He soon found that he could not govern Kansas with paper proclamations alone.  His sudden arrival at this particular juncture was evidently an unexpected contretemps.  While he was preaching and printing his sage admonitions about peace and prosperity at Lecompton, and laboring to change the implements of civil war into plowshares and pruning-hooks, the Missouri raid against Lawrence, officially called into the field by Woodson’s proclamation, was about to deal out destruction to that town.  A thousand Border Ruffians (at least two eye-witnesses say 2500), led by their recognized Missouri chiefs, were at that moment camped within striking distance of the hated “New Boston.”  Their published address, which declared that “these traitors, assassins, and robbers must now be punished, must now be taught a lesson they will remember,” that “Lane’s army and its allies must be expelled from the Territory,” left no doubt of their errand.

This news reached Governor Geary about midnight of his second day in Lecompton.  One of the brigadiers of the skeleton militia was apparently in command, and not yet having caught the cue of the Governor’s intentions, reported the force for orders, “in the field, ready for duty, and impatient to act."[11] At about the same hour the Governor received a message from the agent he had sent to Lawrence to distribute copies of his inaugural, that the people of that town were arming and preparing to receive and repel this contemplated attack of the Missourians.  He was dumfounded at the information; his promises and policy, upon which, the ink was not yet dry, were already in jeopardy.  Instead of bringing peace his advent was about to open war.

In this contingency the Governor took his measures with true military promptness.  He immediately dispatched to the Missouri camp Secretary Woodson with copies of his inaugural, and the adjutant-general of the Territory with orders to disband and muster out of service the Missouri volunteers,[12] while he himself, at the head of three hundred dragoons and a light battery, moved rapidly to Lawrence, a distance of twelve miles.  Entering that town at sunrise, he found a few hundred men hastily organized for defense in the improvised intrenchments and barricades about the place, ready enough to sell their lives, but vastly more willing to intrust their protection to the Governor’s authority and the Federal troops.[13] They listened to his speech and readily promised to obey his requirements.

Since the Missourians had officially reported themselves to him as subject to his orders, the Governor supposed that his injunctions, conveyed to them in writing and print, and borne by the secretary and the adjutant-general of the Territory, would suffice to send them back at once to their own borders, and he returned to Lecompton to take up his thorny duties of administration.  Though forewarned by ex-Governor Shannon and by General Smith, Governor Geary did not yet realize the temper