h e m bu i lt u p c o n c l u s i v e l y sh o w
O f t h e c o m p any s agen ts as e v i de n c e o f t h e e s ti m at i o n i n wh i ch
t h e y w e r e h e l d and t h e fai th ful n e ss w i th wh i c h t h e y di sch arg e d th e i r
o n e r ou s duti e s i t i s s u ffi c ie n t t o s t at e th at o n e o f t h e fo u r w as e l e c t e d
t h e ch i e f e x e c u t i v e o f t h e S t a t e o f K an s as th a t a s e c o n d be c a
me
and s t ill i s o n e o f i t s U ni t e d S t at e s s e n at o rs
an d a th i r d i s i t s p r e s :
e n t r e p r e s e n tat i v e in C o ngr e ss
T h e fi rst e m i gr an t p arty s e n t o u t b t h e c o m anv l e ft B o st o
n in
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A u g u st 1 8 5 4 an d a sh o r t t i m e s ub s e u e n tl a s e c o n d t oo k i t s
d e p ar
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t u r e ; s oo n aft e r a rr i v i ng in t h e T e rr i t o r
y t h e s e u n i t e d a nd j o i n t l y
c o m m e n c e d a s e ttl e m e n t wh i ch w as c all e d an d h as e v e r s i n c e be e n
k n o w n and i s n o w i n c o r p o r at e d as t h e c i ty o f L awr n c
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e
N u m e r o u s o bstacl e s an d h i ndr an c e s w e re u s e d t o i m p e de t h e pro
re ss o f t h e s e s e ttl e rs b
y t h o s e l i v i ng u p o n bu t o u ts i d e o f t h e t e r ri t o
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e o f fre e S t at e s e n t im e n ts in
t h at s e ct i o n Im m i gr an ts c o n ti nue d h o w e v e r t o fl o ck in Th e r e
w e re n o acc o m m o dat i o n s s u ffi c i e n tl y am p l e fo r th e m K an s as at th at
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N EW
EN GL AN D
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3
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su p p l i e d t h e c o m p any w as at l e ngth i n du c e d t o e re ct in L aw re n c e
at an e x p e n s e o f tw e n t y fi v e t h o u s and d o l l ars
a h o te l
k n o w n as t h e F r e e S t at e H o t e l an d s o m e t i m e s as t h e E l dr i dg e
H ou s e
T h i s w as a c o m m o d i o u s s u bst an t i all y bu i l t st o ne str u ctu re
in d i m e n s i o n s fi fty by s e v e n ty fe e t th re e st o r i e s h i gh an d a bas e
I t w as fi t t e d an d fu r n i sh e d in s u p e r i o r sty l e t h e fu rn i tu r e
m ent
an d e qu i p m e n ts b e i n g o f a ch ar ac t e r c o rre s p o n di ng t o th o s e o f s o m e
o f t h e be s t e ast e r n h o t e ls
Att ach e d t o i t w e r e st abl e s and o th e r
I n a w o rd i t w as p r o n o u n c e d by g oo d j udg e s t h e be st
c o nv e n i e n c e s
h o t e l w e st o f S t L o u i s
T h i s w as c o m p l e te d in M ay 1 8 5 6
I n t h e m e an wh i l e t h e e nm i ty ag ai n st t h e s e t t l e rs an d m o r e e s p e
c ial l y th o s e re s i d e n t at L awr e n c e
as w e ll as thr e ats t o d e stroy t h e
h o te l and p ri n t i n g p re ss e s w e re al ar m i ngl y u p o n t h e i n cr e as e ; s o
m u ch s o th at t h e c i t i z e n s by de l e g at i o n an d o th e rw i s e ap p e al e d
th o ugh as w i ll ap p e ar in v ai n t o t h e g o v e r n o r an d o th e r U ni te d
S tat e s o ffi c e rs fo r p r o te ct i o n o f th e m s e lv e s an d p r op e rty
O n t h e 2 l st o f M ay 1 8 5 6 t h e F r e e S tat e H o t e l w as thr o w n o p e n
t o t h e p u bl i c ; o n wh i ch o cc as i o n am o n g o th e r p r o m i ne nt i n di v i du als
U n i te d S tat e s M arsh al D o n al ds o n an d S h e r iff J o n e s o f D o ugl as c o u n ty
w e re th e r e e n te rtai ne d E arl y in t h e fo r e n oo n s u sp i c i o u s m o v e m e n ts
o f a l arg e nu m be r o f m e n g at h e re d o n a h i ll i n t h e re ar o f L awr e n c e
T h e y w e r e acc o u te r e d as
attr act e d att e n t i o n an d e xc i t e d al arm
c av alr y and i n fan tr y an d bo re m any s i g n i fi c an t banne rs
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J o n e s s u m m o ne d be
J o n e s an d t oo k p o s i t i o n in fr o nt o f t h e h o t e l
fo re h im t h e ch ai r m an o f t h e t o w n s c o m m i tte e o f s afe ty wh o s e
o ffi c e w as in t h e bu i l di n g an d de m an de d a s u rr e n de r o f al l t h e ar m s
&c
am m u n i t i o n
U p o n be i n g ask e d by wh at au th o r i ty h e m ade t h e
de m an d h e r e p l i e d as sh erzjfl of t h e co unt y a nd Unit ed Sta tes deput y
m arsh a l
A ll o f th at d e scr i p t i o n o f pu blic p r o p e rty w as th e r e up o n
g i v e n u p h e ofi cially re c e i p t i ng fo r t h e s am e I m m e dl at e ly afte r
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t h e sh e r i ff an d act i n g m arsh al an n o u n c e d th at at fi v e o cl o ck p m
E ffo rts w e r e m ade bu t u n av ai l m g l y
t h e h o t e l w o u l d be de str oy e d
t o d i ss u ade h im fro m h i s l awl e ss de s ig n At t h e t i m e i nd i c at e d h e
i ss u e d h i s o r de rs an d t h e w o rk o f de m o l i t i on c o m m e n c e d an d w as
m al i c i o u sl y an d u n i n te rm i tt i ngl y fo ll o w e d u p u n ti l c o m p l e t e d Jo n e s
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p o sse by d e e d an d 1 n
al l t h e wh i l e e xc i t i ng and u rg i ng o n h i s
d m o st
fl am m at o ry s p e e ch
C o n s p i c u o us am on g h i s c o nfe de r at e s an
r i o t o u s in c o n du ct w as D av i d R A tch i s o n wh o o nce o cc u p i e d t h e
a e
re s p o ns i bl e p o s i t i o n o f t h e V i c e P re s i d e n t o f t h e U ni t e d S t t s
F o r th i s w an t o n an d u nj u st i fi abl e de s t r u cti o n o f p r o pe rty un de r
c o l o r o f l aw th o u gh in d e fi an c e o f t h e l a w s an d D o n st l t u t l o n e x e
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EN GL AN D
N EW
C O M PAN Y .
EM I GR AN T AID
c o nfi rm at i o n o f t h e stat e m e nts h e re i n se t fo rth atte n t i o n i s t e
st
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Ce r ti fi e d c o p y
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CO M M O NW E AL T H O F M ASSAC H U SETT S
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AN ACT to
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E ng l and E m i g r ant Aid C o m p an y
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by th e Sen at e and H o u se of Represe ntati v es, in
ge neral co u rt asse m bled, an d by t h e au th ori t y of t h e sam e , a s follo w s : E li
Th ay e r, Am o s A L aw r e n ce , John M S W illi am s , an d Tho m as H W e bb,
the i r ass o ci ate s , s u cce ss o rs and ass i g ns , are he re by m ade a c o rp o r atio n by
t h e n am e o f t h e N e w E n g l and E m i g r an t Aid C o m p any , fo r t h e p u rp o s e o f
di r e c ti ng e m i g r atio n w e s t w ar d, and ai di ng in pr o v i di ng acc o m m o d ati o n s
fo r t h e e m i g r an t s afte r arr i v i n g at th e i r p l ac e s o f de s ti n atio n
an d fo r th e s e
p u rp o s e s the y h ave al l t h e p o w e rs and pr i v ile g e s , and are s u bj e c t to al l t h e
du ti e s , r e s t r i c tio ns , and li abiliti e s se t fo r t h in t h e fo r ty fo u r th ch ap t e r o f t h e
re v i s e d s t at u t e s
SEC 2 Th e c ap it al s to ck o f s ai d c o rp o r atio n sh all no t e x c e e d o n e m illio n
O f d oll ars
s ai d c ap it al s to c k m ay be i nv e s te d in r e al an d p e rs o n al e s t at e
P ro v i de d , Th e s a i d c o rp o r atio n sh all n o t h ol d r e al e s t a te in th i s c o m m o n
w e alth to an am o un t e x ce e di n g t w e nty th o u s and doll a rs
SEC 3 Th i s ac t sh all t ake e ffe c t fr o m and aft e r it s p a ss ag e
SE CTIO N
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RE PRE SE N TATIV E S, F
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D AN IE L C E D D Y , Spe aker
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H E N RY W
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Appr o v e d
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1 85 5
H E N RY J GARD N E R
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SE CRE TARY ’S O F
A tr u e c o p y
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O L IV E R W ARN E R,
Secret ary of t h e Com m o nwe al t h
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EN GL AN D
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Supplem e ntary paper el u ci dat ory
C O M PAN Y
AID
5
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i n co nfi rmati on of th e declarat ions con
t at ued i n th e m em ori al fo r in dem nit y t o t h e N e w ‘En l and Em i rant Aid
g
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Company for th e loss su stain ed by th e destr u ction of th e F ree Stat e H otel in
L awrence , K ansas, M ay 2 1 , A D 1 8 5 6
and
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M o st of t h e state me nts he re i n c o nt ai ne d c o n s i s t o f e x t r acts fro m, o r are
subs t an t i ate d by re fe r e n c e s t o t w o i m p o r t an t an d h i hl
g y v al u abl e do c u
m e nt s , wh i ch e m br ac e a v ast am o u nt o f r e li abl e m at e ri al r e l ati ve t o sce ne s
w i tne ss e d, and i nc i de nts whi ch o c cu rre d in t h e e arly te rr i to r i al t i m e s of
Th e fi rst o f the s e is t h e “ Re p o r t o f t h e s p e c i al c o m m it te e ap
K ans as
p o i nte d t o i nv e s ti g at e t h e t r o u bl e s in t h e Te rr ito ry o f K ans as , ” wh i ch w as
m ade to t h e Un i te d St at e s H o u s e o f Re pre s e ntati v e s by t h e ch ai rm an, t h e
H on W illi am A H o w ard, J uly 2 , 1 8 5 6 , and whi ch c o ns tit u te s v ol 2,
( pp 1 1 8 8 ) o f Re p o r t s of Com m i t te e s , l st a nd 2 d s e ss io ns , 3 4t h Co ng r e ss ,
1 85 5 ’—5 6
Thi s w ill be re fe rr e d to , w he n c i ted, by t h e i niti al s ( K A ) of it s
runni ng t i tl e ,
K ans as Affai rs ”
Th e s e c o n d i s t h e
Re p o r t o f t h e C o mm itte e o f C l ai m s , t o wh o m w as
re fe rr e d t h e c o n c urr e nt r e s ol u tio n o f t h e l e g i s l a t u r e of t h e Te rr i to ry o f K a n
sas, as ki n
g Co ng re ss fo r an appr o pr i atio n to i n de m ni fy c e rt ai n c iti z e n s of
that Te rr it ory fo r t h e l o ss o f pr o p er ty , ” & c & c , w hi ch r e p or t w as m ade to
t h e H o us e o f Re pr e s e nt ati ve by t h e c h airm an t h e H o n Mr T app an, M arch
2 , 1 8 6 1 , an d w h i ch c o ns titu te s v ol 3 , p ar t 1 , ( pp
o f Re p or t s o f Co m
m it t e e s, 2d s e ss i o n, 3 6 t h C o ng r e ss , 1 8 6 0
This w ill be re fe rre d t o , when
c ite d, by t h e i niti al s ( K C ) o f it s r u nni ng titl e , K ans as Cl ai ms ”
Al l o f t h e tro u bl e s by wh i ch K an s as w as h ar ass e d du ri ng it s te rr ito r i al
e xi st e n c e g re w o u t of t h e e ffo r t s m ade to i n t r odu c e and m ai nt ai n s l av ery
the r e to acc om p li sh th i s O bj e c t, “ e v e ry m o v e m e n t, o f whate v e r ch ar acte r,
wh i ch te nde d to e s t abli sh fr e e i ns tit u tio ns , ” w as v i o l e ntl y o pp os e d r e g ar d
l e ss o f t h e i nj u s ti ce o r i ll e g ality o f t h e m e an s r e s orte d to for t h e p urp o s e ,
“
l e adi ng c iti ze n s o f M i ss o ur i , i m m e di at e l y afte r t h e p ass ag e o f t h e o rg ani c
l aw , e n t e re d t h e T e rr ito ry , h e ld s qu atte r me e ti ng s , ” p ass e d s e r i e s of re s ol u
tio ns i ni m i c al t o fre e St ate m e n and p rin c ipl e s, and the n r e t ur ne d whe nc e
the y c am e sh o wi ng the y n e ithe r w e re , no r i nte nde d t o be c o m e c itiz e ns of
K ans as Th e fo ll o w i ng are spe ci m e n s o f the i r re s ol uti o ns , v i z
Resolv ed , T hat w e w ill afl o rd pr ote c tio n t o no abolitio ni s t “ as a s e ttle r
”
in th i s Te rr it o ry
Resolv e d, T h at w e r e c o g ni z e t h e i n s tit u tion o f s l av e ry as al r e ady e m e t
ing in th i s T e rr ito ry , and ad v i s e s l a v e h ol de rs t o i nt r o du ce t he i r pr o p e r ty as
e ar l y as p o ss i bl e
Au xili ary m e e ti ng s w e re h e ld in s e ve r a l c o unti e s o f M i ss o ur i , at wh i ch
”
sp e e che s w e re m ade , and corre sp o nding r e s ol utions pass e d
e xc iti n g
“
E v e ry m o v e m e nt, of wh ate v e r ch ar ac te r , w hi ch t e nde d t o e s t abl i s h fre e
i ns tituti o ns , w as r e g ar de d as an i nte r fe re n c e w ith the i r ( t h e s l av e ry adv o
”
Thi s , t o o , alth o ug h pre v io us l y t o t h e pr o p o s al to re pe al t h e
c at e s ) rig h t s
M i ss o ur i c o m pro m i s e , t h e p e o p l e wh o i nh abi te d t h e p o rti on of M i ss o ur i abo v e
“
all ude d t o ,
app e ar e d indifl e re n t to t h e pr o h i biti o n o f s l av e ry in t h e T e rm
to ry , and ne ithe r as ke d nor de s i re d it s r e p e al ” But t h e i m m e di at e cpnse
r
p
l
f
h
a
as t 0 subst it u t e t h e r e s ol v e s o f s quatte r m e t i ng s ,
w
u
nc
e
o
t
e
e
e
e
q
e
c o m p o s e d al m os t e xcl u s i v e l y o f c iti z e ns o f a s i ng l e Stat e , fo r t h e de l i be rat e
,
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abo
from N e w E ngl an d w as, ipso fac to , pro n o un ce d and e no unced
l iti onist , using t h e t e rm , in wh at w as th e n c on side re d at t h e west, i ts m ost i gnom i nio us
se nse , as a repre se ntative o f ul tra Garri so nian ism
‘1'
Every
r
d
pe so n
.
