This petition, dated September 23, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by 31 “law and order citizens” of Anderson and Coffey Counties. The petitioners complain that bands of abolitionist guerrillas have driven them from their homes, robbed them, destroyed their crops, and threatened their lives. The attackers’ objective, the petitioners claim, is “resisting civil authority and trampling underfoot the laws of the Territory.” The petition requests that Geary send troops to protect the citizens and help them return to their homes.
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