THE VIGILANTES
Who where the Vigilantes?
The vigilantes originated in Bannock in 1863 in response to henry plumber and his gang the innocents alleged robbery’s. At this time there was no court system in montana or as it was then know the idaho terrotiry. A man named Wilburn Sanders saw this problem and decided to take the law into his own hands. He then recruited other men who shared his vision and formed the vigilante committee of Montana. This group went on to kill the innocents and carryout dozens of other cases of vigilante “justice”. Before continuing on about the actions of the vigilantes, it is important to describe who these vigilantes where.
Sanders 1was a staunch unionist. He was the newphew of the first territorial governor of Montana : Edgerton. He ran in 1864 for territorial delegate as a republican. He has been described as “the republican war horse of Montana”. Montana at this time however was not a republican stronghold. He lost in 1864 to a drunk glutton named Sam Mclean who allegedly drank a gallon of whiskey a day. The camps of this time were mostly composed of southerners and immigrants, who both overwhelmingly voted democrat. All of the vigilantes he recruited where staunch unionists. Sanders was also the first grand master of the freemasons in Montana. This organization was steeped in secrecy and had strong connections with the nativism. It is also interesting to mention that at the time that sanders became grand master the freemasons had 77 members, a possible origin of the vigilantes code 3-7-77. Most of the vigilantes victims where democrats and laborers and they tended to turn a blind eye to murders committed by republicans. Of the 11 men listed on this page, 6 were likely Catholics, and 7 were likely non Anglo. Not including the hangings in 1870 which where different in several ways which are explained below, everyone of the victims that was likely innocent (detailed below in “Innocent?” section) 4/5 were Catholics and non Anglos. None of the victims of the vigilante where given a proper trail and some where Hung for crimes that everywhere else in the word were at most punishable with whippings or jail time (pickpocketing). In recent years serious doubts have been cast by historians about the guilt of some of those hanged.
The Victims And Offenders Killed By The Vigilantes In and Around Helena
John Keene (1865)
John Keene was an Irishman who was the bar keeper at Sam Schwab’s “Montana Billiard Hall” in Virginia City. He shot Henry Slater in the doorway of Sam Greers Saloon on Bridge Street In Helena Montana.
He entered the door and shot Slader dead. The men allegedly already new each other. Keene and Slader had met in salt lake, Keene and some other men where discussing vigilantism and Slader who was enraged by these comments had put a gun in Keene’s mouth and told him to leave town. Slader was known to be a dangerous man and had killed 2 men previously. Keene left Salt Lake and went to Virginia City and then Blackfoot. On the day in question Keene had come to Helena on unrelated business. He had ran into Slader earlier that morning and Slader had told Keene he was an “Irish son bitch” and threatenly told him to leave town. On hearing this, Keene visited a friend named Walsh and procured a handgun for protection. He then went to the saloon. Slader allegedly stood up and stated that he thought he had told Keene to leave town (implying that he was going to hurt Keene). Keene then grabbed his gun and shot Slader in the head between the eye.
After shooting, Keene gave the bartender the revolver and left through the alley. Keene then surrendered to the sheriff. As there was no jail in town, the sheriff resorted to taking Keene into custody in his own home. a crowd began to form around the sheriffs house and despite the sheriffs and his deputies attempts, the violent mob took Keene. Keene pleaded self defense. The mob then put him on trail, didn’t let Keene present key evidence, did not compose an impartial jury, and other things required in an actual court of law. They found him guilty of first degree murder and gave him the death penalty. They then took him to the tree in dry gulch and hung him. He was the first man to be hung on this tree. Keene and Sladers bodies were buried side by side.
Jake Seachriest (1865)
Jake Seachriest was a man, likely of German descent, who was hung on Saturday the 29th of September 1865. He also allegedly went by the aliase Jakes Silvers. He was hung for the crime of being a “Road Agent”.
Tommy Cooke (1865)
On Sept 18th 1865 Tommy Cooke was found swinging from the Tree in Dry Gulch. he was a man from Boise who allegedly was a pickpocket. He was put in jail for this crime and later exonerated by a court. This enraged the vigilantes (including the Dimsdale who wrote this article) and they proceeded to defy the courts and kill him. That fact that he was killed for this crime is remarkable as pickpocketing was not punishable by death anywhere in the civilized world. Punishments usually did not exceed whippings or fines.
