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William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in his father's hometown in Toronto Township, Ontario, Canada, before the family returned to the Midwest and settled in the Kansas Territory.
Buffalo Bill started working at the age of eleven, after his father's death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 14. During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.
One of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill's legend began to spread when he was only twenty-three. Shortly thereafter he started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Great Britain and continental Europe.
Military services
Cody in 1865 at the age of 19.
After his mother recovered, Cody wanted to enlist as a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War but was refused because of his young age. He began working with a freight caravan that delivered supplies to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming. In 1863, at age 17, he enlisted as a teamster with the rank of private in Company H, 7th Kansas Cavalry, and served until discharged in 1865.[6][9]
The next year, Cody married Louisa Frederici. They had four children. Two died young, while the family was living in Rochester, New York. They and a third child are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, in Rochester.[12]
In 1866, he reunited with his old friend Wild Bill Hickok in Junction City, Kansas, then serving as a scout. Cody enlisted as a scout himself at Fort Elsworth and scouted between there and Fort Fletcher (later renamed and moved to Fort Hays). He was attached as a scout, variously, to Captain George Augustus Armes (Battle of the Saline River) and Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (guide and impromptu horse race to Fort Larned). It was during this service at Fort Elsworth that he met William Rose, with whom he would found the short-lived settlement of Rome, Kansas.[13]
In 1867, with construction of the Kansas Pacific Railway completing through Hays City and Rome, Cody was granted leave of absence to hunt buffalo to supply railroad construction workers with meat. This endeavor continued into 1868, which saw his hunting contest with William Comstock.[14]
Cody returned to Army service in 1868.[15] From his post in Fort Larned, he performed an exceptional feat of riding as a lone dispatch courier from Fort Larned to Fort Zarah (escaping capture), Fort Zarah to Fort Hays, Fort Hays to Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge to Fort Larned, and, finally, Fort Larned to Fort Hays, a total of 350 miles in 58 hours through hostile territory, covering the last 35 miles on foot. In response, General Philip Sheridan assigned him Chief of Scouts for the 5th Cavalry Regiment.[16]
He was also Chief of Scouts for the Third Cavalry in later campaigns of the Plains Wars.
In January 1872, Cody was a scout for the highly publicized hunting expedition of the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.[17]
Cody was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1872 for gallantry as an Army scout in the Indian Wars. It was revoked in 1917, along with medals of 910 other recipients, when Congress authorized the War Department to revoke prior Army Medal of Honor awards it had considered dubious since the introduction of strict regulations in 1897. All civilian medals were revoked, including civilian scouts, since they did not meet the basic criterion of being officers or enlisted soldiers, which had been expressly listed in every authorizing statute ever enacted. Cody was one of five scouts affected. Their medals were stripped shortly after Cody died in 1917.
Cody's relatives objected, and over a number of years they wrote repeatedly to Congress seeking reconsideration. All efforts failed, including a 1988 letter to the US Senate from Cody's grandson, until the office of Senator Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming took up the cause in 1989. Its brief, which argued for the retroactive elevation of these civilian scouts' status to meet the Medal's standards, persuaded the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to restore their medals. The decision was controversial for a number of reasons. Senator Simpson's submission argued that the law had never required Cody to be a soldier, which was untrue, as every version of the law had required this. Simpson's submission cited a book, Above and Beyond, to illustrate this point, but the source actually listed the correct law that required Cody to be an enlisted soldier. Another problem was the questionable authority of the Board for Correction to contravene several federal statutes; the Medal of Honor revocation had been expressly authorized by Congress, meaning that the restoration went against the law in force in 1872, the law requiring the revocation in 1916, and the modern statute enacted in 1918 that remains substantially unmodified today. Since the Board of Correction is merely a delegation of the Secretary of the Army's authority, this raises a separation of powers conflict, since even the president cannot contravene a clear statute, yet Cody's medal was dealt with below the cabinet level. Modern Medal of Honor cases originating from the board, such as the recent case of Garlin Conner, required both executive action as well as a statutory waiver from Congress, which underscores this point. In the Cody case, the board's governing assistant secretary recognized that it lacked the authority to reinstate the medal directly, and so decided to return the case to the board for reconsideration. As a result, the board amended Cody's record to make him an enlisted soldier so that he would fall within the legal requirements, and did the same for four other civilian guides who had also had their medals rescinded. In doing so, the board overlooked the fact that Cody was a civilian guide with far greater employment flexibility than a soldier, including the ability to resign at will.[18]
Buffalo Bill started working at the age of eleven, after his father's death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 14. During the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a civilian scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872.
One of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, Buffalo Bill's legend began to spread when he was only twenty-three. Shortly thereafter he started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, taking his large company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Great Britain and continental Europe.
Military services
Cody in 1865 at the age of 19.