6
E N GL AN D EMI GRAN T
N EW
AI D
C
OM PAN Y
.
Th I S
”
ur
l la
l
acquiesced in for thi rty fi v e years
”
says the special co mm ittee o f the 3 4 t h Con g res s has been
t e rfe re nc e
conti nued in every i m portan t e vent in the h i story o f the Terr i tory ( o f
ev e ry election h a s bee n controlled n o t by t h e actual se ttl ers but
K ansas
by the citizen s of Mi ssouri ; and as a consequen ce every o ffi cer i n the Ter
rit o ry fro m constable to l egi sl ators excep t those appo m t e d by the h e m
den t owe their posi ti on s to non residen t v oters N one have bee n elected
by the settlers ; and your co m m ittee have been un able to fi nd th at any p ol i t i
c al power wh atever however uni m portan t has been exerc i sed by the p eopl e
”—
the
Terri
tory
f
o
( K A pp 2 an d
In the fall of 1 85 4 e m igr ation began to set i n fro m the N e w E ngl and
States as well a s fro m the m id dle and n orth wes tern State s These went
forth under n o partis an organization and subject to the direct i on o r control
o f n o political o r religiou s co m binati on ; so far as at all b anded they were
,
so vol un tarily fo r m utual benefi t and that they m i gh t the e arl i er and the
m ore surely enjoy the soci al the m oral the education al advan tages and th e
co m m unity co m forts and bene fi ts o f the ho m es in which they were n u rtu red
and fro m which good citizen s they had departed in the hope o f p e aceably
bein g all owed t o i m pro v e t h e worldly con d ition o f the m sel ves and fa m i l i e s
The co m pany u nder whose auspices m any o f the i m m i grants to K ans as
went there known as the Massachusetts an d afterward s as the N e w E n g
l and E m igrant Aid Co m pany was con fi ned to n o cl ass sect n or p arty ; i ts
stock was in the m arke t Open t o al l ; and no t only was n o re fusal t 0 a Si ngl e
application m ade: but pro m inen t individual s o f the gre at pol i t i cal part i es
were earnestly solici ted to be co m e stockholders that the p ub l ic m ight rest
the better assured that this was no p artisan m ove m ent N o pledge w as de
“
m and e d fro m the
o u tgoers ” as t o what they should o r sho ul d n ot m i ght o r
m ight not do after their arrival in t h e Terri tory ; and h ad there been i t
would have been and j ustly hurled b ack in scorn as these were hon est in
du st rio u s i ntelligen t peopl e an d no t as w as grossly an d fal sely c h arged by
“
the pro sl avery borderers paupers an d j ail birds
The origin ators and
m anagers of the co m pany were pr o m pted in their actio n s n o t by sel fi sh m o
t iv e s but by a pure Spirit o f philanthropy
The knowledge of the m igrating in tention s o f these pe ace able l aw ab id
ing citizen s fro m the north aro used an d thei r actu al ad ven t s till fu rther
increased the ire and called forth the obj urgations and m o s t v ituperative
abuse o f the pro sl avery residents in the border counti es o f M is so uri w h o
held publi c m eetings and private cab al s at which they deci ded t o p urs ue
in viol ation o f all equity an d l aw the m ost extre m e m e asures— t o drive ou t
o f the Territory of which the y t he m selves were n ot inhab itan ts those fro
m
the free States alrea dy located therein and to deter if poss ible fro m so
doi ng those w h o had i t in conte m pl ation
At an early period and before any election w as or co ul d be held i n the
Territory a secret poli tical society w as for m ed i n t h e State o f Mis so u ri
kn own by di fferen t n a m es such as “ Soci al Ban d “ Friends Society “ Bl ue
” “
Lo d ge
The Son s o f the South
Its m e m bers w ere bound together by
secret oaths an d they had p as s word s si g ns and grips by which they were
known to each other the di fferent l o dge s were co n nected together by
an e ffective organization It e m braced great n u m bers o f the citizen s o f
Missouri an d w as ex t en ded in to t h e other sl ave State s and in to the Terri
t ory
Its avowed purpose was n o t only to e x tend sl avery into K an sas b ut
also into other Territories o f the Uni ted States and t o for m a union of all
the friends o f that in stitution Its pl an o f operating w as to organize and
sen d m e n to vote at t he election s i n the Territory to collect m oney t o pay
the i r expenses and i f n ecessary to protect the m in voting Thi s dan
g e ro u s soc i e t y was controll ed by m e n who avowed thei r p ur pos e t o exten d
action
of
C ongre ss
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N EW
EN GL AN D EMI GRAN T
AI D
OM PAN Y
C
7
,
sl avery in to the Territory at al l haz ard s and w as altogethe rthe m ost e ffe c
t i ve i n stru m e nt i n org anizin g the subsequen t a r m ed i nvasions and forays
In i ts l o dges i n M issouri the a ffairs o f K an sa s were dis c ussed The forces
n ece ssary to con trol the elections was di vided into band s an d l eaders se
le c t ed
Me an s were collected an d signs and badges agreed upon W hile
the great body o f the actual settlers o f the Territory were relying upon the
r i ghts secu red t o them by the organ ic l aw and had for m ed n o organizatio n
o r co m b i n at i on w h atever even o f a party character this con spiracy against
the i r r i ghts was g athering stren gth in a neighboring S tate and would hav e
been su flime nt at their fi rst election t o have overpo w ered the m even if they
had be e n united to a m an — ( K A p
In su ch a con dition o f a ffairs those entertaining free State senti m ents an d
favor i n g free State prin ciples could not ex pect an d did not receive prote o
t i on fro m the civi l authorities ; in proo f o f which ab undant eviden ce m ay
be foun d a m ong the m ass o f te sti m ony taken by the congressio n a l in v e s
t i g at i ng co m m i t tee and prin ted with their report w hi ch i s referred t o at
the co m m en ce m en t o f thi s state m ent and m uch addition al evidence to the
sa m e poin t m ay be fo und in the other congression al report re ferred to at t h e
sa m e ti m e
At o ne o f m any m eetings held during the K an sas reig n o f terror
“
m
Judge Leco pte took an active part in fo m e nting di ffi cul ties
Thus the
head of the ( territorial ) j udicia ry n ot only assisted at a p ubli c and bitterly
pa rti san m eetin g whose d irect ten den cy w as to produce violence and dis
order b ut be fo re any law is pas sed in the Territory he prej u dges the char
acter o f t h e do m estic in stitution s which the pe opl e of the Territory were
by their organi c l aw le ft perfectly free t o for m and regulate in thei r o w n
way — ( K A pp 4 1 and
“
At thi s m eeti ng re solution s were un ani m ously pas sed looking to unl aw
ful violen ce an d grossly intoler an t in their character
The right o f free
spee ch upon the subj e ct o f sl avery was cha ra cterized as a disturbance
o f the pe ace and quie t o f the co m m uni ty
and as ci rculating in cendiary
Th ey say to the peculiar frien ds o f northern fan atics Go h o m e
sen ti m e nts
—K
A p
and vent your spleen w here you m ay fi nd sy m pathy
(
“
A co m m ittee of vigilance was appointed to observe and report all such
persons as shall by the e x pressio n o f abol itio n sen ti m ents produce disturb
an ce t o the q uie t o f the citizen s or danger to their do m esti c relations ; and
all su ch persons so o ffen ding shall be noti fi ed and m ade to leave the Terri
tory ”— ( K A p
O ther charges brought again st the m e n fro m the free States were that they
were i m ported in to the Terri tory i n large nu m bers by the N e w E n g lan d
“
m erely fo r the purpose o f con trol l in g
Em igran t Aid Society o f Boston
the election s ; that they ca m e wi thout wo m en children o r b aggage w ent
in to the Terri tory voted and returned again ; th at m e n were hired in the
e astern and northern States or ind uced to g o into the Territory solely t o
vote and not to settl e and by so doing to m ake it a free State ; that t h e
govern or of the Terri tory purposely postponed the day o f election to al lo w
thi s e m igration t o arr ive and n oti fi ed the E m i g ran t Aid Soci ety and per
son s iu the easter n States o f the d ay o f election before he gave notice t o
the peopl e o f Missouri and the Territory
The i nves t ig ating co m m ittee say “ that these charges were industriou sly
circul ated ; th at grossly e x aggerated state m en ts were m ade i n regard to
the m ; that the n ewspaper press an d l eading m e n in p ubl ic m e e tings in
w e stern Mis souri ( aided in o ne case by a chapl ain o f the United States
ar m y ) gave curren cy and credi t to the m and induced m any well m eanin g
citizen s o f Misso uri t o m arch i nto the Territory to m ee t and repel the al
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8
E N G LAN D EMIGRAN T A I D
N EW
C OM PAN
Y
.
eastern paupers and abolitionists i s fully proven by m an y W i tnesses
A p
but neither o f these ch arges i n sustained by the proo f
“ Their
the
e
grants
purposes
as far as your co m m i ttee can a scerta i n
m
i
)
(
were l awful an d contrib uted to supply those w ants m ost e xp er i en ced i n the
settle m ent o f a new country
“
Thi s co m pany of peaceful e m igrants m o v m g W i th the i r househol d
goo d s w as di storted in to an i nv ading h ord e o f p a u per abol i t i on i sts w h o
w ere with others o f a si m il ar character to control the do m est i c i n st i tut i ons
—
o
f
a neighboring State
(K A
o f the Territor y and then overturn th ose
pp 3 8 and
“
Y our co m m ittee are satis fi ed that these charges were m ade the m ere
pretexts to induce an ar m ed invasion into the Territory as a m ean s t o c o n
trol the election and establi sh sl avery there The real p urpose i s avowed
an d illustrated by the testi m o ny an d conduct o f Colonel John Scott o f St
Joseph Mi ssouri ” O n the day previ ous t o the election hel d N ove m ber 2 9 1 8 5 4
h e deposes : “ I settled up m y board at m y bo ardin g house in St Joseph M i s
souri and went over in to the Territory an d took b oardin g wi th Mr Bryant ,
near wh ose house the polls were held the next day fo r o ne m on th so that
m ight have i t in m y power by m erely deter m ining to do so to beco m e a res 1
dent o f the Territory on the day of election W hen m y n a m e w a s propo sed
as a judge o f el ection objections were m ade by t w o per son s only I then
publicl y infor m ed those present t hat I h ad a clai m in t h e Terri tory ; that I
had taken board in the Territory fo r a m onth an d th at I coul d at any m o m en t
beco m e an actual resident and legal voter in the Terri tory an d that I woul d
do so if I con cl uded at any ti m e durin g the day that m y vote w oul d be
necess ary t o carry that ( the Burr o ak ) precinct in favor o f the p ro sl avery
candidate for delegate t o Congress I did n o t consi d er i t necessary i n the
course o f the d ay to beco m e a residen t o f the Territory for the pu rpose
m enti on ed — ( K A p
Thus it will be seen that a great variety o f disrep utable unjus t un der
han ded an d unl awful m ean s were e m ployed to oppress overpower an d ej ect
fro m t h e Territory those w h o hailed fro m the free State s
B ut the hardy
p i oneers proved n o dege ne ra te descendan ts fro m a noble an cestry ; they
knew t heir l ights and kno w i ng dared m aintain Their n u m bers aug m en ted
rapidly under Oppression and Lawren ce w hither they at fi rst n aturally
tended increased in size an d i m portan ce ; co n seq uentl y Lawren ce becam e
“
and con tin ued throughout the troublous ti m es ” th e pl ace upon which a
l arge share o f m alice w as concentrated
m m i ttee speaking o f one o f the ar m e d forays fro m Mi s souri say
The
co
“
the ch i ef hostili t y o f th i s m ilit a ry foray w as again st the town of Lawren ce ;
and th i s was especi ally the case wi th the offi cers of the law Y our co m m i ttee
c a n see i n t h e testi m o ny no reason excuse o r palliation for thi s feel in g
It i s o bv 1 0 us t hat the only cause o f this hos tility is the k n o w n de sire o f
the C i ti zen s of Lawrence to m ake K ansas a free Sta t e an d their rep ugnance
t o la w s i m posed upon the m by non residents ”
(K A p
J M W inchell in his testi m ony before the co m m ittee swears th at o n hi s
w ay to L wren ce h e saw nu m bers o f m e n who
were a i m ed an d stated they
a
were res i d ents of Missouri an d were going o u t t o assi st i n the e x ter m in a
t i on o f L awren ce So m e s aid that the people o f Lawren ce would h ave a
few hou rs g i ven the m to send away thei r w o m en and children before the
destructi on of their pl ace Colonel Boone o f Mi ssouri expres sed deep regret
at the course m atters see m ed to be taking and st ated al so th at these m e n
were al m os t un controllable and desi red to de stroy the tow n and every
body i n i t and co m pared the m to a pack o f hyenas Sheri ff Jon es appeared
t o be v e ry m uch exc i ted because a patrol as he entered
t h e to w n rode
W l t h h i m i nto i t
H e s w ore he w ould g o in and o ut o f Lawrence w henever
1 e ged
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N EW
E N G LAN D
AID
E M I GRAN 'r
C OM PAN
Y
9
.
