Remembering Our Civil War Heritage and Heroes:
1861-1865
Larger Than Life Frontier Character, Colonel John J. Donnelly
By Ken Robison
For The River Press
January 25, 2012
This continues a monthly series commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.
Frontier Fort Benton was a town of colorful characters, but they broke the mold with John J. Donnelly. In the span of six decades, Colonel Donnelly fought with distinction through the Civil War, led Irish Fenian Army invasions of Canada, led a civilian army in the Nez Perce War, served as Fenian agitator, Louis Riel advisor, attorney, county clerk and recorder, and probate judge, and was elected Speaker of the Montana House of Representatives. After this extraordinary career, even in the end, he died a uniquely spectacular death.
Who was this man of triumph and tragedy in frontier Montana? John J. Donnelly was born November 15, 1838 at Providence, Rhode Island of Irish immigrant parents. He was educated in schools of Providence and the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts. Moving west to Michigan, he studied law in the office of Sylvester Larned, of Detroit, Michigan, and was admitted to practice in November 1860 on the eve of the Civil War.
On November 18, 1861 at the age of 23, John J. Donnelly enlisted in the service of the United States and raised an infantry company. As Captain of Company G, his regiment, the Fourteenth Michigan Infantry, with 925 officers and men, was mustered into service February 13, 1862 at Ypsilanti, Michigan under Colonel Robert P. Sinclair.
The Fourteenth left Michigan on the 17th of April 1862 for St. Louis, Mo., and joined General Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing. It participated in the siege of Corinth, Miss., and when the enemy evacuated, the Fourteenth formed a part of
General Buell's army in the famous race with the Confederate army under General Bragg, to Louisville, Ky.
At Nashville, Tenn., the Fourteenth Michigan Infantry Regiment was assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division, Fourteenth Corps of the Army of the Cumberland, and served in that corps for the rest of the war. In November the regiment had a sharp encounter with Alabama troops at Lavergne, Tenn., when it captured a fort and took a large number of prisoners. After a series of marches and victories the regiment was at Stone River, Tenn., in January 1863 when it took part in that engagement.
Captain Donnelly led Company G until he was appointed engineer officer on the staff of Major General George H. Thomas, Commander of the Fourteenth Corps. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, Donnelly served with General Thomas during 1863-64, while Thomas was gaining fame with his stout defense at the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863, saved the Union Army from being completely routed, earning him his most famous nickname, the "Rock of Chickamauga." General Thomas followed soon after with a dramatic breakthrough on Missionary Ridge in the Battle of Chattanooga. In the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of 1864, he achieved one of the most decisive victories of the war, destroying the army of Confederate General John Bell Hood, at the Battle of Nashville.
By 1864, Major General John M. Palmer had taken command of the Fourteenth Corps, and on August 5th, Lieutenant Colonel Donnelly was promoted to Full Aide-de-Camp on General Palmer’s staff. In the Civil War an Aide-de-Camp was a confidential officer appointed by general officers to their staffs. An aide-de-camp reported directly to his commander and took orders only from him. In a position of great responsibility, an aide was required to write orders, deliver them personally if necessary, and be thoroughly knowledgeable about troop positions, maneuvers, columns, orders of corps, routes, and the locations of officers’ quarters.
General Palmer effectively commanded the 14th Corps of the Army of the Cumberland in the Atlanta Campaign. Palmer's corps was a part of General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea and the actions to capture Savannah, Georgia, late 1864. During the March to the Sea, Colonel Donnelly was appointed assistant general superintendent of the military railway service in General Sherman’s department.
Throughout the war until his discharge March 14, 1865 Colonel Donnelly took part in many of the principal engagements of that great conflict, and was twice wounded, at Corinth and Resaca. One of his obituaries reads, “A braver soldier never drew his sword in any cause, and such is the testimonial of his superior officers and of the men who served under him.”
As the Civil War drew to an end, Treasury Secretary Chase appointed Colonel Donnelly as special agent of the Treasury department. During reconstruction days he settled all war claims against the United States government in the Carolinas and part of Georgia and handled enormous sums of money without any suspicion of malfeasance.
Little is known of this period in Donnelly’s life, except that Colonel Donnelly engaged in the wholesale grocery and commission business at Savannah, Georgia. In 1866 Colonel Donnelly closed out his business and came north to Michigan on account of the death of his wife, to whom he was married but a few days before entering the service in 1861.
Entering a new phase of his life, Colonel Donnelly plunged headlong into the Fenian movement, which was then at its highest, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the subsequent “invasions” of Canada. The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. Members were commonly known as "Fenians". O'Mahony, who was a Celtic scholar, named his organization after the Fianna, the legendary band of Irish warriors led by Fionn mac Cumhaill.