Con Kirby (1865)
Con Kirby was a man from Boise Idaho that was hung the night of Monday October 2 1865. His crime was unknown. it is likely he was of Irish descent based off his last name.
George Sanders (1865)
On November 20, 1865, George Sanders was found hanging from the old Hanging Tree in Dry Gulch, with the following inscription placarded on his back: “This man was hung for robbing A. Slane of $1,180, and for other small stealings.”)
Frenchy (1866)
Frenchy, also known as John Crochet, was a 35 year old man of French descent who came first from Boise Idaho to Virginia City and then to Helena. He was considered a upstanding citizen by many. He allegedly robbed $700 from captain John Rogers while Rogers was drunk on may 2nd 1866. he then returned $300 dollars. if he was actually returning money or paying off debt or even returned money in the first place we will never know. He allegedly committed perjury on some occasions and was imprisoned on in Late may for assault and battery. The vigilantes then broke into the jail and then hung him from the tree in dry gulch in late May or early June 1866.
James Daniels and Governors Pardon (1865-1866)
On the 29th of November 1865, at Geo Price’s saloon an altercation happened between James Daniels and Andrew Gartley. The primary source says it happened near Owyhee Park, which according to a The Montana Post article dated Saturday, October 20, 1866, is at the head of Orofino gulch at the location of the Whitlatch-Union Mine. This places the location of the event in this mining camp which would put the event located near modern day Unionville. Based off this the event most likely took place in one of the smaller buildings on the right.
Unionville 1868
The altercation occurred while the men were playing poker and a fight broken out. Gartley threw Daniels against the stove, Daniels attempted to shoot him, Gartley grabbed his gun and then Daniels grabbed a knife off his hip and stabbed Gartley 2 times. Gartley then ran across the street screaming “murder” and died in front of the bar keepers home. Daniels, with a gun still in hand, than ran for the hills. Daniels then returned to town, most likely on account of the of the cold temperature which are usual of late November in Unionville (about 15-20°F at night). Daniels was then arrested and sent to Virginia City.
Although the newspapers at the time allege that Daniel’s was the aggressor, the fact that he was sentenced to just three years in prison due to “circumstances regarding the stabbing” bring the certainty of this into question. In addition based off the content of the article, it is likely the account has significant bias as a result of ethno religous differences. the article was written by a protestant temperance advocate (most likely Thomas Dimsdale who himself was a vigilante and a freemason). Daniels was a Irish catholic and Gartley was likely a Scottish protestant. The Montana Post, the publisher of this article, was located in virginia city and was owned by radical republican protestants who hated hated southerners and catholics. for example, In a article from December of 1865 the Montana Post described members of the Finian’s (Irish Nationalists) as retarded laborers and transients who should be be put to trail and presumably hung. as will be important later, the current governor of the territory, Thomas Meagher, swore his allegiance to this Irish nationalist group2.
In Virginia City, James Daniels was convicted of murder (a charge which usually resulted in death). He was sentenced to three years in county jail due to the circumstances of the event. Following this, 32 residents of Helena sent a letter to the current territorial governor (Thomas Meagher) asking for a pardon for Daniels on account of his good character and assertions it was self defense. Thomas Meagher granted this pardon. Meagher’s pardon can be read below.
After being pardoned, a dispute arose between Meagher and judge Munson. Judge Munson was upset that Meagher had issued the pardon and alleged that Meagher did not have the authority to do so. Meagher rebuked Munson and refused to rescind the pardon. Munson then violated the 5th amendment and put out a warrant to arrest Daniels. at this time, Daniels had left Virginia to go back to Helena to either intimidate or kill the men who had committed perjury against him.
Daniels entered town and was worried about his safety. he talked to the federal marshal who refused to arrest him and instead helped him. the Marshall promised his safety and to watch him at his friends house that night. In the mean time the marshal went into town to investigate if anyone was plotting to kill Daniels. During this time Daniels went to his friends house and while making his bed was ambushed by the vigilantes. The vigilantes then dragged him to the hanging tree and strung him up sometime before 11 o’clock. The vigilantes then sent a threating letter to Meagher warning him that he was next.
The threat against Meagher and murder of Daniels is specifically interesting because it shows a shift from the vigilantes veneree of attempting to uphold the law as they did with the Plummer gang, to the vigilantes being straight up seditionists and murders. threatening the governor is a punishable offense. As will be discussed below in the assignation of Thomas Meagher section, taking into account the vigilantes masonic, republican, nativist, and anticatholic positions; It was likely that the murder of Daniels was based less off of a fair look of his character and his actual dead’s and more off of his religious racial identity.
