On the morning of August 30, 1856, John Brown led about 30 antislavery men into battle against 250 proslavery Missourians. This Battle of Osawatomie raged on the site of John Brown Memorial Park.
Local tradition maintains that the statue of John Brown is located where the mounted proslavery men fired their first shots. Brown positioned his men about four hundred yards to the north in the timber lining the south bank of the Marais Des Cygnes River. The Missourians charged down the hill towards Brown's men with their guns blazing. The free-state force held firm, checking the first charge. The attackers dismounted, outflanked Brown's force, and brought their cannon into action.
Finally Brown and his men bolted from their hiding places and fled across the river. The Missourians swarmed into Osawatomie where they sacked and burned the town. Both sides sustained about a half a dozen casualties, the most of any battle during the Bleeding Kansas period. Among the dead was John Brown's son Frederick.
"God sees it. I have only a short time to live - only one death to die, and I will die fighting for this cause. There will be no more peace in this land until slavery is done for."
-Attributed to John Brown by his son Jason while they watched Osawatomie burn.A map of the Battle is the main illustration on the marker.
On the lower left is an illustration of "Missouri border ruffians going to Kansas drawn by Felix Darley."
On the center bottom of the marker is an illustration of "Osawatomie in 1862."
Near this marker in the plaza area is a metal marker with the following text:
John Brown and the Battle of Osawatomie 1856
The blood that
flowed in Kansas
before and during
the Civil War
nourished the
Twin Trees of
Liberty and Union.
Erected by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service and the State of Kansas with the City of Osawatomie 1969
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