h e chose w ith ou t an y e scort ( Thi s w as at a ti m e when no free State m an
w as al lo w ed t o g o abo ut in the Terr itory withou t a pass fro m Jon es o r so e
m
pro m i n en t pro sl avery a ssoci ate ) I saw a prisoner who m the guards wer e
tak i n g to ca m p He w as i n the han ds o f m e n w h o the sentries t old m e
ere a p art o f the forces He stru ggle d viol en tly and o ne o f t he m sai d t o
w
h i m Go d d a m n your abol ition heart ’ The l ast I s aw o f h im he was being
drag ged alon g by two of the m l t was n o t alleged as I hea rd that he h ad
co m m i tted any o ffen ce W hen I w as at the ca m p at W akarusa o n m
y
re m o n st rat i n g wi th Sheri ff Jon e s o n the arrests o f e rso n without
s
an
p
y offence
be i ng alleged ag ainst the m he ad m itted that G eneral P o m eroy had been
arrested W i tho u t anythin g bein g charged agains t h im at all ”— ( K A pp
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1 08 7
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Ja m es S Legate testifi ed an d s w ore “ I asked h im ( Sheri ff Jones ) h o w
m any m e n he h ad in all w ith h im
He said he had abou t
I
men
then told h im he m u s t h ave had
He said he
or
fro m Missouri
did have that n u m ber an d coul d have obtained m ore I then asked h im
w hat h e i nt e nded t o d o wi th that n u m ber o f m e n as a posse ? He sai d he
in ten ded to take thi s da m ned town ( Lawren ce ) an d blot i t out I re m inded
h im o f th e im probabil ity o f the force be had being able t o do th at
He said
t h e town had been looked at by m any di fferen t i ndivid ual s fro m the ca mp
an d they w ere con fi den t they could have tak en it in twel ve hours I told
h im that if w e got i nto a w ar here at that ti m e i t w ould prob ably i nvol ve
the w hole Un ion He replied he did n o t care what i t involved but that the
l aw s
by the territori al l e g isl at u re lsh o ul d be en forc ed — ( K A p
1 09 5 )p assed
“
D r G A C utler testi fi es and s wears
W hile I was lying a prisoner in
the ca m p at Leco m pton R S K elly a virulent an d acti ve pro sl av e ry it e a
p artner o f D r Stringfellow in the Squatter Sovereign ’ p aper the vil est
m ost infla m m atory and un pri n ci pled shee t issued durin g the whole period
of the di ffi culties and w a s o ne o f the chief m ean s o f in ten sifying the h ate
again s t those who professed free State prin ci ples an d sti m ul ated resort to
e x tre m e m easures t o exti rpate the m— this R S K elly rode up be fore the
tent I was lyin g in and said : I wan t blood ; I am blood thirsty ; I wan t to
take thi s G od da m ned abolitionist o u t and hang h im
K A p
W ill ia m P hillips testi fied and s w ore : I wen t down t o the W akarusa ca m p
I spoke to o n e o r t w o and asked the m where they ca m e fro m Two said
they cam e fro m Mi ssouri I heard several that day m ake thre ats o f co m ing
u p t o destroy the town o f Lawren ce I spoke t o so m e m e n i n t w o c x t e ani s
a nd they told m e they ca m e fro m beyond Le xi n gton Mi ssou r i and that they
were goin g up t o the ca m p and they in tended t o take Lawren ce O ne o f
the m s aid they were goin g t o burn it and drive o u t the abolitioni sts O ne
o f the m tol d m e m ost o f their nei ghbors were co m ing up and that
men
were co m ing up fro m t hat p ar t o f Misso u ri I spo ke to another party ; they
told m e they w ere fro m C lay co un ty Mis souri They said they had bee n at
the Shawnee m is si on as they ca m e up and G overn or Shannon h ad en rolled
the m In argu m en t with h im ( Sheri ff Jone s ) h e said he w as with thi s p ar ty
an d that they wanted an d m e an t to fi ght I u rged that a war m i ght invol ve
the w hol e Union He said da m n the Un ion ”— ( K A p
I wen t to
the h ou se o f M r Milton M c Gh e e Said he I am a border ruffi an and am
’
m
f
ed o it
I reasoned w ith h im He said by the passage o f t h e
n o t a sha
K ansas N e braska bill there was a fair trade— th at the south woul d get
K ansas and th e north N ebraska an d the da m ned E m igra n t Aid Society
He said t h e m e n o f Missouri would w ade
m e an t t o s w in dle the m o ut o f i t
kn ee deep in blood be fore K an sas should be a free State I h eard the p arty
talk o f going up the next day t o the siege at Lawrence They said the
b attl e w as t o be the day after t h e ne x t an d they wanted t o be u p in ti m e
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10
C OM PAN
EN GLAN D EMI GRAN T A I D
N EW
Y
.
I al so heard the m plot to lyn ch G eneral Po m eroy w h o they said w as at the
A m erican Hotel i n K an s as city The only poi nt o f di ffi cul ty w as whether
—
o
they would have ti m e t o do that and g up to Lawren ce
( K A ,p
The A m erican Hotel at K an sas C ity Missouri above re ferred t o w as
o w ned by t h e N e w E ngl and E m i gran t Aid C o m pany I t had been p urch ased
under advi se m ent this city being the poi n t of dise m b arkation fo r the i m m i
grants boii nd to the Territory and i t bein g necessary th at there should be
so m e p ubli c h ouse w here they w o uld be sure O f te m porary acco m m odation s
a n e vil
w
f
fair
treat
ent
This
building
was
there
ore
looked
upon
i
th
m
an d
eye by the Missouri an s J M W in chell testi fi es before the co m m ittee th at
there were u ttered “ threats again st the A m eri can Hotel i n K an sas City as
being Obnoxio u s in t h e sa m e way as w as the city Of Lawren ce Threats
were m ad e th at i t would be destroyed and m u ch anxiety w as fe l t by its in
I understood the
m ates o f whi ch I was on e and the citizen s generally
grou nd o f hosti lity t o the hotel to be that i t was kept for the con ven ien ce O f
northern e m igration to K an sas Territory That so far as I kn ow w as the
excl usive ground Of hostility to the li o t e l — ( K A p 1 0 9 2
The Free Sta t e Hotel at Lawrence K ansas w as fo r the s a m e reason
equally O ffen sive to the advocates o f sl avery and freq uently durin g the
course o f i ts being erected m any i m pre cati on s were uttered an d m enaces
i n no m e as ured ter m s thrown out that it should be destroye d
A few m o nt hs previ ous to its destruction G over n or Shannon al ar m e d at
the threaten in g aspect o f t h e ti m es called a con ventio n o f O ffi cers i n c o n
It broke up however without the acco m pli sh m ent of anythin g
sul t at io n
So m e would hear O f nothing less than the des truction O f Lawrence and
“
olition O f i ts prin ting presses and the un c o n
I t s forti fi cation s ; the de m
”—
dit i o n al surrender O f the ar m s O f its citizens
(K
T e governor in a letter to the P resident h e aring date D ece m ber 1 1
h
“
says
I gave the m ( the c itizen s Of Lawren c e ) every ass uran ce i n m y
85
0
1
:
power that they should be protected in al l their righ t s an d de fen ded ag ai n s t
al l unlawful aggressions — ( K C p
O n the 5 t h of May A D 1 8 5 6 about the ti m e O f th e co m pleti on O f the
hotel Judge Leco m pte a person age al ready re fer re d to delivered a stron gly
m arked p rejudiced ch arge to the gra nd j ury Of D ougl as coun ty wi thin
wh i ch Lawrence is situated In the course o f it he said :
“
Th i s Territory was organized by an act Of Congres s and so far its
author i ty i s fro m the United States I t has a legisl at u re elect ed in p u rs u
ance o f that organi c act Thi s legisl ature being an in str u m ent O f C ongress
by wh i ch i t governs the Territory has passed l aws These l aws t h erefore
are of Un i ted States authori ty and m akin g ; and all th at resi s t t h e se l aw s
res i st the power and authori ty o f the U n ited S t ate s an d are there fore
gu ilty of h i gh treason N o w gentle m en if you fi nd that any persons h av e
res i sted t h e se l aw s then m ust you under your oath fi nd bi lls ag ain st s uch
persons for h i gh treason If you fi nd no suc h re sistance has been m ade
b ut that co m bin ations h ave been for m ed for the p u rpose O f re si stin g the m
and i nd i v i dual s of infl uence and n otoriety h ave been ai d in g and a bettin g
i n s uch co m bin ation s then m ust you still fi nd bill s fo r con str u cti ve tre ason
h e bl o v need not be struck b ut only the int ent io n be m ade e vident ” —( K l
p 2 y)
The grand jury in consequen ce presented the Herald o f F reedo m and
the K an sas Free State ne wspapers publ i shed in La w re n ce as n u is an ce
and reco m m ended their abate m ent T h ey add “ that w e are satis fi ed that
the bu i l di n g known as the Free State Hotel i n Lawre n ce h as bee n c on
st ru c t e d W It h the V i e w to m il itary occupation an d defen ce
( a sin gul ar re ason
fo r m a k i ng a present m ent ) re g ularly para pe t t e d and port hole d for the u se
0 f cannon and s m all ar m s and could have only been design ed as a strong
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N EW
E N G LAN D EMI GRAN T A I D
C
OMPAN Y
11
.
hold resi stan ce to l aw there b y end an ger in g the publi c s afety and e n c o ur
agin g rebel lion an d sedition in thi s coun try an d respectfully reco m m end
th at step s be taken w hereby the n ui sance m ay be re m oved Signed O we n
C Stewart fore m an — ( K C p
A co m m i ttee o f the Ci tizen s o f Lawren ce and vicin ity in thei r m e m ori al
to the P residen t Of the Un ited States d ated May 22 A D 1 8 5 6 co m m ent
at so m e l ength o n t h e course and conduct o f the m arsh al at this j u n cture
( K C p 2 9 et seq )
A t thi s ti m e th e re were in the territory m any hundreds o f m e n who h ad
en tered i t in org anized co m pani es fro m south ern States actuated by an
avowed political purpose an d pr ocl ai m in g a deadly hos tility to the town o f
L awrence These m e n were i m m ediately en rolled in the m arshal s posse
and suppl ied by the governor wi th ar m s bel onging to t h e United Sta t es and
intended fo r the territori al m ilitia Thi s posse o f the m arshal was further
in creased by accessions fro m the neighborin g State o f Missouri and sup
plie d fro m t h e sa m e source wi th several pieces O f artillery C a m p s were
for m ed at di fferent poin ts al ong the highways and o n the K an sas river and
pe aceful travellers s ubjected t o deten tion robbery an d insul t M e n w ere
stopped in the stree ts a nd o n the open prairie and h idde n to stand and de
l i ver thei r purses at the peri l O f their live s cattl e provi sion s ar m s and
o ther property were taken wherev e r foun d w i thout con sent of the owners
m e n were choked fro m their horses which were seized by the m arauders
an d houses were broken Open and pillaged Of their contents R esistance t o
these outrages was follo w ed by further viol e nce and in so m e cases by the
m ost wan ton and brutal sacri fi ce o f life
The passage o f the United States
m ail wa s frequen tly i nterr u pted and exa m ination s m ade in de fi an ce o f l aw
In the border co u n tie s o f Missouri C itizens O f La w rence were seized with
o u t w arrant conveyed to the various ca m ps and there s u bjected to de t e n
tion and unl awful trial acco m p an ied by thre ats of i m m ediate deat h — ( K
pp 2 9 an d
E viden ce th us daily stren gthened th at La w ren ce was a doo m ed Ci ty
Hoping however again st ho pe t h e Citizens held a publi c m eetin g and in
structed a co m m i ttee t o advi se the governor as t hey did by letter that
they “ have the m os t reliable infor m ation o f the organization o f guerilla
“
b ands w h o threaten the destruction O f o u r town and its Citizens and to cal l
upon h i m i n the n a m e Of the peopl e Of Lawrence fo r protection agai ns t s uch
b ands by th e Un ited States troops at hi s di sposal ” The gover n or replied :
“
There i s n o force aro und o r approachin g Lawrence except the l egally
con sti tute d pos se o f the United States m arshal and sheri ff Of D o u gl as
co unty I sh all in n o way inter fere with either o f these o ffi cers in the
di scharge o f thei r o ffi cial d uties If the Ci tizens o f La w rence sub m i t the m
selves to the territorial laws and aid and as si st the m arshal s and sheri ff
in the exe cution o f proces s in their hands as all good ci tizen s are bound
to do when called o n they o r all such w ill entitle the m sel ves to the pro
B ut so long as they keep up a m ilitary or ar m ed organ i
t e c t io n O f the l aw
z at io n t o resist the territori al l aws and the O ffi cers Charged with their exe
c u t io n I shall n o t interpose t o save t he m fro m the l egiti m ate consequences
The above Charges were by the C i t i
o f thei r illegal act s — ( K
C p
zen s in p ubli c m eeting asse m bled May 1 3 1 8 5 6 pronoun ced untrue
The l aws here alluded to by G overnor Shannon and also re ferred to by
J udge Le co m pte in hi s Ch a rge to the grand j ury are thus characterized by
the congression al i n vestigating co m m ittee speaking of t h e general asse m
bly w h o en acted the m they say
A leg i s
Y o ur co m m itt ee do n ot regard thei r en actm ents as val id l aws
S uch
l at ure thu s im posed u pon a peopl e can not e ffect their pol itical ri gh ts
an atte m pt if su ccess ful i s virtually an overthr o w of the organ i c l a w and
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12
C OM PAN
EN GLAN D EMI GRAN T A I D
N EW
Y
.
