, an incident in the violent quarrel over slavery and statehood in Kansas in the 1850's. On August 30, 1856, John Brown and some 40 free-state men (opponents of slavery) tried to defend Osawatomie, Kansas, against some 250 pro-slavery raiders. The defenders were finally routed, with losses that included Brown's son Frederick. John G. Whittier's poem “John Brown of Osawatomie” described the battle, adding to the Abolitionist leader's fame.