Editing Johnson County War (section)

==War==
===Early killings===
[[File:Ella Watson.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Ellen Watson|Ella Watson]] was lynched in 1889 by wealthy ranchers who accused her of cattle rustling, a charge that was later shown to be false.]]
[[File:Jim Averell.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Ellen Watson#Life with Averell|Jim Averell]], a Johnson County businessman, was lynched in 1889 for cattle rustling, although he owned no cattle]]
On July 20, 1889, a range detective from the WSGA named George Henderson accused Ella Watson (better known as [[Ellen Watson|Cattle Kate]]), a local rancher, of stealing cattle from a fellow rancher by the name of Albert John Bothwell. The cattlemen sent riders to seize Watson before capturing her husband Jim Averell as well. Both of them were subsequently lynched. This gruesome act was one of the rare cases in the Old West in which a woman was lynched, an event that appalled many of the local residents<ref name="Agnew"/> and paved the way for future events in the war.<ref>Davis (2010) pp. 73-74</ref> County Sheriff Frank Hadsell arrested six men for the lynching and a trial date was set. However, before the trial, threats were sent to the witnesses who were to testify against the aggressors.<ref name=Brumbaugh>Davis (2010) p.76</ref> One of those witnesses was young Gene Crowder, who mysteriously disappeared under unknown circumstances before the trial.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 5, 2015 |url=http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/women/averill.html |title=Jim Averill & Ella Watson (Cattle Kate) |publisher=The Spell of the West |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411110749/http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/women/averill.html |archive-date=April 11, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another, Averell's nephew and foreman Frank Buchanan, disappeared from the county as well after a shootout with unknown suspects, and was presumed to be hiding or murdered.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 5, 2015 |url=http://spartacus-educational.com/WWbothwell.htm |title=Albert Bothwell |publisher=Spartan Educational |first=Jim |last=Simkin |year=1997}}</ref> Ralph Cole, another nephew of Averell's, died on the day of the trial from poisoning.<ref name=Brumbaugh/>

Enemies of the WSGA soon fought back. Henderson, the range detective who had accused Watson, was murdered near Sweetwater Creek in October 1890. The cattle barons soon tightened their control and hunted down those who tried to oppose them. The double lynching of the Averells was followed by the lynching of Tom Waggoner, a horse trader from Newcastle, Wyoming, in June 1891.<ref name="DavisR"/> A friend of Waggoner named Jimmy the Butcher, who was once arrested for rustling cattle belonging to the Standard Cattle Company, was also murdered.<ref name="DolsonTwo"/><ref>{{cite web |access-date=May 23, 2017 |url=http://www.cdapress.com/archive/article-5ee0c9f8-5c2d-11e6-866d-dfa9b08b3f85.html |title=SMALL, LARGE RANCHERS WAGED JOHNSON COUNTY WAR IN WYOMING |publisher=CDA Press |first=Syd |last=Albright |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015145941/http://www.cdapress.com/archive/article-5ee0c9f8-5c2d-11e6-866d-dfa9b08b3f85.html |archive-date=October 15, 2017 |url-status=dead }} August 07, 2016</ref> Range detective Tom Smith killed a suspected rustler, and when he was indicted for murder, political connections to the WSGA secured his release.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 5, 2015 |url=http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/wars/johnson.html |title=Johnson County War |publisher=JCS Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031171545/http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/wars/johnson.html |archive-date=October 31, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These killings precipitated more hostilities and violence in the years to come.<ref>David Lavender, ''American Heritage History of the Great West'', New Word City, Inc. (2014). Section V. ASIN B00PJOI4MS</ref>

After the lynchings of their prominent competitors, the WSGA's control over the range was undisputed, until a group of smaller ranchers formed the Northern Wyoming Farmers and Stock Growers' Association (NWFSGA) to compete with the WSGA, led by a local cowboy named [[Nate Champion]]. Upon hearing this, members of the WSGA immediately viewed the new association as a threat to their hold on the stock interests. The WSGA then blacklisted members of the NWFSGA from the round-ups in order to stop their operations. However, the NWFSGA refused the orders to disband and instead publicly announced their plans to hold their own round-up in the spring of 1892.<ref name="Burt p.159"/>