After his mother recovered, Cody wanted to enlist as a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War but was refused because of his young age. He began working with a freight caravan that delivered supplies to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming. In 1863, at age 17, he enlisted as a teamster with the rank of private in Company H, 7th Kansas Cavalry, and served until discharged in 1865.[6][9]
The next year, Cody married Louisa Frederici. They had four children. Two died young, while the family was living in Rochester, New York. They and a third child are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, in Rochester.[12]
In 1866, he reunited with his old friend Wild Bill Hickok in Junction City, Kansas, then serving as a scout. Cody enlisted as a scout himself at Fort Elsworth and scouted between there and Fort Fletcher (later renamed and moved to Fort Hays). He was attached as a scout, variously, to Captain George Augustus Armes (Battle of the Saline River) and Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (guide and impromptu horse race to Fort Larned). It was during this service at Fort Elsworth that he met William Rose, with whom he would found the short-lived settlement of Rome, Kansas.[13]
In 1867, with construction of the Kansas Pacific Railway completing through Hays City and Rome, Cody was granted leave of absence to hunt buffalo to supply railroad construction workers with meat. This endeavor continued into 1868, which saw his hunting contest with William Comstock.[14]
Cody returned to Army service in 1868.[15] From his post in Fort Larned, he performed an exceptional feat of riding as a lone dispatch courier from Fort Larned to Fort Zarah (escaping capture), Fort Zarah to Fort Hays, Fort Hays to Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge to Fort Larned, and, finally, Fort Larned to Fort Hays, a total of 350 miles in 58 hours through hostile territory, covering the last 35 miles on foot. In response, General Philip Sheridan assigned him Chief of Scouts for the 5th Cavalry Regiment.[16]
He was also Chief of Scouts for the Third Cavalry in later campaigns of the Plains Wars.
In January 1872, Cody was a scout for the highly publicized hunting expedition of the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.[17]
Cody was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1872 for gallantry as an Army scout in the Indian Wars. It was revoked in 1917, along with medals of 910 other recipients, when Congress authorized the War Department to revoke prior Army Medal of Honor awards it had considered dubious since the introduction of strict regulations in 1897. All civilian medals were revoked, including civilian scouts, since they did not meet the basic criterion of being officers or enlisted soldiers, which had been expressly listed in every authorizing statute ever enacted. Cody was one of five scouts affected. Their medals were stripped shortly after Cody died in 1917.
Cody's relatives objected, and over a number of years they wrote repeatedly to Congress seeking reconsideration. All efforts failed, including a 1988 letter to the US Senate from Cody's grandson, until the office of Senator Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming took up the cause in 1989. Its brief, which argued for the retroactive elevation of these civilian scouts' status to meet the Medal's standards, persuaded the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to restore their medals. The decision was controversial for a number of reasons. Senator Simpson's submission argued that the law had never required Cody to be a soldier, which was untrue, as every version of the law had required this. Simpson's submission cited a book, Above and Beyond, to illustrate this point, but the source actually listed the correct law that required Cody to be an enlisted soldier. Another problem was the questionable authority of the Board for Correction to contravene several federal statutes; the Medal of Honor revocation had been expressly authorized by Congress, meaning that the restoration went against the law in force in 1872, the law requiring the revocation in 1916, and the modern statute enacted in 1918 that remains substantially unmodified today. Since the Board of Correction is merely a delegation of the Secretary of the Army's authority, this raises a separation of powers conflict, since even the president cannot contravene a clear statute, yet Cody's medal was dealt with below the cabinet level. Modern Medal of Honor cases originating from the board, such as the recent case of Garlin Conner, required both executive action as well as a statutory waiver from Congress, which underscores this point. In the Cody case, the board's governing assistant secretary recognized that it lacked the authority to reinstate the medal directly, and so decided to return the case to the board for reconsideration. As a result, the board amended Cody's record to make him an enlisted soldier so that he would fall within the legal requirements, and did the same for four other civilian guides who had also had their medals rescinded. In doing so, the board overlooked the fact that Cody was a civilian guide with far greater employment flexibility than a soldier, including the ability to resign at will.[18]
Buffalo Bill - Wikipedia
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Unique and original pictures from the late 19th Century and the early 20th Century, with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Rodeo Show and Indian Dances, Cowboys...
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that February 26 is the anniversary of the birth of American scout, bison hunter, and showman William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody who created the legendary Wild West Show.
In 1872 he was one of only 4 US army c=scouts to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
Rest in peace Buffalo Bill!
