Glass plate negative of General John W. Geary circa 1860-1870. John W. Geary, former mayor of San Francisco, took office as Kansas territorial governor on September 9, 1856. Geary was appointed by President Franklin Pierce to replace Wilson Shannon and attempt to bring peace to "Bleeding Kansas." Geary attempted to remain neutral in the debate over slavery, but he increasingly sided with Free-Staters and drew the ire of proslavery residents and their Missouri neighbors. After receiving numerous death threats, Geary tendered his resignation to President James Buchanan, but Buchanan fired him on March 12. On March 20, 1857, Geary left office and served as a brigadier general with mixed success under General Ulysses S. Grant.
