Remembering Our Civil War Heritage and Heroes:
1861-1865
Private James W. “Diamond R” Brown, An Exceptional Warrior
Part 1
By Ken Robison
For The River Press
March 28, 2012
This continues a monthly series commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.
James W. Brown II was a survivor. Wounded at Fort Donelson in February 1862, wounded two months later at the bloody battle of Shiloh, and wounded a third time at the decisive battle at Vicksburg, James W. Brown survived the war and came west to Montana territory to become a legendary freighting wagon boss on the rugged Montana frontier.
Born at Hillsboro, Ohio, September 5, 1841 Brown’s parents James W. and Elizabeth Cooper Brown, both of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry, had earlier moved from Virginia to Ohio. His father died in 1850 and after attending the public schools of Hillsboro, young James left home in 1858 to work as a farm hand in Illinois. At the first call for troops in the Civil war, James Brown enlisted June 13, 1861 at Joliet, Illinois for a term of three years as Private in Company C of the Twentieth Illinois Infantry. He was 21 years of age, 5’ 6” in height with hazel eyes and dark hair. Brown served from June 1861 until July 1864 through extended periods of hard fighting, suffering wounds at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg, three major battles in the Western Theater of the Civil War.
Fort Donelson was located on the left bank of the vital Cumberland River in a strategic position in northwestern Tennessee. It was a bastioned earthwork, on a bluff about 100 feet above the water and commanded the river for several miles down stream. During February 13-16, 1862, a 27,000-man army under General Ulysses S. Grant, supported by ironclad gunboats under Commodore Andrew Foote, attacked and captured Fort Donelson, During this battle, Private Brown’s 20th Illinois Infantry was part of Col. W. H. L. Wallace's 2d Brigade in Brig.-Gen. John A. McClernand's First Division. Portions of the battle report give us insight into the experiences of the Private Brown and his 20th Illinois regiment in the chaos and fury of the Battle of Fort Donelson:
[On Feb. 13th] “McClernand's division, preceded by cavalry, had the advance on both roads [leading to Fort Donelson]. About noon the head of the column commenced skirmishing with the enemy's pickets, the rest of the day being passed in feeling the Confederate position and in learning the nature of the ground, which was full of ravines and ridges and thickly wooded . . . All of the 13th was spent in maneuvering for position and making demonstrations to draw the fire of the enemy's batteries, with a view of locating the weak points in the line of defenses.
[Feb. 14th] “Skirmishers exchanged shots at intervals during the day and from time to time the gunners in the batteries fired a few rounds to try the range of the guns. . .
[During the afternoon the naval gunboats attacked, and were repulsed by Confederate shore batteries.] This repulse of the gunboats made it plain that the fort, if it was taken at all, must be taken by the land forces, and preparations were at
once commenced for an attack on the following morning. Other transports had arrived during the day with additional troops, which were assigned to positions in the line . . . as it was feared the enemy might attempt to cut his way out at that point; batteries were brought up and placed in the most advantageous positions, rations and ammunition were issued to the men, and when night came the men bivouacked without fires, resting on their arms so as to begin the assault as soon as the command might be given . . .
[Also on Feb. 14, another Union force had moved into position near Fort Donelson] “With this command were Birge's sharpshooters, armed with long range Henry rifles, and every man a skilled marksman. All day on the 14th this band of intrepid Missourians kept up from behind rocks and trees a continual fire, making it unsafe for a Confederate to show his head above the works.
[During the 14th the Confederate command, realizing that Fort Donelson was indefensible and that they would be starved into submission, began planning to cut their way out.]
[Feb. 15th] “[Confederate Gen.] Pillow was to begin the attack on McClernand's right, and this was to be followed by [Gen.] Buckner in an assault on the center of the division, driving it back . . . and opening the way to the road, after which Buckner was to cover the retreat. Accordingly at 6 a.m. [the Confederate attack began and a] brigade next moved forward through a depression in the ground and succeeded in turning McClernand's right. McClernand sent . . . for assistance and [a] brigade was ordered to the right, where it managed to check the enemy and for a time held its position . . . Deeming that the time had come for him to act, [Confederate Gen.] Buckner advanced a part of his division [forward. This was] countered by McClernand . . . [with artillery] batteries . . . and Buckner failed to break the line, his troops retiring before the destructive fire of the artillery. Fresh regiments were now hurled against [a part of the Union line], whose ammunition was exhausted, and [they] began to fall back. The enemy swept around [the] flank and appeared in the rear, isolating [a Union] brigade, which also retired. One regiment . . . held on after the others retreated and continued the fight until every cartridge box was empty . . .
“Up to this point the sortie had been successful. Pillow had opened the way for the Confederates to escape, but the escape was not made. This was due to Pillow's erroneous notion of the victory he had won. When he saw the broken ranks of the Union right wing falling back in confusion before him he believed Grant's entire army was in full retreat [but Gen. Pillow was wrong. The Union forces regrouped and] behind this line McClernand's brigades rallied and refilled their cartridge
boxes. Wood's battery was brought up and placed where it could sweep the road. These preparations were barely completed when the Confederates came swarming up the road and through the woods on both sides of it.
[The Union lines held on the 15th] The road . . . was closed and the opportunity to escape had passed. That night the Confederate generals held another council
of war. The session was somewhat stormy, the criminations and recriminations between Buckner and Pillow growing at times especially bitter. Scouts were sent out to ascertain the position of the Federals and came back with the information
that the Union lines occupied the same position as before the sortie. Some of the generals doubted the correctness of this statement and other scouts were sent out who came back with the report that every foot of ground from which the Federals
had been driven in the morning had been reoccupied. Pillow still clung to the notion that they could cut their way out. After canvassing the situation in all of its aspects the command was turned over to Buckner, who immediately announced
his determination to surrender the fort.
[16 Feb. Gen. Pillow and Cavalry Col. Nathan B. Forrest refused to surrender, and about 3,000 Confederates escaped Fort Donelson in the early morning hours.]
“Shortly after daybreak [on the 16th] the notes of a bugle were heard in the direction of the fort, announcing the approach of an officer with a communication from [Gen.] Buckner, asking for an armistice until noon and the appointment of commissioners to agree on the terms of capitulation. Then it was that [Gen. Ulysses S.] Grant sent his famous message, viz: "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works."
[Thus was born the name, “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”]
“Having no alternative Buckner was forced to comply, and the Union forces marched in and took possession. The Union loss at Fort Donelson was 500 killed, 2,108 wounded and 224 missing. [Confederate losses were estimated at about 1,500 while some 13,300 surrendered.] The most important result of the fall of Fort Donelson was the opening of the Cumberland river to the passage of the Union gunboats and transports and the breaking of the line of defense to Nashville.”
As a result of the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, the commander in the area, was forced to fall back, giving up Kentucky and much of West and Middle Tennessee. Private James Brown had been wounded during the capture of Fort Donelson. His wounds, however, did not keep him out of action seven weeks later when the 20th Illinois Cavalry were again part of McClernand's First Division as Gen. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee arrived at Pittsburgh Landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River a few miles south of Savannah, Tennessee. The army camped and awaited the arrival of Gen. Don Carlos Buell's army (expected late the next day) before moving on. The Union forces did not set up defenses or even send out pickets as no Confederates were believed to be nearby.
Unknown to the Union forces, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston had assembled his Army of Mississippi and was moving north to intercept and destroy Grant's army and capture all his supplies before Buell's army arrived. The battle began early April 6 with the Confederate forces streaming out of the woods and totally surprising the Union troops. Grant's army fell back before the attackers putting up stubborn resistance at a sunken road known later as the "Hornet's Nest." The determined resistance at the Hornet's Nest threw off the timetable of the advancing Confederates and likely saved the rest of Grant's army. During the fighting, Confederate General Johnston was killed while leading his troops and command fell to Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard. By the end of the day, the Confederates had pushed the Union army back into a small pocket next to the river where the Union gunboats could offer some protection.
