The Governor immediately ordered the officers of the Territorial militia to collect the forces, and march to Lawrence. Although the sheriff asked for three thousand men, not one hundred residents of the Territory answered the call of the militia officers; but a great horde came from Missouri. By December 5th, 1855, more than a thousand Missourians had arrived, and had encamped upon the Wakarusa, a few miles to the east of Lawrence. General Atchison was with them.
Naturally the people of Lawrence were much excited, and set about preparing for defence. They constructed several small forts, and organized a military force of some six or seven hundred men, pretty well armed and equipped. They stood a very good chance to win in the trial of battle, but they resolved, most wisely, to rely upon the justice of their cause more than upon the power of their arms.
| Lawrence's demand of protection from Governor Shannon. |
The committee of safety, which was directing matters in Lawrence, sent commissioners to Governor Shannon to enlighten him, from the point of view of the "Free-state" men, in regard to the situation. They made their way to Shawnee Mission, where they were coldly received by the Governor, who charged the "Free-state" men with rebellion against his government. The commissioners disputed his charge, told him that nobody in Lawrence had had anything to do with the rescue of Branson, that his rescuers had been warned out of the town as soon as they came into it, and had obeyed the warning, and gave him the committee's message demanding his protection against the invaders.
| Shannon at Lawrence, and his agreement with the "Free-state" men. |
The Governor was somewhat staggered by these statements, and decided to go to Lawrence himself, and examine affairs on the spot. This was just what the "Free-state" men wanted. He arrived in Lawrence on December 7th. Dr. Robinson and Colonel Lane immediately stated the situation and the views of the "Free-state" men to him. The Governor saw, at once, that they were in the right, and could not be attacked. He recognized, at once, that his task was to send the Missourians out of the Territory. He entered into a sort of written agreement with the citizens of Lawrence, in which the people of Lawrence pledged themselves not to resist the legal service of any criminal process, but to aid in the execution of the laws, when called on by proper authority, and the Governor declared that he had no authority to call upon non-residents of Kansas to aid him in the execution of the laws, had not done so, and would not do so. The last clause provided that nothing in the agreement should be taken as a recognition of the validity of the acts of the Territorial legislature by the "Free-state" men.
| The retreat of the Missourians. |
The Governor felt that he would have difficulty in reconciling the Missourians to his agreement, and insisted that Dr. Robinson and Colonel Lane should accompany him to Franklin, and aid him in his task. The calm statements of the Governor and of Dr. Robinson prevailed, and the Missourians saw the error into which they had been betrayed by the inconsiderate pro-slavery zeal of Sheriff Jones. General Atchison told his followers plainly that Dr. Robinson's position was impregnable, and that if they should persist in an attack upon Lawrence, contrary to the Governor's orders, they were only a mob. He added, that such a movement was not only without show of legality, but would ruin the Democratic party, and cause the election of an Abolitionist President the next year. By these efforts and representations on the part of the Governor, Dr. Robinson, and General Atchison, the Missourians were induced to break camp and turn their faces homeward.