In 1866 together with many other Irish Civil War veterans Colonel Donnelly joined the Fenian movement to invade Canada to punish the English for their occupation of Ireland. The Fenians dreamed of capturing Canada, forcing the English to free Ireland in exchange for return of Canada. A thousand strong force of Fenian troops took the field in June, 1866, crossed the Niagara River into Ontario, defeated a company of Queen’s Own Rifles of Toronto, and captured Fort Erie. Shortly afterward the Battle of Pigeon Hill practically ended this outbreak. In this battle Col. Donnelly had 200 men in his command, and was able to hold his position from 9 o’clock a. m. until sundown, with 2,300 men opposing him. He had twelve men killed and seventeen wounded, with Donnelly among the wounded. He was captured, but escaped, and a large reward was offered for him.
We are the Fenian Brotherhood, skilled in the arts of war,
And we're going to fight for Ireland, the land we adore,
Many battles we have won, along with the boys in blue,
And we'll go and capture Canada, for we've nothing else to do.
— "Fenian soldier's song"
After the defeat at Pigeon Hill, Col. Donnelly drifted west and had a role in the Red River Rebellion of 1870, in which Louis Riel was the leader of the Metis and Cree. This collapsed as did another Fenian raid at Pembina, N. D. the next year. Donnelly came to Montana from Pembina, at the time of the boundary line survey, traveling with the survey party but not part of it. He settled in Fort Benton in 1872 to resume his practice of law.
In Fort Benton Colonel John J. Donnelly became a spokesman for the many Irish Democats of the town that included among others the Healy brothers, Matthew Carroll, John Tattan, and John Evans. Donnelly played a prominent part in the aftermath of the Cypress Hill massacre of 1873, when in 1875 Bentonites were arrested by federal officials and troops for an extradition hearing in Helena. The so-called “Extradition Prisoners” were released, and upon their triumphant return to Fort Benton, were welcomed by Colonel Donnelly with an eloquent speech, condemning governmental actions to surround the town and patrol the streets with armed soldiers, “while five of its most respected citizens were seized, chained together, and thrown into a military prison.”
In 1877 as Chief Joseph’s Nez Perce turned north from the Musselshell in their flight toward Canada, trader James Wells from Fort Claggett raised the alarm in Fort Benton. Col. Donnelly, warrior and leader of men, raised a company of 50 civilian mounted volunteers to hasten down the Missouri to the Cow Island. The men of Donnelly’s Company were tough men, experienced in the hard and dangerous life of frontier Montana. At least four, and likely more, of Donnelly’s men had extensive Civil War service, and three had recent service in the Seventh Infantry. At least three were Army scouts.
Donnelly’s Company arrived at Cow Island just after the Nez Perce had crossed the Missouri and were moving up Cow Creek. On September 27, 1877, Donnelly’s men engaged elements of the Nez Perce in a three-hour battle, with one man, African American Edmund Bradley killed. Fortunately for Donnelly’s Company the main Nez Perce camp was moving northward toward their fate at Snake Creek.
Popular and capable, Col Donnelly served Choteau County as Clerk and Recorder and Probate Judge, and was elected a member of the Twelfth Montana Territorial Legislative Assembly in 1881, being chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives. Throughout his time in Montana, Donnelly engaged in the practice of the law, and his last law partner in the 1890s became the talented young Charles N. Pray.
By 1885, Fort Benton was home for many Civil War veterans, and in early August of that year, Union veterans signed a petition to form a Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) post. Among those signing this list was “J. J. Donnelly, Lieut. Colonel, 14th Michigan.”
Although not well documented, during 1883-84 when Louis Riel, leader of the Canadian Metis, was in exile in Montana, he spent time with Col. Donnelly. According to writer Joseph Kinsey Howard, Donnelly offered his support and advice, and the two met several times in Fort Benton. Donnelly advised him on the wording of petitions and military strategy and told Riel that he considered Riel’s dream of Metis freedom in western Canada a splendid dream. Riel’s 1885 invasion, defeat, and hanging must have been very hard on the old Fenian Donnelly.
Donnelly never remarried, and as he advanced in age his memories of battles lost and won in the Civil War, loss of his young wife, defeats in his glorious Fenian cause, loss of many of his Fort Benton Irish friends, the defeat of the Metis and loss of Riel, all must have weighed heavily on his mind. In November 1897, Donnelly was found lying in his bedroom with his throat badly cut and unconscious from loss of blood. Although he eventually recovered, the end was nearing for the old warrior. Yet, his drinking increased.
