To the Hilt

John Brown and company massacre settlers over slavery.

May 24-25, 1856. Using swords, Brown and a band of abolitionist settlers killed five “professional slave hunters and militant pro-slavery” settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County, Kansas. It was in retaliation for the sacking of abolitionist stronghold Lawrence, Kansas by pro-slavery mobs a few days earlier.

Within a few months, Brown and his group would be involved in battles with pro-slavery forces in Kansas, with mixed results. The Pottawatomie Massacre helped create the image of “Bleeding Kansas” and brought the nation a step closer to civil war.