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I find your initial post to be quite interesting. In large part because Hickory Point is about 10 miles west of our place. About 5 miles north of Oskaloosa on US 59 is the intersection with Hickory Point Road. An historical marker describes the battle, but it should say: In 1856 at this spot, nothing happened. That is because the “battle” was about 1/2 mile west in the settlement of Hickory Point. These days it’s about 10 houses and a street grid that you can see on Google Earth.

Perfect way to start this project because it’s all in front of us and nothing much is going on at the surface. Things are heating up quickly here in Eastern Kansas, but it’s just posturing so far and the battle of Hickory Point is 10 months away.

The mandatory movie for this phase is Santa Fe Trail with Ronald Reagan and Errol Flynn but that’s still a bit premature along the timeline. The Santa Fe Trail runs through Ft. Leavenworth and past Easton, running just north of Hickory Point. The hillside next to my quarters at Ft Leavenworth showed the wagon wheel ruts. It’s going to be a long way to Appomattox Court House.

The First Day’s Battle at Hickory Point

This is a diary of personal experience on an issue much like we are experiencing today an issue that divides the country.

http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-the-first-day-s-battle-at-hickory-point/12531

Mr. Reader observed and experienced much of the Kansas Territorial conflict. He was a free-state sympathizer. The community centering at Indianola was largely proslavery. Mr. Reader was by nature a pacifist and for the most part avoided the clashes that often stirred the neighborhood. He became, however, a member of the Second Kansas State Militia and participated in the first day’s fight at Hickory Point. During the Civil War, in 1864 when the Price Raid threatened Kansas, he joined the Topeka contingent that was thrown into the defense. He was captured in the Battle of the Big Blue, but later escaped while being taken as a prisoner to Texas. This ended his military service, for after recovering from the effects of this experience he returned to the farm.

The battle of Hickory Point occurred on September 13 and 14, 1856, and was one of the many collisions between the free-state and proslavery forces. Gov. John W. Geary had just arrived in the territory, and had issued his proclamation ordering all armed forces to disband. Gen. James H. Lane was at or near Topeka and did not hear of the order to disperse. With a small party of men he was about to start out towards Holton when he was met by messengers from the neighborhood of Osawkie, who informed him that proslavery men were committing outrages in the vicinity, that Grasshopper Falls was burned, and that it was their intention to burn other freestate towns and drive the citizens from the country. Lane marched to Osawkie at once, where his force was recruited from the free-state settlers near there. Learning that a large party of proslavery men was at Hickory Point, Lane marched his men to that place. The proslavery men were under command of Capt. H. A. Lowe, and included about forty South Carolinians.

Hickory Point consisted of a few buildings on the Ft. Leavenworth-Ft. Riley military road and the Atchison-Topeka stage road. Its location was five and one-half miles north of the present Oskaloosa and about twenty-eight miles northeast of Topeka.

I like the following and imagine things might be similar if we develop into a shooting war:

http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-the-first-day-s-battle-at-hickory-point/12531

Toward night my uncle returned, and his first words were: “Sam, there is going to be a battle to-morrow — do you want to go with the Topeka boys?”

Boy like, I was only too eager to be off, but I met with strong opposition on the part of the women of the family. My sister was determined I should not go, and when all arguments failed she hid my gun. But I searched until I found it, and soon had my blanket, powderhorn and ammunition pouch gathered together.

And his conclusion may say it best:

As a private soldier I knew nothing of the plans and motives of our leaders. They were brave men and may have been able, but they certainly proved to be unfortunate. General Lane’s friends called him a clear-headed, heroic champion of our cause; his enemies the reverse. He was and still is, a puzzle. Perhaps there was no one who came in personal contact with him who was not swayed more or less by his subtle influence. Some of that influence lingers with me still, and there is a secret pleasure in the knowledge that I was one of “Jim Lane’s boys.”

But to a cool, dispassionate judgment this Hickory Point affair yields him little credit. It was a series of abortive attempts culminating in an unfortunate blunder that left Colonel Harvey to fight and suffer defeat alone. On the other hand, had Lane disregarded Governor Geary’s request and gained a victory at Hickory Point, would our cause have been advanced? The nation was seething, and a successful battle might have acted like a spark to a powder magazine, and precipitated our Civil War four years too soon. Most likely all was ordered for the best. For it was ballots and not bullets that finally freed Kansas from the threatened curse of African slavery.

Wagon ruts. Wow. It is interesting how many there were in prominent groups.

I was born before 1950 and grew up just off of State Line Road in Johnson County, Kansas. My Great Grandfather was in Maple Hill and “rode with” John Brown. I built over the well at Westport Landing adjacent to the oldest structure in Westport (later absorbed by KC).

The house I lived in in college in Lawrence still had a mini-ball in the front porch beam and the fighting prior to the war in Platte County was all around where I lived for twenty years.

There are more books on this era now than there were available in the 60s and 70s..