Life span: 12/22/1814 to 12/06/1871TabsLife SummaryFull name: James MontgomeryPlace of Birth: Ashtabula County, OHBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: NorthOrigins: Free StateNo. of Spouses: 2Occupation: MilitaryFarmer or PlanterClergyEducatorRelation to Slavery: White non-slaveholderChurch or Religious Denomination: OtherOther Religion: CampbelliteOther Affiliations: Abolitionists (Anti-Slavery Society)Military: Union Army Note Cards James Montgomery (Dirck, 2004) ScholarshipOne incident in particular marks [James] Montgomery's rise as a border raider to be reckoned with. In December 1858 he led a large expedition of sixty to one hundred armed freesoilers from Linn, Osage, and Bourbon Counties into Fort Scott, long hated as the “bastile of the proslavery party” in southern Kansas. Their goal was the liberation of Benjamin Rice, one of Montgomery's close comrades, who had been imprisoned for deeds committed prior to a general amnesty issued by Governor James W. Denver. Montgomery and other freesoilers believed the amnesty should have absolved Rice of past wrongdoing, and they saw his arrest as an act of had faith. They accordingly rode into Fort Scott at dawn with guns drawn, and during the ensuing firefight proslavery man John Little took a bullet in his forehead as he was wiping dust from a window pane to shoot at the raiders. Montgomery and his men freed Rice and beat a hasty retreat out of town, but not before pilfering some money and other items. Little was “a very fine young man” from a good Southern family according to proslavery Kansans, and his death caused a sensation in their ranks.Brian R. Dirck, “By the Hand of God: James Montgomery and Redemptive Violence,” Kansas History 27, no. 1-2 (2004): 107. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 12/12/1861 12/12/1861 Kansas Volunteers burn the western Missouri towns of Papinsville and Butler in Bates County 06/01/1863 06/03/1863 Harriet Tubman leads an armed raid against Confederate forces in South Carolina 06/11/1863 06/11/1863 Raiding into Georgia, former "jayhawker" James Montgomery burns the town of Darien Major TopicsBleeding Kansas Documents Subject Docs Date Title 01/08/1859 New York Times, “The Kansas Troubles,” January 8, 1859 01/15/1859 New York Times, “News from Kansas and Utah,” January 15, 1859 10/27/1859 Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "Sketch of Captain John Brown," October 27, 1859 12/01/1860 Chicago (IL) Tribune, "Montgomery," December 1, 1860 Images James Montgomery James Montgomery, detail Bibliography Chicago Style Entry Link Dirck, Brian R. “By the Hand of God: James Montgomery and Redemptive Violence.” Kansas History 27, no. 1-2 (2004): 100-115. View Record
James Montgomery (Dirck, 2004) ScholarshipOne incident in particular marks [James] Montgomery's rise as a border raider to be reckoned with. In December 1858 he led a large expedition of sixty to one hundred armed freesoilers from Linn, Osage, and Bourbon Counties into Fort Scott, long hated as the “bastile of the proslavery party” in southern Kansas. Their goal was the liberation of Benjamin Rice, one of Montgomery's close comrades, who had been imprisoned for deeds committed prior to a general amnesty issued by Governor James W. Denver. Montgomery and other freesoilers believed the amnesty should have absolved Rice of past wrongdoing, and they saw his arrest as an act of had faith. They accordingly rode into Fort Scott at dawn with guns drawn, and during the ensuing firefight proslavery man John Little took a bullet in his forehead as he was wiping dust from a window pane to shoot at the raiders. Montgomery and his men freed Rice and beat a hasty retreat out of town, but not before pilfering some money and other items. Little was “a very fine young man” from a good Southern family according to proslavery Kansans, and his death caused a sensation in their ranks.Brian R. Dirck, “By the Hand of God: James Montgomery and Redemptive Violence,” Kansas History 27, no. 1-2 (2004): 107.
