Holmes' Raid.—Soon after Gov. Geary entered upon the duties of the office in the fall of 1856, the free-state citizens appealed to him for protection. He disbanded the territorial militia assembled near Lawrence, and early in October proclaimed a peace. Richard J. Hinton, writing from Lawrence under date of Nov. 6, 1856, says that some of the free-state settlers, "finding the governor did not give them justice, determined to administer it themselves." Almost immediately after the governor had proclaimed peace in the territory and left the house of one Capt. E. Brown, a strong pro-slavery partisan, J. H. Holmes, with 7 others, surrounded the house, took Brown prisoner and looted his dwelling. A detachment of dragoons chased Holmes and his men across the border into Missouri. Thus forced by circumstances into "the enemy's country," Holmes decided to turn the affair to his advantage. He penetrated some 15 miles into the state, plundering known pro-slavery men. In the course of his march he met a man who had taken part in the burning of Osawatomie and stripped him of everything except his clothing.

Hinton says: "This is the first foray into Missouri, and having led the way it will not probably be the last. The bands are not generally beneficial to our cause, but men around Osawatomie who had suffered so much are filled with a determination never to rest till their foes or themselves are crushed out. It was bad for Homes (Holmes) to have plundered in Missouri at the present moment, but it is not to be wondered at when we consider what provocation they have endured."

Raids were common occurrences during the territorial period, but the raid of Holmes into Missouri is of historic interest because, as Hinton says, it was the first incursion of free-state men into that state. Holmes died at Red Bank, N. J., Nov. 21, 1907.