Two years later, in September 1899, friends became concerned over his strange absence from his usual haunts for several days. A search began, and Finlay Tower discovered footprints leading down to the water’s edge at the wing-dam at the end of Whalen bottom, and could find no place where anyone had come out. When last seen Donnelly had been drunk, and friends became concerned that the Colonel had met with some mishap. For weeks the search continued, but it was about a month later that remains were found on a sandbar on the south side of the Missouri river at the upper end of the Lansing ranch, having floated some 60 miles from the place where the tragedy occurred. Although badly decomposed, the remains were recognized as Donnelly. The remains indicated a determined case of suicide. He had filled his pockets with about 14 pounds of rocks, cut his throat from ear to ear, and completed his work of self-destruction by drowning. The coroner’s jury returned a verdict of death by drowning and self-inflicted injuries.
After a special requiem mass, the remains of the late Col. John J. Donnelly were interred in Riverside cemetery by pallbearers Judges DuBose and Tattan, Jere Sullivan, H. J. O’Hanlon, and G. A. R. veterans T. A. Cummings and R. S. Culbertson. A large number of his old friends attended the simple ceremonies at the graveside.
Joseph Kinsey Howard, in Strange Empire, eulogized Civil War veteran and Fenian leader Colonel Donnelly, “In September, 1899, the last of the Pembina plotters, last of the irreconcilables, perhaps last of the Fenian fighting men, joined his comrades. General Donnelly walked down to the Fort Benton levee, filled his pockets with fourteen pounds of rocks, slit his throat from ear to ear, and marched unfalteringly into the Missouri river.” And we might add, Colonel John J. Donnelly, Civil War hero, marched into history.
Note: If you have Civil War veterans in your family who settled in this area, we would be pleased to hear from you with copies of stories and photographs that we can share with our readers. Send your Civil War stories to mtcivilwar@yahoo.com or to the Overholser Historical Research Center, Box 262, Fort Benton, MT 59442.
Photos:
1. The goal of the Fenian Brotherhood is reflected in this patriotic lithograph, "Freedom to Ireland," by Currier & Ives, New York, ca 1866.
2. The Battle of Eccles Hill was part of a Fenian raid into Canada in May 1870. This scene is located near the site of the Battle of Pigeon Hill where Colonel Donnelly was wounded in the 1866 Fenian invasion.
3. This portrait of John J. Donnelly is the only image of the famed Irishman in the Overholser Historical Research Center.
4. Civil War Gravestone of Captain John J. Donnelly at Highland Cemetery.
Showing posts with label Montana Territory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montana Territory. Show all posts
21 July 2010
“With cattle on a thousand hills and prairies”: The Remarkable Milton E. Milner
By Ken Robison
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Long before the great A. B. Guthrie published his book “These Thousand Hills,” this cowman’s term was used by Judge F. E. Stranahan in a fine tribute written in 1934 to perhaps Montana’s least known, yet greatest open range rancher—Milton E. Milner. Friend to his many young cowboys as well as to the rich and famous, Milner roamed the hills of Montana and the cities and sights of the world. Painted by Frederick Remington and Charles M. Russell, investor and perhaps originator of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, M. E. Milner left a legacy through foreman W. P. Sullivan that extends on down to today.
More about Milner and his amazing accomplishments later, but meanwhile here is what Judge Stranahan had to say in the July 24, 1934 Grass Range Review under the headline, “Judge Tells About Ownership and Operation of Old Milner Livestock Company
“I have just sent out the last check that has paid the final distribution of the full par value of the capital stock and have accomplished the dissolution of a corporation that has written “finis” to one of the greatest cow outfits of the west, the Milner Cattle company, and I have been asked to write of this outfit and of its founder, Milton E. Milner. I am glad to do this, because I have read some articles that were not very complimentary to the latter.
“Mr. Milner was one of the pioneer cattlemen of Montana. In the earliest annals of the business he formed a co-partnership with John M. Boardman, and the firm of Milner & Boardman ran cattle for a time on the Shonkin range. After this partnership was dissolved, Mr. Milner entered the business on a much larger scale and formed his corporation. He was the only stockholder of it in the west. All others were eastern people, and the company operated in northern and eastern Montana, with ranches of many thousands of acres at Shonkin, Square Butte and other places, now owned by William P. Sullivan, who was formerly one of Mr. Milner’s foremen. The roundup and shipping points were principally in Chouteau and Valley counties.