Soon, the prominent cattlemen sent out an assassination squad to kill Champion on the morning of November 1, 1891.<ref>Davis (2010) p.101-102</ref> Champion and another man, named Ross Gilbertson, were sleeping in a cabin near the Middle Fork of the Powder River when a group of armed men went inside.<ref name="DavisR">{{cite web|url=http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/johnson-county-war|title=The Johnson County War: 1892 Invasion of Northern Wyoming |publisher=Wyoming History|first=John W.|last=Davis|access-date=April 3, 2015}}</ref> Only two were able to fit into the small cabin while four others stood by outside. Champion was immediately awakened by the intrusion, and as the gunmen pointed their weapons at him, Champion reached for his own pistol hidden under a pillow and a shootout commenced. Champion successfully shot two of the gunmen, mortally wounding and killing assassin Billy Lykins.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://truewestmagazine.com/wave-of-violence/|title=Wave of Violence|magazine=[[True West Magazine]]|first=Mark|last=Boardman|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626161643/https://truewestmagazine.com/wave-of-violence/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The rest of the assassination squad subsequently fled. Champion was left uninjured except for some facial burns from gunpowder. In a subsequent investigation of the attack, the names of those involved were leaked to two ranchers: John A. Tisdale and Orley "Ranger" Jones. However, both men were ambushed and murdered while they were riding, which outraged many of the small ranchers and farmers in the county.<ref name="DavisR"/>

===Invaders===
[[File:Frank M Canton.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Frank M. Canton]], former Sheriff of Johnson County, was hired to lead the band of Texas killers]]

The WSGA, led by [[Frank Wolcott]] (WSGA member and large [[North Platte]] rancher), hired gunmen with the intention of eliminating alleged rustlers in Johnson County and breaking up the NWFSGA.<ref name="lib.utexas.edu"/> By that time, prominent names in Wyoming started taking sides. Acting governor [[Amos W. Barber]] supported the cattlemen, who blamed the small ranchers and homesteaders for the criminal activity in the state. Former cowboy, [[American Indian Wars|Indian War]] veteran, and Sheriff of [[Buffalo, Wyoming|Buffalo]] (the [[county seat]] of Johnson County), [[William "Red" Angus]], supported the homesteaders, and believed that the cattle barons were abusing the homesteaders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/americanwest/johnsoncountyrev1.shtml |title=The Johnson County War (Wyoming) 1892 |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-date=January 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126015237/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/americanwest/johnsoncountyrev1.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legendsofamerica.com/william-angus/|title=William "Red" Angus – Fighting in the Johnson County War|publisher=Legends of America|access-date=May 28, 2022}}</ref>

In March 1892, the cattlemen sent agents to Texas from Cheyenne and Idaho to recruit gunmen and finally carry out their plans for exterminating the homesteaders.<ref name="WarDavis">Davis (2010) p.129</ref> This group became known as the "Invaders".<ref name="DavisR"/> The cattle barons had always used hired guns from Texas to take out suspected rustlers and scare away the nesters in Wyoming. One particular act of violence perpetrated by the Texans was recounted by cowboy John J. Baker, where the Texans ambushed and killed nine trappers whom they mistook for rustlers in Big Dry Creek, Wyoming.<ref name="DolsonTwo"/> They received a $450 bonus for the slaughter.

Soon, 23 gunmen from [[Paris, Texas]], and 4 cattle detectives from the WSGA were hired, as well as Wyoming dignitaries who also joined the expedition. State Senator Bob Tisdale, State Water Commissioner W. J. Clarke, as well as [[William C. Irvine (politician)|William C. Irvine]] and Hubert Teshemacher, who had both been instrumental in the organization of the State of Wyoming four years earlier, also joined the band.<ref name="Troops Came Just In Time"/><ref name="Johnson County War"/> They were accompanied by surgeon [[Charles Bingham Penrose]] as well as Ed Towse, a reporter for the ''Cheyenne Sun'', and a [[newspaper]] [[reporter]] for the ''[[Chicago Times|Chicago Herald]]'', Sam T. Clover, whose lurid first-hand accounts later appeared in eastern newspapers.<ref name="lib.utexas.edu"/>  A total expedition of 50 men was organized which consisted of cattlemen, range detectives, and the 23 hired guns from Texas. To lead the expedition, the WSGA hired Frank M. Canton. Canton's gripsack was later found to contain a list of 70 county residents to be either shot or hanged, and a contract to pay the Texans $5 a day plus a bonus of $50 for every rustler, real or alleged, they killed.<ref name="To Kill Seventy Rustlers"/> The group became known as the "Invaders", or alternately, "Wolcott's Regulators".<ref name="Agnew"/><ref name="Mem"/>

