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This blog was updated on a daily basis for about two years, with those daily entries ceasing on December 31, 2013. The blog is still active, however, and we hope that people stopping in, who find something lacking, will add to the daily entries.

The blog still receives new posts as well, but now it receives them on items of Wyoming history. That has always been a feature of the blog, but Wyoming's history is rich and there are many items that are not fully covered here, if covered at all. Over time, we hope to remedy that.

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Use 2013 for the search date, as that's the day regular dates were established and fixed.

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Showing posts with label Converse County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Converse County. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Junction of the Oregon Trail and Fetterman Road, Converse County, Wyoming.

These photographs depict the 1916 dated memorial to the junction of the Oregon Trail and the Fetterman Road.


The monument is located on Cold Springs Road, State Highway 91, just outside of Douglas, Wyoming, on a road that obviously saw more traffic in former days.  As these photographs attest to, the monument has endured significant weathering over the years.


Indeed, it's now very hard to read.


The monument states:
THIS MONUMENT
marks the junction
of the Oregon Trail
and road to Old Ft.
Fetterman nine
miles north of this
spot established
July 19, 1867 abandoned
May 2, 1882. 
Erected by the State
Of Wyoming and
citizens of Converse
County to commemorate
the early history of
Wyoming
1916

This would place the monument in the early series of Wyoming historical markers, a large number of which were located along the Oregon Trail.


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

May 21

1865  Sioux and Cheyenne attacked three man party of troopers of the 11th Kansas lead by 2nd. Lt. W. B. Godfrey three miles above Deer Creek Station, Wyoming, while another party of fifty warriors attacked the six man 11th Kansas contingent in a nearby camp.  A party of 200 Indians drove the horse heard off at Deer Creek Station and were given chase by a 30 man contingent of troopers lead by Col Plumb, who were not able to ford the North Platte due to the spring runoff.

1888  Converse County was organized.

1898  Wyoming volunteers for the war in the Philippines arrived in San Francisco and Camp Merritt.

1903 In a speech in Portland Oregon, President Roosevelt declared: "Base is the man who inflicts a wrong, and base is the man who suffers a wrong to be done him."

1911  Porfirio Díaz and Francisco Madero sign the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez.

1918   Tagiro Tanimura of Rock Springs granted a patent for a fountain pen.

1934.  Company No. 844 of the Civilian Conservation Corps arrives at Guernsey State Park to begin work on construction projects.  Ultimately they would go on to build the Officer's Quarters at Camp Guernsey, the new National Guard facility that replaced Pole Mountain as the training range for the Wyoming National Guard.  Camp Guernsey only received one or two annual training cycles prior to World War Two, but has remained the training range since World War Two.  Now much expanded, it is also used by the U.S. Army and the United States Marine Corps for training missions.

After WWII the Guard would install Quonset Huts for the enlisted barracks, but I believe that those were recently replaced.

1942   The Odd Fellows suspended their conventions and put money for the same into war bonds.

1953  Noah W. Riley appointed U.S. Marshall for Wyoming.

1963  Wapiti Ranger Station, the first ranger station constructed in the United States at federal expense, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Friday, May 17, 2013

May 17

1876  7th Cavalry departs Ft. Lincoln on campaign.  Family members gathered to watch them leave the post as the band played martial music.  Quite a few of the troopers would never return.

1888  Douglas chosen as the county seat for Converse County.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1902  Rock Springs hits its record high temperature, 112F.

1918  Casper Daily Press for May 17, 1918. Loafers Must Go To Work, Nonproducers Will Be Barred From Casper By Orders of City Fathers, "Get Work, Enlist, Or Go"


It was a hard day for leisure in Casper, 100 years ago.

1921  Laramie's  Elmer Lovejoy patented a Trackage for Ceiling Type of Doors with Door-Openers (Patent No. 1,378,123). Attribution:  On This Day.

