Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/781

 about eleven o'clock in the morning, and continued six hours The attacking party had charge of a brass four-pounder, the same that was taken by Colonel Doniphan at the battle of Sacramento. This piece had been freely used in the assault, but without effecting any material damage. As far as has yet been ascertained, but one man was killed, and some half-dozen wounded.

"About eleven o'clock in the evening, Captain Wood's command met a party of twenty-five men, with three wagons, one of which contained a wounded man. These he ascertained to be a portion of Harvey's forces, who had been engaged in the assault at Hickory Point, and who were returning to Lawrence. They were immediately arrested, without resistance, disarmed, and held as prisoners. Three others were soon after arrested, who also proved to be a portion of Harvey's party.

"When within about four miles of Hickory Point, Captain Wood discovered a large encampment upon the prairie, near the road leading to Lawrence. It was the main body of Harvey's men, then under command of a man named Bickerton, Harvey having left after the attack on Hickory Point. The party was surprised and captured.

"After securing the prisoners, Captain Wood returned to Lecompton, which place he reached about day-break, on Monday, the 15th instant, bringing with him one hundred and one prisoners, one brass field-piece, seven wagons, thirty-eight United States muskets, forty-seven Sharpe's rifles, six hunting rifles, two shot guns, twenty revolving pistols, fourteen bowie-knives, four swords, and a large supply of ammunition for artillery and small arms.

"Whilst engaged in making preparations for the foregoing expedition, several messengers reached me from Lawrence, announcing that a powerful army was marching upon that place, it being the main body of the militia called into service by the proclamation of Secretary Woodson, when acting-governor.

"Satisfied that the most prompt and decisive measures were necessary to prevent the sacrifice of many lives, and the destruction of one of the finest and most prosperous towns in the territory, and avert a state of affairs which must have inevitably involved the country in a most disastrous civil war, I dispatched the following order to Colonel Cook:

"Accordingly, the entire available United States force was put in motion, and reached Lawrence at an early hour in the evening. Here, the worst apprehensions of the citizens were discovered to have been well founded. Twenty-seven hundred men, under command of Generals Heiskell, Reid, Atchison, Richardson, Stringfellow, and others, were encamped on the Wakarusa, about four miles from Lawrence, eager and determined to exterminate that place and all its inhabitants. An advanced party of three hundred men had already taken possession of Franklin, one mile from the camp, and three miles from Lawrence, and skirmishing parties had begun to engage in deadly conflict.

" Fully appreciating the awful calamities that were impending, I hastened