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Title: Warrant for the Arrest of Gen. John Reid
Description: This warrant for the arrest of Gen. John Reid was issued on September 19, 1856 by S.G. Cato, Assistant Justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas Territory. The warrant accuses Reid and others of sacking and burning the town of Osawatomie, Kansas, kidnapping two people, and stealing property worth several thousand dollars on August 30, 1856.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: September 19, 1856

Title: From S.G. Cato to John W. Geary
Description: This letter, dated October 29, 1856, is from Judge S.G. Cato in Shawnee County, Kansas to Gov. John W. Geary. Cato reports on the judicial proceedings he has presided over as Associate Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. He lists the number of bills of indictment returned by grand juries in Anderson, Allen, Lykins, Bourbon, Franklin, and Shawnee counties, and reports that three criminal trials have been held in Bourbon County.
Date: October 29, 1856

Title: Affidavit of Q. Jernigan
Description: This is the sworn affidavit of Q. Jernigan, dated October 7, 1856 and signed in Douglas County by S.G. Cato, Associate Supreme Court Justice of Kansas Territory. Jernigan claims that in June, a group of armed men seized from him a Sharps rifle and a large Bowie knife, and that these items are now in the possession of Gov. John W. Geary. At the bottom of the page is an order from Cato to the U.S. Marshal of Kansas Territory, commanding him to obtain Jernigan’s stolen items and bring them before Cato “to be dealt with according to law.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: October 7, 1856

Title: Petition of Sundry Citizens of Pottawatomie Creek
Description: This petition, dated September 19, 1856, is addressed to Kansas Gov. John W. Geary and is signed by 32 Kansas citizens living near the Pottawatomie, Sugar, and Middle Creeks and the Osage River. The petitioners describe several recent guerrilla attacks in their region, including the Battle of Osawatomie, and ask for Geary to take action. They complain that the attacks, launched by Missourians and “guided by a few desperate men in our midst,” have succeeded in “sacking and burning houses and in robbing and plundering and menacing the lives of our citizens.”
Object Type: Petition
Date: September 19, 1856

Title: Documents Relating to United States vs. John Brown, Jr.
Description: These documents from May and June 1856 relate to the case United States versus John Brown Jr. and others for subverting the U.S. government. Included among the documents is a warrant for Brown’s arrest, signed by Judge S.G. Cato on May 28, 1856. Also included are two witness subpoenas, dated June 14, 1856; one is signed by Judge Cato, the other by Charles P. Bullock.
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: May 28, 1856 and June 14, 1856

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865