reduces the people of t h e Terri tory t o the condi tio n o f v as al s t o a neigh b o r
ing state ”— ( K A p
Thi s co m m ittee in an other port i on of the i r rep ort
“ This invasion i s the
re m ark
fi rst an d only o ne in t h e h i story o f o u r go v
a
d
n
m
o
e
by
hich
an
organized
orce
f
ro
State
has
electe
a
le
i
sl
f
w
e rnm e nt
g
ture fo r an othe r Stat e o r Territory and as such i t should have b een re smt e d
by the w hole e xecutive power o f the nation al gove rn m ent It i s not to b e
tolerated that a legisl ative body thus sel ected should ass u m e o r e x erc i se
any legisl ative functions and their enactm ents sho uld b e regarded as n ul l an d
void N or should the question o f its legal exis te nce as a l e si sl at i v e body
be deter m ine d by itsel f as that w ould be allow in g the cri m in al t o j udge o f
hi s ow n cri m e ” — ( K A p
Any on e w h o w ill gl an ce at the m assi ve bulk o f l a w s en acted an d b e a r in
m in d the li m ited period o f the session and the local an d S peci al busine ss
tran sacte d w ill see the utter im possibility O f these gen e ral l aw s h avin g been
concocted digested deliberately dis cussed reg ul arly passed each its sev
eral readings and duly en acted ti m e would n ot allo w o f i t The truth i s
they w ere taken in m ass v erbatim ci lit erat im fro m the Mi s souri code an d
put upon their passage so h astily that the nece ssity o f any al teration of
phraseol ogy escaped attention until near the close o f the session w hen it
w as found necessary i n order t o e scape the dile mm a t o ass spe ci fi c acts t o
p
de fine the m eaning o f certai n words an d phrases ; e
that w here the
“
”
State occurred Territ ory was m e ant ; that t h e phrase coun ty
w ord
court” sh all be construed to m ean according t o the C ircu m stan c es ei the r
“
the boa rd O f co m m issioners tran sacting county busines s o r the p robate
courts ”
The congression al co m m ittee further say : “By the ter m s o f these l aw s
the people have no con t rol whatever over ei ther the leg isl ative the e xe cu
tive or the j udicial depart m en t s o f the terri torial govern m ent u ntil a
ti m e before whi ch by the n atural progress o f popul at ion the territorial
govern m en t will be superseded by a State govern m en t Any m an o f
proper age w h o was in the Terri tory o n the day o f election an d w h o h ad
p aid on e dollar as a ta x to the sheri ff could vote as an i nh abitari t ’ al t h Oug h
he had b reak fasted i n Missouri and intended t o return there for suppe r ”
“
Th e slave code an d every provision rel ating t o sl aves are O f a c haracter
intoleran t and un usual even fo r th at Class O f leg isl ation ” Every candi
date for the l egisl ature every te rri t orial o flic e r ele cted o r appoin ted every
attorney ad m itted t o practice i n the courts every j udge o f election and
every v oter challenged w as required to s w ear to support the fugitive sl ave
l aw and this t oo although by the “ organic act ” al l v ot ers other w ise qual i
fi e d w ere authori z ed t o vote even if they would n o t take the o ath a b ove
“
m entioned
There can be n o doubt th at these un u sual and u nco nst it u
t i o nal provisions were inserted t o preven t a full and fair e x pre ssion o f the
popular w ill i n the election o f m e m bers o f the house o r t o contro l i t by
”
n o n residents
( K A pp 4 3 and
Such w ere t h e c h arac t e r and so m e o f the provision s o f the l a w s fo r an
e xpre ssm n o f O p i nion adverse t o w h ich not fo r a resistan ce t h e re to the
gover nor refused pro t ection to C itizens pl eading fo r it an d a re c kle ss rabble
threatened to l ay w aste their pro perty and to sa cri fi ce thei r l ives
The character and co n duct O f the m e n appointed t o hol d O ffice in the Ter
ri t o ry contr i buted very m uch to produce the events w hi c h fol l o w ed
Thus
e
n
v
he h ad
po nt e d sher ff t the C O l l nt y o f D ougl as
nip
p ] r se p zcgfis5 o nox i o us 0 Otii e 3 ettl ers by h i s cond uc t pre
A p 44 9
The long threaten ed in vasi on havin g beco m e m o re ful l y developed ,
another publ i c m eet i n g asse m bled at Lawrence at w hich G W D ietz ler
no w so va l i antly fi ght i ng fo r the sal vation o f the Union presided
and a
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E N G LAN D EMI GRAN T
N EW
AI D
C
,
OM PAN Y
13
.
letter h e aring date M ay 1 4 1 8 5 6 w as addressed to the Uni ted Sta t es
m arsh al D on el son advising h im “ that l arge b odies o f ar m ed m e n in p ur
su an c e o f your procl a m at ion h ave as se m bl ed in the vi ci n ity o f Lawren ce ”
and that they Openly de cl are their i ntention i s to des troy the town and
dri ve o ff the ci tizen s They “ ask prote c t ion o f the co nsti t uted authorities
”
“
O f the govern m en t
h
m
de claring t e selve s to be o rde r l o v ing an d l aw
abiding Citizen s an d only await an oppo rtunity to testify their fi del ity to
the l a w s o f the country the C on stitution and the Unio n
They respect
fully inquire “ the de m a nds agai n st the m and decl are their “ readiness to
” “
C O Operate
fo r the m ai nten ance o f the peace order and quiet O f the c o m
m unity — ( K C p
To this a very derisive an d insul ting reply i s m ade by the m arshal o u t h e
following day — ( V ide K C p 3 2 9 t se q ) Although the signers wer e
“
m
o
f
so e
the earliest settlers he s ays fro m your professed ignoran ce O f the
de m an ds again st y o u I m ust conclude you are strangers and no t Citizens
“
o f Lawren ce
or o f re cent date o r been abse n t for so m e ti m e
Y our
de cl aratio n that you will tru th fully and earn estly O ffer n o Op position n o w
n or at any future ti m e to the e x ecut ion o f any legal process ’ &c is indeed
di ffi cu lt t o u nderstand May I ask gentle m en what has produced this w o n
de rful Change in the m in ds Of the people o f Lawren ce ? Have their eye s
b een s udden ly Opened so that they are now able to see that there are l a w s
i n force in K an sas Territory which should be obeyed ? O r i t m ay possibly
be that y o u no w as heretofore expect to screen yourselves behind the
w ord legal so signi fi cantly used by you
Surely you m us t be stra ngers at
L awrence 1 After re iterating o ft refuted C harge s he closes with the de c l a
“
n
r atio th at al l person s i n K an sas Territory w ithout regard t d j l o c at io n who
hon es tly sub m it to the cons tituted authorities wi ll ever fi nd m e ready t o
aid i n prote cting the m an d all who seek to resist t h e laws o f the l and and
turn traitors to their country will fin d m e aidin g in en forcing the laws if
n ot as an O ffi cer as a Citizen
The ar m ed force s till in cre asing and beco m ing m ore m inatory in i ts action
an other letter was o n the 1 7 t h O f May addressed t o the m arshal by a c o m
m it t e e of the Ci tizen s calling hi s attention to the depredations being daily
co m m itted in the vi c ini ty O f La w ren ce and to G overnor Shannon s state m ent
“
th at there are n o ar m ed forces in the vicinity b ut the regularly con stituted
m ilitia of the
asking h im if he recognized the m as hi s posse
an d fel t respon si bl e fo r t h eir a c ts ; if not expre ssing a hope and trust that
3 4 and
h e woul d preven t a repeti tion o f their act s — ( K
TO this n o respon se was ever m ade
The sam e day the Messrs E ldr i dge
l e s sees o f the hotel sen t an appl ication to t h e govern or to protect i t
”
“
against the de struction threatened by the m o b in the m arshal s posse
A verbal reply was sent by the governor “ expressing regret that th e pro
prie t o rs h ad taken possession and giving so m e encourage m e n t for i ts pro
O n the su b sequent day the lessees had a personal intervi e w W i th
t e c t io n ”
“
the governor and m ars h al both o f who m see m ed d isposed to accord the
p rote ction need ful ”
As a furth er evidence o f the peace ful disposition o f the citizens a c o m m u
n ic at io n was at this in tervie w pr ese n ted to the O ffi cials setting forth t h at
“
havin g le arned that your reaso n fo r as se m bling so large a force i n the
vicin ity o f o ur town t o ac t as a posse in the en force m en t Of the la w s re sts
u pon the suppositio n that we are ar m ed again st the law s we would say w e
hol d our ar m s only fo r o ur o w n in dividual defe nce again st V i olence and no t
ag ai ns t the l a w s o r the o ffi cers in the e x ecutio n O f the sa m e ; t h ere fore
h a ving no further use for the m when our protection i s other w i se secure d
w e propose t o deliver ou r arm s to Co l S u m ner so soo n as he shall quarter
i n o ur to w n a body O f troop s s u ffi cien t for o ur protection t o be reta i ned by
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14
EN G LAN D EMI GRAN T AI D
N EW
C
OM PAN Y
.
Th i s
as l ong a s su ch force shall re m ain a m ong us
(K C p
“
see m ed s ati sfactory and the m arsh al gave posi t i ve ass uran ce o f pro t e c
“
a
tion t o the property of the Ci tizen s
But i t w s added t hat a p ort i o n O f
the posse was Cla m orous for the destr u ction Of the hotel and the p r i nt i ng
O ffi ce s” To afford ti m e to con sul t the captain s the Mes srs E ld r i dge were
in vited t o renew the interview o n the succeedin g day A t the rene w al it
was announced that the posse would n o t be sati s fi ed withou t so m e de st ruc
tion o f private property an d that the deter m in atio n w as s o s trong the
The aid o f the Ci tizen s if fu rn i she d
m arshal would not be able to re sist it
w ith weapons w as pro f
He de clin ed it upon
fered and pledged the m arshal
“
the plea o f a de fi ciency of ar m s
O ne o f the captai ns Titus o f Florid a a
m e m ber O f the l awless C uban ex pedi t ion and m ore recen tly an Arizon a
secessioni st decl ared boldly th at the printin g pres se s m u st be de stroye d
to satis fy the boys fro m South C arolin a
Bu t p ro m ises t o pro tect the hote l
“
were again m ade ; an d the m arshal gave hi s pledge that if no resi stance
were offere d he would enter the town with a s mal l posse Of un ar m ed m e n
and that the re m ainder sho uld not be ad m itted He al so further pro m ised
not to dis m iss the m i n the vi cin ity o f the town — ( K C p
N otwi t hstanding the repeated pro m i ses m ade h aving so m e m i sgivin gs
as to the future the Messrs E ldridge again sought the ti m ely i nterference
Of the governor He however resist e d all i m portun iti es an d abrup tly le ft
the roo m under m uch excite m ent
“
2o
h
f
t
o
O n the
May D epu t y M arshal W P Train fro m C al houn Ga
vi sited the town and in con versation wi th a Ci tizen exp resse d the belief
that the printing presses would be destroyed but that the E ldridge House
( or Free State Hotel ) would be spared — ( K C p
O n the 2 1 st Of May the day of destruction Trai n agai n entered tow n
with a s m all p osse which o n su m m o n s at the E ldridge Ho use w as pro m ptl y
increased by the addition o f the proprietors and o ther Citiz en s A s bu t
two arr ests were m ade the pres u m ption i s tha t the m o ve m en t w as pl anned
under the expectation that the citizens would d i sregard the su m m on s the
m arshal there by beco m e absolved fro m hi s pl edge and the way t h u s Open ed
for the con su m m ation o f the proj ected iniquito us proceedi n gs If so i t
proved a s ign al failure
O n the m orning of the even tful day the crowd gathered o n the hill i n the
rear o f Lawren ce fi rs t displ ayed a white flag “ w hich soon gave pl ace t o a
red o n e This e m ble m woul d have in cited the citizen s to res istan ce but for
the known fac t that the force was co m m an ded by a Un ited S tates O ffi cer
( whose ple dge of protection had bee n given ) and ar m ed w ith n ation al
w eapons — ( K C p
In the course o f the day the m arshal s posse re turned to ca m p V h e re
upon C olonel Topl i ff of Lawrence repai red thither to d el iver t o the m ar
shal a co m m un i cation signed by the Co m m i tt ee O f P ublic Sa fety a t the
head of wh i ch co m m i ttee w as G eneral ( n ow Uni ted States Sen ator ) Sa m uel
C P o m eroy w h o with his seven assoc iate s still re m ai n true to
t h e Un ion
i n council o r in the fi e l d whil st a large proportion o f t h e ini m ical l eader s
long sm c e joined the forces o f rebeldo m and are no w as they were then
warr i n g against the Con stitution and the laws o f the country
“
n th i s co m m uni cation they set forth
W e represent Ci tizen s o f the
Ii
Un ted States an d o f K ans as w h o acknowledge the con sti tuted au thori ties
Of the govern m ent ; w e m ake no resistan ce to t h e execution O f the l aws
n ati onal o r terr i torial an d w e ask protection o f the govern m ent an d Clai m
I t as l aw ab i d i ng A m eri can ci t izen s
For t h e pri vate property al r eady taken
by y our posse we ask inde m ni fi cation and w hat re m ain s t o us an d our cit
i z e n s we throw u pon
y o u fo r protection trusting that un der the flag o f o ur
”—
h im
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N EW
EN G L AN D EMI GRAN T
AID
C
OM PAN Y
l5
.
