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.
It wasn’t much of a fight, but I’m sure that was the biggest thing that ever occurred in Hickory Point.