A bloodless confrontation in which John Brown bluffed a posse of 45 into fleeing without a shot fired while escorting escaped slaves to freedom.
Key Facts
- Date
- January 31, 1859
- Location
- Near Netawaka, Kansas, ~7 miles north of Holton
- Brown's party size
- 21 (including women and children)
- Opposing posse size
- 45
- Reward posted for Brown
- 3000 USD (1859)
- Escaped slaves escorted
- 11
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
John Brown, abolitionist, was escorting 11 escaped slaves from Missouri northward toward freedom in Iowa. A reward of $3,000 had been posted for his capture, prompting a posse of U.S. marshals and others to intercept his party at Straight Creek, Kansas, hoping to collect the bounty.
On January 31, 1859, Brown's group of 21—including women and children—confronted the posse of 45 at Straight Creek. Rather than retreating, Brown led his party directly forward. The posse, reportedly inspired by terror of Brown, turned and fled on horseback. No shots were fired and no rifles were raised.
Free-State sympathizers mockingly named the episode the 'Battle of the Spurs,' ridiculing the proslavery posse's panicked retreat on horseback. Brown successfully continued escorting the escaped slaves toward Iowa and freedom. A historical marker now commemorates the site near Netawaka, Kansas.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
John Brown, J. H. Kagi, Aaron Dwight Stevens.
Side B
1 belligerent