During the night, Union Gen. Buell's Army of the Ohio arrived and the troops were ferried across the river to the west bank. At the end of that bloody day, Gen. William T. Sherman approached Gen. Grant who was smoking one of his cigars, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Gen. Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though." Meanwhile, Confederate Gen. Beauregard completely misread the situation, sending a telegram a telegram to President Jefferson Davis announcing "A COMPLETE VICTORY."
At daybreak on April 7, the newly reinforced Union army attacked and over the course of the day completely pushed the Confederates back across the battlefield of the previous day. The Confederates were forced to retreat from the bloodiest battle in United States history up to that time, ending their hopes that they could block the Union advance into northern Mississippi.
The Battle of Shiloh is named for a small church located in the central portion of the battlefield. The battle is also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing. The Union loss at Shiloh was 1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded and 2,885 captured or missing. Once more Private Brown was wounded during the battle. On the Confederate side the loss was reported as 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded and 959 missing. In the words of Union Gen. M. F. Force, “The battle sobered both armies.” The battle was the first of many large battles during the war that had in excess of 20,000 casualties and was an omen that the war would last for a much longer time and be far bloodier in casualties than anyone had anticipated.
One year later in 1863, the 20th Illinois Infantry participated in the long Vicksburg Campaign from May 18 to July 4, a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Gen. Grant gained control of the river by capturing this stronghold and the Confederate forces stationed there. Although the Confederate killed and wounded in the battle and siege of Vicksburg were a relatively small 2,872, and Union 4,910, Grant captured his second Confederate army in its entirety (the first being at Fort Donelson) and 29,495 surrendered.
This was the second major blow to the Confederacy in the summer of 1863. On July 3, Gen. Robert E. Lee's invasion of the North collapsed at Gettysburg. On July 4, the Stars and Stripes rose over Vicksburg. The most significant result of this campaign was control of the Mississippi River. The Confederacy was now cut in two; one week later, an unarmed steamboat arrived in Union-held New Orleans from St. Louis after an uneventful trip down the river. President Lincoln announced, "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea.”
Private James Brown was wounded for the third time at Vicksburg. He was discharged in July 1864 at Nashville, Tenn. Amazingly, he had not had enough of war, and in February 1865 he re-enlisted for a year in the Fourth Veteran Regiment of Gen. Winfield S. Hancock’s First Veterans Corps to provide security for the federal capitol. Private Brown was in camp at Alexandria, Virginia across the Potomac River at the time of the assassination of President Lincoln, April 14, 1865. His regiment was immediately placed on provost duty in Washington, and continued that service until after July 7, 1865, the day execution for Mrs. Mary Surratt, David Herold, Lewis Powell and George Atzerodt, all convicted of complicity in that awful tragedy. In the fall of 1855 Private James Brown went to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio and was mustered out of service on February 7, 1866. Wounded, but unbowed, he had survived the Civil War.
To be continued next week.
Private James W. “Diamond R” Brown, An Exceptional Warrior
Part 2
By Ken Robison
For The River Press
April 4, 2012
This continues with the second part of the story of James W. “Diamond R” Brown. Part 1 covered Brown’s early years and his service during the Civil War.
Just months after the end of James W. Brown II’s service in the Civil War in February, 1866 this exceptional man of adventure headed west in summer of that same year. Engaged as a “bull whacker” driving an ox team between Nebraska City and Salt Lake City, he arrived there in August and immediately loaded freight for Helena, Montana Territory. Reaching Helena in September, he sold his ox team to Carroll, Steele & Hubbell, and in exchange was given the position of wagon master. He then went from Helena to St. Peter’s mission, loaded his teams with hay for the new military post Camp Cooke at the mouth of Judith River. The hay sold for $125 a ton!
At Camp Cooke, Brown loaded with government freight to Fort Benton, receiving ten cents a pound for hauling, and making two trips during the fall. After turning the cattle out for the winter, in February 1867 Mr. Brown engaged with I. G. Baker & Co., to take charge of a pack train to carry provisions to Fort Hawley, on the Missouri River 20 miles above the mouth of the Musselshell. The trip down was made without special incident other than heavy snowstorms and severe cold on the return trip at Camp Cooke. There he found the soldiers in a deplorable condition. A sentinel had been killed while on duty the night before. Major Clinton, then commanding officer, had for several days been trying to get the mail through to Benton, but the party returned, with several of them badly frozen.
Major Clinton asked Brown if he would guide a party through to Benton, and he agreed if he would be furnished with three horses for himself and his men. He was given the pick of the stables and started the following morning, making the trip safely to Benton in two days, arriving there on February 22, 1867. The weather was intensely cold, the river being frozen to the depth of four feet. With the thermometer so low, and a terrific ice-cold blizzard raging over the wide sweep of level country, old-timers who had experience understood what this trip from Camp Cooke to Fort Benton must have been like. No amount of clothing kept them warm, yet under Brown’s leadership they arrived at Fort Benton.
In the spring of 1867 James Brown engaged with the overland freighting firm of John J. Roe & Company, known as the Diamond R, for $150 per month, and moved government stores from Fort Benton to Fort Shaw. During the fall he transferred stores from Fort Shaw to Fort Ellis, thence going to Fort Hawley for oats left there by a stranded steamer. The Indians were decidedly hostile at this time and the train in charge of Brown presented a warlike appearance, having two small cannon and an arsenal of small arms. Fort Hawley had been established in 1866 by Louis Rivet of the Northwest Fur Co to trade with the River Crows. It was named for A. F. Hawley a partner in the company.
In the spring of 1868 Mathew Carroll, George Steele, and C. A. Broadwater bought the Diamond R Freighting Company, and from that point on the moniker “Diamond R” Brown was born. In 1868 Brown secured a contract to remove the stores of Fort C. S. Smith to Fort Ellis in southern Montana. The preparations for this work were elaborate, comprising thirty-eight teams in charge of Brown, James C. Adams and Thomas Clary and accompanied by a company of soldiers, all under the supervision of Major George Steele. On their arrival at Fort Smith they discovered that the major portion of the property had been sold. A part of it had been promised to the Indians who, pronouncing that some tobacco had been stolen, declared war. An investigation revealed that a soldier had stolen it, and upon his being properly punished peace was restored.
In 1868 James Brown married Sarah Bull, daughter of Piegan Blackfeet Melting Marrow (Bull) and Bird Sailing This Way, in Fort Benton in the “Indian custom.” Later in 1888-89 a Priest at Holy Family Mission blessed this marriage. Sarah was born at Pierre Chouteau & Co.’s trading post Fort Benton in May 1854. She became mother to seven children: Geneva Adeline, James William III, Joseph W., Gerusia [died age 13], Josephine [died in childhood], Jesse J., and Leo McKinley. Mrs. Sarah Brown died December 3, 1912 at Browning.
In the spring of 1869 Brown located a ranch at Eight Mile Spring near Fort Benton, but ranch life was not for him at that time. In July of 1869 Brown and Joseph Kipp had a thrilling experience while searching for sixty head of cattle that had escaped from their owner. The cattle were recovered 150 miles from Fort Benton and safely returned, but not until Brown and Kipp had experienced many hardships and had formed a friendship.
Mr. Brown remained with the Diamond R Company until 1870, and in the spring of 1871 he arranged with Joe Kipp to do freighting on shares. Going into Canada over the Whoop-Up Trail Kipp and Brown built a trading post on the Belly River. In December of that year, Brown left Benton with a load of goods for the Belly River post. Soon after starting, his train was overtaken by a terrific snowstorm, accompanied by intense cold. The snow got so deep they could hardly move, and some days advanced not more than one mile, while on other days they could not move at all. Finally they reached the “medicine line,” near the Rocky Spring ridge, where the storm compelled them to remain. The cold was almost unendurable. Whiskey froze solid, coal oil became a thick slush and no food could be obtained for the horses, nor could they be protected from the weather. The horses ate the wagon boxes and also a dozen brooms which were packed in one of the wagons. Twenty horses were frozen to death in this camp. The storm abated on the February 18th and with the remaining horses Brown pushed on to the trading post, having been over two months covering a distance of just 230 miles.
