Classroom

This interpretive walking tour includes stops of historical significance within Black Jack Battlefield near Baldwin City. Each stop along the tour includes text, images, and audio narration from Kerry Altenbernd. The tour includes several locations that were central to the events of the Battle of Black Jack, where antislavery men led by John Brown prevailed. Some local historians refer to this skirmish as the first battle of the Civil War. 

The tensions between the abolitionists and the pro-slavery forces had been building for some time. On May 21, 1856, Pate participated in the burning and sacking of Lawrence, which was a well-known abolitionist town. A group of over 800 men rode into Lawrence with the intent to arrest members of the Free-Soil government. The vigilantes harassed and destroyed the property of the unarmed townspeople It did not appear that they would suffer any repercussions. Two opposition governments had been established in Kansas. The pro-slavery groups did not want Kansas to enter as a free state. Many in the south were tracking what was happening in Kansas and believed that her admittance as a free state would bring them one step closer to secession. Many abolitionists from the east were supporting settlements in Kansas, and several moved to Kansas to help with the free-state movement. John Brown and his sons, committed abolitionists, believed that the law was being ignored, and Pate’s violence might require a violent defense. Brown and his sons kidnapped and killed five men near the Pottawatomie Creek on the night of May 24/25, 1856. Henry Clay Pate was born in Virginia but had moved to Kansas with the intent of “making Kansas a slave state.” He ran a newspaper and became the leader of a Territorial Militia begun under Governor Wilson Shannon. Pate eventually returned to and fought for Virginia in the Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11. 1864, Pate was ordered to find and arrest Brown. He moved through southeastern Kansas persecuting Free State settlers and kidnapped several men including two of Brown’s sons. The two were moving around and near each other near Black Jack on the Santa Fe Trail in Kansas Territory. Pate and his men had been terrorizing abolitionists in the area. It was almost an accident that they ran into Brown. Pate had sent five of his men to Prairie City to essentially hassle the community there. The town had a lot of visitors that weekend, including Brown and his men. Brown captured three of Pate’s men, and the other two escaped back to the campsite to report what they had seen. Pate led a group of about 25 men from Westport, Missouri, and the Kansas Territory. The night before the battle, John D Pennylaker and a few more men met Pate near the creek bringing the total of about 50 men on Pate’s side. Pate was aware that Brown and his men knew where they were, and they expected a fight sooner rather than later. They set up their wagons in a semi-circle on some high ground and went to bed behind these defenses. Brown moved towards Pate overnight, and arrived just after sunrise to fight.

While the Civil War started in 1861, an early skirmish that can be viewed as a precursor to the war took place right here on June 2, 1856, right after sunrise. At this location near Baldwin, Kansas John Brown, Henry Clay Pate, and their men fought from two sides of the creek across a small field. Black Jack was the site of a final showdown between Brown and Pate after weeks of circling each other.

Henry Clay Pate's Position

The Battle of Blackjack took place in an open field between two branches of Captain’s Creek about three miles south of modern day Baldwin City, Kansas. The area had been a well-known stopping point for travelers along the Santa Fe Tail. In fact you can still see wagon ruts from the trail just outside of the battle grounds. Today the area is covered with trees that were planted by Robert Hall Pearson when he bought the land and started a farm there. Pearson also fought in the battle and was heavily influenced by the event and his friendship with Brown. Pearson claimed the land as soon as the land was open to white settlers. It had originally been part of the Shawnee tribal lands. Pearson had over 200 acres, but he chose that particular site to build his house. He developed a well-known orchard and ordered the seeds for the first maple syrup trees in the area. At the time of the battle, most of the trees were not there, and the area between the two creek branches was an open plain. There would have been little in the way of natural defenses except for the creek branches. The two sides hunkered down in the creek and would shoot over the top. They were in danger every time they rose above the embankment to shoot. Brown told his men to switch positions everytime they reloaded. He did this so the enemy could not get a clear number of how many men were in the creek. Pate actually had more men than Brown and could have overrun them. But Brown kept him guessing, and Pate incorrectly thought there were many more men than there were. Moving positions also prevented the enemy from accurately targeting the abolitionist forces.

The battle was fought from two separate banks of the creek. Captain’s Creek formed an upside down “y” at this point. After five of his men were injured, Pate moved down into the eastern creek bank. Brown set up in the creek across a small field. The two sides used the creek as a ready-made trench and shot over the banks, across the field towards each other.

