A photograph of a painting depicting Andrew Horatio Reeder as he escaped from Kansas Territory disguised as a woodchopper. The artist probably painted this from a photograph taken upon Reeder's arrival in Chicago, Illinois. Reeder was appointed to serve as territorial governor of Kansas on June 29, 1854, took the oath of office on July 7, 1854, and arrived in Kansas Territory on October 7, 1854. He served to April 17, 1855, and then again from June 23 to August 16, 1855. In 1854, Reeder called for an election to choose a delegate to Congress. On election day, Missourians came in great numbers and, voting illegally, elected a proslavery candidate. This same situation occurred in March, 1855, when an election was called to form a legislature. Early in 1856, Lecompton was designated the territorial capital of Kansas. Sheriff Samuel Jones, a strong proslavery supporter, arrested several free-staters in Lawrence. Several people for whom Jones was looking escaped, including Reeder, who left Kansas dressed as a woodchopper.