The Civil War Began at the Battle of Black Jack
Battle of Black Jack First Skirmish in the War Between the States
Sep 15, 2009
Almost five years before Union and Confederate forces fought at Fort Sumter on April 12 and 13 in 1861, John Brown led his militia against Pate’s pro-slavery unit on June 2, 1856. According to the Black Jack Battlefield Trust, Pate’s unit was called Shannon’s Sharpshooters and were from the Westport, Mo. (now part of Kansas City) area.
John Brown, Henry Clay Pate’s Forces Clash at Black Jack
Brown was in the area to help defend Lawrence after it was sacked on May 21, 1856 by Missouri’s Sheriff Samuel Jones, reports the Kansas Historical Alliance Trust. After learning that Jones and his group had left the area, Brown turned toward Prairie City. On May 24, 1856, Brown and several of his sons and followers committed the Pottawatomie Massacre. The Kansas Historical Alliance Trust says that Brown was not only retaliating for the raid on Lawrence, but also the caning of Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner by South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks on May 22.
Pate’s group went to Kansas to find Brown. Six of Pate’s men were captured as they entered Prairie City on June 1. Browns sons John Jr. and Jason had been captured by Pate. Brown’s capture of Pate’s men enabled him to locate their camp and begin the three-hour Battle of Black Jack, states an article posted on reporting.journalism.ku.ed Jon Goering on December 7, 2007.
Brown’s militia was reportedly outnumbered. The Black Jack Battlefield Trust estimates that Brown had a force of more than 20 men while Pate’s group numbered anywhere from 30 to 75. The battle took place on the land between the eastern and western branches of Captain’s Creek. According to the Black Jack Battlefield Trust, Brown’s men were located along the western branch and Pate’s forces were along the eastern branch.
Pate surrenders the Battle of Black Jack
On Brown’s order, Pate’s horses and mules were shot, says the Black Jack Battlefield Trust. This action, along with the possibility of additional forces arriving to back up Brown, caused Pate to send out a flag of truce to Brown. According to the Kansas Historical Alliance Trust, most of Pate’s men were taken prisoner and move to a camp along Middle Ottawa Creek. Three men were wounded during the battle; however, there were no fatalities according to Goering.
Brown captured at Harper's Ferry
Jeff Myrick reports in a May 25, 2006 article in the Lawrence Journal-World that Pate’s men were freed by a group of Fort Leavenworth soldiers led by Col. Edwin Sumner and Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart. Brown and Stuart would meet again in 1859 at the raid on Harper’s Ferry October 16 - 18. After Brown’s capture, the Kansas Historical Alliance Trust quotes Stuart as saying to Brown, “Why, aren’t you old Osawatomie Brown who gave us so much trouble in Kansas . . .?”
On December 2, 1859, Brown was hanged in Charlestown, Va. for the raid on Harper’s Ferry. Less than two years later the federal arsenal at Fort Sumter, South Carolina was fired on and so began the Civil War.