Wagon roads, the lifelines of the northern plains, radiated like a spider-web in every direction from Fort Benton during Montana’s territorial days. “Diamond R” Brown left this account of freighting on the Whoop-Up Trail in a short manuscript that today is in the Montana Historical Society:
“When I came to Montana in 1866, the only road on the reservation was called the Red River Half Breed Cart Trail [part of the Old North Trail], which ran from Edmonton to Fort Benton. It ran along at the foot of the mountains on the east side just outside the timber. It passed through [later] Glacier National Park below the railroad station of the Great Northern. It then kept along the foot of the mountains clear to Fort Edmonton. In 1871 quite a trade sprung up here between the Fort Benton people and the northern Indians. Those of us who engaged in it at that time laid out another road leading from Fort Benton through to Canada. It came up the Teton about 25 miles then left the Teton through the Knees and went on to the Marias. It struck the Marias a little below where the Great Northern Railway now crosses the river. Leaving the Marias it came up Medicine Rock Hill, as it is now called, and from this hill crossed the bench to about where Shelby now is, and down onto the Alkali Flat. It followed up the flat for 15 miles in a northerly direction, when it left the flat and continued along what is called the Rocky Spring ridge. From Rocky Spring ridge it ran on north to what is known as Red River or Dry Gulch.
“. . . After leaving Red River, the road kept on to what was called John Joe’s Spring, and from there on to Milk River. Still going north, it crossed Eighteen Mile Coulee, continuing to Middle Coulee, north to Kipp’s Coulee. Leaving Kipp’s Coulee it went on until it struck St. Mary’s between St. Mary’s and the forks of the Belly, which it forded at Old Fort Whoop-up, a branch running to what is called Standoff at the present time. This is the first wagon road . . . When the Mounted Police came in 1874, there was another road laid out from Fort Shaw to Macleod, a mail route.
“Mule teams were used some on the Whoop-Up trail, the ratio was approximately one mule to every four oxen. They were not used as extensively since they were more expensive and couldn’t carry as much freight. A good mule would cost $300. However, these teams were considerably faster and so would be used for hauling lighter goods, sometime the contraband whisky. They could cover twice the distance in a day as the oxen and could make the whole trip in eight to 10 days. Drivers were proud of their mules and would stop and deck them out with bells before coming into a settlement so they would jingle as they arrived.
“Horses were never used extensively for freighting on the Whoop-Up Trail. After the police arrived they were used for mail and passenger stages. They could make the trip in the fastest time of all, four to six days.
“The establishment of the railway ended the freighting days of the Whoop-Up Trail. As the robe trade had diminished the bull-trains had picked up other freight such as coal. The first train loaded of this commodity, thirty-six tons, arrived in Fort Benton in November, 1880. Over the years the cargoes reflected the economic interests of the area, food, supplies and clothing for the Indians (and whisky); pemmican for Southern Alberta settlers, including the police; and robes and coal to Benton, to name the most important. Goods went to the traders, the Indians, back to the merchants in Benton, to the Mounted police in Canada and the army in Montana.”
In 1872 Brown and Kipp erected a post store at Fort Kipp, at the mouth of Old Man’s River and another at High river, where they traded profitably with the Indians, supplying them with goods brought from Fort Benton in exchange for furs. In the summer of 1874 Diamond R Brown began trading on his own account at Old Man’s River, Canada, and from 1875 to 1881 was in the service of merchant Tom. C. Power as manager of Kipp trading store, and spend part of the time in Fort Benton and Fort Macleod.
In 1890 Brown and his family moved to Choteau where he served for three years as assistant farmer at the Blackfeet Old Agency. In 1893, he secured a ranch of 1,000 acres on South Fork of the Milk River on the Blackfeet reservation where he raised cattle and racehorses. After his wife passed away in 1912, Brown moved to Browning and made his home with daughter Geneva.
Historical writer Martha Edgerton Plassmann visited Browning in 1925 and wrote a biographic sketch of Brown:
“I was charged by no means to neglect interviewing James W. Brown who resided there, and who is one of the oldest pioneers of Montana. With this laudable purpose in prospect, I started out one afternoon. I made arrangements for an interview with him the following day. That night he was taken seriously ill, and it was feared the attack might prove fatal. Notwithstanding his condition, the old gentleman did not forget to send me data concerning his life, which has been unusually eventful. From this I gathered what I could, that is necessarily barren of anecdotes which, had he been well, he would have furnished to adorn the tale.
“. . . One who has known James W. Brown for many years, says of him that he was a man of upright character who earned the respect of all who knew him. He neither gambled nor drank, and never chose his associates from the rough element found here in the early days. While not of a quarrelsome disposition, he was perfectly capable of upholding his rights. He attended strictly to his own affairs, not attempting to interfere with other persons’ business.”
Mrs. Plassmann wrote of Brown’s marriage, “He married a Piegan woman, and by her had several children. Unlike some others in the northwest, the influx of the whites did not lead him to put away the mother of his children to take a white wife—on the contrary he remained true to her until her death a few years ago, and by so doing earned the respect of all right-thinking persons.”
James W. “Diamond R” Brown II passed away December 23, 1927 in Browning. He lived a life of adventure and hardship, surviving wounds in three major battles of the Civil War and the many dangers of the harsh life of an overland freighter on the Montana frontier. His memory lives on through many descendants and the striking image of old “Diamond R” Brown guiding his wagon train up the bluffs from Fort Benton in Charles M. Russell’s powerful tribute to the overland freighters, the painting Wagon Boss.
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.
[Sources: GFLD 27 Apr 1899, p. 2; Montana Newspaper Association The Browning Citizen 21 Dec 1925; FBRPW 24 Nov 1982; U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles; American Civil War Regiments; Progressive Men of Montana p. 1507; Blackfeet Heritage 1907-08.]
Photos for Part 1:
1. James W. “Diamond R” Brown.
2. Map of American Civil War Western Theater of Operations.
3. Map of the Battle of Fort Donelson.
4. Execution of Lincoln’s assassination plotters.
Photos for Part 2:
1. An ox-train freighting on the Whoop-Up Trail
2. James W. Brown Civil War Gravestone, at St. Michael’s Cemetery, Browning, MT [Courtesy of Find-a-Grave].
3. Diamond R Brown leading a wagon train in Charles M. Russell’s Wagon Boss.
28 February 2012
Private Chapman Pennock, a Canadian Yank
By Ken Robison
For The River Press February 29, 2012
This continues a monthly series commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. A special thanks to Edward J. Snider of Harlem, MT for sharing photographs and information on his ancestor, Chapman Pennock.
Many foreigners fought on both sides during our American Civil War. Chapman Pennock, a Canadian, fought for the Union, later came west to Montana and today rests at Riverside Cemetery, Fort Benton. Pennock was born March 24, 1843 in South Crosby, Leeds County, Ontario, Canada. He was the eldest of seven children born to Arthur W. and Phoebe Ann Woodard Pennock. As a young man he worked on a farm and learned the carpentry trade. He found employment in a sash and door factory at Sandy Creek, New York, and when President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 300,000 volunteers to serve for the duration of the Civil War, Pennock quit work at the factory and at the age of 20 enlisted into the Union Army on June 17, 1863. Chapman was enrolled as a Private in Company C 18th Cavalry Regiment New York, just two weeks before the Battle of Gettysburg.
Pennock’s company was sent to Camp Dudorf on New York’s Staten Island for basic training. Upon completion of training, Chapman’s regiment saw action almost immediately in New York in helping to quell draft riots. The draft riots of July 13-16, 1863 have been described as the worst outbreak of urban unrest in U.S. history. On Monday, July 13th five days of mayhem and bloodshed began that would be known as the Civil War Draft Riots. The rioters initially targeted only military and governmental buildings, symbols of the “unfairness” of a new conscription law. Mobs attacked only individuals who interfered with their actions, but by afternoon of the first day, some of the rioters turned to attacks on African Americans, and on all things symbolic of black political, economic, and social power. As the violence escalated, armed mobs of white workers rampaged throughout the streets and fought police, the remaining militia still in New York, and the newly trained 18th Cavalry in pitched battles. They burned government buildings, the Colored Orphan Asylum, many businesses, and attacked black men and women, with special violence for black workers including eleven lynchings.
