The Battle of Black Jack
John Brown, one of the most famous Abolitionists, led a group of free-state fighters in an attack on a pro-slavery camp in Douglas County, Kansas on June 2, 1856. A few days earlier, a large force of pro-slavery men had looted Lawrence, throwing their printing presses into the river and gutting the Free State Hotel (the Sack of Lawrence). John Brown and a contingent of about 30 men decided to take revenge.
Brown’s fighters caught the pro-slavery men unawares as they camped beside a creek south of Lawrence. Though the free-staters were outnumbered, they managed to trick the pro-slavery men into surrendering, and no one was killed. Though the Civil War would not begin for nearly five more years, this engagement is often cited as the unofficial first battle in that conflict.
The area was called Black Jack after the Black Jack oak trees that grew there.