Union an d w i thi n the fo l ds o f the cons titution we m ay obtain safety ”
p
(K
Th i e fl o rt t o appease an i m pl acable ene m y w as as nugatory as the various
s
preced i ng one s A t three o ’ clock p m Sheri ff and Actin g D eputy M arshal
Sa m uel J Jones entere d th e town at the head of a l ar g e body o f ar m ed m e n
an d took posi tion i n fron t o f th e hotel and i n the n a m e of the l aw de m anded
o f an d re c e iv e d fro m t h e C o m m ittee o f Safety a s u rre n der o f the r ifl e and
cann on whi ch h avin g been obtain ed an d receip ted for offi ci all y he announced
that the hotel a nd pri nting o ffi ces m us t be des troyed The so cal led posse
con tin ued to po um nt o L aw ren ce bearing nu m erous flags conspi cuou s a m ong
w hich w ere these viz
So u th C arolin a
another h avi n g the
o n e m ark ed
“
m otto
S u periori ty o f the whi te ra c e
o ne bore the stripes of t h e n ation al
flag a t ig e r be ing s ub sti tuted in the pl ace o f the Union another had al
tern ate bl ack and wh ite stri pes The hotel was entered the red flag w as
hoisted u pon its roo f an d the occupants were warned to leave by Jones
w h o at a q uarter past three decl ared it shoul d be de m ol ished at fi v e
o clock p m At the appoin ted hour the n efario us work o f de m olition c o m
m e n c e d under the i m m edi ate supervision o f Jones by his posse co nsisti n g
o f Mi ssouri an s C arolini an s
G eorgian s and Al aba m ians who w ere m ostly
ar m ed w i t h M is sissippi rifles and bayon ets belonging t o the United State s
and revol vers a nd bo w ie kni ves E fforts were fi rst m ade to b atter dow n
the stru cture by ball s discharged fro m canno n pl aced opposi te its fron t and
Thi s
D avid R A tchiso n has the discredi t of havin g a im ed the fi rst shot
course proving un availing an atte m pt was m ade t o blow i t up bu t with no
be tter s uccess so substan ti ally an d work m anlike w as i t b u il t Jones then
ordered the i nterior to be set o n fi re and w hil st the fla m es were raging
Jones exul tingly excl ai m ed
Th i s i s t h e happiest hour o f m y li fe
W he n
the fi n al doo m o f the hotel and pri nting o fli ce s was pronounced i t w as s aid
by the o fli c ials t o be by order o f the govern m e n t as the grand j ury o f
The only
D ougl as county h ad d irected the m to be re m oved as n uis ances
charge again s t the hotel was i ts own ership by the N e w E ngl and E m igrant
The hotel h aving bee n b u rnt the m o b co m m enced an i ndi s
Aid C o m pany
cri m in ate pl under an d des tr ucti n o f the conten ts o f houses and store s and
e ven robbed wo m en o f their clothi ng and o ffered in sul ts to their persons
The h avo c conti n ued un til n ig h t set in and the l oss t h us inflicted u pon the
inh abitan ts was e sti m ated at
M arsh al D onelson thoug h no t present at the scene w as evidently and is
He aided and abet t ed
in the eyes o f the l aw guilty as an acco m plice
“
a m ong other ways by noti fyin g the posse that he had got through w ith
the m but th at Sh e rifl Jo ne s had so m e processes to ser ve and that they would
”—
i
h
m
hold the m sel ves in readiness to go with
( Ph ill ips s Con quest o f
K an sas p 2 9 2 Bo ston
“
To e vade t h e pledge given by th e m arsh al th at he woul d n ot let his
po sse en ter Law rence they were disba nded by h im after the arrests were
The next day t h ey were
m ade and en rolled as a sheri ff s posse by Jones
”—
m
a
f
again enrolled as the posse o the
rshal
p
(K
The in ves tigating c o m m i ttee o f 1 8 5 6 who were i n K an sas at the t i m e o f
the destruction o f the hotel and w h o indeed a short ti m e previou sly hel d
t hei r o fli c ial m eetin gs in i t m ake the following state m ent as to the l aw
lessnes s that bore s w ay an d as t o the character o f Sh e rl ff Jones
Speaking o f the fi rs t La w ren ce invasion they say : Am ong the m any
acts o f l a w le ss violen ce which it has been the duty o f yo ur co m m i ttee to m
A co m par i son
v e st ig a t e thi s i n vasion o f La w rence i s the m ost de fenceless
f the o fli ce rs o f govern ment
o f the facts proven with the o fli c ia l state m ents o
A c om
w il l sho w h o w groun dle ss w ere the prete x ts wh i ch gave r i se to It
m un ity in w hi ch no cri m e had b een c o m m l t t e d by any o f i ts m e m bers
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16
N EW
E N GL AN D EMI GR AN T
C OM PAN
AID
Y:
again s t none had a warran t bee n i ssued o r a co m pl aint m ade wh o h ad re
sisted no process in the hands o f a real or p r e tended o ffi ce r was thre aten ed
with destruction in the n am e of l aw and order an d th at t o o by m e n who
m arched fro m a neighboring State w ith ar m s ob t ain ed by for ce and w h o at
every stage of their progress violated m any la w s an d a m ong others the
—
s
m
e
n
t
n
d
a
m
e
4
f
on
stitutio
the
Uni
ted
Sta
es
Arti
cle
o
the
t
n of
C
J (K : A
&
“
p
The chi e f g uilt m ust res t o n Sa m uel J Jones H IS ch aracter i s 1 1
l ustrat e d by h is l an g uage at Leco m pton He s ai d Majors Cl ark and Burn s
both cl ai m ed t h e credit of kill in g that da m ned aboli tionis t &Tho m a s B a r
ber a highly e stee m ed citizen who was m urdered in cold blood o n the hig h
way whil st peacefully proceeding un ar m e d fro m La w re nce to h I S cl a i m )
He conti nued : If Shannon hadn t been a da m ned old fool pe ace wo ul d
n ever have been decl ared He would have wi ped Lawrence o u t He ha d
—
N u m erous i nstan ce s o f
m e n an d m ean s e nough to do
(K A p
hi s cruel ty destruc t iveness an d bloody m i ndedn es s m ay be foun d a m on g
the testi m ony appended to the report fro m which the above q uo tation i s
extracted
A gain t h e co m m ittee after detailing variou s unl awful acts ag ain st per
son s and property w hich ca m e un der their di rect observatio n co m m i tted by
“
persons confessedly citizens of Missouri wh o m arched i nto t h e Te rrit o ry
on forays again st i ts citizens “ the only o ffence ch arged again st the m ”
being “ their pol itical Opinions the co m m ittee say : “ R esi stan ce w as n ot
m ade to these l awless acts by the settlers becau se in t h ei r opini o n the
persons engaged in the m would have been sustained and re enforced by the
citizens o f the populous border counties o f Misso u ri fro m when ce they were
only separated by the river — ( K A p
“
W hile we re m ai ned in the Territory repeated acts of outrage were c o m
m it t e d upon quiet u n o fl e n ding citizens of which we received authenti c in
t e llig e nc e
Men were attacked in the highway robb ed an d s ubsequentl y
i m prisoned ; others wer e seized an d sear c hed a nd thei r weapon s o f defen ce
take n fro m the m without co m pensation Horses were freq uen tly taken an d
appropriated O xen w ere taken fro m the y oke while ploughing and b utch
ered i n the presence of their owners O ne youn g m an ( a m ini ster ) was
seized i n the streets o f the town o f Atchi son and under circu m stan ces o f
gross b arbarity was t arred and cottoned and i n th at c o n di tion was
sent to his fa m ily All the provi sion s o f t h e C on stitution of the Un i ted
States securing persons and property were utterly di sreg arded
The
o ffi cers of the l aw inste ad o f pro tecting the people in so m e i ns tan ce s
were engaged in these outrages ; and in no instan ce did we learn that any
m an was arrested indicted o r pu nished fo r any of these cri m es
W hil e
such o ffen ces were co m m itted w ith i m punity the l aws w ere used as a
m eans o f indi cting m e n for holding election s prel im inary to fra m ing a
con stit u tion and applyin g fo r ad m ission i nto the Union as the Stat e o f
K ansas
C harges o f high treason w ere m ade against pro m inent citizen s
upon grounds which see m to your co m m ittee abs urd an d ridiculous In
several cases m e n were arrested in the State o f Missouri while p as sing o n
their l awfu l business through that State and de t ained un til in dict m ents
could be foun d in the Territory These proceedings were followed by an
o fi e n ce o f still greater m agnitude
Under color o f legal proces s a co m p any
o f about seven hundred ar m ed m e n the great body o f who m your co
m m ittee
are sati s fied were n ot citizen s o f the Territory were m arched in to the tow n
o f Lawren ce un der Marshal D onelson and Sh e rifl Jone s o fli c e rs cl ai m in g
to act un der the law and then bo m barded and burned to the ground a
v al uable hotel and one private house destroyed t w o printing presses
and
m aterial and the n being release d by the o ffi cers whose posse they cl ai m e d
t o be proceeded to sack pillage an d rob houses stores trun k s & c even to
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18
EMI GRAN T
EN GL AN D
N EW
C OM
AID
PAN Y
.
sin ce Janu ary A D 1 8 5 5 a reside n t in Lawren ce K an s as ; that } h ave b9 9 0
fo r a nu m ber o f years pas t exten sively engaged I n hotel ke e pl ng S tag i n
M
ay A g
f
o
1
t
2
s
n
o
and
was
thus
e
gaged
at
Lawre
ce
afores
a
i
d
the
n
n
&c
1 85 6 ; th at in the year 1 85 5 th rough t h e represen tat i on s Of w yse if a n
others the N e w E ngl and E m igran t Aid C o m pa ny was i n duced to erect 1
said Lawren ce a l arge co m m odious and well fi ni sh e d hotel at an est i m ate 3
cost of twenty fi v e tho u sand doll ars su it e d t o the w an t s o f the tra v ell i n g
public and e m braci ng the ordin ary conve ni ences O f h o t e l s i n the e ast e ri
cities — such a h otel bein g then i m perati vely req u i red by t h e l n fl ux 0 }
strangers an d i m m igrants there not bein g sulfi m e n t acco mm od at i on s any
where wi thin K ansas
Bein g fully aware o f th i s cond i t i on o f affa i rs
bel ieving that a good b u siness opening was th u s presented at Lawren ce
an d anxio u s to see K an sas rapidly settle u p and i m prove I appl i ed m ysel f
to secure the enterprise above re ferred t o and con tracte d for an d l eased s a i d
hotel with i ts appurten ances barn s stables fi xtures & c o n favorable an d
pro fi table t er m s for t h e period of fi v e years fro m the t i m e that I co uld take
possession and occupy the sa m e
That in the m onths o f N ove m ber and D ece m ber A D 1 85 5 occurred wh at
“
i s known as the W akarusa war ; ” during w hich t h e l ives prope rty an d
personal righ t s o f the citizen s o f Lawren ce an d V i c i n i ty were su bj e cted t o
the control and were ex posed t o an d su ffered fro m the V i olen ce o f bod i es o f
ar m ed m e n called forth and kep t i n servi ce by person s hold i n g o ffi c i al pos i ti o n
an d exerci si ng arbitrary power in the then Territory Of K an s as
The l awles s
acts o f these m e n retarded t h e co m pletion o f the hotel unt i l May A D 1 85 6
o n o r about the fi rst day o f w hi ch I took possession and co m m en ced the oc o n
p ancy o f the pre m ises O n t h e 2 1 st o f May in the ye ar aforesa i d t h e hotel
w as thrown open t o the p ubli c ; o n w hich occasion Un i ted State s Mar sh a l
D on aldson ; Sheri ff Jones o f D ougl as county K an sas ; D av i d R Atch i so n e x
United States senator fro m M issouri of wh ich State he was then a res i dent ;
C olonel Titu s o f Florida and other associates o f the sheri ff dined there
The afternoon o f the sam e day sai d h otel was attacked by an ar m ed m o b
dig ni fi ed by the n a m e o f a sheriff’ s posse n u m bering as n early as I c an
esti m ate 6 0 0 o r 7 0 0 m e n under the leadership and co mm and o f S a m u el J
Jones w h o cl ai m ed to be a deputy United States m arsh al an d w h o d e
c l are d he h ad authority fro m the Un ited States district court o f the fi rs t
distri ct to de m olish and destroy said hotel About hal f pas t thr ee O cl o ck
in t h e afternoon o f said day the town o f Lawren ce being then fi lled by said
body o f ar m ed m e n m o b o r posse I w as fi rs t noti fi ed by said o ffi cer o f hi s
intention to destroy and de m olish said hotel as an aboli tioni st n u is a n ce
and that I m ust m ove o u t w ith m y fa m ily an d property before fi v e o cl ock
o f said day o r the sa m e woul d be totally burned an d destroyed
I w as
t h u s allowed but o ne hour and a h alf t o provide fo r m fa m ily and re m ove
y
thousands o f dollars w orth o f property fro m a bui l din g desti ne d to the
flam es by m ean s o f an excite d drunken and infuri ated crowd Of ar m e d
m iscreants
N O assistan c e could be Obtaine d an d t h e re m oval o f the prop
e rt y be ca m e i m possi ble
I h ad barely ti m e to p rocure co nveyances for
m y fa m ily an d to gather up a fe w articles O f wearing apparel before a can
no n w as pl anted i n front o f the hotel and the ruthles s w ork
o f de struction
co m m en ced It n o t being s afe to re m ain a m o m ent longer I at the peril
o f m y life and a m id danger to m
y fa m ily drove away p assin g th rough
t he crowd a part o f w ho m was busily engaged i n de m ol ishing the hotel
and printin g o fli c e s while others were occupied in sacking and pl underin g
the dwel ling houses and stores o f Lawrence
A hos t ile feeling toward s
every residen t o f t h e town actuated the di sorderly and inebriated posse
and the aid t h at I m ight other w i se h ave relied upon was by threats an d
fears w ith h eld
Havin g left m y fa m ily fo r sa fety ten m i le s distan t I o n
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N EW
EMI GRAN T
EN GL AND
AID
C
OM PAN Y
19
.
