To the editor:

Sunday, June 2, marks the 168th anniversary of a historic Civil War event. On that day in 1856, the first rounds were fired in this bloody conflict by abolitionist John Brown in the Battle of Black Jack, just 20 miles south of Lawrence. Many historians mark this event as the true beginning of the Civil War.

Brown’s force of 30 sought to free two of his sons captured by Deputy U.S. Marshal Henry Pate and his proslavery band of 50. That’s right. The lawmen in Douglas County during the Kansas-Missousri Border war were pro-slavey men. If you want to further expand your knowledge of the Civil War in Kansas a commemoration of the Battle takes place Saturday, June 1, at 10 a.m. at the Black Jack battleground site. Who knows what else you’ll learn.

Frank Barthell,

Lawrence