The 18th New York Cavalry then deployed to Camp Stoneman near Washington D. C. for further training and to perform patrol and guard duty in the capital city. Chapman Pennock saw President Abraham Lincoln several times, and he recalled seeing “Lincoln, passing in review of Union Troops, riding a white horse with his feet barely off the ground and his tall hat bobbing as he nodded to the troops. Quite a comical site [sic]!”
Leaving Washington under command of General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, the 18th Cavalry received orders to the Department of the Gulf of Mexico on February 16, 1864 and then to the Red River Campaign [March 10-May 22, 1864]. The Red River Campaign had several goals: confiscate southern cotton for New England mills; destroy Confederate supply lines; deter the threat of a French-Mexican military force and supplies from joining the Confederates; protect any loyal Union population in Texas; and finally bring Texas back into the Union.
Following the course of the Red River, the Union Army and Navy progressed with little opposition through Alexandria reaching Natchitoches by early April 1864. At Natchitoches the Army veered away from the Red River, going toward Shreveport by way of Mansfield, which left them without naval support. This and another tactical blunder on the part of General Banks and a series of skillful maneuvers by General Richard Taylor (son of President Zachary Taylor), who commanded the Confederate forces, were decisive factors to the final outcome of the battle.
Pennock later described this campaign and what it was like to endure combat action:
“I cannot recall the exact dates of those minor fights but I was in all of them and came thru unharmed but wished many times I was honorably out of it. After leaving Natchitoches, Gen. Banks thought to reach Shreveport, La. Without much fighting and after several days marching and a few skirmishes and loosing [sic] but a few men, on the morning of April 8, 1864 at Pleasant Hill we were suddenly faced by the main Rebel Army and a fight was on. We had several men killed, two by my side, namely, Thos. Oliver and John Fay. I was badly frightened and excited. I felt as tho I had all the war I wanted but had gotten into it and was determined to make the best of it. Expecting to be killed any minute causes strange feelings to come over one that no can realize until he has been there.
“Our next fight was at Mansfield and both parties were determined to hold the field. After noon the Rebels began to weaken and fall back towards the Cross Roads, and tho they were beaten, some fighting was continued all night. The rebels, during the night, had received reinforcements and outnumbered us by many hundreds. The battle continued all day and men lay dead in some places two deep. As night came we had to return to Pleasant Hill were we got some rest but by daybreak the fight was on for the second day and by night we were badly beaten. Our supply train and everything was gone. Gen. Banks was discouraged. We were short about six thousand men, all our supplies and artillery. Banks ordered a general retreat and turned our faces towards New Orleans. Ragged, dirty and hungry before we reached the Mississippi River across from Baton Rouge, there we got new supplies of food and clothing and were thankful to be alive.
“After resting a few days at Baton Rouge, Company C’s horses were turned over to the government and we were ordered to New Orleans to do guard and patrol duty in the city, not mounted. After about ten days, Company C was sent up to Fort Carey to drill, both infantry and artillery. I got very tired of that kind of drilling, but that was orders and had to be done, regardless of our feelings. We remained there four weeks, and were then returned to New Orleans, mounted and put on patrol duty in and around the city.
“At this time some of the boys were applying for furloughs, or leave of absence. I, not feeling very well, sent in my application and received my furlough and transportation to Watertown, New York, good for thirty days. I left New Orleans, September 15th on board the S. S. Campana, had good weather and landed at New York, six days and six hours from the time I left New Orleans. I arrived at Watertown two days later. I met with many old friends, all eager to know about the war. After a few days, I turned my attention to getting over into Canada, to the home of my parents. I met with many difficulties but finally reached home where I remained until time to return to Watertown where I got my transportation papers and passport to New York. On arriving, I found I could not get a boat to New Orleans for several days, so went to the Soldiers Home and the officer in charge wired headquarters that I was there.
“On my return, waiting for the transport ship, after about ten days I was put aboard the S. S. Continental. I had a very rough voyage to New Orleans. On arriving, I found the 18th Cavalry was then at Thipodox [Tribodaux], some seventy miles, from there. I went to headquarters and got transportation on the Algers R. R. which run near Thipodox. On arrival there, I was furnished with a horse and equipment and again took up duty with Company C, 18th New York Cavalry. I cannot recall the exact date but in the year of 1864, after being on duty at Thipodox for several days in continual cold rain, the Regiment was ordered back to New Orleans, where we were dismounted and sent eight miles into winter quarters and remained there thru cold and rainy weather until about the middle of January 1865.”
In a reorganized command under General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, who had relieved General Banks, Private Pennock took part in another march on Shreveport in January, 1865, but the news of General Lee’s surrender came before they reached that city. The rigors of the campaign, especially the cold, damp weather, having weakened his health, Pennock was confined in a hospital in New Orleans for sometime after the close of the war, and he was honorably discharged January 14, 1866.
Following his discharge Chapman Pennock returned to Canada and married Clarissa Brown in Ontario in 1866, and to this union eight children were born. At this time he engaged in the mercantile business at Fort Williams, Ontario. He sold out there, tried faming in North Dakota for two years, and in 1888 came to Montana to work on the St. Paul, Minneapolis, & Manitoba [later Great Northern] railway. Two years later Pennock located at Fort Benton, and for a time was employed by Henry J. O’Hanlon as manager for the O’Hanlon Livestock Company. On April 16, 1907, Clarissa Pennock died of cancer and was interred in Riverside Cemetery.
Shortly after the death of his wife, Chapman Pennock moved from Fort Benton to the Ralph B. Snider Ranch, thirteen miles southwest of Hogeland, then part of Choteau County [now Blaine County]. He lived with his daughter Elizabeth Ann Pennock Snider and her husband Ralph until the latter’s death in 1910. Chapman helped his daughter raise her three small children and manage the cattle and horses on the ranch. For three more decades Chapman lived with his daughter, and she cared for him. On Memorial Day 1937 at the Snider Ranch, American Legion Posts #59 Hogeland and #109 Turner and a large gathering of friends and neighbors honored Private Pennock as the last remaining Civil War veteran in Blaine County.
On February 10, 1940 Chapman Pennock, age 97, passed way at the Snider Ranch. A military funeral service was held at the Hogeland Lutheran Church with Harlem and Big Flat ex-servicemen attending. An escort accompanied the remains to Fort Benton where the American Legion Post held graveside services. Chapman Pennock, Civil War veteran rests next to his wife, Clarissa Brown Pennock and son, Richard, in Fort Benton Riverside Cemetery.
Sources: [Photos and Family History provided by Edward J. Snider; FBRPW 14 Feb 1940, p. 1; 21 Feb 1940, p. 8; FBRPW 17 Apr 1907, p. 5; Thunderstorms And Tumbleweeds 1887-1987 East Blaine County, pp. 232, 442, 513; Riverside Cemetery Records; U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles; American Civil War Regiments 18th New York Cavalry; New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts; A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Vol. 2]
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. Young Chapman Pennock. [Courtesy of Edward J. Snider]
2. New York Draft Riots, July 13-16.
3. Chapman and Clarissa A. Brown Pennock. [Courtesy of Thunderstorms And Tumbleweeds]
4. Civil War Veteran Champman Pennock, age 94, Memorial Day 1937 at the Snider Ranch in Blaine County. [Courtesy of Edward J. Snider]
5. Chapman Pennock Civil War Gravestone, Riverside Cemetery.
For The River Press February 29, 2012
This continues a monthly series commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. A special thanks to Edward J. Snider of Harlem, MT for sharing photographs and information on his ancestor, Chapman Pennock.
