john brown was an abolitionist who came to the kansas territory on october 7, 1855, to help several of his sons who were already there. he was considered an extremist by some, a martyr by others. as an abolitionist he found slavery in any form to be immoral. on the night of may 24, 1856, brown and a few followers attacked and murdered five men in a small settlement on the pottawatomie creek near manhattan, kansas. the killings were particularly brutal. one by one, settlers were dragged from their homes and hacked to death with broadswords and shot. up to that time there had not been much bloodshed between proslavery and free-state groups. brown's raid brought retaliation.