Image: 1872 William F. Cody’s Congressional Medal of Honor. 1.69.2036
"Unique and original pictures from the late 19th Century and the early 20th Century, with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Rodeo Show and Indian Dances, Cowboys, Cowgirls and horse taming."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjIH5AUglos
Background from centerofthewest.org/explore/buffalo-bill/research/buffalo-bill/
"William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody 1846 – 1917
A Legend is Born
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was born just west of the Mississippi River near LeClaire, Iowa, on February 26, 1846. At age 12, he worked for a wagon train headed to Fort Laramie, Wyoming; the next year, he participated in the gold rush to Colorado; and at 15, he reportedly rode for the Pony Express. By the end of his life, he had come to symbolize the American frontier itself.
Cody served as a scout for the Union Army’s Seventh Kansas Cavalry during the last years of the American Civil War. On March 6, 1866, he married Louisa Frederici (1843 – 1921) in St. Louis, Missouri. They had four children: Arta Lucille (1866 – 1904), Kit Carson (1870 – 1876), Orra Maude (1872 – 1883), and Irma Louise (1883 – 1918).
In 1867, Cody hunted buffalo for the Kansas Pacific Railroad work crews, earning his moniker “Buffalo Bill” and his reputation as an expert shot. The next year, he was employed by the U.S. Army as a civilian scout and guide for the Fifth Cavalry. His experience and skills as a plainsman made him an invaluable tracker and fighter. On April 26, 1872, Cody became one of only four civilian scouts to be awarded the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars for valor in action. (He was later declared ineligible for the medal and stricken from the roll in 1917, but his name was reinstated in 1989 by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.)
The First “Media Events”
U.S. Army General Philip Sheridan saw in Cody a combination of charisma and frontier know-how—a natural “public relations windfall” for the Army of the West, which was in need of some good publicity. Under the protection of the Army, visiting dignitaries, such as the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, took lavish hunting expeditions accompanied by General Sheridan and Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer with Buffalo Bill as their guide. These excursions were full-scale media events, glamorizing both the military and Cody.
During this time, the pulp fiction industry produced inexpensive magazines that romanticized the exploits of the heroes and villains who roamed the plains—including Buffalo Bill, a central figure of many of these inflated truths. In 1872, dime novel writer Ned Buntline persuaded Cody to portray himself on stage. The “show business bug” hit Cody, and he formed his own “combination” troupe the next year. The group also included James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok and Texas Jack Omohundro, authentic western characters who gave some credence to the melodrama.
During the height of the Plains Indians resistance to white settlement, Cody returned to the prairies in summer 1876 to scout for the Fifth Army. On July 17, 1876, just three weeks after Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were defeated at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Cody’s regiment intercepted a band of Cheyenne warriors. When Buffalo Bill, in his stage clothing, killed and scalped a Cheyenne warrior named Yellow Hair (often mistranslated “Yellow Hand”), he reportedly cried out “First scalp for Custer!” Buffalo Bill the frontiersman had proved that Buffalo Bill the character was no mere actor.
The “Great Showman” and Entrepreneur
In 1883, Cody created what would become Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a grand performance that propelled him to fortune and worldwide fame. The Wild West was staged, in one form or another, for thirty years, playing to enthusiastic crowds throughout the United States and Europe. In Europe, Cody was called “Nature’s Nobleman” because he was someone who had grown up on the frontier yet represented all of those best aspects of civilization.
Despite his characterization as a figure from the past, Buffalo Bill always looked to the future. As a businessman, he invested in projects that he hoped might bring economic growth to the West. With his earnings, he invested in an Arizona mine, hotels in Sheridan and Cody, Wyoming, stock breeding, ranching, coal and oil development, film making, town building, tourism, and publishing. In 1899, he established his own newspaper, the Cody Enterprise, which is still the main source of news for the town of Cody today. Taking advantage of his celebrity status, Cody was an early advocate of women’s suffrage and the fair treatment of American Indians.
The most famous American in the world
Original poster, The Farewell Shot, 1910. U.S. Lithograph Co., Russell-Morgan Print, Cincinnati and New York. Original Buffalo Bill Museum Collection. 1.69.137
By the turn of the twentieth century, William F. Cody was arguably the most famous American in the world. No one symbolized the West for Americans and Europeans better than Buffalo Bill. Every American president from Ulysses S. Grant to Woodrow Wilson consulted him on matters affecting the American West. He counted among his friends such artists and writers as Frederic Remington and Mark Twain. He was honored by royalty, praised by military leaders, and feted by business tycoons. Cody was America’s ideal man: a courtly, chivalrous, self-made fellow who could shoot a gun and charm a crowd. Yet as Annie Oakley put it, “He was the simplest of men, as comfortable with cowboys as with kings.”
FYI LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SGT Michael Thorin SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSLSGT (Join to see) SPC Margaret Higgins
In 1872 he was one of only 4 US army c=scouts to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
Rest in peace Buffalo Bill!