“With cattle on a thousand hills and prairies, with scores of range riders to care for them, this corporation ran its life out and expired by lapse of time just as death ended the career of its organizer 21 years ago. The open range was then closing, and his work was done. For the stockholders and executors of the Milner will, I took charge and renewed the corporation mainly for the purpose of liquidation and closing out business affairs where Mr. Milner left them. Since its renewal I have been secretary of the liquidating corporation, and during that time, besides sending out checks for annual dividends, the original investment of each stockholder has been paid in full twice over, but that was not a marker to which they received in dividends when the company was a going concern.
“The business under the Milner management was a prosperous one, chiefly, I think, because his first great care was for those who actually did the work, for in their hands and subject to their loyal and efficient service, all the profit producing assets of the company reposed. His secondary anxiety was for those whose money was invested, and they revered him for his high character, his strict integrity and his careful business methods to such an extent that they named their children and their grandchildren for him.
“The Milner brand of humanism stood out in bold relief where the workers in the business were concerned. I have never heard of his like outside of fiction. To the men who handled the cattle he was like a loving father and no service on his part was too great for their comfort and advancement. If a young cowpuncher in his employ showed himself worthy and inclined toward a better education, Milner would take him out of the saddle and put him through school or college and pay all his expenses. Such a case came under my observation while carrying on the Milner estate and I enjoyed the privilege of watching over the young student in an Iowa college and of handing him $1,000 cash upon his graduation, in accordance with the provisions of Mr. Milner’s will.
“At the old Fort Benton ford of the Missouri river, where the Crow and Blackfeet war parties crossed to rob and fight each other for possibly a thousand years, the Milner outfit was crossing a beef herd for shipment many years ago. Charlie Mudgett was foreman of the drive. Charlie was one of those splendid cowboy characters now being sung and told of in song and story. Some of the beef animals were inclined to stall and turn back and refuse to take the water. To prevent that mishap, Charlie rode into swifter water than he expected. His horse’s feet were swept from under him and Charlie drowned. The grief of the employer at the loss of such a young man seemed boundless. A silver coin found in the pocket of the dead man was made into a watch charm and worn by Mr. Milner. He supported and cared for Charlie’s mother throughout his life as though she were his own and made provision for her in his will, when he could not longer care for her in person. But the most unusual gesture of affection and regret was Mr. Milner’s direction that, upon his own death, his body be cremated and its ashes strewn upon the waters of the ford where Charlie Mudgett lost his life. That was done.
“The ever popular romance of the wild west, now carried on almost exclusively by drug store cowboys, probably found its origin in the mind of Mr. Milner. One of the chief stockholders of Milner Cattle company was Nate Salsbury [Salisbury], a famous New York actor and theatrical man. On one occasion Mr. Milner suggested to Salsbury that he organize a show company to portray that wilderness of the western region. Salsbury was in doubt about it. It was a novel proposition. He told Milner the theatre was the glamorous land of make believe where some greater pretender who could lead and hoodwink the people in a most realistic manner was necessary to the success of such an enterprise, and where in all that wilderness out there could such a fakir be found.
“Milner told Salsbury he did not think that would be a stumbling block, that we had out here in the west one of the finest lookers and one of the biggest showmen he ever saw, who was called “Buffalo Bill” Cody, and so the great wild west show was born. Salsbury took it around the world with wonderful enthusiasm among his audiences until Bill thought he was the whole show and would quit unless it was turned over to him. Bill could fake Indians, stage robbers and cowboys, but the balance sheet and the show went on the rocks. Bill went broke but, like the soul of old John Brown, the romance, so auspiciously started, still goes marching on.
“Another nationally appreciated actor was James O’Neill, who was also a stockholder in the Milner company. He was a handsome man. I have seen him, some 60 years ago, fill a theatre to overflowing with ladies on a Saturday afternoon matinee. At the outset he put $7,000 in the company and often said it was usual for him to never again see a dollar of his ordinary investments, but that Milner had given him back his money so many times over that he was almost ashamed to take it. His son, Eugene O’Neill, world famous writer of plays, succeeded to his father’s shares upon the death of the latter.
“Mr. Milner may have indulged in some crochets. Who has not? Some people were not favorably impressed by him. He did not always follow their lines of conduct. His name had been Miller but he said he knew so many Millers who had misbehaved and there were so many pesky insects of that name who fluttered in such an annoying way around his reading lamp at night that he went into court and had his name changed to Milner. While he entertained the highest respect for the religious beliefs of others, he had none of his own. He did not take kindly to the supernatural. He was a man of education and refinement and possessed of considerable wealth and he was courteous and genteel and rather inclined to be chivalrous to the members of the fair sex. He never married. His life was lived in the rough and his idea was that the rough was no place for a lady. He contended himself with his large family of cowboys. He was a lover of the beautiful in flowers, plants and works of art and on his winter jaunts he gathered articles he keenly enjoyed in his ranch homes--quaint jewelry, garnished with precious stones; fine linens, tapestries, and choice fabrics of various kinds and beautiful etchings. In his will he said he would leave a list of his most intimate friends who were to receive gifts from his collection but he forgot to make up the list. His chief executor, A. H. “Bert” Davis, a foreman of the company, was so intimately acquainted with Mr. Milner’s desires that he made the distribution without the list.