John Clay, a prominent Wyoming businessman, was suspected of playing a major role in planning the Johnson County invasion. Clay denied this, saying that in 1891 he advised Wolcott against the scheme and was out of the country when it was undertaken. He later helped the "Invaders" avoid punishment after their surrender.<ref name="Griske"/> The group organized in Cheyenne and proceeded by train to [[Casper, Wyoming]], and then toward Johnson County on horseback, cutting the [[Telegraphy|telegraph]] lines north of [[Douglas, Wyoming]], in order to prevent an alarm.<ref name="FS">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/2013/02/johnson-county-war|title=The Johnson County War: How Wyoming Settlers Battled an Illegal Death Squad |last=Herring |first=Hal |magazine=Field and Stream |access-date=February 2, 2014 }}</ref> While on horseback, Canton and the gunmen traveled ahead while the party of WSGA officials led by Wolcott followed a safe distance behind.

===Gunfight at the KC Ranch===
The first target of the WSGA was Nate Champion, who was at the KC Ranch at that time. They were tasked to perform the assassination that others had failed to carry out five months before. The group traveled to the ranch late Friday, April 8, 1892, quietly surrounded the buildings, and waited for daybreak.<ref name="The Trouble In Wyoming"/> Three men besides Champion were at the KC. Two men who were evidently going to spend the night on their way through were captured as they emerged from the cabin early that morning to collect water at the nearby Powder River, while the third, Nick Ray, was shot while standing inside the doorway of the cabin.<ref name="The Trouble In Wyoming"/> As the gunmen opened fire on the cabin, Champion dragged the mortally wounded Ray back to the cabin. Ray died hours later, and Champion was left besieged inside the log cabin alone.

Champion held out for several hours, wounding three of the vigilantes, and was said to have killed four others.<ref name="Canton"/> Another settler by the name of Jack Flagg passed by Champion's ranch on his wagon together with his stepson and witnessed the siege. The Invaders recognized Flagg as one of the men on the list and they started shooting at him. Flagg then rode away and, as the Invaders gave chase, he grabbed his rifle and beat them back. During the siege, Champion kept a poignant journal which contained a number of notes he wrote to friends while taking cover inside the cabin. "Boys, I feel pretty lonesome just now. I wish there was someone here with me so we could watch all sides at once," he wrote. The last journal entry read: "Well, they have just got through shelling the house like hail. I heard them splitting wood. I guess they are going to fire the house tonight. I think I will make a break when night comes, if alive. Shooting again. It's not night yet. The house is all fired. Goodbye, boys, if I never see you again."<ref name="Canton"/><ref name="Trachtman, Paul p. 212"/>

The Invaders continued to shoot at the cabin while others set it on fire using a wagon they managed to steal from Flagg. Champion signed his journal entry and put it in his pocket before running from the back door with a six-shooter in one hand and either a knife or a rifle in the other.<ref name="Trachtman, Paul p. 212"/> As he emerged, the Invaders shot him dead. The killers pinned a note on Champion's bullet-riddled chest that read, "Cattle thieves beware".<ref name="Burt p.159"/><ref name="Meyers"/> Flagg, after escaping his pursuers, rode to [[Buffalo, Wyoming|Buffalo]] where he reported Champion's dilemma to the townsfolk. Sheriff Angus then raised a [[Posse Comitatus (Common Law)|posse]] of 200 men, many of whom were [[American Civil War|Civil War]] veterans,<ref name="DavisR"/> over the next 24 hours and set out for the KC on Sunday night, April 10.<ref name="Belgrad"/>