Image: 1872 William F. Cody’s Congressional Medal of Honor. 1.69.2036
"Unique and original pictures from the late 19th Century and the early 20th Century, with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, Rodeo Show and Indian Dances, Cowboys, Cowgirls and horse taming."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjIH5AUglos
Background from centerofthewest.org/explore/buffalo-bill/research/buffalo-bill/
"William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody 1846 – 1917
A Legend is Born
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was born just west of the Mississippi River near LeClaire, Iowa, on February 26, 1846. At age 12, he worked for a wagon train headed to Fort Laramie, Wyoming; the next year, he participated in the gold rush to Colorado; and at 15, he reportedly rode for the Pony Express. By the end of his life, he had come to symbolize the American frontier itself.
Cody served as a scout for the Union Army’s Seventh Kansas Cavalry during the last years of the American Civil War. On March 6, 1866, he married Louisa Frederici (1843 – 1921) in St. Louis, Missouri. They had four children: Arta Lucille (1866 – 1904), Kit Carson (1870 – 1876), Orra Maude (1872 – 1883), and Irma Louise (1883 – 1918).
In 1867, Cody hunted buffalo for the Kansas Pacific Railroad work crews, earning his moniker “Buffalo Bill” and his reputation as an expert shot. The next year, he was employed by the U.S. Army as a civilian scout and guide for the Fifth Cavalry. His experience and skills as a plainsman made him an invaluable tracker and fighter. On April 26, 1872, Cody became one of only four civilian scouts to be awarded the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars for valor in action. (He was later declared ineligible for the medal and stricken from the roll in 1917, but his name was reinstated in 1989 by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.)
The First “Media Events”
U.S. Army General Philip Sheridan saw in Cody a combination of charisma and frontier know-how—a natural “public relations windfall” for the Army of the West, which was in need of some good publicity. Under the protection of the Army, visiting dignitaries, such as the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, took lavish hunting expeditions accompanied by General Sheridan and Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer with Buffalo Bill as their guide. These excursions were full-scale media events, glamorizing both the military and Cody.
During this time, the pulp fiction industry produced inexpensive magazines that romanticized the exploits of the heroes and villains who roamed the plains—including Buffalo Bill, a central figure of many of these inflated truths. In 1872, dime novel writer Ned Buntline persuaded Cody to portray himself on stage. The “show business bug” hit Cody, and he formed his own “combination” troupe the next year. The group also included James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok and Texas Jack Omohundro, authentic western characters who gave some credence to the melodrama.
During the height of the Plains Indians resistance to white settlement, Cody returned to the prairies in summer 1876 to scout for the Fifth Army. On July 17, 1876, just three weeks after Custer and the Seventh Cavalry were defeated at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Cody’s regiment intercepted a band of Cheyenne warriors. When Buffalo Bill, in his stage clothing, killed and scalped a Cheyenne warrior named Yellow Hair (often mistranslated “Yellow Hand”), he reportedly cried out “First scalp for Custer!” Buffalo Bill the frontiersman had proved that Buffalo Bill the character was no mere actor.
The “Great Showman” and Entrepreneur
In 1883, Cody created what would become Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a grand performance that propelled him to fortune and worldwide fame. The Wild West was staged, in one form or another, for thirty years, playing to enthusiastic crowds throughout the United States and Europe. In Europe, Cody was called “Nature’s Nobleman” because he was someone who had grown up on the frontier yet represented all of those best aspects of civilization.
Despite his characterization as a figure from the past, Buffalo Bill always looked to the future. As a businessman, he invested in projects that he hoped might bring economic growth to the West. With his earnings, he invested in an Arizona mine, hotels in Sheridan and Cody, Wyoming, stock breeding, ranching, coal and oil development, film making, town building, tourism, and publishing. In 1899, he established his own newspaper, the Cody Enterprise, which is still the main source of news for the town of Cody today. Taking advantage of his celebrity status, Cody was an early advocate of women’s suffrage and the fair treatment of American Indians.
The most famous American in the world
Original poster, The Farewell Shot, 1910. U.S. Lithograph Co., Russell-Morgan Print, Cincinnati and New York. Original Buffalo Bill Museum Collection. 1.69.137
By the turn of the twentieth century, William F. Cody was arguably the most famous American in the world. No one symbolized the West for Americans and Europeans better than Buffalo Bill. Every American president from Ulysses S. Grant to Woodrow Wilson consulted him on matters affecting the American West. He counted among his friends such artists and writers as Frederic Remington and Mark Twain. He was honored by royalty, praised by military leaders, and feted by business tycoons. Cody was America’s ideal man: a courtly, chivalrous, self-made fellow who could shoot a gun and charm a crowd. Yet as Annie Oakley put it, “He was the simplest of men, as comfortable with cowboys as with kings.”
FYI LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SGT Michael Thorin SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSLSGT (Join to see) SPC Margaret Higgins
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