Aw Chow (1870)
Not much is known about Aw Chow. He allegedly killed John Bitzer. Some have alleged that the murder occurred as revenge for Bitzer assaulting Chows wife although i cannot find a source on this. This was the first hanging in the region since 1868. The hanging was looked down upon by the community as law enforcement and the justice system had been firmly established within Helena at this point.
Arthur L. Compton and Joseph Wilson (1870)
in 1870 a German named Lenhart, who lived on the Missouri river, was in town intending to buy a mower. He was intoxicated and was flashing his money around. He had $285 ($6,583 today) on him. Compton and Wilson Overheard this conversation and plotted to steel the mans money. they went and rented 2 horses from a man on rodney and then pursued Lenhart after he left town. When they found lenhart one shot him with a sling shot. this was unseccsesful and lenhart dug his spurs in and made the horse run at full gallop. the men then started shooting him with a revolver. they struck him in the upper body which made him lose control of the horse. they then shot him in the leg, shattering the bone. this caused him to fall off the horse. the 2 men then robbed of all his money. the 2 men returned to town and paid off their horse rental. the next day Lenhart was found nearly dead. the Sheriff then arrested the two men, with them being identified by Lenhart. a vigilante jury was then conjured and both men were found guilty. the men made a confession and described where they had buried the money. this confession was truthful and the money was recovered. the vigilantes then demanded the sheriff to hand the men over which he did, and they were promptly hung in front of a crowd of 3 thousand. two accomplices were suspected and one was arrested but the outcome of this is unknown. this was the last hanging on the tree in dry gulch. The photo which is shown below was widely spread and resulted in a souring on the views of vigilantism.
Where The Criminals Innocent?
There is a high likely hood some of these alleged criminals were innocent. In my opinion, John Keene (Irish Catholic), James Daniels (Irish Catholic), Frenchy (French Catholic), Con Kirby (Irish Catholic), and Tommy Cooke (WASP). Keenes and Daniels could be argued as self defense, Frenchy was never arrested for the crime for which he was hung and was instead arrested for brandishing pistols and then lynched. con Kirby crime was not listed by vigilantes, meaning his hanging likely was a result of a feud and not a matter of the law. although Cooke very well may have been guilty of pickpocketing, this was not a hangable offense anywhere in the civilized world and so hanging was completely unjustified. The ones that were most likely guilty were Arthur Compton and Joseph Wilson as they where identified by the victim and confessed to the crime. I don’t believe the remainder have enough information to draw a opinion on their guilt.
The Vigilantes Assassinate Governor Thomas Meagher (1867)
Thomas Francis Meagher (/ˈmɑːr/ MARR; 3 August 1823 – 1 July 1867[1]) was an Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sentenced to death but received transportation for life to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in Australia.
In 1852, Meagher escaped and made his way to the United States, where he settled in New York City. He studied law, worked as a journalist, and traveled to present lectures on the Irish cause. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Meagher was agnostic on the topic of slavery. despite this and in addition to him being a democrat he decided to join the U.S. Army in an attempt to train an army of Irishmen who could overthrow the British occupation of Ireland after the war. He formed the Irish Brigade and encouraging support among the Irish immigrants for the Union cause. by the end of the war his brigade was in shatters the union after the apostate General Sherman had used his brigade as cannon fodder. Despite this, Meagher still felt allegiance to Lincoln who in his mind had never let him down. After mourning Lincolns death, Meagher was assigned the position of secretary in the newly established Montana territory and headed out in hopes of establishing a “New Ireland”.
When he arrived in Bannack he met with the current governor Edgerton. Edgerton introduced him to Sanders and then left on the next stage coach out of town. Meagher was initially liked by the sanders who saw him as a union man as a result of his support of Lincoln. as a resulted of Edgerton’s departure, since Meagher was secretary, aka second in command, he was suddenly acting territorial governor. He did exactly what one would imagine he would do, pissed off his enemies. Much to the disliking of the republicans who composed the vigilantes, he convened a legislature which was naturally controlled by democrats and he eliminated the public school system(controlled by Dimsdale) which tried to indoctrinate catholic school children. after the aforementioned events, the ringleader of the vigilantes stated this in a letter: “He is dead beyond all hope of resurrection.” his worse sin however, in the eyes of the vigilantes, was pardoning James Daniels. Allegedly nailed into Daniels chest was a note stating that Meagher was next.
