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On November 21, 1855, Charles W. Dow, a free-state man, was shot by Franklin N. Coleman, a pro-slavery leader, near Hickory Point, Douglas County, in a dispute over a claim. Sheriff Jones, of Douglas County, arrested Jacob Branson, who lived with Dow. Branson was subsequently taken from Sheriff Jones by a group of free-state men. Sheriff Jones and approximately 1500 militia volunteers from Missouri laid seige to Lawrence, claiming there was a rebellion. By December 8, the free-state forces, led by James Lane, Charles Robinson and Lyman Allen, convinced Governor Shannon that they were only planning to defend Lawrence, not go on the offensive. These documents, from what came to be called the "Wakarusa War," include an officer's commission and several discharges of members of the Kansas Rifles No. 1--the free-state militia--and a draft of the treaty that was signed by Lane, Robinson, and Governor Wilson Shannon to end the "war."
Creator: Shannon, Wilson, 1802-1877
Date: December 08, 1855
Item Number: 225883
Call Number: William I.R. Blackman Coll. #278, Box 1 Folder 1
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 225883
Collections - Manuscript - Blackman, William I. R.
Date - 1854-1860 - 1855
Government and Politics - Crime and Punishment - Crime
Government and Politics - Territorial Government - Governors - Shannon, Wilson
Government and Politics - Territorial Government - Militia
Government and Politics - Territorial Government - Political parties - Free State
Government and Politics - Territorial Government - Political parties - Proslavery
Military - Service - Militias
Military - Wars - Bleeding Kansas - Wakarusa War
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Military
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Treaty
People - Notable Kansans - Lane, James Henry, 1814-1866
People - Notable Kansans - Robinson, Charles, 1818-1894
People - Notable Kansans - Shannon, Wilson
Places - Cities and towns - Lawrence
Places - Counties - Douglas
Thematic Time Period - Bleeding Kansas, 1854 - 1861
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Government records - Treaties
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Military records
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/225883