‘
t h e followi ng d ay we nt b ack to Lawre n ce
The road l ea ding to Missour i
w a s fi lled w ith the debauched rioters retur ning fro m the ir w ork o f des truo
O n m y arrival I fou nd the hotel a m ass o f s m oking ru ins
t i on
T h is
w anton , in cen diary ac t was pe rpetrated by a m o b pri n cipally co m posed o f
m e n fro m the States O f G eorgi a , Alaba m a , South C arolin a , and M is souri ,
a cting as a m arsh a l an d sheri ff’ s p os se , and i nstigated thereto by its o fli
c ial le ader Sheri ff Sa m uel J Jone s , al ready spoken o f, who , the w hile , was
This i s the happies t day o f m y li fe l”
rid in g t o and fro , excl ai m in g ,
I further m ore testi fy and de cl are that so m e ti m e before thes e acts O f v io
l en ce were co m m i tted , threats w ere freque n tl y u ttered by i ndi vid ual and
“
the Free State Hotel shoul d be de
r ov in g b an d s Of pro sl av e ry it e s, that
”
La w ren ce shoul d be w iped o u t , ”
&c
m o l ish e d,
Such w as l ong the thre atening aspect o f affairs that the ci tiz en s o f L aw
ren ce hel d p ubli c m ee tings , and , by lett ers and co m m ittees , call ed the
’
overnor
s atten tion thereto , and solici ted protection fro m h i m , which w as
g
“
efused
h
e
ecl
aring
there i s n o force ar m ed o r approachin g Lawrence ,
d
r
,
f
e x cep t the l egally con sti tuted posse o f the United S tates m arshal and sheri f
I shall in n o w ay inter fere wit h e ither o f these o ffi cers
o f D ougl as co un ty
.
'
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the O ffi cial di scharge of their du ties
F or m al appeals were also m ade by co m m i ttees in be h alf of the citizens
t o M arshal D onal ds on b ut w ith n o better success
I fu rther m ore testify and declare that o n the 1 7 t h d ay o f May in t h e ye ar
aforesaid I sent a co m m unication t o the govern or asking protection fo r th e
h o tel again st t h e destr u ctio n threatened by t h e m o b in the m arshal s po sse
A verbal reply w a s recei ved expre ssing regret that I had taken possession
O n th e
o f the hotel an d gi ving so m e en courage m ent fo r i ts protection
following day ( May 1 8 t h ) I had a person al inter v iew with the governor
The l atter gave a positi ve pro m ise o f prote c tio n i f n o resist
a n d m arsh al
a n ce were O ffered hi s force but added as a portion o f the posse was cla m or
o u s fo r the destruc t ion o f the hotel a n d the pri n tin g o fii ce s he wished ti m e
I there fore departed and on
t o con sul t w i th the captains o f the co m panies
the s ucceedin g d ay ( May 1 9 t h ) I renewed m y visit when I foun d a great
ial s
I w as
c h ange i n the m a nner be ari ng and l an g uage o f the two O fli c
i n for m ed that the co m p anies constitu t ing t h e posse would b e satis fi ed with
As a l ast resort I
n othin g short o f s o m e destruction o f pri vate p roperty
h
t
e
m
ade
an
ther
appeal
the
governor
he
dis
clai
ed
all
author
i
ty
over
t
o
o
m
’
f
fi
force Of the m ars h al an d stated he s h oul d no t interfere with that O cer s
l
um n e r s i o rc e fo r the proteo
n
C
o
S
pe
ration
s
was
solicited
su
mm
o
t
o
H
e
o
ti on o f the property b ut p ere m ptorily refused ; and upon i ts be i n g represented
m m i tti ng unl aw ful
h
a
d
th
at
the
arshal
s
posse
resol
ved
upon
co
m
i
m
o
h
t
outrages i n L a w ren ce he repl ied the people O f L aw ren ce m us t take such
on seq uen ces as s h oul d ensue ; that he co uld protect t h e m by the Un i ted
c
d that s u ch outrages as
W
tate
s
troops
should
not
do
so
hen
tol
b
u
t
S
o f re si stance a nd pre
en
aced
wo
ld
ally
adden
the
people
to
the
po
i
nt
m
fi
n
u
m
the horrors of a ci vil war he turned angr i ly away and qu i t the
c ipit at e
W ar the n it is by G od ”
room e x cl ai m in g
i o n and fro m the
f
re
ul
t
flo
in
g
ro
this
re
usal
o
sol
i
c
i
ted
protect
f
m
f
w
s
Th e
n tal o ffi c i al s I have already
m
n
ti
c
pat
d
s
ubseq
e
t
procedure
govern
e
f
o
n
u
i
e
a
d e t ail e d
s W E LD R ID G E
”
in
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S w orn
1 863
'
a nd
s u bscribed before
me
Of
this si x teenth day
N
.
CALL AN
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,
J
.
F
e
P
.
bruary
&su
,
n
A D
.
]
.
20
EMI GRAN T
EN GL AND
N EW
D
C OM PAN
AID
Y
.
.
Testim ony in th e m atter of t h e m em o rial of th e N ew E ngl and E m igrant Aid
Compan y for inde m nity f or th e de structio n of th e F ree St ate H o tel , at L aw
1 85 6
re nce , K ansas, M ay 2 1 , A D
.
D ISTRI CT
.
.
CO L U M B I A, W ash ington ,
OF
83 :
Before m e this d ay personally appeared Sam uel C P o m eroy who b ein g
duly sworn testi fied as follows
I Sam uel C Po m eroy o f Atchison in the county o f Atchi son and State
’
’
5
5
an
d
5 6 I was
4
1
8
5
o f K ansas testify and declare that in the ye ars
interested and en g aged in the Operation s O f th e N e w E n gl an d E m igrant
Aid Co m pany whose purpose s as se t forth in thei r charter were t o direct
emigration westward and aid in providing acco m m o d ation s for the e m igrants
after arriving at their places O f destin ation These were the s o le objects
O f thi s body corporate a nd to the best of m y kn owledge an d belie f t o these
legiti m ate pursu its its m ove m en ts were con fi ned 1 took charge Of and
conducted t o K an sas one o f the earl ie s t o f the n um ero us e m igran t parties
which availed of the advantages O ffered by thi s co m pany n a m ely reduced
price Of travel fi rst class cars ; a conducting agen t t o see t o the co m fort of
all and protect the m fro m i m position o n the route ; a receivin g agent t o
take charge O f them at their point Of di se m b arkation K an sa s C ity Mis
souri near the t errit ori al line ; t o advise the m wh ere t o locate in the Terri
tory and direct or acco m pany the m thi ther I had an o fli ce at fi rst in the
A m erican Hotel at K an sas City and subsequen tly an addition al o ne at Law
rence the fi rst settle m en t m ade by the co m pany within K an sas Territory
My location and o fi c ial position brought m e in to dire ct co m m un i cation s with
the several parties at the t i m e of or soon after their arrival ou t and I sub
sequently saw m u c h O f the m during m y various journeying s t o and fro m
a m o ng the various settle m en ts fro m ti m e to ti m e e stabli shed an d I deliber
ately declare that a m ore industrious peaceably disposed order loving
l aw ab i d i ng people than they are not t o be found They were bound by n o
pledges and were un der n o obligations save those whi ch e very good citi
zen, fo r h i s own benefi t and that o f all owes to the co mm un ity wherein he
res i des— to his country and the great fa m ily O f m ankind There were no
paupers no o fl l sc q uring s of prison s n o bought m e n a m ongst the m as w as as
se rt e d and i ndustriously circul ated by the ene
m ies o f the m ove m en t t o cre
ate a prejudice and excite an opposition t o it
I w as the fi nan cial agent O f the co m pany and as s uch m ade p urchases
O f m i l ls saw and grist whi ch w ere put up
fo r the bene fi t o f the settle
m ents
I al so purchased fo r the co m p any the hotel already spoke n O f at
K an sas C i ty ; the an i m osity against the n ew co m ers
so greatly and rapidly
i n c re asm
g I t was dee m ed advisable t o secure the con trol o f suitable pre m i
se s for the i r te m p o rary conven ien ce accomm od ation s bein g else where re
fu sed the m o r allowed only subj ect to va i ious indignities
A ll o f the e m i
grants w ere characterized as abol itioni sts a te r m w hich by general acc e p
t at i o n
was considered the vile st epithet that could be cast at the m an d w as
equ i valent t a declaration o f outlawry The great co m pl ai nt by the Mis
o
sour i and other pro sl av e ry it e s w as tha t the se northern and N e w Engl and
m e n w o ul d br i ng w i th the m free State n otion s and thu s en danger the e x
t e nsm n an d e r e t U I t 0 f “
”
m
P
the
do
estic
ins
titution
X
O f sl avery
P
M eetings
w ere h eld i n the var i ous countie s b ordering
o n K an s as at W hich violent
’
es
re
E
i nfla m m ato ry resol ution s p assed and vigilance co m
l
de
:iiigs wzi a gl irary powers chosen all for the o ne u rpose Of arresti ng
p
t h is K ansas imf
nig rat i o n
and thus check the l i berty l ov m g sp irit which per
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N EW
EMI GRAN T
EN GL AN D
it :
C OM PAN Y
AI D
21
.
“
v aded
S hiel d al l chatte l p roperty ” and stretch t h e po w e r of sl av e do m
ove r the Terr i tory Many pro m inen t m e n a m ong the m ind ividual s holding
i m p ortan t o ffi ci al statio ns un der g overn m en t counten an ced and activel y
p art i c i p ated in these doings N otwithstandin g al l th is an d the for b id din g
aspe ct o f the future the tide of i m m igr ation stead ily and incre asingly flo w ed
on w a rd T h ere were at this ti m e no p ubl ic houses in K ansas and s uch
w as In con sequen c e the pres sin g n eed o f acco m m odation s o f the ki nd
m ore espe c i ally at La w ren ce w h i ther m ost fi rst directed thei r step s prepa
rat ory t o c asting a b ou t fo r acceptabl e far m cl ai m s — that I u rged u pon the
co m p an y th e i m portan ce indeed n eces sity O f erecting a hotel the re Thi s
I w as authori ze d t o h ave b u il t and I assisted in m aking the necessary con
tracts w ith m ason s c arpenters & c an d the w ork w as co m mence d in t h e
su m m e r of 1 85 5 M any vex ati ous del ays w ere occasioned and annoyances
e x perien ced b y the spirit O f opposition widely ou t spread so that the l abor
w as no t fi ni shed u n til the Spring Of
Thi s w as a co m m odious sto n e
st ru c tu re e l e g ibly s itu ated an d ad m irably pl anned for the co m fort and
c onv eni en c e o f w ay farers
I t w as i n di m ension s 5 0 by 7 5 feet three storie s
hi gh e x cl u si ve of a b ase m ent and fi tted an d furni sh ed at great expen se
I t h ad adj oi n ing s table s an d other sui table outb uildings I t w as superior
t o an y esta b li sh m e n t O f the kind wes t o f St Loui s
It was con s tructe d
throughou t i n a th oro ugh work m anl ike m anner All bill s w ere e x am i ned
and p ai d b y m e ; and t h e am oun t th u s expended no t in cl uding any esti m a te
o f the val ue o f the l ots oc c upied as t h e site w as twen ty fiv e thousand dollars
w hi ch su m I think i s j ustly du e the co m pany fo r its loss
The co m pletion o f thi s hotel known as the F ree State Hotel an d so m e
ti m es as the El dridge H ouse was hailed with joy by the settlers It w as
c on si dered creditabl e t o the owners and a val uable addition to the to w n
and pro m i se d t o b e of i ne sti m able ben e fi t to visitors and others req uiring a
te m porary ho m e There was a cl ass to who m i t proved highly o ffensive
n o t the virtu al residen ts bu t the border Mi ssourian s and thei r co adj u
tors the advocate s O f sl avery and the holders o f b onds m en w h o looked
u pon thi s an d othe r p er m anen t i m prove m en ts goin g on as al ar m ing evi
“
”
l
f
h
e
pecu i ar i nstitution were to be
t
deu ce s th a t the very foundatio n s o
violently sh aken if n ot co m pletely disrupte d Thi s w as used as an add i
t io nal re ason fo r t hrow in g broadcast through sl ave regions infla mm ato ry
circulars and in cen diary han dbill s cunnin gl y worde d t o crea t e and i ncreas e
p rej udi c e s an d t o arou se the ire o f t hose addressed against the bona fi de
c iti z e n s of K an sas rene w edly stig m atized as the hirel ing instru m ents o f t h e
N e w Engl an d Em igran t Ai d C o m pany purchased and sent ou t to c ontrol t h e
election s o f the Territory shape its politi cal in stitution s an d then return
Arm ed bodies O f
w hen c e they ca m e t o receive the w age s o f their in iqu ity
h
and
m e n began t o m u ster m arch into the Te rritory and en c a m p
T ese
others in sq u ad s roa m in g about arrested insul t ed and even k i ll ed i n the
high w ays ino ffe n sive residents peaceably engaged i n o r proceed i ng o n
thei r private busine s s dwellings were p i ll age d ; t ea m s W i th furn i ture and
good s o f se ttlers w ere stoped on the roads and plundered of the i r contents
the o w n ers o r those h aving the m in charge fo r any re m ons trance be i ng
i nhu m anly tre ated ; t h e Un ited S t ates m ails were se i z ed and w hatever o f
value they contained w er e abstracted and appropr i ated My b us i ne ss re
quir in g m e t o m ake freque nt trip s between La w rence an d Kansas C i ty I
necessarily w itnes sed and beca m e conversan t W i th the e h i gh h ande d l aw
les s p ro c ee din gs The reign o f terror and m i srule w as at l eng th e xt e nsw el y
in augurated m en ace s were daily uttered an d m an i fested ag a i nst free State
m e n an d free State settle m ents i n general bu t m ore espec i ally aga i n st the
i nd w e l le rs o f L a w ren ce and the hotel and printing presses there e s ta b
The citi z en s he l d p ubl ic m eetings and b y w ritten c o mm u ni cat i ons
l ish e d
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22
E N G L AN D EMI GRAN T
N EW
AI D
C OM PAN
Y
.
