Battle of Black Jack was a Mexican-American War engagement fought in Kansas, 1856. It was a Free-state forces victory.
The Battle of Black Jack took place on June 2, 1856, when antislavery forces, led by the noted abolitionist John Brown, attacked the encampment of Henry C. Pate near Baldwin City, Kansas. The battle is cited as one incident of "Bleeding Kansas" and a contributing factor leading up to the American Civil War of 1861 to 1865.
In 1854, the U.S. Congress had passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which stipulated that the residents of these territories would decide whether they wished to enter the Union as a slave or free state. This doctrine became known as popular sovereignty. Organized groups from the North sent thousands of abolitionist supporters to Kansas in an attempt to tip the balance in favor of free state advocates, to counter settlement from pro-slavery supporters from Missouri. As a result, pro- and antislavery groups had frequent clashes culminating in the Battle of Black Jack.
On May 21, 1856, Henry Clay Pate participated with a posse of 750 pro-slavery forces in the sacking of Lawrence. The next day, Congressman Preston Brooks from South Carolina physically attacked Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts in the Senate chambers. Three days later, a band of men, led by John Brown and comrade Captain Shore, executed five pro-slavery men with broadswords at Pottawatomie Creek. This incident became known as the Pottawatomie massacre.
In response to the massacre, Pate, recently granted the title of "Deputy United States Marshal", set out with a pro-slavery militia to either capture or kill John Brown. They took prisoner two of Brown's sons (John Brown Jr. and Jason), as well as some other Free-State men.
On June 1, 1856, six of Pate's men led a raid on two locations: Palmyra and Prairie City. At Palmyra, they successfully took several prisoners, but at Prairie City they suffered two wounded and retreated back to Pate's camp. At about 10pm, Brown's party set out to find Pate's men, and discovered their camp in a grove near the town of Black Jack the next morning.
Brown and his men dismounted at a distance of roughly 200-300 yards (180-270 m) from Pate's camp. Brown (armed with a revolver) and Shore led their men in the approach to the camp, opening fire once within range of the Sharps rifles carried by Shore's men. After a period of sustained fire by the Free-State forces, Pate offered a conditional surrender in which they would retain their arms, which Brown rejected.
Pate's men slowly began to mount their horses in an attempt to retreat, but six of them had their horses shot down. Eventually, a second flag of truce was raised, this time with an offer of unconditional surrender accepted by Brown.
Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.
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