Jones and Donaldson near the town of…
May 1856 CE
A large force is stationed on the high ground at Mount Oread, and a cannon is placed to cover and command the area.
The house of Charles L. Robinson (later to become the first governor of Kansas) is taken over as Jones's headquarters.
Every road to the town and on the opposite side of the river is guarded by Jones's men to prevent the free soilers from fleeing.
A number of flags are flown by Jones's men, such as the state banners of Alabama and South Carolina, a flag with black and white stripes, and flags bearing pro-slavery and/or inflammatory inscriptions (i.e. "Kansas the Outpost", "Southern Rights", and "Supremacy of the White Race").
Shalor Eldridge, the proprietor of the Free State Hotel, soon learns of the oncoming forces, and he journeys out to meet them; he is told by Donaldson that the posse will enter into Lawrence and attack if and only if the citizens try to resist Donaldson and Jones's men.
Donaldson and Eldridge now journey to the hotel, where, according to the New York Times, Eldridge had prepared "an elegant dinner, the best that the fresh and abundant stores in the cellar could afford" (which included "costly wines") so as to placate the marshal and his men.
Eldridge is interviewed by Donaldson while the federal agent and his followers ravenously consume the meal, then leave without paying.
Shortly afterwards, the marshal dismisses his followers, who are immediately deputized by Jones.
Jones now asks to speak to a representative of the town.
Samuel C. Pomeroy (who, along with Charles Robinson, had led the second group of settlers to the Lawrence city site in 1854) agrees to meet with the sheriff and discuss with him the situation at hand.
Jones is clear in what he wants: for the citizens of Lawrence to surrender all of their weapons.
Pomeroy argues that there is not much he can do in this regard, as it is ultimately up to the individual citizens to give up their arms.
However, hoping to encourage Jones to leave the city peacefully, Pomeroy agrees to turn over the city's only artillery piece.
While Jones does seize this cannon, it does not appease the sheriff as Pomeroy had hoped.
It is the "Old Sacramento" cannon that the pro-slavers make use of in their initial attempt to bring down the Free State Hotel.
This weapon had been stored at the Liberty Arsenal until it was seized by pro-slavery forces in 1855. (The cannon will eventually be captured by free-staters later in 1856 during the Second Battle of Franklin.)
While Jones and his men are trying to bring down the hotel, the printing offices of the Kansas Free State and the Herald of Freedom are trashed; their libraries are thrown out the window, the presses are smashed, the type is thrown in the river, and any remaining papers are either thrown into the blowing wind to be carried off or are used by Jones and his men to burn down the Free State Hotel.
When the newspapers are obliterated and the hotel has been brought to the ground, Jones's men loot the half-deserted town.
As they retreat, they burn Robinson's home on Mount Oread for good measure.
One person—a member of Jones's gang—dies during the attack when he is struck in the head by a collapsing bit of the Free State Hotel.
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