Captain's Creek

Kerry Atlenbernd, the president of the board of trustees for the Blackjack Battlefield believes that Washington’s crossing of the Delaware influenced Brown as he made a similarly treacherous crossing across a pitch-Black prairie of rolling hills. The terrain slowed them down, so they arrived at the site later than they had hoped. Brown was flexible and amended his plans. Before their arrival, one of Pate’s sentries saw them and warned the others. One of Brown’s men was August Bondi, a Jewish immigrant from Austria. He described their approach “We walked with bent backs, nearly crawled, that the tall dead grass of the year before might somewhat hide us from the Border Ruffian marksmen, yet the bullets kept whistling... “ Bondi remained committed to the abolitionist cause and joined the Kansas Cavalry as a First Sergeant when the Civil war began. Brown lost the element of surprise, so he quickly led his men into the western creek bank. It was a fortunate spot as it was slightly lower than the battlefield, so many of Pate’s bullets went over them. They quickly injured five of the pro-slavery forces forcing Pate to switch positions. Brown and his men were armed with Sharps rifles often called “Beecher’s Bibles” as they had been sent to Kansas by abolitionist groups in the east.Brown and his men shot across the field towards Pate’s men and continued for about three hours. Pate had sent for reinforcements and Brown had been joined by Samuel T. Shore and some of his men. Several of the opposing men were injured, and some very seriously. Their relatively protected positions could have allowed the battle to continue for quite a long time in almost a stalemate. Once Pate was down in the creek, their injuries were reduced. Brown knew the situation had to change.

Brown had to prevent his men from rushing off and attacking Pate’s men the day before as soon as they knew where they were. He persuaded them to wait and attempt to get in position while it was still dark. He wanted the element of surprise as the pro-slavery forces would have been expecting an attack after the skirmish in Priairie City.

John Brown's Position

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.

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.

Brown ordered the killing of Pate's horses. 

Brown had come to Kansas because many of his sons had moved there and were heavily involved in the abolitionist movement. Brown left his wife and some of his children at home in North Elba, New York to support his sons in Kansas. Over the course of his two marriages, Brown had twenty children and eleven lived into adulthood. His children remember him as a kind and funny father who could be stern when necessary. Frederick Brown, was his fourth child with his first wife, Dianthe Lusk. Frederick experienced seizures and severe headaches, so he was assigned to watch the horses behind the creek while the others were fighting. Frederick was kept out of the shooting in case he suffered a seizure due to the noise and chaos. But when he saw the horses being killed, he knew what his father’s plan was, and he decided to apply more pressure on Pate. On horseback, Frederick rode through the field, on the southern high ground that was between the two branches of the creek. He swung his broadsword and shouted, “ Father, we have themsurrounded and have cut off their lines of communication.” He meant to scare Pate into surrender, and it worked. Without horses to help them travel out of the area, and believing they were surrounded, Pate decided to negotiate. He sent two prisoners with a white flag over to speak to Brown. Frederick Brown was shot and killed a couple of months later on August, 30, 1856, by Reverend Martin White while standing in front of his uncle, Samuel Adair’s home just outside Osawatomie. He is buried with four others who were involved in the Osawatomie Incident.

Frederick Brown was instrumental in tricking Pate into surrendering. After his father ordered the horses to be shot, he realized that Pate was trapped. His actions convinced Pate that he was surrounded and had no choice but to surrender to Brown. Frederick Brown was often kept out of the fighting due to health concerns, but he was as committed to abolition as his father and brothers.

Frederick Brown's Contribution

Pate started his negotiations with Brown with a list of demands and not the conciliatory tone that was expected of one who was trapped in enemy territory. He also argued with Brown over his status as a prisoner since he was under a flag of truce. An angry Brown pointed his pistol at him and took him prisoner. Pate continued to argue over this act years later and used this as proof that Brown was dishonorable. When Pate was interviewed about Brown right before Brown’s execution, he says that any information about Brown being a hero is false. In fact, Pate goes on to call him a “fanatic to the highest degree.” Pate told his men that the battle was lost, and they needed to put down their weapon. Brown took Pate and the others to a campsite near Prairie City. A company of U.S. Dragoons under the leadership of Lieutenant J.E.B. Stuart and Colonel Edwin V. Sumner released them as Brown did not have the authority to hold them. Pate tried to get Stuart and Sumner to help in arresting Brown at this time. They refused to cooperate, and Pate went on his way. Brown took Pate’s bowie knife as a souvenir and had one thousand replicas made and attached to poles that he planned to use at Harper’s Ferry, VA. When Pate and Brown met again while Brown was in prison, Pate asked for his knife back. Brown said he did not have the knife, but Pate accused him of stealing it and using it as a showpiece to raise money.

Pate surrendered in a small grove of Black Jack oak trees which gives the battle site its name. He hoped to avoid dealing directly with Brown, but Brown refused to talk with the prisoners that he sent over. Imagine his shock to discover that he was surrendering to John Brown. Until this point, he was not sure who was the commander of the abolitionist forces that had been attacking him.

Newspaper Article Reporting on the Battle

Entries on This Tour

Black Jack Battlefield

Description

Share