C. H. PRICE, President} R. GOLDING, Chairman } R. GILPATRICK } W. C. MCDOW } Committee S. V. VANDAMAN } A. CASTELE } JOHN BLUNT }
The pillage and burning of Lawrence put the killings upon a war basis. They were supposed to have been a war measure, instead of a case of horse stealing; and, instead of the Browns _et al._ being hanged for their crimes, as they would have been, by common consent, as undesirable citizens, partisan spirit and sectional sentiment soon rallied in their behalf and not only condoned their horrible crimes, but, in time, approved of the murders, and recognized Brown as among the foremost defenders of the Free-State cause. At a meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society in Lawrence December 19, 1859, Governor Robinson said:
It made no difference whether he (Brown) raised his hand or otherwise (at Pottawatomie); he was present aiding and advising to it and did not attempt to stop the bloodshed, and is, of course, responsible, though justifiable, according to his understanding of affairs.
Robinson also stated at this meeting that he himself thought the murders justifiable at the time.
The Anti-Slavery Society, after the discussion, voted that the murders were not unjustifiable, and that they were performed from the sad necessity ... to defend the lives and liberty of the settlers of that region.[138]
Governor Robinson further said on February 5, 1878:
I never had much doubt that Captain Brown was the author of the blow at Pottawatomie, for the reason that he was the only man who comprehended the situation, and saw the absolute necessity of some such blow and had the nerve to strike it.
The character of Charles Robinson is evidence that if he had known, at this time, that the murders on the Pottawatomie had been committed in the promotion of robbery, instead of resulting from a supposed spasm of patriotic resentment, provoked by the sack and burning of Lawrence, he would not have declared them justifiable.
In the light of these occurrences, the student of history may readily solve the enigmas involved in Brown's letter of April 7th and in Henry Thompson's reference to his relation with Brown's plans: _until school is out_. He finds in them a logical reason for the disbanding of the "Liberty Guards"; for the organization of the Pottawatomie Rifles; and for Brown's desire that the slave-power should not "cease from its acts of aggression." These preliminary acts are in harmony with, and form a part of his general plan for a "sudden coup" on the Pottawatomie.