Many foreigners fought on both sides during our American Civil War. Chapman Pennock, a Canadian, fought for the Union, later came west to Montana and today rests at Riverside Cemetery, Fort Benton. Pennock was born March 24, 1843 in South Crosby, Leeds County, Ontario, Canada. He was the eldest of seven children born to Arthur W. and Phoebe Ann Woodard Pennock. As a young man he worked on a farm and learned the carpentry trade. He found employment in a sash and door factory at Sandy Creek, New York, and when President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 300,000 volunteers to serve for the duration of the Civil War, Pennock quit work at the factory and at the age of 20 enlisted into the Union Army on June 17, 1863. Chapman was enrolled as a Private in Company C 18th Cavalry Regiment New York, just two weeks before the Battle of Gettysburg.
Pennock’s company was sent to Camp Dudorf on New York’s Staten Island for basic training. Upon completion of training, Chapman’s regiment saw action almost immediately in New York in helping to quell draft riots. The draft riots of July 13-16, 1863 have been described as the worst outbreak of urban unrest in U.S. history. On Monday, July 13th five days of mayhem and bloodshed began that would be known as the Civil War Draft Riots. The rioters initially targeted only military and governmental buildings, symbols of the “unfairness” of a new conscription law. Mobs attacked only individuals who interfered with their actions, but by afternoon of the first day, some of the rioters turned to attacks on African Americans, and on all things symbolic of black political, economic, and social power. As the violence escalated, armed mobs of white workers rampaged throughout the streets and fought police, the remaining militia still in New York, and the newly trained 18th Cavalry in pitched battles. They burned government buildings, the Colored Orphan Asylum, many businesses, and attacked black men and women, with special violence for black workers including eleven lynchings.
The 18th New York Cavalry then deployed to Camp Stoneman near Washington D. C. for further training and to perform patrol and guard duty in the capital city. Chapman Pennock saw President Abraham Lincoln several times, and he recalled seeing “Lincoln, passing in review of Union Troops, riding a white horse with his feet barely off the ground and his tall hat bobbing as he nodded to the troops. Quite a comical site [sic]!”
Leaving Washington under command of General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, the 18th Cavalry received orders to the Department of the Gulf of Mexico on February 16, 1864 and then to the Red River Campaign [March 10-May 22, 1864]. The Red River Campaign had several goals: confiscate southern cotton for New England mills; destroy Confederate supply lines; deter the threat of a French-Mexican military force and supplies from joining the Confederates; protect any loyal Union population in Texas; and finally bring Texas back into the Union.
Following the course of the Red River, the Union Army and Navy progressed with little opposition through Alexandria reaching Natchitoches by early April 1864. At Natchitoches the Army veered away from the Red River, going toward Shreveport by way of Mansfield, which left them without naval support. This and another tactical blunder on the part of General Banks and a series of skillful maneuvers by General Richard Taylor (son of President Zachary Taylor), who commanded the Confederate forces, were decisive factors to the final outcome of the battle.
Pennock later described this campaign and what it was like to endure combat action:
“I cannot recall the exact dates of those minor fights but I was in all of them and came thru unharmed but wished many times I was honorably out of it. After leaving Natchitoches, Gen. Banks thought to reach Shreveport, La. Without much fighting and after several days marching and a few skirmishes and loosing [sic] but a few men, on the morning of April 8, 1864 at Pleasant Hill we were suddenly faced by the main Rebel Army and a fight was on. We had several men killed, two by my side, namely, Thos. Oliver and John Fay. I was badly frightened and excited. I felt as tho I had all the war I wanted but had gotten into it and was determined to make the best of it. Expecting to be killed any minute causes strange feelings to come over one that no can realize until he has been there.
“Our next fight was at Mansfield and both parties were determined to hold the field. After noon the Rebels began to weaken and fall back towards the Cross Roads, and tho they were beaten, some fighting was continued all night. The rebels, during the night, had received reinforcements and outnumbered us by many hundreds. The battle continued all day and men lay dead in some places two deep. As night came we had to return to Pleasant Hill were we got some rest but by daybreak the fight was on for the second day and by night we were badly beaten. Our supply train and everything was gone. Gen. Banks was discouraged. We were short about six thousand men, all our supplies and artillery. Banks ordered a general retreat and turned our faces towards New Orleans. Ragged, dirty and hungry before we reached the Mississippi River across from Baton Rouge, there we got new supplies of food and clothing and were thankful to be alive.
“After resting a few days at Baton Rouge, Company C’s horses were turned over to the government and we were ordered to New Orleans to do guard and patrol duty in the city, not mounted. After about ten days, Company C was sent up to Fort Carey to drill, both infantry and artillery. I got very tired of that kind of drilling, but that was orders and had to be done, regardless of our feelings. We remained there four weeks, and were then returned to New Orleans, mounted and put on patrol duty in and around the city.
“At this time some of the boys were applying for furloughs, or leave of absence. I, not feeling very well, sent in my application and received my furlough and transportation to Watertown, New York, good for thirty days. I left New Orleans, September 15th on board the S. S. Campana, had good weather and landed at New York, six days and six hours from the time I left New Orleans. I arrived at Watertown two days later. I met with many old friends, all eager to know about the war. After a few days, I turned my attention to getting over into Canada, to the home of my parents. I met with many difficulties but finally reached home where I remained until time to return to Watertown where I got my transportation papers and passport to New York. On arriving, I found I could not get a boat to New Orleans for several days, so went to the Soldiers Home and the officer in charge wired headquarters that I was there.
“On my return, waiting for the transport ship, after about ten days I was put aboard the S. S. Continental. I had a very rough voyage to New Orleans. On arriving, I found the 18th Cavalry was then at Thipodox [Tribodaux], some seventy miles, from there. I went to headquarters and got transportation on the Algers R. R. which run near Thipodox. On arrival there, I was furnished with a horse and equipment and again took up duty with Company C, 18th New York Cavalry. I cannot recall the exact date but in the year of 1864, after being on duty at Thipodox for several days in continual cold rain, the Regiment was ordered back to New Orleans, where we were dismounted and sent eight miles into winter quarters and remained there thru cold and rainy weather until about the middle of January 1865.”
In a reorganized command under General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby, who had relieved General Banks, Private Pennock took part in another march on Shreveport in January, 1865, but the news of General Lee’s surrender came before they reached that city. The rigors of the campaign, especially the cold, damp weather, having weakened his health, Pennock was confined in a hospital in New Orleans for sometime after the close of the war, and he was honorably discharged January 14, 1866.
Following his discharge Chapman Pennock returned to Canada and married Clarissa Brown in Ontario in 1866, and to this union eight children were born. At this time he engaged in the mercantile business at Fort Williams, Ontario. He sold out there, tried faming in North Dakota for two years, and in 1888 came to Montana to work on the St. Paul, Minneapolis, & Manitoba [later Great Northern] railway. Two years later Pennock located at Fort Benton, and for a time was employed by Henry J. O’Hanlon as manager for the O’Hanlon Livestock Company. On April 16, 1907, Clarissa Pennock died of cancer and was interred in Riverside Cemetery.
Shortly after the death of his wife, Chapman Pennock moved from Fort Benton to the Ralph B. Snider Ranch, thirteen miles southwest of Hogeland, then part of Choteau County [now Blaine County]. He lived with his daughter Elizabeth Ann Pennock Snider and her husband Ralph until the latter’s death in 1910. Chapman helped his daughter raise her three small children and manage the cattle and horses on the ranch. For three more decades Chapman lived with his daughter, and she cared for him. On Memorial Day 1937 at the Snider Ranch, American Legion Posts #59 Hogeland and #109 Turner and a large gathering of friends and neighbors honored Private Pennock as the last remaining Civil War veteran in Blaine County.