In mid 1866 Meagher called the legislature. The Indians had started attacking pilgrims on the Bozeman trail. the us government tried to negotiate a treaty but the Indians refused. in response the legislature composed mostly by democrats met in Virginia city and created the Montana militia. This was Sanders, the freemasons, the protestants, and the vigilantes worst fear, a democrat controlled legislature controlled significantly by Irishmen in Montana. However hope was on the way for these demons as a new governor had been appointed, who was a evangelical protestant temperance advocate. However this man had no interest in Montana, and left as soon as he arrived, only being in Montana for about 5 months. This infuriated the vigilantes and sanders went to Washington DC and convinced the radical republicans in congress overthrow Meagher’s legislature. Soon after, the vigilantes met Meagher on the road between Helena and Virginia City and told him to leave Montana or else. They then slid a picture of Meagher strung up under his cabin door.
Around this time John Bozeman was allegedly killed by Indians and a call for war against the tribes was called. Sherman promised Meagher a shipment of weapons to be delivered to Fort Benton. As a result Meagher left Virginia City and went to fort Benton. after arriving he found out that the shipment had been delayed and that Sanders was conveniently also in Fort Benton. Meagher growing tired of governing Montana planned to tour Europe once the governor returned and potentially sneak back into Ireland. the steamship full of guns finally arrived with a fellow Finian board. while still in fort Benton Meagher sensed mortal danger and alerted his fellow Finian of this. the Finian accompanied Meagher to his room and the captain of the ship gave him two revolvers. the Finian having to attend to other matters eventually left. 30 to an hour later later a crew man heard Meagher yell and get thrown into the water.
Thomas Meagher had been killed. Sanders came up with an elaborate alibi of having met with Meagher on the ship but having left before the time of the death and implied it was a suicide or drunkenness. this is something Meagher would never have done on account of his Catholic faith. In addition he was not drinking that night according to eye witness so a drunken stumble is neigh impossible. Meagher was a excellent swimmer, growing up next to a river and using his swimming skills to escape British captivity in Tasmania. He fell off the river boat on the port side and would have only had to have swam about 10-20 yards to reach shore. In addition the shore on that side includes no cliffs which would prevent swimming to land. The river that day was said to have been estimated by eye to be 10 mph aka instant death. However this account might not have been accurate as currents of this speed are unheard of, according to the data on the Missouri river from usgs.gov, in the searchable data which is the last 25 years, there was one instance of the river exceeding 5 mph on July 1 and none exceeding 7mph on that date. The median speed is 2.5 mph which is considered slightly risky for swimming. although minor flooding was reported downstream in Missouri that year, it is unlikely that this would have made the water level exceed 3 or 4 mph. The water would have been 60-70 degrees based off historic data which is definitely swimmable for short distances. In addition he would have been unlikely to have been wearing many clothes that could have sunk him as he would have been getting ready for bed and it was July, where the average Temperature around 10pm would be in the high seventies. although dying by drowning alone is possible, it is highly unlikely. More likely is having been stabbed and then thrown overboard. It was clear in hindsight that the satanic freemason Sanders had killed the greatest Irishman in the United States. Many Irish mourned his death in both Helena and Virginia City.
Sander’s And The Vigilante’s Historical Coverup
After the killing of Meagher, Sanders suddenly praised his name. He spoke as if they were great friends and presented his side of the story which was full of a laundry list of lies. He vowed to find the killer although it was obvious that it was himself. He went on to be Montana’s first senator and was the founder and president of the Montana historical society. He used this position to directly control the narrative of the vigilantes and Meagher’s death for the rest of his life.
Notes from books (to be deleted when done with research)
Righteous hangman pg. 117 and 153
Further Reading
Anbinder, Tyler. Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know-Nothings and the
Politics of the 1850’s. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Billington, Ray Allen. The Protestant Crusade. 1800-1860: A Study ^the
Origins of American Nativism. New York: Rinehart & Co, Inc., 1938
Gienapp, William E. The Origins of the Republican Party. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1987.
Higham, John. Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism. 1860-1925.
New Brunswick, New Jersey; Rutgers University Press, 1955.
Knobel, Dale. Paddy and the Republic: Ethnicity and Nationality in Antebellum
America. Middleton, Connecticut: Weslayan Uniyersity Press, 1986.
Neidhardt, W.S. Fenianism in North America. University Park: The
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1975.