1928  Mother Featherlegs Monument dedicated in Lusk.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

2009  A 3.9 magnitude earthquake occurred 15 miles west-northwest of Jeffrey City.  Attribution:  On This Day.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

March 9

1820  Congress passed the Land Act.The act prohibited the purchase of the public domain on credit, reduced the size of the minimum purchase size to 80 acres, required a down payment of $100.00, a substantial amount, but reduced the per acreage price to $1.25/acre.  The act was designed to help stop speculation in public land and assist small purchasers.

1849  William Alford Richards was born in Hazel Green, Wisconsin. He served as the 4th Governor of Wyoming from 1895-1899.Richards has been discussed a bit here elsewhere, but is noted for having come to Wyoming as a surveyor, and staying on as a homesteader.

1888  Natrona, Convere and Sheridan Counties created by the Territorial Legislature. They were created by an act of Territorial Legislature which overroad a veto by the Territorial Governor.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1904  A sheep raid near Laramie results in the destruction of sheep camps and the death of 300 sheep.  The early 20th Century in Wyoming was marked by a sheep war that went on for nearly a decade in which cattle interests resorted to violence in an effort to keep mostly nomadic sheep operations out of the state.  Attacks on sheep camps became common during this period.

1912  Cornerstone of Bishop Randall Hospital laid in Lander.

1916  Pancho Villa raided Columbus New Mexico, an event which would spark the Punitive Expedition and the Federalization of the National Guard.  To varying degrees, the National Guard would remain Federalized from this point through 1919, although technically all members of the Federalized Guard were conscripted during World War One due to a legal opinion of the U.S.  Attorney General to the effect that the Federalized Guard could not be sent overseas, a view that was a surprise at the time, and which has been completely rejected since that time.

 
 Villa leading his forces prior to his 1915 defeat at Celaya
0100: Forces under Francisco "Pancho" Villa cross the border near Palomas, Chihuahua to advance on the small town of Columbus New Mexico, which they intend to raid in retaliation for Woodrow Wilson's actions in allowing Carranza's forces to be transported by rail across Texas to be used against Villa's forces in northern Mexico.  
Most are on foot.  Columbus is 2.5 miles to the north of the Mexican border town, where Villistas had been located and recuperating after a recent defeat at the hands of Carranza's forces.
Villa, who may or may not have accompanied his troops that day, commanded approximately 500 men.  His force of horsemen was in disarray after being defeated at the  Battle of Celaya in April of the prior year, from which it had still not recovered.  Villa had gone in that battle with 22,000 men, 8,000 of which were killed, and another 8,000 of which were captured in the battle.  His forces at Palomas, while dangerous, were a shadow of his prior Division del Norte.
Villa believed that nearby Columbus was garrisoned with about 30 US soldiers.  This intelligence was erroneous and US forces in the region were alerted to the possibility of trouble occurring.
1929  Greybull was flooded by the Big Horn River.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.


 Col Herbert J. Slocum, U.S. 13th Cavalry.  Slocum was in command of the 13th Cavalry Regiment at Columbus New Mexico, or more accurately Camp Furlong which was next to Columbus.
0415:  Villistas enter Columbus New Mexico from the west and southeast crying "¡Viva Villa! ¡Viva México!"

They expected to encounter an American garrison of only 30 men, as noted above, based upon their scouting and intelligence.  However, Columbus had a garrison of over 300 men, to Villa's force of approximately 500 men.  The US forces were from the U.S. 13th Cavalry who occupied adjacent Camp Furlong.  Moreover, U.S. troops were equipped in a modern fashion, complete with the Benet Mercie light machine gun which had been adopted for cavalry use.

The raid on Columbus New Mexico, 1916
 Maj General John P. Lucas during World War Two.  Lucas, as a lieutenant, would react heroically to the Villista attack.
0415-0445 to 0730.  A pitched battle between Villistas against cavalrymen of the 13th U.S. Cavalry ensues. While caught by surprise, the US forces had some inkling that Villistas may have been on the move prior to the raid and reacted very quickly.  Local Columbus New Mexico residents also took part in the battle, defending their homes.  While the battle started in darkness, the fact that a hotel caught fire soon aided US. forces in being able to pick out Villista targets.
The early minutes of the action featured a heroic reaction by Lt. John P. Lucas who fought his way alone from his tent to the guard shack in spite of lacking shoes and shirt.  Lucas who commanded a machinegun troop, organized a single machinegun in defense until the remainder of his unit could come up.  He then organized them and worked to repel the Villistas.  Lucas made a career of the Army and died after World War Two at age 59 while still serving in the Army. 
 