“Mr. Milner had become so thoroughly attached to his cowboy family that he left the bulk of his fortune to them and the memory of that manly man is still green in the hearts of the beneficiaries of his bounty. What matters it, then, that no kindred hand soothed his last hours, that no storied urn marks his last resting place, that no animated bust tells his story and that the great river still sweeps his ashes downward to the sea." [Source: Montana Newspaper Association 23 Jul 1934 The Grass Range Review]
In his early career as a painter, Remington took a number of opportunities to paint portraits of westerners at work. In 1889, Remington accepted a commission from Milton E. Milner to show him and an associate, Judge Kennon, out searching for new cattle range in Montana Territory. Prospecting for Cattle Range is an example of Remington's early style, featuring realistic details, tight use of line and clearly articulated shapes.
Lot 2263
Frederic Sackrider Remington
American, 1861-1909
Trotter, circa 1885
Inscribed Dear Milton/I present to you this oil/reminisce of your past cowboy life/I am sure you miss it/Memorable fine days we will/treasure always/Remember?/Frederic R. (lr)
Oil on canvas mounted on canvas
30 x 22 inches
Provenance:
Milton E. Milner
Thence by descent in the family to the present owner
This work is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the Remington Examination Committee.
Sold to a buyer from Florida for $67,000
Milton E. Milner, the original owner of the present work, was a shareholder in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Company, incorporated in 1887. A Montana cattle rancher, Milner commissioned Remington in 1889 to paint him and an associate out searching for new cattle ranges in the Montana Territory. Located near Fort Benton, Montana, the Milner ranch was incorporated in Montana as the Milner Live Stock Company in 1884, and was eventually renamed the Milner Cattle Company.
The pose of the horse and rider in Trotter is similar to that of another pair depicted on the left of the painting commissioned by Milner, Prospecting for Cattle Range (Collection Buffalo Bill Historical Center). The Frederic Remington Examination Committee, which has authenticated the painting, has suggested that there may be a relationship between the two works.
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Long before the great A. B. Guthrie published his book “These Thousand Hills,” this cowman’s term was used by Judge F. E. Stranahan in a fine tribute written in 1934 to perhaps Montana’s least known, yet greatest open range rancher—Milton E. Milner. Friend to his many young cowboys as well as to the rich and famous, Milner roamed the hills of Montana and the cities and sights of the world. Painted by Frederick Remington and Charles M. Russell, investor and perhaps originator of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, M. E. Milner left a legacy through foreman W. P. Sullivan that extends on down to today.
More about Milner and his amazing accomplishments later, but meanwhile here is what Judge Stranahan had to say in the July 24, 1934 Grass Range Review under the headline, “Judge Tells About Ownership and Operation of Old Milner Livestock Company
“I have just sent out the last check that has paid the final distribution of the full par value of the capital stock and have accomplished the dissolution of a corporation that has written “finis” to one of the greatest cow outfits of the west, the Milner Cattle company, and I have been asked to write of this outfit and of its founder, Milton E. Milner. I am glad to do this, because I have read some articles that were not very complimentary to the latter.
“Mr. Milner was one of the pioneer cattlemen of Montana. In the earliest annals of the business he formed a co-partnership with John M. Boardman, and the firm of Milner & Boardman ran cattle for a time on the Shonkin range. After this partnership was dissolved, Mr. Milner entered the business on a much larger scale and formed his corporation. He was the only stockholder of it in the west. All others were eastern people, and the company operated in northern and eastern Montana, with ranches of many thousands of acres at Shonkin, Square Butte and other places, now owned by William P. Sullivan, who was formerly one of Mr. Milner’s foremen. The roundup and shipping points were principally in Chouteau and Valley counties.
“With cattle on a thousand hills and prairies, with scores of range riders to care for them, this corporation ran its life out and expired by lapse of time just as death ended the career of its organizer 21 years ago. The open range was then closing, and his work was done. For the stockholders and executors of the Milner will, I took charge and renewed the corporation mainly for the purpose of liquidation and closing out business affairs where Mr. Milner left them. Since its renewal I have been secretary of the liquidating corporation, and during that time, besides sending out checks for annual dividends, the original investment of each stockholder has been paid in full twice over, but that was not a marker to which they received in dividends when the company was a going concern.