===Siege of the TA Ranch===
[[File:TAranch.jpg|200px|thumb|A map of the TA Ranch during the Johnson County War, depicting the positions of the Invaders, the posse, and the 6th Cavalry]]
[[File:Barn, TA Ranch, Johnson County, WY.jpg|left|thumb|The barn at the [[TA Ranch Historic District|TA Ranch]], where the "regulators" were besieged by the sheriff's posse]]
{{further|Siege of the TA Ranch}}
The WSGA group then headed north on Sunday toward Buffalo to continue its show of force. By early morning of the 11th however, news quickly came of a large hostile force heading towards them. They quickly rode and took refuge in the [[TA Ranch Historic District|TA Ranch]] in [[Crazy Woman Creek]]. During their flight, one of the Texans by the name of Jim Dudley accidentally shot himself when his horse bucked and his rifle fell to the ground, discharging and hitting his knee. He was later escorted by two others to [[Fort McKinney (Wyoming)|Fort McKinney]] to seek treatment, but died in the fort one or two days later from gangrene.<ref>Smith, Helena Huntington. ''The War on Powder River''. University of Nebraska Press; First Paperback edition (December 1, 1967). pp. 211-212. {{ISBN|978-0803251885}}</ref>

The sheriff's posse finally reached the remaining Invaders holed up in a log barn at the TA Ranch, but the latter managed to hold them back, resulting in a siege that would last for three days. The posse surrounded the whole ranch, building pits on the ground for cover and killing the Invaders' horses to prevent them from escaping. The ''[[New York Times]]'' reported that twenty men tried to escape behind a fusillade, but the posse beat them back and killed three to five.<ref name="The Trouble In Wyoming"/> Another Texas gunman, named Alex Lowther, accidentally shot himself mortally in the groin during the fight.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://truewestmagazine.com/article/lieutenant-charles-gatewood-and-the-johnson-county-war/|title=Lieutenant Charles Gatewood and the Johnson County War|magazine=[[True West Magazine]]|access-date=June 29, 2017}} October 2018</ref> As the siege dragged on, a settler rode off to Fort McKinney requesting to borrow a cannon but was turned down. A blacksmith named Rap Brown tried to build his own cannon, but it exploded when he first tested it. He then built a [[siege engine]] which the posse referred to as a "go-devil' or "ark of safety"<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=The Johnson County War: 1892 Invasion of Northern Wyoming {{!}} WyoHistory.org |url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/johnson-county-war-1892-invasion-northern-wyoming |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=www.wyohistory.org}}</ref> - a large, bullet-resistant wagon that would help the settlers get close to the ranch so they could throw dynamite at the Invaders.

Fortunately for the Invaders, one of their members, Mike Shonsey, managed to slip from the barn and was able to contact Governor Barber the next day. Frantic efforts to save the WSGA group ensued, and two days into the siege, late on the night of April 12, 1892, Governor Barber telegraphed [[President of the United States|President]] [[Benjamin Harrison]] a plea for help. For unknown reasons, the telegram failed to reach President Harrison, so Wyoming senators [[Joseph M. Carey]] and [[Francis E. Warren]] visited the [[White House]] in person and woke the President, informing him of the increasingly dangerous "insurrection" in Johnson County.<ref name="auto"/> Harrison immediately ordered the [[U.S. Secretary of War]] [[Stephen B. Elkins]] to address the situation under [[Article Four of the United States Constitution|Article IV]], Section 4, Clause 2 of the [[U.S. Constitution]], which allows for the use of U.S. forces under the president's orders for "protection from invasion and domestic violence".<ref name="No Title"/> The [[Sixth Cavalry]] from [[Fort McKinney (Wyoming)|Fort McKinney]] near Buffalo, Wyoming, was ordered to proceed to the TA Ranch at once and take the WSGA expedition into custody. The Sixth Cavalry left Fort McKinney a few hours later at 2:00 on the morning of April 13 and reached the TA Ranch at 6:45&nbsp;A.M. Colonel J.J. Van Horn, the officer in charge of the unit, negotiated with Sheriff Angus to lift the siege, and in return the Invaders were to be handed to civilian authorities.<ref name="Troops Came Just In Time"/><ref name="Johnson County War"/> The Sixth Cavalry took possession of Wolcott and 45 other men with 45 rifles, 41 revolvers and some 5,000 rounds of ammunition, before escorting them first to Fort McKinney and then to Cheyenne.<ref name="BrookeNYT"/> The text of Barber's telegram to the President was printed on the front page of ''[[The New York Times]]'' on April 14,<ref name="No Title"/> and a first-hand account of the siege at the T.A. appeared in ''The Times'' and the ''[[Chicago Times|Chicago Herald]]'' and other papers.