Free State Fortress - The First Ten Years of the History of Lawrence, Kansas by Allen Crafton
More, perhaps was spoken and written about Lawrence, Kansas Territory, in the 1850s than about any other town in the nation. In these speeches and writings printed in the North, Lawrence and her citizens were extravagantly praised; if they came from the South, she was slandered and condemned. It goes without saying that both sections lied. Using notes and writings collected over the years by local resident Mary Maud Smelzer and other sources, the author presents his interpretation of events in Lawrence from its first settlement 1854 through the end of the Civil War years, 1863.