0730  A Villista bugler sounds retreat.  Villistas begin the process of withdrawing to Mexico with their wounded. 
 
The following telegram arrived in Washington, DC:
Columbus attacked this morning, 4:30 o’clock. Citizens murdered. Repulsed about 6 o’clock. Town partly burned. They have retreated to the west. Unable to say how many were killed. Department of Justice informed that between 400 and 500 Villa troops attacked Columbus, New Mexico about 4:30. Villa probably in charge. Three American soldiers killed and several injured; also killed four civilians and wounded four. Several of the attacking party killed and wounded by our forces. Attacking party also burned depot and principal buildings in Columbus. United States soldiers now pursuing attacking parties across the line into Mexico. No prisoners reported taken alive
The Raid on Columbus New Mexico, 1916
0730-balance of the day:  Troopers of the U.S. 13th Cavalry pursue retreating Villistas into Mexico.  Major Frank Tompkins, sought permission against the rules of engagement, to cross the border and was granted the same by Slocum.   His troops advanced past Palomas and fifteen miles into Mexico, where their pursuit is arrested by the Villista defense. As he had only a portion of the Camp Furlong garrison he was badly outnumbered in the pursuit but nonetheless engaged the Villista rear guard four times, inflicting heavy casualties on them.  When his advance was finally checked, he withdrew into the United States.
The raid leaves part of Columbus in ruins and will launch the United States into a punitive expedition into Mexico against Villa's forces, and which would nearly lead to war with Mexico.  Woodrow Wilson filled the vacant position of Secretary of War that very day.
 


Most towns and cities in 1916 were served by a morning and an evening newspaper, or a paper that published a morning and evening edition.  Therefore, most Americans would have started learning of the Villista raid around 5:00 p.m. or so as the evening newspapers were delivered or started being offered for sale.

Here's the evening edition of the Casper Daily Press, a paper that was in circulation in Casper Wyoming in 1916 and which is the predecessor of one of the current papers.

1917   The Wyoming Tribune for March 9, 1917: State Troops Mustered Out
 

Wyoming's citizen soldiers were citizens again. . . although not for long.

And the Marines had landed. . . in Cuba.
The Cheyenne State Leader for March 9, 1917: Guardsmen Keep Thier Overcoats
 

Wyoming National Guardsmen being released from service were relieved to learn they'd be able to keep their overcoats.  A rumor had floated that they were to be taken and burned.  Not so, said the Army, they'd keep them.

In March, in Wyoming, that was really good news.

The Marines had landed in Cuba.  Out of Mexico and into Cuba?

The false story about Germany broadcasting the Zimmerman note to Mexico by radio was being floated.  That never happened, but the British were circulating the story as cover for how they had learned of the message.  Zimmerman himself was reported to have provided funds for an anti British rebellion in India.

The Graf Zeppelin passed away, as did the American Ambassador to Japan.

2020.  Governor Gordon issues the following statement.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2020
CONTACT: Michael Pearlman, Communications Director


Governor Gordon issues statement on Wyoming legislators who attended
a conference where an attendee tested positive for coronavirus

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon has issued the following statement about members of the Wyoming Legislature who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). An attendee of the conference was subsequently diagnosed with coronavirus. 
It has come to my attention that several Wyoming legislators attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 29 where an attendee was subsequently diagnosed with coronavirus. I am given to believe that House and Senate leadership is aware of the issue.
At this time it does not appear that any members of the Wyoming legislature had contact with this individual. Our state health officer has been notified and has identified these legislators as low risk. She advised that these individuals should continue to monitor their health closely at this time.
I urge Wyoming citizens to recognize that as Covid 19 becomes more widespread, it is likely that many of us will eventually cross paths with someone with symptoms of the disease and people who are later diagnosed. We should continue to follow recommendations from healthcare professionals, including regular hand washing, covering the nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and staying home when sick.
  




