Brown ordered the killing of Pate's horses.

Pate was in enemy territory and was quickly becoming trapped by Brown’s men. If he had any chance of survival, he needed his horses to get back to pro-slavery territory. Pate’s wagons had been pretty shot up in the early part of the battle, and most were not worth saving.

To tip the balance in his favor, Brown needed to trap Pate in his position. So Brown ordered the shooting of Pate’s horses. It is said that Brown was not happy to do this, but he believed it necessary to make a move such as this for the battle. Brown and his men were armed with “Beecher’s Bibles.” Sharps rifles that had been shipped to Kansas from the East in crates of Bibles. These rifles had breech-loading and self-prming features which allowed the user to reload quickly and fire faster with better accuracy. 

Pate had kidnapped Brown’s sons a few days before the battle, and he hoped they were there and he could get them back. So he had some personal reasons for wanting to keep Pate in place. There were a few abolitionist prisoners with Pate, but Brown’s sons were not among them. Pate also believed that reinforcements were on their way to join Brown, and he believed that there were several more men in the western creek bank than there were. Negotiations and surrender seemed to be the only way forward for Pate.

Altenbernd, Kerry. Interview. Conducted by Amy Lukert. 2 November 2022.

John Brown, as viewed by H. Clay Pate. Henry Clay Pate on John Brown. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://archive.wvculture.org/history/jbexhibit/pateonbrown.html