Lawrence Before the Raid
By the summer of 1863, Lawrence was a thriving town with a population of about 1,650. Settled by strong supporters of the free- state movement, and home to men like James Lane and Charles Robinson, Lawrence was regarded as a stronghold of antislavery conviction by Missouri southerners.
Massachusetts Street divided the town site nearly in the center, and was comprised of businesses along both sides from the river for some three sections. Businesses listed in the 1859 directory for Lawrence included a foundry and machine works, saddle and harness shop, druggist, architect, attorney, several hotels, including the Eldridge, and stores, a bakery and photograph gallery. The University did not yet exist. No bridge was in place across the river, and a ferry service provided the only means of getting from one side to the other.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, and being only 40 miles from Missouri, rumors persisted that Lawrence would be overtaken by southern troops. Border raids were frequent, and guerrilla fighters like Quantrill became part of the backdrop of drama played out on both sides of the line.
A front page article contains the text of an oration by Charles Robinson, delivered ten days earlier, July 4, on the free state/pro-slavery debate. Robinson states, in part:
As the people of Kansas territory are to-day the subjects of a Foreign State, as laws are now being imposed on us by the citizens of Missouri, for the sole purpose of forcing upon this territory the institution of Slavery, I surely need make no apology for devoting the few moments allotted me on this occasion an examination of the effects of that institution upon a state, and people, whether politically, morally, or socially.
James Lane came to Lawrence, K.T. from Indiana in 1855 and served as a leader of free-state forces. He served as Senator from Kansas, elected in 1861. With the outbreak of the Civil War he served as a Union Army general. He was despised by many Missourians for the raids he led into their state. Lane, marked for assassination by Quantrill and his men, survived the Raid on Lawrence by escaping into a cornfield.