This Day…

1895 – Loss Hart killed Bill Dalton with a rifle bullet near Ardmore, Oklahoma.  By the time the posse got back to town with Dalton’s body the heat made him swell up to twice his size even though they dumped several buckets of well water on him along the way.

1862 President Abraham Lincoln issues a proclamation calling for all slaves within the rebel states to be freed on January 1, a political move that helps keep the British from intervening on the side of the South.

1862 Union soldiers find a copy of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s orders detailing the Confederates’ plan for the Antietam campaign near Frederick, Maryland. But Union General George B. McClellan was slow to act, and the advantage the intelligence provided was lost. On the morning of September 13, the 27th Indiana rested…

On this day in 1844, the western explorer John C. Fremont arrives at the shores of the Great Salt Lake, one of the many areas he will map for the lasting benefit of a westward-moving nation

1886: On this day, famed Apache leader Geronimo officially surrendered unconditionally to General Nelson Miles at Fort Sam Houston, becoming the last major Native American to surrender in this fashion. After two years of captivity, he was freed and relocated to the Indian Territory of Colorado, where died many years later.

1874- Waverly – Lexington, Missouri- two robberies attributed to the James gang occurred with twenty five miles apart on the same day. Many reports stated that the robbers were recognized. Later the witnesses recanted after visiting with Zerelda James-Samuel.

1872- Niagara Falls, New York/Canada- James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok starred in the Grand Buffalo Hunt at Niagara Falls, Ontario. Although there were only three buffalo to be “hunted”, the Native American and Mexican cowboys presented a thrilling display of roping and riding in Canada’s first Wild West show. The show was a financial failure, unable to draw enough to even pay Wild Bill’s salary.

1896- Oklahoma- Bill Doolin was approaching his father-in-law’s farmhouse, where his wife and child were staying. Lawmen led by Heck Thomas, however, had learned of Doolin’s presence in the area and were waiting in ambush. Doolin appeared on foot, leading his horse, carrying a rifle, whistling as he walked in the bright moonlit night. Suddenly Thomas shouted from behind some bushes, calling to the outlaw to surrender. Doolin raised his rifle which was shot out of his hand by several shots fired by posse. Doolin then drew his six-gun and fired twice before a blast from a shotgun fired by Deputy Bill Dunn and rifle bullets fired by Thomas cut him to pieces. The outlaw’s body was later displayed, naked from the waist up, to show the many holes made by shotgun pellets.