an d by co m m ittees caused representations to be m ade to G overnor Shannon
and to Marshal D onel son of the outrage s being co m m i tted i n the vi cin i ty
a n d t h e apprehensions o f the co m m un ity ; an d in vie w o f the threatening
These appl i c a
a spect o f a ffairs solicitin g season able aid and protection
The dan ger o f an attack be c o m
t ion s though o ft repeated were of no avail
ing stil l m ore i m m inent I as chair m an o f the C o m m ittee o f Safety o f L aw
rence drew up a co m m unication which was sign ed by the whole co m m i ttee
a n d addressed to the United States m arshal i n whi ch a m ong o ther things
it w as state d “ that we represent ci tizen s o f the United States and of K an sas
w h o acknowledge the constituted author ities o f t h e govern m en t ; that we
m ake no resistan ce to the execution of t h e l a w s n ational or territori al ; and
that we ask protection o f the govern m en t an d clai m i t as l aw abid in g
A m erican citizen s ” A s the event will sho w t his decl aration with the ap
pl ication for inde m n ity fo r property taken by the m arsh al s posse an d pro
t e c t io n for the re m ainder and for the citizens m e t w ith no better receptio n
than the citizens appeal s above re ferred to This docu m en t w as dated and
sen t to Marshal D e ne l son u pon the 2 1 st o f May A D 1 8 5 6 O n th at day
the Free State Hotel was fi rst thrown open to the public E arly in th e
m orning I observed gathered aroun d and upon Moun t O rea d in t h e rear o f
the town l arge nu m bers of m e n ar m ed an d equipped as artillery caval ry
and infantry with dr u m s beatin g and banners fly ing eviden tly a sse m bled
C onspicuous a m ong others w a s a red flag in dica t ing
w ith n o good intent
n o peaceful m ission About 3 o clock p m Sheri ff Jones e n tered Lawren ce
at the head of a bout twenty ar m ed m e n in advance o f the m any hundred
m e n t o whi ch accessions were contin ually being m ade an d which he d e sig
n ated hi s posse ; these he stati oned in fron t o f t h e hotel and the n m ade a
call for m e as representing the C o m m i ttee o f Safety Upon m y appe aran ce
h e said he recognized m e as one in authority who coul d a c t for t h e peopl e
o f La w ren ce and de m anded tha t I should surrender to h i m al l the rifles
can non & c under a threat t hat otherwise he should bo m bard the tow n
Upon i nq u iring by what authori ty he m ade the de m and he an swered as
dep uty Un i t e d States m arshal an d sheri ff o f D ouglas coun ty and th at he
w oul d allow bu t fi v e m inutes to co m ply with the de m an d
Seein g n o other
possible chance o f saving the town fro m i m pending destruction and the citizen s
fro m great l o ss and personal danger I a fter con sultation with m y asso ciates o f
the co m m ittee agreed to give up the artillery b ut n othing m ore he giving an
ofi ic i al receipt fo r the sa m e
This he accordingly did In the m eanwhile large
bodies o f ar m ed m e n— his posse so cal led— contin ued fi ling in to the to w n and
taking position n ear and in front o f the hotel under the co m m an d a m ong others
o f D avid R Atchi son C olonel W ilkes o f C arolina Ti tu s o f Florid a Major
Buford o f Al ab a m a and Colonel J ac kso n o f G eorgi a P T Abel G eneral
Strin gfellow Marshal D onelso n and D eputy M arshal Train were al so o n
t hat day in Lawrence
Jones having possession o f all that he co uld obtain
then to the astonish m ent o f all announ ced his inten tion to destroy the hote l
an d pr i nting pre sses they having b een pronoun ced n ui sances by the grand
R e m onstrances again st s uch
Jury o f D ouglas coun ty that should h e a bated
a procedure especially under the i m plied pro m ise by h im m ade were nu
heeded and he gave notice that destruction o f the hotel w oul d co m m ence at
fi v e o clock
P ro m pt to the hour orders were i ssued by h im to h is m ob o
crat i c posse who at on ce began the destructive work The first attack was
by cann on pl anted at 1 5 0 feet distance on the opposite side o f M assach usetts
s treet u nder t h e i m m edi ate direction o f D avid R At chison A s near as
w ere the cannon an d as l arge as w as t h e object m any o f the sho t fle w wide
o f t h e m ark and by those w hich hit i t such was i t s s ubstan ti a l character
l it t l e if an y i m pression was m ade thereupon
Jon
e
s
there
ore
acting
f
as
u
ch i ef i n co m m and ordered i t to be bl own up Kegs o f g unpo w der w ere de
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N EW
EN G LAN D
EMI GRAN T
C OM PAN Y
AID
23
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po site d w ithin an d expl o ded w ith so m e n oi se and m uch s m oke b ut w itho u t
o ccas i on i n g m ateri al d a m age t o the doo m e d stru c ture
The Uni ted States
o ffi ci al then ordered the torch t o be appl ied w hen the h otel w as soon wrapt
l n fl a m e s and a t l en gth red uced t o r u in s
P revious t o the destru ction the
red flag w ith a cen tral star and as a m otto t h e w ords So uthern R ights ”
w a s hoi sted upon th e hotel ; and d urin g the co nfl a rat io n the a c ting m arshal
g
w a s ridin g a b o ut a m ong th e m e n under high e x cite m en t o f m ali ciou s j oy
I n ci tin g and en couragin g t h e m e n by speech an d action s The to w n w as
afte r w ards ran sacked and pillaged G overnor R o b inson s house b urnt t o the
gro und and late in t h e day the actors reti red fo r the night to their cam pin g
g round s O n the follo w in g day D avid R Atchison at the head o f the
P latte C ou nty R ifles m a rch ed through Lawrence c rossed the ferry and re
tur n ed t o Mi ssouri In the w hole m otley horde asse m bled o n th is occasio n
a t the s um m on s o f Jo n es I did n o t recog ni z e a singl e settler ; and I am
fully p ersu aded th at w ith fe w if any e x cep ti on s they were im ported fro m
Mis sou ri and elsewhere for the iniq ui to us purpose w hich w as ac c o m pli shed
I n thi s conne x ion I testi fy th at t h e charge m ade again st the citi z en s o f
Lawren ce b y G overn or Shan non in h is letter t o Messrs To plifi and others
co m m it t ee & c d ated fro m the execut ive o ffi ce May 1 2 1 8 5 6 n amely
“
th at th ey keep up a m ilitary or ar m ed organ i z ation to resi st the territorial
l aws and the o ffi cers charged w ith their e x e c ution ” w as w itho ut any
found at ion in fact 1 further m ore testify and declare t hat the asse rtion co n
t aine d i n the presen t m ent o f the grand j ury o f D ouglas coun ty Kansas
“
th at the b u ilding kn o w n as the Free State H ote l ’ in La w rence h as been
co n stru c te d w i th t h e vie w t o m ilitary occu pation an d defen ce regul arly
and
port
holed
f
r the use o f cannon and s m all ar m s , an d coul d
o
a
r
a
d
t
t
e
e
p
p
h ave only b e en designed as a strongh old resistance t o l aw thereby e n
d ange ri n g the p ublic sa fety and en couraging rebellion an d sedition in this
” is ut
t e rly fal se as s aid grand j ury m ight and should have known
c oun t ry
befo re m akin g so heinous a charge end angering the p roperty an d l ives o f
thousands and acting thus under the san cti ty of the ir oaths of o fli ce
SAM U E L C P O M E RO Y
D ISTRI CT or CO L UM BIA
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Wash ingto n Co un ty
thi s nineteenth d ay o f F e b ruary in the year eightee n hundre d an d
sixty three before m e the undersigned a j ustice of the peace i n and fo r sai d
co un ty person ally ca m e Sam uel C P o m eroy and m ade oath In due for m o f
l aw that the facts an d state m en ts m entioned i n the forego i ng and ann e x e d
t esti m o ny are true t o the b es t o f his kno w ledge and be l i ef
S w orn before m e
N CALL AN Ju stwe of th e P eace
S
E
A
L
& ]
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E
ng land Emigrant Aid?
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N
t
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l
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r
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a
m
e
m
t
h
e
o
tt
er
f
Testimo n ’ t n th e m a
f
ree St ate H otel, at L aw
t
F
h
e
t
n
i
o
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c
d
es
t
r
t
r
h
e
o
m
m
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t
e
y
Compa i y, f or in d
yf
M a 21 , A D 1 85 6
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CO L UM B I A, W ash ington Co unty , 88 :
Be fo re m e , this day , person a lly appeared J M W in chell , w h o , b e i ng duly
sw orn , testi fi ed as follows :
:
a
t
i
n
as
w
,
l
I , J M W in chell , te s ti fy and d ec are that I
L awren ce , Kan sas
the ti m e of and pr ior t o the destruction of the F ree State H ote l there 1 0
D I STRI CT
or
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E N GL AN D EMI GRAN T
N EW
AI D
C
O M PAN Y
.
that threats were repeatedly uttered by th ose w h o w e re i n favor o f
i n troducing and m aintaining sl avery i n that Territory aga i nst the prop erty
and the l i ves o f those w h o favored and approved the doctrine o f freedo m fo r
all The se threats proce eded not fro m citizen s bu t fro m person s who I
have good reason fo r believin g ca m e fro m M issouri and other sect i on s an d
w h o were unl awfully in terfering with the rights and pri v ileges o f the bon a
fi de inha bi tants These thre ats and corresponding m ove m en ts exc ited m uch
uneasiness in the m ind s o f the citizen s At l e ngth fro m the g ather ing o f
l arge nu m bers o f unknown persons in the i m m ediate vicini ty ar m ed and
other w i se exhibiting a warl ike appearance and fro m the frequent arrests
by the m m ade o n the public highways of peaceabl e un o fi e nding c itizens an d
also fro m the al m os t daily depredations co m m i tted on i ndivid ual proper t y
caused such an alar m th at p ubli c m eetings of the citizen s were held an d
resol utions p assed to address G over n or Shann on by l etter an d co m m ittees
se tting forth the apprehen sions en tertained directi ng hi s atten tio n to the
fact that m ul titudes were hovering about the neig h borhood no t only with
no evident good reason but fro m all appearan ces fo r base p urposes an d
call ing upon h im for aid and protectio n Th e governor denied there wa s
any j us t cause for alar m and refused protection A si m ilar ap plication was
m ade to Uni ted States Marshal D o nelson wit h n o be t ter resul t
I furtherm ore decl are tha t on the m orning of May 2 1 A D 1 8 5 6 I saw
a l arge gathe ring of m e n vario u sly ar m ed o n Moun t O read i n the rear o f
Lawren ce with flags flyin g and with every indi cation o f an inte n tio n t o
m ake a descent upon the town
Abo u t three o clock p m they to the n u m
ber o f m any hundreds m arched in with Sa m uel J Jones at their head o n
horseback T h ey were by h im arranged in front o f the hotel He the n
su mm oned fro m the h otel the town s co m m ittee o f safe ty an d de m anded
o f the m the gun s r ifles & c
in t h e place To the inq uiry by w h a t author ity
he m ade the de m and he replied as dep uty m ars h al an d sheri ff o f the
an d he allowed fi v e m in ute s fo r a decisi on
c ounty
All the p ubl ic ar m s
w ere surre ndered he receipting for t h e m in hi s o ffi cial ca paci ty
He t h en
a nn oun ced hi s in te nt ion o f de st ro iu
y g at h e Free State Hotel and the printing
presses they having bee n decl ared by the g rand jury n u isances that shoul d
be ab ated an d he inten d in g in hi s o ffi cial positio n to go v ern hi m self accord
in g l y
He w as re m on strated with in vain being deaf to all appeal s At
q uarter past three o clo ck p m he noti fied C olonel E ldridge the les see that
he m u st abandon the pre m i ses and that h e w ou l d be allowe d an hour and
three quarters to re m ove his fa m ily an d furniture A t fi v e m in u tes befor e
fi v e Jones gave notice that at fi v e o clock he should co mm en ce the de m ol i t ion
o f the structure
P ro m p t to the hour he issued his order and the work o f
destructio n be gan and was steadily followed up to its co m ple tio n by t h e
ar m ed m o b acting as his posse ; and throu g ho ut un der h is d irect supervision
and with his c c operation ; he riding back and forth u ttering var iou s e x cl a
m ation s and sti m ul ating the m to increased exertions
P ro m inent a m o ng
h is aiders and abettors I s aw D avid R Atchison e x Un ited States sen ator
f ro m Missouri
P rior to destroyi ng the hotel a red flag was raised ab ove
i t s roof
A m id the ince ndiary m o b the South C arol ina pal m etto flag was
The fi rst atte m pt at destr uction w as by m e an s o f c an
q uite con spicuous
n o n planted o n Massachusetts street
A fter the discharge o f bet w een
t wenty and thirty balls without m aking any m aterial i m pression
o n the
w alls Sheri ff Jon es ordered it to be b l own up with gunpo w der and this
;
recourse bein g ine ffectual the torch was resorted to and thus the s truct re
u
was reduced to a m ass o f s m ouldering rui ns The posse the n l et loose
forci bly entered houses an d stores plundered their conten ts and ins ulte
d
their in m ates after w hich t h e depre dators retired to c am p an d fi n ally dis
c at e d ;
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26
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E N G LAN D EMI GRAN T
N EW
AID
A
CO M P N Y
.