On February 10, 1940 Chapman Pennock, age 97, passed way at the Snider Ranch. A military funeral service was held at the Hogeland Lutheran Church with Harlem and Big Flat ex-servicemen attending. An escort accompanied the remains to Fort Benton where the American Legion Post held graveside services. Chapman Pennock, Civil War veteran rests next to his wife, Clarissa Brown Pennock and son, Richard, in Fort Benton Riverside Cemetery.
Sources: [Photos and Family History provided by Edward J. Snider; FBRPW 14 Feb 1940, p. 1; 21 Feb 1940, p. 8; FBRPW 17 Apr 1907, p. 5; Thunderstorms And Tumbleweeds 1887-1987 East Blaine County, pp. 232, 442, 513; Riverside Cemetery Records; U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles; American Civil War Regiments 18th New York Cavalry; New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts; A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Vol. 2]
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. Young Chapman Pennock. [Courtesy of Edward J. Snider]
2. New York Draft Riots, July 13-16.
3. Chapman and Clarissa A. Brown Pennock. [Courtesy of Thunderstorms And Tumbleweeds]
4. Civil War Veteran Champman Pennock, age 94, Memorial Day 1937 at the Snider Ranch in Blaine County. [Courtesy of Edward J. Snider]
5. Chapman Pennock Civil War Gravestone, Riverside Cemetery.
28 January 2012
Larger Than Life Frontier Character, Colonel John J. Donnelly
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.
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.
29 December 2011
Remembering Our Civil War Heritage and Heroes
Since April 2011, the beginning of the first year of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, I've been watching to see what Montana is doing to commemorate that transforming struggle. While the Billing Gazette published a good early one-time article, I decided Montana needs to do better that that. I have begun writing articles for two separate Montana Civil War series. Both, focus on Civil War veterans, Union and Confederate, who came to Montana after the war. Each article tells about their early life, their experiences during the war, and their new life in Montana. The first series began in the Great Falls Tribune in September, 2011 and is published the last Sunday of each month in the Sunday Life section. This series focuses on Civil War veterans who came to Montana and settled in the north central Montana area. My second series started this week in the Fort Benton River Press and will focus on Civil War veterans who came to Chouteau County area.
Both of my Montana Civil War series are available on-line with the Tribune carrying a link to each article in the series. You can access the Tribune series by entering "Remembering our Civil War heritage and heroes - Great Falls Tribune" in Google.
An electronic edition of the River Press is now available, through subscription, on-line. Since the River Press requires subscription, I'll be posting these articles on my blog with the first in the series below:
Chouteau County Civil War Veterans and the Grand Army of the Republic
By Ken Robison
For The River Press
December 28, 2011
This begins a series commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.
From April 1861 to April 1865, our nation fought the most brutal and decisive war in our history—the American Civil War. This year, as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, let us pause to reflect, “How did the Civil War affect us?” Some might think this is a curious question since that monumental struggle was fought between “The States” more than two decades before Montana became a state. Yet, the real answer lies in the profound impact the Civil War had on our state, our country and its people.
The Civil War answered vital fundamental questions—there would be a unified United States of America, and there would no longer be millions of enslaved Americans. The Civil War directly affected every section, every community, every family, and every individual. The war came at a time when the American West was undergoing settlement by non-natives although Fort Benton had long been a fur trading outpost on the Upper Missouri. Gold strikes in western Montana (then Washington Territory) in 1862 led to the rapid formation of Montana Territory in 1864, and the extracted gold and other mineral wealth helped pay the costs of war. The Civil War dislocated and relocated countless Americans from North and South—many came to the new Montana Territory to escape the ravages of war and to seek a brighter future.
The old saying that Montana was settled by “the left wing of General Pap Price’s Confederate Army,” was true only in part. Many veterans, both Union and Confederate, came to head of navigation on the Missouri to start new lives. In the coming months, this series of articles will showcase Union and Confederate veterans that had an impact on Chouteau County in the aftermath of the Civil War. Names like Robert S. Culbertson, Thomas A. Cummings, Dan Dutro, Thomas Coatsworth, John J. Donnelly, Winfield Scott Wetzel, George Crane, and others will be featured with their stories. Who were these men, how did they participate in the war, and what do we know of their lives and the lives of their families here in Montana?
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. Signing this list were the following veterans with their rank and regiment:
J. J. Donnelly, Lieut. Colonel, 14th Michigan
M. J. Leaming, Major, 6th Tennessee Cavalry
J. H. Rice, Captain, 27th New York
William McQueen, Regimental Quartermaster, 1st Iowa
J. L. Stuart, Command Sergeant, 6th Ohio
Max. Waterman, Sergeant, 35th Iowa
Dan Dutro, Musician, 150th Illinois
W. S. Wetzel, Corporal, 25th Iowa
George W. Crane, Corporal, 26th Illinois
T. A. Cummings, Battery C, 1st New York Artillery
E. W. Lewis, Private, 113th Illinois
George M. Bell, Private, 13th Maine
Thomas Coatsworth, Private, 46th Wisconsin
Frank Coombs, Private, 129th Indiana
James Werrick, Private, 129th Indiana
R. S. Culbertson, Private, 6th Ohio
The Fort Benton post was approved by the Montana G. A. R. and designated the G. K. Warren Post No. 20, G. A. R., Fort Benton. The name honored Brigadier General G. K. Warren, a hero at Little Round Top durig the Battle of Gettysburg.
At a critical point in the battle Union General Meade sent his chief engineer, Brig. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, to find a way to block the advance of Confederate forces on the flank of Union forces. Climbing Little Round Top, Warren found only a small Signal Corps station there. He saw the glint of bayonets in the sun to the southwest and realized that a Confederate assault into the Union flank was imminent. He hurriedly sent officers to find help from any available units in the vicinity. Col. Strong Vincent, commander of the Third Brigade seized the initiative and directed his four regiments to Little Round Top. Upon arrival, Vincent received fire from Confederate batteries almost immediately. On the western slope he placed the 16th Michigan, and then proceeding counterclockwise were the 44th New York, the 83rd Pennsylvania, and finally, at the end of the line on the southern slope, the 20th Maine. Arriving only ten minutes before the Confederates, Vincent ordered his brigade to take cover and wait, and he ordered Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine, to hold his position, the extreme left flank of the Army of the Potomac, at all costs. Chamberlain and his 385 men waited for what was to come. For their heroic actions Chamberlain received the Medal of Honor for his conduct in the defense of Little Round Top. The citation read the medal was awarded for "daring heroism and great tenacity in holding his position on the Little Round Top against repeated assaults, and carrying the advance position on the Great Round Top. The 1974 novel The Killer Angels and its 1993 film adaptation, Gettysburg, depicted a portion of the important Battle of Little Round Top.
In December 1890, G. K. Warren Post No. 20, G. A. R., of Fort Benton inaugurated a series of campfires for social enjoyment during the winter. Lecturers from other parts of the state were secured at intervals to entertain the members. At a meeting held December 8, 1890, the following comrades were elected to the stations of office: John C. Duff, Commander; George W. Crane, Senior Vice Commander; Daniel Dutro, Junior Vice Commander; Thos A. Cummings, Officer of the Day; C. B. Hamilton, Quartermaster; Patrick Whalen, Officer of the Guard. The post was inspected by Assistant Inspector John J. Donnelly and everything found in regulation order. Col. Donnelly delivered a brief speech to his veteran comrades, which was highly appreciated and applauded.
The G. A. R was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died. Linking men through their experience of the war, the G. A. R became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, lobbying the US Congress to establish veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership was more than 400,000 in 1890, a high point of Civil War commemorative ceremonies. The G. A. R was organized into "Departments" at the state level and "Posts" at the community level, and military-style uniforms were worn by its members. There were posts in every state in the U.S., and several posts overseas. The G. A. R. maintained a strong presence in the Fort Benton community for many years as the aging veterans of the Civil War slowly passed from the scene. As this series develops, we hope to determine the last Civil War veteran in this area.
