Osawatomie Battlefield courtesy of Oswald Garrison Villard's John Brown 1800-1859: A Biography Fifty Years After. On August 30, 1856, Abolitionist John Brown and 40 other Free-Staters unsuccessfully defended the town of Osawatomie, Kansas against 250-300 border ruffians under John W. Reid. The Free-Staters were routed, Osawatomie was burned, and one of Brown's sons was killed, but Brown escaped with his life and earned the nickname "Osawatomie Brown" for his spirited defense.