“The business under the Milner management was a prosperous one, chiefly, I think, because his first great care was for those who actually did the work, for in their hands and subject to their loyal and efficient service, all the profit producing assets of the company reposed. His secondary anxiety was for those whose money was invested, and they revered him for his high character, his strict integrity and his careful business methods to such an extent that they named their children and their grandchildren for him.
“The Milner brand of humanism stood out in bold relief where the workers in the business were concerned. I have never heard of his like outside of fiction. To the men who handled the cattle he was like a loving father and no service on his part was too great for their comfort and advancement. If a young cowpuncher in his employ showed himself worthy and inclined toward a better education, Milner would take him out of the saddle and put him through school or college and pay all his expenses. Such a case came under my observation while carrying on the Milner estate and I enjoyed the privilege of watching over the young student in an Iowa college and of handing him $1,000 cash upon his graduation, in accordance with the provisions of Mr. Milner’s will.
“At the old Fort Benton ford of the Missouri river, where the Crow and Blackfeet war parties crossed to rob and fight each other for possibly a thousand years, the Milner outfit was crossing a beef herd for shipment many years ago. Charlie Mudgett was foreman of the drive. Charlie was one of those splendid cowboy characters now being sung and told of in song and story. Some of the beef animals were inclined to stall and turn back and refuse to take the water. To prevent that mishap, Charlie rode into swifter water than he expected. His horse’s feet were swept from under him and Charlie drowned. The grief of the employer at the loss of such a young man seemed boundless. A silver coin found in the pocket of the dead man was made into a watch charm and worn by Mr. Milner. He supported and cared for Charlie’s mother throughout his life as though she were his own and made provision for her in his will, when he could not longer care for her in person. But the most unusual gesture of affection and regret was Mr. Milner’s direction that, upon his own death, his body be cremated and its ashes strewn upon the waters of the ford where Charlie Mudgett lost his life. That was done.
“The ever popular romance of the wild west, now carried on almost exclusively by drug store cowboys, probably found its origin in the mind of Mr. Milner. One of the chief stockholders of Milner Cattle company was Nate Salsbury [Salisbury], a famous New York actor and theatrical man. On one occasion Mr. Milner suggested to Salsbury that he organize a show company to portray that wilderness of the western region. Salsbury was in doubt about it. It was a novel proposition. He told Milner the theatre was the glamorous land of make believe where some greater pretender who could lead and hoodwink the people in a most realistic manner was necessary to the success of such an enterprise, and where in all that wilderness out there could such a fakir be found.
“Milner told Salsbury he did not think that would be a stumbling block, that we had out here in the west one of the finest lookers and one of the biggest showmen he ever saw, who was called “Buffalo Bill” Cody, and so the great wild west show was born. Salsbury took it around the world with wonderful enthusiasm among his audiences until Bill thought he was the whole show and would quit unless it was turned over to him. Bill could fake Indians, stage robbers and cowboys, but the balance sheet and the show went on the rocks. Bill went broke but, like the soul of old John Brown, the romance, so auspiciously started, still goes marching on.
“Another nationally appreciated actor was James O’Neill, who was also a stockholder in the Milner company. He was a handsome man. I have seen him, some 60 years ago, fill a theatre to overflowing with ladies on a Saturday afternoon matinee. At the outset he put $7,000 in the company and often said it was usual for him to never again see a dollar of his ordinary investments, but that Milner had given him back his money so many times over that he was almost ashamed to take it. His son, Eugene O’Neill, world famous writer of plays, succeeded to his father’s shares upon the death of the latter.
“Mr. Milner may have indulged in some crochets. Who has not? Some people were not favorably impressed by him. He did not always follow their lines of conduct. His name had been Miller but he said he knew so many Millers who had misbehaved and there were so many pesky insects of that name who fluttered in such an annoying way around his reading lamp at night that he went into court and had his name changed to Milner. While he entertained the highest respect for the religious beliefs of others, he had none of his own. He did not take kindly to the supernatural. He was a man of education and refinement and possessed of considerable wealth and he was courteous and genteel and rather inclined to be chivalrous to the members of the fair sex. He never married. His life was lived in the rough and his idea was that the rough was no place for a lady. He contended himself with his large family of cowboys. He was a lover of the beautiful in flowers, plants and works of art and on his winter jaunts he gathered articles he keenly enjoyed in his ranch homes--quaint jewelry, garnished with precious stones; fine linens, tapestries, and choice fabrics of various kinds and beautiful etchings. In his will he said he would leave a list of his most intimate friends who were to receive gifts from his collection but he forgot to make up the list. His chief executor, A. H. “Bert” Davis, a foreman of the company, was so intimately acquainted with Mr. Milner’s desires that he made the distribution without the list.