We have identified some 64 Civil War Union and Confederate veterans who lived in the Fort Benton, Big Sandy, Highwood, and Geraldine areas. We’ll begin next month with one of the most colorful Union veterans, John J. Donnelly. 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 or photographs that we can share with our readers and add to our Research Center. We heard recently from Edward J. Snider who shared some great stories and photos of his Civil War ancestor Chapman Pennock, who is buried in Riverside Cemetery. We’ll feature Private Pennock of Company C, 18th New York Cavalry in the coming months. In addition, we’ll share photos of Civil War veterans with Muncie Morger for her Veterans display project. Send your Civil War stories or comments to mtcivilwar@yahoo.com or to the Overholser Historical Research Center, Box 262, Fort Benton, MT 59442.
Photos:
1. Brig. Gen. G. K. Warren, hero of the battle of Little Round Top, Gettysburg, and namesake for Fort Benton G. A. R. Post 20.
2. The menacing heights of Little Round Top in 1863.
3. G. A. R. Medal authorized by Congress for members of the G. A. R.
Both of my Montana Civil War series are available on-line with the Tribune carrying a link to each article in the series. You can access the Tribune series by entering "Remembering our Civil War heritage and heroes - Great Falls Tribune" in Google.
An electronic edition of the River Press is now available, through subscription, on-line. Since the River Press requires subscription, I'll be posting these articles on my blog with the first in the series below:
Chouteau County Civil War Veterans and the Grand Army of the Republic
By Ken Robison
For The River Press
December 28, 2011
This begins a series commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.
From April 1861 to April 1865, our nation fought the most brutal and decisive war in our history—the American Civil War. This year, as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, let us pause to reflect, “How did the Civil War affect us?” Some might think this is a curious question since that monumental struggle was fought between “The States” more than two decades before Montana became a state. Yet, the real answer lies in the profound impact the Civil War had on our state, our country and its people.
The Civil War answered vital fundamental questions—there would be a unified United States of America, and there would no longer be millions of enslaved Americans. The Civil War directly affected every section, every community, every family, and every individual. The war came at a time when the American West was undergoing settlement by non-natives although Fort Benton had long been a fur trading outpost on the Upper Missouri. Gold strikes in western Montana (then Washington Territory) in 1862 led to the rapid formation of Montana Territory in 1864, and the extracted gold and other mineral wealth helped pay the costs of war. The Civil War dislocated and relocated countless Americans from North and South—many came to the new Montana Territory to escape the ravages of war and to seek a brighter future.
The old saying that Montana was settled by “the left wing of General Pap Price’s Confederate Army,” was true only in part. Many veterans, both Union and Confederate, came to head of navigation on the Missouri to start new lives. In the coming months, this series of articles will showcase Union and Confederate veterans that had an impact on Chouteau County in the aftermath of the Civil War. Names like Robert S. Culbertson, Thomas A. Cummings, Dan Dutro, Thomas Coatsworth, John J. Donnelly, Winfield Scott Wetzel, George Crane, and others will be featured with their stories. Who were these men, how did they participate in the war, and what do we know of their lives and the lives of their families here in Montana?
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. Signing this list were the following veterans with their rank and regiment:
J. J. Donnelly, Lieut. Colonel, 14th Michigan
M. J. Leaming, Major, 6th Tennessee Cavalry
J. H. Rice, Captain, 27th New York
William McQueen, Regimental Quartermaster, 1st Iowa
J. L. Stuart, Command Sergeant, 6th Ohio
Max. Waterman, Sergeant, 35th Iowa
Dan Dutro, Musician, 150th Illinois
W. S. Wetzel, Corporal, 25th Iowa
George W. Crane, Corporal, 26th Illinois
T. A. Cummings, Battery C, 1st New York Artillery
E. W. Lewis, Private, 113th Illinois
George M. Bell, Private, 13th Maine
Thomas Coatsworth, Private, 46th Wisconsin
Frank Coombs, Private, 129th Indiana
James Werrick, Private, 129th Indiana
R. S. Culbertson, Private, 6th Ohio
The Fort Benton post was approved by the Montana G. A. R. and designated the G. K. Warren Post No. 20, G. A. R., Fort Benton. The name honored Brigadier General G. K. Warren, a hero at Little Round Top durig the Battle of Gettysburg.
At a critical point in the battle Union General Meade sent his chief engineer, Brig. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, to find a way to block the advance of Confederate forces on the flank of Union forces. Climbing Little Round Top, Warren found only a small Signal Corps station there. He saw the glint of bayonets in the sun to the southwest and realized that a Confederate assault into the Union flank was imminent. He hurriedly sent officers to find help from any available units in the vicinity. Col. Strong Vincent, commander of the Third Brigade seized the initiative and directed his four regiments to Little Round Top. Upon arrival, Vincent received fire from Confederate batteries almost immediately. On the western slope he placed the 16th Michigan, and then proceeding counterclockwise were the 44th New York, the 83rd Pennsylvania, and finally, at the end of the line on the southern slope, the 20th Maine. Arriving only ten minutes before the Confederates, Vincent ordered his brigade to take cover and wait, and he ordered Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine, to hold his position, the extreme left flank of the Army of the Potomac, at all costs. Chamberlain and his 385 men waited for what was to come. For their heroic actions Chamberlain received the Medal of Honor for his conduct in the defense of Little Round Top. The citation read the medal was awarded for "daring heroism and great tenacity in holding his position on the Little Round Top against repeated assaults, and carrying the advance position on the Great Round Top. The 1974 novel The Killer Angels and its 1993 film adaptation, Gettysburg, depicted a portion of the important Battle of Little Round Top.
In December 1890, G. K. Warren Post No. 20, G. A. R., of Fort Benton inaugurated a series of campfires for social enjoyment during the winter. Lecturers from other parts of the state were secured at intervals to entertain the members. At a meeting held December 8, 1890, the following comrades were elected to the stations of office: John C. Duff, Commander; George W. Crane, Senior Vice Commander; Daniel Dutro, Junior Vice Commander; Thos A. Cummings, Officer of the Day; C. B. Hamilton, Quartermaster; Patrick Whalen, Officer of the Guard. The post was inspected by Assistant Inspector John J. Donnelly and everything found in regulation order. Col. Donnelly delivered a brief speech to his veteran comrades, which was highly appreciated and applauded.
The G. A. R was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died. Linking men through their experience of the war, the G. A. R became among the first organized advocacy groups in American politics, supporting voting rights for black veterans, lobbying the US Congress to establish veterans' pensions, and supporting Republican political candidates. Its peak membership was more than 400,000 in 1890, a high point of Civil War commemorative ceremonies. The G. A. R was organized into "Departments" at the state level and "Posts" at the community level, and military-style uniforms were worn by its members. There were posts in every state in the U.S., and several posts overseas. The G. A. R. maintained a strong presence in the Fort Benton community for many years as the aging veterans of the Civil War slowly passed from the scene. As this series develops, we hope to determine the last Civil War veteran in this area.
We have identified some 64 Civil War Union and Confederate veterans who lived in the Fort Benton, Big Sandy, Highwood, and Geraldine areas. We’ll begin next month with one of the most colorful Union veterans, John J. Donnelly. 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 or photographs that we can share with our readers and add to our Research Center. We heard recently from Edward J. Snider who shared some great stories and photos of his Civil War ancestor Chapman Pennock, who is buried in Riverside Cemetery. We’ll feature Private Pennock of Company C, 18th New York Cavalry in the coming months. In addition, we’ll share photos of Civil War veterans with Muncie Morger for her Veterans display project. Send your Civil War stories or comments to mtcivilwar@yahoo.com or to the Overholser Historical Research Center, Box 262, Fort Benton, MT 59442.
Photos:
1. Brig. Gen. G. K. Warren, hero of the battle of Little Round Top, Gettysburg, and namesake for Fort Benton G. A. R. Post 20.