  
   



Monday, February 18, 2013

February 18

Today is Presidents Day for 2013.

The holiday originally commemorated George Washington's birthday, but was expanded later to honor all Presidents.  It is a Federal Holiday.


1861  The Treaty of Ft. Wise, Kansas is signed by the Arapaho and Cheyenne, in which they gave up territory in Colorado between the North Platte and Arkansas Rivers in exchange for a reservation between the Arkansas and Sand Creek, Colorado.

1862   U.S. Congress approved an act entitled "An Act to grant lands to Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Idaho and Wyoming for university purposes.":  Attribution:  On This Day.

1906  John B. Stetson in Florida died at age 75.  He was the founder of the famous hat manufacturing company.

1911 An act providing that each county would have legislative representation was signed into law by Governor Carey. Attribution:  On This Day.

1913         Gen. Victoriano Huerta becomes leader of the Mexican government, a step on the way to the Mexican Civil War.

1917   The Cheyenne State Leader for February 18, 1917: Villa gone to Japan?
 

A rumor was published of Pancho Villa going East. . . .way East.

He didn't.

The cowboy victims of border violence were buried. And Cuban revolutionaries were reportedly holding Santiago.

And of course, U-boots were taking headlines.

1918  Laramie Boomerang, February 18, 1918. Exact same weather report a century prior.


Today's weather report could have been a repeat of the one in this issue of the Laramie Boomerang from February 18, 1918.

Two draft evaders headed for Mexico?  Seems like a poor move.
Austro Hungarian troops on the offensive.

The Central Powers, having determined that Trotsky's "neither war nor peace" was, in fact, war from their prospective, launched Operation Faustschlag on this Monday of 1918.  The Offensive captured massive amounts of former Imperial Russian territory but it also tied up resources and a combined 16 divisions sorely needed elsewhere.

German troops in Kiev. . .where their presence was considerably better behaved than it would be 23 years later.

The offensive did succeed in taking Russia out of the war in short order.

1919  February 18, 1919. Changing maps, stopping by the Red Cross, Maintaining the Headquarters, Tragic news at Bates Hole, Pilot County Crisis, Turkish wives.

Political cartoon that ran on February 18, 1919.

 British serviceman, left and American servicemen, right, entering a Red Cross canteen on this day in 1919.  Note the unit patches on the uniforms of the American soldiers, which were really a post World War One item.

British serviceman on left, American on right.  Note the unit patch.

The work of the Red Cross carried on.

Headquarters troops, Southern Department, Ft. Sam Houston, February 18, 1919.  Throughout the war, not only training occurred in Texas, but the Army continued to patrol a tense border with a country still in revolution.

Meanwhile, revolution or no (and in spite of the Allies actually requiring, for the time being, the Germans to keep troops in the Baltic's as a hedge against the Red Army, a new armistice limited the Germans to 25,000 troops.


A tragedy occurred locally at Bates Hole, an area I'm well familiar with, when news arrived that a soldier from the ranching reaching who had served in France had been killed in the war..  

It's funny how things work as there's a selection of names that I associate with Bates Hole, and Galehouse isn't one of them.  Time moves on and names are lost.

Pilot County, which never occurred, was still much in the news.


And a Cheyenne paper reported that merchant sailors who had been interned by the Turks during the war were returning with a lot of "beautiful" wives.
1931  Governor Frank C. Emerson died in office at age 48.

1931  Alonzo M. Clark became Governor of Wyoming due to the death of Governor Emerson.

1933   Gov. Miller signed an act repealing enforcement of prohibition by Wyoming.The repeal was actually only partial at first, and it took a period of many months before there was a complete repeal.

1937  A shell exploded on the USS Wyoming during exercises killing six Marines and injuring eleven others.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1943  Converse County woman collected furs to be used for vests for merchant marines.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1987  Cuttthroat Trout declared to be State Fish.