From Edward Fitch to Dear Parents
The Blow has been struck, the war has begun. Two of our men have been killed, murdered this day. One within a mile of town and the other at Blanton’s bridge four miles from here. God only knows who will be killed next or where this will end, not here at any rate.
We must have help from the Free States. We are not in half as good condition to fight now as we were last winter for then we were thoroughly organised. Now we are not and have got no head man to organise us that we can trust and that will take hold and again we are not as much concentrated as we were then.
The man at the bridge was shot about noon and in now dead. He was shot with a U.S. musket in the back while going away from the men who shot him. The other man was shot in the head just over the eye with a Sharps rifle. I think he was on the Cal road and only two or three with him. They snapped their rifles at the men who shot him but the rifles did not go off. They however wounded one of the pro Slavery men with a Revolver so that he dropped his rifle and they (our men) got it. We are in a bad fix and no mistake. The enemy have got a number of our leading men prisoners viz. Gov. Robinson, G.W. Brown (Ed. Herald), Jenkins, one of our good true and prominent men, Judge Schuyler (Sec. of State), Conway (judge of our Supreme Court) and some others of less consequence. Steward who was killed at the Cal. Road was from N.Y., Jones killed at the bridge was from Ill., both young men. I am badly armed for war and ought to have a good Revolver.
Pray for our success and also help us for probably men will have to come from Mass., even, to fight here.
Yours until death Your aff son E.P. Fitch
[ ] Give what is on this sheet as much publicity as possible. Tell every one who has the least interest in Kansas that now we want help –men money and arms.