ro de in with h im He sw ore he would go in and out o f Lawrence whenever he
cho se W ithout any escort H e sai d he sh o ul d resign his O ffi ce in case any
arr angem ent was m ade b y G overnor Shannon to dispense w ith the serv i ce o f
these m en w h o h ad a ssem bled he said to aid h im in m aking contem plate d
arrests
At m y fi rst interview with G overnor S hannon he stated the fo rc e assem bl e d
at Lawrence w as a posse o f the sheri ff and had a right to b e there Sh e rifl
Jones declare d that h e had su m m oned the vol unteers as his posse an d that
they were su c h
A m on g th reats w hich I hear d at K an sas C ity so m e were uttered against the
Am erica n Hotel there as being Obnoxiou s in the sam e w ay as w as the c ity o f
Law rence T hreat s were m ade that it would be destroyed and m uch anxiety
w as felt by it s in m ate s of which I was o n e and by the c itizens generall y
I
un derstood the g round of the ho stility to be that it w as kept fo r the convenience
O fn orther n i m m i ration to K ansas T erritor
T hat so far as I know w as the
g
y
exclu sive gr o und of hostility to the h otel
D uring m y tarry at K ansas C ity I frequently saw part ie s c rossing the M is
sou ri river o n their w a
I counted at
y to j oin the forces investing Lawrence
one tim e seventeen arm ed horsem en in o n e of these parties who uttered the
m o st hi deou s yells an d shrieks an d threats against the abolition ists
I saw
sim ilar
parties returning ac ross the ferry at K ansas C ity
J M W I N C H E LL
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S w orn and sub scribed before
me
thi s
2 ot h day
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.
of February A D 1 86 3
N C A LL AN
&S E A L ]
Ju st ic e of t h e P e ac e
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F
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Te st im on y in t h e m a t t er of t h e m e m o ria l qf t h e N e w E ng l a nd E m ig ra n t Add
C omp a ny , f o r in dem nit y f o r t h e d est ru c t io n o
f t h e F ree St a t e H o t e l , a t L a w
re nc e , K an sas ZlI a
y 2 1 1 856
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D
.
IS T RI C T o r C O L U M B I A W a sh ing t on C o un t y 8 8 :
Before m e this day personally appeared W illiam H utchin son O f this D istric t
and city w h o being dul y s w orn te sti fied as follo w s :
I W illiam H utc hin son testify and declare that I resided in Lawren c e K an
sas from A ril 1 8 5 5 to 1 8 6 1
an d was fam iliar w ith all the trou b les attend ing
p
the early settlem ent O f the T erritor y
It w as in the fall of 1 8 5 5 th at the fi rst conflict o f arm s known as the W aka
ru sa war b roke out and earl y in the sprin g of 1 8 5 6 the diffi culties were renewed
T hese di fficulties were nothin g m ore nor less th an the govern m ent arrayed a ainst
g
the people In all cases o f conflict which I witnesse d there was al w ays s om e
agent or pretended agent O f the govern m ent at the h ead o f the forces o n one
side w h o in num erous in stances woul d read proclam ations o r edicts from their
superiors in po w er to the people O f K ansas who were at this ti m e called to
arm s for defensive purposes T heir ho m es were fi rst m olested b y arm ed b and s
from Mis souri who robb ed plun dered an d even m urdered our citizens
As a
n atural consequence large forces were soon collected fo r sel f defence an d thi s
again brought a larger arm y of invasion W hen suc h an i n vading ar m y or
m ore properly a m ob several hu ndre d strong were around Lawrence lurking
m ostly in the vicinity of Leco m pton t h e ra n d jury wh o were in session at that
g
pla c e under the advice O f J ud g e Lecom pte m ade a m ost u nparal lele d p resent
m ent declaring “ th at we are satisfi ed that the b uilding know n as the Free State
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H o t el ,
EN G LAN D E M IGRAN T A ID
C O M PA N Y
27
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L aw ren c e ha s b een c o ns t ru c t ed with t he vie w to mili tary o c cupati o n
and defen c e re gul arl y parape ted and p o r t h o led fo r the u s e of c ann o n and small
arm s and coul d have o nl y b een designed as a s tro ngh old resistan c e t o law
t here b y endangeri n g the publ i c safe ty and en c o uraging re b elli o n and sedi t i o n in
t h i s c o untry and re s pe c tfull y rec o mm end tha t s tep s b e taken where by the nui
sance m a y b e re m oved
T h e n o t o ri o u s Bufo rd regi m ent o f Ge o rgians wi th o thers fr o m several
o f the s o u thern Sta t e s w ere al read y h o verin g in si gh t of the d o o m ed ci ty
aw al t m
T he 2 1 st o f M ay 1 8 5 6 was
g s o m e pre t e x t fo r p ouncing u p o n i t
near Up o n ri sin g fro m o ur b eds o n that m o rning a larg e fo rce s o m e eigh t
hundred in nu m ber an ar my even fo r tha t ti m e and that c o untry
was seen o n M o un t O read ab o ut a m ile s o uth o f what was then the settled p o r
t i o n o f the city
D urin g the fo ren oo n the c flic ers c o mmanding that fo rce ro de
i nt o t o wn at t ended b y an es c o rt b ut the y were n o t ver y c o mm unicative t o wards
the pe o ple N oo n c am e and C o l o nel E ldri dge w h o was then keeping the F ree
S tate H o tel as a pu b li c h ouse invited several of these o ffi c ers t o dine with him;
am o ng these were M ar shal Do nalds o n D eputy M ar shal J o nes E x V i c e P resi
dent A tchis o n C o l o nel T itus a M aj o r Ja ck s o n o f Ge o rgia D r Ro de rigue wh o
were al l o f the p o sse an d fo rces assem bled again s t Lawren ce at the c o mmand
o f M arsh al Do nalds o n
T hese I saw par take o f a free dinner with wine and
o ther li qu o rs furnished in ab undance T his was the fi rst o pening o f t h e h o tel
t o the pu b lic ; b u t C o l o nel E ldridge w ith h is fa mil y had b een in it ab o ut a
m o nth gettin g to gether supplies fo r the tab les and furniture fo r the r oo m s as
fast as p o ssi b le and it w as unders t oo d then tha t this preparati o n was ab out o ver
T his h o tel had b een b uilt during that spring and the previ o us y ear by the N e w
E ngland E mi gran t A id C o m pany at a heav y c o s t a s everything b o re ex o rb itant
prices there then Pine lu m ber was all t ransp o rted fro m St Louis and s o m e
ti m es c o st delivered in Lawrence ninety and o ne hundred d ollars per th o usand
I w as b uildi n g a large st o re the sam e y ear and kn o w the inc onvenie nces and
e x pense attending it T his h o tel must have c o s t in the vicinity o f t wenty fiv e
t h o usand d o llars
It was elegantl y furnished ; the furni ture e quip m ents and
c o ntents b eing ab undan t o f the fi rst qu al ity and e qual to th o se o f the fi rs t
h o tels in the eastern St a te s
U nder the cir c u m s tan c es de t ailed t h e pers onage s ab o ve nam ed part o o k o f the
first pub lic dinner Aft er dinner the y returned to their fo rces o n the hill and
s o m e o f the m made speec hes to their m en instru cting t hem that they were
a b o ut t o destr oy the fa m ed F ree S tate H o tel and urging the m to m ake th o r o ugh
w o rk o f it U nder t he c o mm and o f the U nited Stat e s m arshal o f the T e rrit o ry
t he y m arched d o wn fro m M oun t O read wi t h c ann o n and o ther arm s and halted in
t he o utskirts o f the to wn D eputy M arshal J o nes then took s om e t en o r m o re m en
r o de up the m ain s tree t and halting in fr o nt of the h o tel c alled fo r General n ow
He cam e fo rward Jo ne s dem anded all the
U nited S tates Senat o r P om ero y
pub lic ar m s in the to wn and gave h im fi ve m inu tes fo r an an s wer General P o m e
r oy c alled a c o un cil o f t he t o wn s c o mm itt e e o f s afe ty that then e x isted there o f
w hi c h I w as a m e m b er and which were alre ad y in the building and in due tim e
he ann o unced that we had n o pu bl ic ar m s b ut if an y c ould be found they with the
cann o n sh o uld b e given up J o nes o ffi ciall y receip ting fo r them J o nes after
wards said tha t the h ot el sh oul d b e destro y ed H e was a sked his auth o rity fo r
s uch pr o ceeding s H e repl ied h e w as acting as U ni ted Sta t es deput y m arsh al
and sheri ff o f D o ugl as c o un ty I re m e mb er tha t par t o f hi s language di stinctl y
and was parti cular a t that ti m e t o get all o f these p o in t s c orre c tly as I was then
a c o rresp o nden t fo r t he N e w Y o rk T i m es and rep o r ted the fa c t s as I saw the m
J o nes furtherm o re s aid tha t he had c o m e to t each t he pe o ple o f Lawren ce that
he c o uld pe rfo rm hi s legal b usiness here wi t h o u t b ein g s h ot at ; and he de clared
t ha t as depu ty m ar shal he w o uld give C o l o nel E ldridge and fa mil y o ne h o ur
and a half t o ge t o u t o f the h ot e l with their pr operty C ol o nel E ldridge re
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28
EN G LAN D EM IGRAN T A I D
N EW
fused
to
CO M P
AN Y
.
ve an ything saying if the y w o uld d o that after he had trea ted the m
well an d given the m a dinner the y m ight take the wh o le o r n o ne ; b u t m ean
w hile his fam il y gathered u p a few val uab les such as silverware and at t h e e x
in
a
ca
i
f
rriage leaving J o nes and h i s p o sse
rat io n o f the ti m e the y all r o de o f
p
in s o le p o ssessi on Abo ut this ti me the wh o le fo rce o f ne arl y a th o usand h ad
b een let l oo se up o n the t o wn and fo r a ti me plundering was the o rder E very
r oo m and trunk in the h o tel were searched and r obb ed After the m o b b ecam e
s o m ewhat satis fied General A tchis o n in a measure t oo k charge o f the m and
o rdered his cann o n placed in fr o nt o f the h o tel and n o t o ver 2 0 0 feet distant
preparat o ry t o a general bo mb ardment
T he h o tel was built o f sto ne laid up in what is called c o ncrete fo rm with walls
fr om o ne foo t t o tw o feet thick It was n o t intended as a fo rti fi cati o n n o r b uilt like
a fo rt any m o re than an y o rdin ary h o use I t had n o p o rt h o le s o r ri fl e e mb ra
sures I t was t o have been c o m pleted b y the fall o f 1 8 5 5 b ut the war diffi c ul
ties prevented its co mpleti o n till the ne x t spri ng I t was three sto ries high h e
sides a b asement under the wh ole and the si z e w as 5 0 feet b y 7 5 W ith such
a m ark Atchis o n co mmenced his cann o nade I saw hi m direct and elevate the
fi rst piece as engineer ; he st oo d near and gave the o rder t o fire T he guns
wer e six in all and ranged fro m six t o twelve p o unders T he light guns were
s o o n laid aside as n o ne b ut the largest w o uld penetrate the walls o f the bu ild
ing A fter fi ring nearl y an h o ur and finding they had onl y pierced it with a few
h o les and that the pr o cess w o uld n o t destro y it they ceased fi ring and put sev
era l kegs o f p o wder in the cellar and i gnited it w ith a fuz e saying the y w o ul d
bl o w the b uilding up T o their great surp rise this pro duced n o sh o ck and onl y
cracked a fe w wind o ws T he last res o rt was a general b urning b y setting fi re
t o t h e b eds and then the h o tel was s oo n in fl am es T his last o rder t o burn was
given b y D eputy Marshal Jo nes and b efo re night the struct ure cru m b led int o a
heap o f ruins
D uring these pro ceedings the citi z ens o f the t o wn were n o t present ; e x cept
perhaps h alf a d o z en all had m o ved o ut in the m o rning t o places o f safet y I
was o ne o f the few wh o did n o t leave and was c o nstantl y ob serv ing the m o ve
ments o f t h e mob W hile they were cann o nading t h e h o tel I was within speak
ing distance o f them and distinctly heard Atchis o n direct the p o inting o f the
fi rst gun which after all his engineering did n o t hit the b uilding
T he citi z ens o f the place at this ti me fo r prudenti al reas o ns had res o lved
t o m ake n o resistance and we had n o arm ed fo rce t o m eet the ene m y with o n
that day W e felt that we wo uld rel y o n the go vern ment o ffi cials o nce m o re
b elieving that they c ould n o t have the cruelty and recklessness t o de m o lish s o
fi ne a structure as was that h o tel S h o uld they d o it it w as argued it w o uld b e
j ust cause fo r us all t o rise t o arm s against o ur o ppress o rs even th o ugh the o p
press o rs sh o uld b e n o less than the agents o f that go vern m ent which was pledged
t o pro tect an d sustain its pe o ple against invasi o n and t o secure the m d o m esti c
tran quillity and the enj o y ment o f l ife and lib erty I t was under these circum
stances that the finest h o tel at that ti me b y far west o f S t Lo uis was de m ol
ish e d by a m ob led by United S tates m arshals ; and the l o ss was ver y severe
n o t al o ne t o t h e N e w England E migrant Aid C o mpany b ut t o Lawrence and the
wh o le T errit o ry as the in fl ux o f visito rs emigrants and set tlers int o the T erri
t o ry was very great and hundred s h ad t o c am p o ut shelter in h o uses n o t b eing
pro curable
W M H U T C H I N SO N
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S w o rn and su b scri b ed
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day o f F e b ruary ; 1 8 6 2
J O H N S H O LL I N GS H E AD
2 1 st
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N
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o t a ry
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P u blic
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