The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1856-09-27
The Murder OF Phi,,ips AT Lea,enworth.

affair vary as they come through free state
or slave state channels from Kansas, and to
! get at the truth we shall give both accounts
The following statement is made by com
mittec of the citizens of St. Louis, Who had
been sent to Kansas 10 ascertain the exact
condition of affairs there. Their instructions
were to ascertain and report the truth, but
we give their statement as the rro-s,avery
side:
The people of Lcavcnworth City were
thrown into a state of excitcnI 1T about the
seth of August, the discovery Of plan OF
Lanes party to murder the citizens of that
town and then sack and burn the town.
tbs p'an was discovered by some letters ard
other documents found in possession o. some
men from Lawrence, who had come into
Lcayenw oIth in disguise, and who were I'M
:nediately arrested On suspicion. The plan
was, that on certain day, large company
from Lawrence should attack the town, pre-
yious to which they would smugglc as many
freesoilcrs as they could into the town, who
were to be lodged and secretcd by the free
soil citizens of the town and furnished with
arms, and when the assault was commenced
By invaders, and the pro slavery men en-
ID
were to leave their hiding places in the city
and attack the pro-sl&Vcry men IN the rear,
and thus destroy them.
When this plan was discovered, the citi
zers held a meeting and resolved to disarm
all those freosoilers who had been implicated
in the plan, twelve in all. Capt Emory was
appointed 10 carry out the resolution. He
succeeded in diSarning the first eleven with
out difficulty, but the twelfth one, 4 man by
the name of Nm. Phillips, vas prepared for
fight, had Lis doors bolted, and several men
in the house with him, al! armed; and when
Capt. Emory and his company came in front
of the house, Phillips fired upon them from
the window Of the second floor, and killed
one man; and tIen he, or some other man
with him, fired again, wounGiHg another
nan. Capt Emory then fired on Phillips
and killed him, and wounded his brother.
The others in the house were taken prison
crs and seat away without injury.
The following is the free state account, as
VIC find It in 4 letter in the St. Louis DeHto-
crat:
Last Monday was election day at Lcaven-
worth for municipal officers. The free state
men anticipating a difficulty, had resolved
not to vote at all.
Towards noon, about fifty men under Emc-
", but very few Of whom were Missouri
ans-the company being made up Of q mix
cd crowd of dcsperadocs, who lad mostly
come from South Carolina and Georgia
marched up TO the house of brother OF Mr. F.
Phillips, Ga Shawnee Street, where he was
boarding, and demanded his arns and him
self IS prisoner. The doors OF the house
were boltcd, and he replied to them out Of
window, that he wouldn't give up his arms,
and that If they attempted to force their
way in, it would DC At the peril Of their lives.
They then rushed UP, and two of them were
Immediately shot dead by the pistols in his
hands. The house was soon broken epen.
and in moracn: Philips fcu 4 corpse pierced
by a half dozen bullets. Ills brother who
was also defending the house, was wounded
in the arm. The mob then removed the
body and all the things out OF the house,
and were about setting fire to the premises,
/ when they were stayed IL . leader O. the
pTo-slayery party named V. II. Russell.
The free state account gives no reason
Why the mob called on Mr. Phillips, but Mr.
Norton, Gree state authority states that
when the mob ca,lel on hi5n, they demand
cd whether he would take up arms 70 de-
fend the town against the anticipated attack
oc Lane" and when he replied he s. would
do anything in his power consistently 10 pro-
tect the town. thcy said THAT is right;
that is sufficient. You can sleep quietly"
The true state Of the case, then as appears
from these accounts, is this. That Leayea-
worth, which is : strongly pro-slavery town,
was threatened, O. the people imagined it
was threatened, by al attacl. from Lane !;
that the people determined that al who
would no: turn out to defend the city mast
leave; that Phillips, resting under suspicion
Of being in league with the enemy, when
called upon 70 know whether AG would assist
in defending the town, barred his door, and
when it was broken open, shot two o! the
pro-sIavery r.ren, and in return was murder
Cd himself
Mr. 2. WAS young man who had many
warm personal friends in this community,
and by none WAS he held in higher estina-
ton than by ourselves. lie was a young
man Of irreproachable character, OF generous
nIulscs, AMI OF firm principle and true
courage. None can more sincerely lament
/ lis death than We DO.
/ Our object in giving the particulars Of his
death so infinitely, however, is TO place the
responsibility exactly where it belongs. 1t
Is admitted On all hands that there 3ris peace
two months ago in Kansas. The Missouri
ruiIians and Inaraudcrs from the slave states
had been generally driven out Here and
there squad of Carolnians and Georgians
may have remained, and committed some
Outrages, but they were more than over
matched in other quarters by Massac Brown
and his free state banditti. The people &c
morally had returned to their ayoca,ions,
Lawrence once more hourishcd, and order
and security prevailed with all who sought
peace Ii is true, the Missouri river was
partially blockaded 20 free state emigrants,
and being under slave state control, there
was Cor the time 10 help for il; but while
few if any armed bands entered the terrific
~ by that channel, it is also true that the
route to Kansas from the free states vas open
through Iowa for arI..ed bands rs well as all
other free state einigrants No one denies
but two emigrants from the north to one
from the south wtrc entering the territory.
To insure the continuance of this peace, the
democratic party in congress passed a bill
through the Senate to have registry made
OF ali the bona .JiCle voters in the territory on
the 4th of July last-this registry to be