“Mr. Milner had become so thoroughly attached to his cowboy family that he left the bulk of his fortune to them and the memory of that manly man is still green in the hearts of the beneficiaries of his bounty. What matters it, then, that no kindred hand soothed his last hours, that no storied urn marks his last resting place, that no animated bust tells his story and that the great river still sweeps his ashes downward to the sea." [Source: Montana Newspaper Association 23 Jul 1934 The Grass Range Review]
In his early career as a painter, Remington took a number of opportunities to paint portraits of westerners at work. In 1889, Remington accepted a commission from Milton E. Milner to show him and an associate, Judge Kennon, out searching for new cattle range in Montana Territory. Prospecting for Cattle Range is an example of Remington's early style, featuring realistic details, tight use of line and clearly articulated shapes.
Lot 2263
Frederic Sackrider Remington
American, 1861-1909
Trotter, circa 1885
Inscribed Dear Milton/I present to you this oil/reminisce of your past cowboy life/I am sure you miss it/Memorable fine days we will/treasure always/Remember?/Frederic R. (lr)
Oil on canvas mounted on canvas
30 x 22 inches
Provenance:
Milton E. Milner
Thence by descent in the family to the present owner
This work is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the Remington Examination Committee.
Sold to a buyer from Florida for $67,000
Milton E. Milner, the original owner of the present work, was a shareholder in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Company, incorporated in 1887. A Montana cattle rancher, Milner commissioned Remington in 1889 to paint him and an associate out searching for new cattle ranges in the Montana Territory. Located near Fort Benton, Montana, the Milner ranch was incorporated in Montana as the Milner Live Stock Company in 1884, and was eventually renamed the Milner Cattle Company.
The pose of the horse and rider in Trotter is similar to that of another pair depicted on the left of the painting commissioned by Milner, Prospecting for Cattle Range (Collection Buffalo Bill Historical Center). The Frederic Remington Examination Committee, which has authenticated the painting, has suggested that there may be a relationship between the two works.
06 July 2009
Vinegar Jones Cabin Christmas Ornament
The Official Christmas Ornament for 2009 for the city of Great Falls has been selected. In honor of the 125th anniversary of the founding of Great Falls, the ornament will feature The Vinegar Jones Cabin. This little 14 x 20 foot cabin was built at 501 5th Avenue South in the Spring of 1884, the first year of the Great Falls townsite. The builder was Fort Benton carpenter Josiah Peeper. In 1890 Whitman Gibson "Vinegar" Jones bought the Cabin and moved it across the avenue to 516 5th Avenue South. Until his death in 1931, Vinegar Jones carefully maintained the Cabin, taking pride in the fact that this was the first permanent structure built on the Great Falls townsite.
In 2002 the Great Falls/Cascade County Historic Preservation Advisory Commission took over care of the Cabin for the people of Great Falls. This first permanent home in Great Falls, and the only building remaining from 1884, the first year of the townsite, now stands in a place of honor in the city's premier park, Gibson Park.
The 2009 Christmas Ornament will be available for sale at $15 at the City Planning Office on the lower level of the Great Falls Civic Center. The ornaments, designed by Great Falls artist Sheree Nelson, are numbered, for example, #1 of 750. Just 750 are available and are expected to sell quickly. All money raised from sales will be used for historic preservation in Great Falls and Cascade County, Montana.
01 July 2009
Fort Benton honors Irish hero at festival
From The Irish Emigrant Online: http://www.irishemigrant.com/ie/go.asp?p=story&storyID=4612
FORT BENTON, Mont. – Fort Benton’s Summer Celebration will take on a new Irish theme this year in honor of the dedication of the city’s latest statue; a $40,000 bronze bust of Thomas Francis Meagher, Montana’s Irish former governor and Civil War hero.
The festival begins Friday night with a performance by the Montana Agricultural Center of "The Coroner's Inquest Into the Death of Thomas Francis Meagher," a play based on a book by Paul Wylie that attempts to solve the mystery surrounding Meagher’s death.
Saturday will be a day full of Irish dancing, foodstuffs and bars serving exclusively Guinness. The festivities will conclude with the statue dedication ceremony at 1 pm on Sunday.
Local band the Shamrockers will perform all weekend long, and even wrote a new song specifically for the beloved Meagher.
The green theme is expected to draw the biggest crowd the Fort Benton Celebration has seen yet.
FORT BENTON, Mont. – Fort Benton’s Summer Celebration will take on a new Irish theme this year in honor of the dedication of the city’s latest statue; a $40,000 bronze bust of Thomas Francis Meagher, Montana’s Irish former governor and Civil War hero.
The festival begins Friday night with a performance by the Montana Agricultural Center of "The Coroner's Inquest Into the Death of Thomas Francis Meagher," a play based on a book by Paul Wylie that attempts to solve the mystery surrounding Meagher’s death.
Saturday will be a day full of Irish dancing, foodstuffs and bars serving exclusively Guinness. The festivities will conclude with the statue dedication ceremony at 1 pm on Sunday.
Local band the Shamrockers will perform all weekend long, and even wrote a new song specifically for the beloved Meagher.
The green theme is expected to draw the biggest crowd the Fort Benton Celebration has seen yet.
29 June 2009
Summer Celebration with an Irish Flare
The Thomas Francis Meagher Memorial on the Historic Steamboat Levee Commemorates His Death at Fort Benton on the Evening of 1 July, 1867.
From 26-28 June Fort Benton became the Hibernian Capital of the World. Members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians assembled from across Montana and as far away as Buffalo, New York, to pay homage to General Thomas Francis Meagher. Over the weekend, events included Paul Wylie's play Friday evening, "A Coroner's Inquest Into the Death of Thomas Francis Meagher"; the Summer Celebration Parade on Saturday morning with Hibernian marchers, dancers, and musical groups from Anaconda, Helena, and Great Falls; the Meagher Memorial Dinner With an Irish Flair attended by over 100 on Saturday evening with main speaker Lt. Governor John Bohlinger and Irish dances by Helena and Anaconda ladies and lassies; and the Dedication of the Thomas Francis Meagher Memorial Sunday afternoon at the historic steamboat levee with singing of the U.S. and Irish National Anthems by Jack Kelly and speechifying by General Meagher (played by Frank Crowley) and Governor Brian O'Schweitzer.
The Hiberian Banquet for General Meagher.
The Thomas Francis Meagher Monument was dedicated Sunday afternoon, June 28th.
The Second Cavalry Association Reenactment Group at the Dedication Ceremony
General Thomas Francis Meagher on the Fort Benton Levee Shortly Before His Death in 1867
Author Paul Wylie Signs Copies of his Excellent Meagher biography, The Irish General.
From 26-28 June Fort Benton became the Hibernian Capital of the World. Members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians assembled from across Montana and as far away as Buffalo, New York, to pay homage to General Thomas Francis Meagher. Over the weekend, events included Paul Wylie's play Friday evening, "A Coroner's Inquest Into the Death of Thomas Francis Meagher"; the Summer Celebration Parade on Saturday morning with Hibernian marchers, dancers, and musical groups from Anaconda, Helena, and Great Falls; the Meagher Memorial Dinner With an Irish Flair attended by over 100 on Saturday evening with main speaker Lt. Governor John Bohlinger and Irish dances by Helena and Anaconda ladies and lassies; and the Dedication of the Thomas Francis Meagher Memorial Sunday afternoon at the historic steamboat levee with singing of the U.S. and Irish National Anthems by Jack Kelly and speechifying by General Meagher (played by Frank Crowley) and Governor Brian O'Schweitzer.
The Hiberian Banquet for General Meagher.
The Thomas Francis Meagher Monument was dedicated Sunday afternoon, June 28th.
The Second Cavalry Association Reenactment Group at the Dedication Ceremony
General Thomas Francis Meagher on the Fort Benton Levee Shortly Before His Death in 1867
Author Paul Wylie Signs Copies of his Excellent Meagher biography, The Irish General.
22 June 2009
My New Book -- Fort Benton
On July 13, 2009, my new book, FORT BENTON will be released by Arcadia Publishing.
FORT BENTON tells the story of Fort Benton on the Upper Missouri through postcard images and accompanying stories.
Fort Benton is the head of navigation on the Missouri River, the “birthplace of Montana,” and it’s history spans every era in Montana’s development. Fort Benton, founded in 1846 as a fur trading post and named for Senator Thomas Hart Benton, is Montana’s oldest continuously occupied white settlement. Built on a broad river bottom along “nature’s highway,” American Indians crossed the north-south ford, and Lewis and Clark navigated the waters before white settlement. Arrival of the first steamboats from St. Louis and completion of the Mullan Wagon Road from Walla Walla in 1860 heralded the steamboat era bringing gold seekers, merchant princes, scoundrels, soldiers, North West Mounted Police, and eventually women and children to the wild frontier. Then came the railroads, open range ranching, and homesteaders by the thousand. Today, Fort Benton serves the agricultural Golden Triangle and presents its colorful history through cultural tourism.
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