2. The menacing heights of Little Round Top in 1863.
3. G. A. R. Medal authorized by Congress for members of the G. A. R.
10 August 2011
Chemidlin, the Curmudgeon Pioneer Printer
By Ken Robison
This honors the 130th anniversary of the River Press and continues the series of frontier sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Nicholas T. Chemidlin served as chief assistant to Editor William K. Harber of the Fort Benton River Press for three decades from 1891 to 1920. Chemidlin first tried to emigrate to Montana Territory in 1864 with Captain James L. Fisk’s wagon train from Minnesota. The Lakota drove the Fisk train back that year in Dakota Territory with a bloody loss of twelve emigrants dead. Eventually Chemidlin made it to Montana Territory by 1867 and worked for Helena newspapers. In 1883 he came on to Fort Benton, then the booming head of navigation on the Missouri River. In June 1884, Chemidlin paid $1250 for 50 shares of The River Press, acquiring an 8th interest and becoming secretary of the River Press Publishing Company. Over the years Editor Harber and Chemidlin often used transient printers keep both the weekly and daily newspapers going through the 1890s and the quiet years leading into the homesteading boom of the 1910s.
In late 1919, the aging Chemidlin, whose health was declining, decided to retire, although the decision came only after months of difficult negotiations between Harber and Chemidlin. It is interesting that even in his final letters discussing the situation, Editor Harber consistently referred to his assistant as “Mr. Chemidlin.” After many months delay Harber was finally able to offer Joel R. Overholser the opportunity to replace Chemidlin. In return, Overholser asked two conditions: that he be allowed to buy stock in The River Press; and that the struggling daily be discontinued. Editor Harber agreed, and Overholser moved his family to Fort Benton to join the operation. On the 31st of December 1919, Joel R. Overholser bought Chemidlin’s 58 shares of stock for $1450. His son, Joel Francis Overholser, then age nine, remembers being impressed by Mr. Chemidlin, the Sioux Indian fighter, at his retirement banquet at the Grand Union.
In April 1920, the Montana Newspaper Association distributed an article about Nicholas Chemidlin to its weekly newspaper subscribers. Author E. R. Russell wrote the story of the old newspaperman under the title, “Pioneer Printer”:
N. T. Chemidlin, of Fort Benton, who has just retired from active work at the age of 77, is believed to hold the record for continuous service as a printer in Montana, if not in the west. Mr. Chemidlin performed his first work as a printer on the Helena Herald in 1867, and when he sold out his interest in the River Press at Fort Benton in January, 1920, he did his last work in that line.
At the time Mr. Chemidlin commenced work on the Herald, that newspaper had been in existence but a short time. Fisk Brothers had purchased a newspaper known as the Radiator and shipped its equipment into Helena from Virginia City, and re-christened it The Herald. A little later the Herald was purchased by Jim Whitlash, a big mine owner from Unionville, and the outfit was doing business in the upper story of a log building at the corner of Bridge and West Main street. The lower floor of the building was used as a hurdy house. Later the Herald company built at the corner of Broadway and Jackson streets.
Mr. Chemidlin also worked on the Rocky Mountain Gazette at the time it was run by Wilkinson, Ronan and McGinnis, and was also employed on the Helena Independent at different times.
Joins Stevens at Benton. In 1883 he was invited by Jim Stevens, then one of the proprietors of the River Press, to come to Fort Benton, and he remained there until he sold out in January last. The River Press was founded in 1880, and had as a rival the Benton Record, which had been in existence since 1895 [sic 1875]. On account of the rivalry between the two papers the River Press commenced the publication of a daily edition. This was quite an innovation for a town of the size of Fort Benton, on the frontier. This little daily hung on valiantly for 38 years when, finding its days of usefulness at an end, it quietly dropped out of existence in 1919.
Life Far From Spectacular. While he has witnessed many stirring events and momentous changes as Montana has emerged from small beginnings in territorial days to the progressive and front-ranking state of today. Mr. Chemidlin’s life has been that of a very necessary, if non-spectacular chronicler of events through the medium of the newspapers. He did not make a very determined effort to get into the millionaire class through mining, although reports of gold in Montana was his principal reason for coming west. He never had occasion to join in the work of the Vigilantes, but was satisfied with being a spectator of two of their executions at a reasonable distance. He has not mixed much in politics, although urged at different times to take office in Fort Benton. He did serve several terms at a salary of less than a dollar a year, as school trustee in the Fort Benton schools.
Two Attempts to Reach Montana. If Mr. Chemidlin’s residence in Montana has not abounded in adventure, his attempt to get into the territory from the east was not without thrills. He made two attempts to get to Montana in pre-steamboat days, the first one of which was unsuccessful on account of the interference of Indians, his expedition being compelled to get back to civilization after the loss of 13 of its number.
It was in 1864 when Mr. Chemidlin, then 21 years of age, first took passage with an expedition bound for Montana under the management and personal conduct of Captain James L. Fisk, who had been for several years engaged in expeditions to the west from Minnesota, some of which were in the service of the government. The means of transportation was wagons drawn by oxen and mules, making from 20 to 25 miles a day.
The expedition leaving in 1864 was known as the Third Fisk Expedition, and started from Fort Ridgley on the western boundary of Minnesota. [Ed. Note: When the expedition was organized at Fort Ridgely, it included Fisk’s staff, members of his protective escort, and other emigrants—a total of about a hundred wagons and some 170 people. August Chemidlin, a French-born farmer and watchman-tollkeeper of the Minneapolis Suspension Bridge, was in charge of the commissary, and his nephew, Nicholas Chemidlin, drove the commissary wagon.]
There were about 150 people [sic] in this expedition, most of them men, with a small escort of soldiers. They also had a small mountain howitzer, which later aided materially in saving the expedition from complete annihilation. The expedition was headed for the mouth of the Big Horn river, where it was reported that gold was being found, but which report was not well founded as it proved afterwards.
Encounter Marauding Indians. When 200 miles beyond the Missouri river in Dakota signs of Indians appeared and several attempts at raiding warned the travelers that they must be on guard day and night. It was afterwards learned that General [Alfred] Sully had been after marauding tribes along the Canadian line, and had scattered them and broken up their food supplies. Many of them had drifted south and this fat train looked good to them. The raids finally resulted in a battle, when the Indians attempted to appropriate the “wet” goods from a wagon that had been overturned in a coulee.
Thirteen Whites Killed. The breakdown of a wagon resulted in the dividing of the train, as those in the lead went on. This gave the Indians a chance of attack, which they took advantage of. The Indians were armed principally with bows and arrows, though there were enough of them who had taken guns from whites they had killed to make them a dangerous outfit, as the travelers found to their sorrow. Thirteen of the whites were killed and it was estimated that over a hundred of the 900 Indians were killed. [Ed Note: After three days of fighting in late August 1864, 9 were killed and five wounded, at total of 14 casualties. Overall 12 died, while wounded Louis Dostaler and Charles Libby, recovered.] The Indians in this raid were known as Unkappa [Sic Hunkpapa] Sioux. The expedition, disheartened, proceeded on west, harassed every day by the troublesome reds, but by the utmost vigilance was able to defend itself from any further serious attack.
Had White Woman Captive. Mr. Chemidlin, in telling of the return of this expedition, says:
“After fighting and traveling for a couple of days we concluded to camp, and while in camp the Indians sent a party with a flag of truce. They wanted to parley with the captain. The captain sent out two or three men to find out what they wanted. They said they were starving and wanted some provisions. They were asked how much they wanted. They said they wanted two wagon loads. They also said they had a white woman, a Mrs. Kelley, whom they had captured in Wyoming and they wanted to trade her for these provisions. [Ed. Note: Mrs. Fanny Kelly was captured 12 July 1864 west of Fort Laramie while traveling in a wagon to Idaho.] The captain sent them word that he would give them a wagon load of provisions and four yoke of oxen. But they refused it, saying it was not enough for them. So after parleying a while they concluded to leave us.”
Forced to Abandon Journey. “There were two soldiers left of our escort—two or three at any rate—and the first night after the fight the captain sent two of the men to Fort Rice on the Missouri, about 15 miles below where the city of Bismarck is now, where there was a company of the 30th Wisconsin regiment stationed. He sent them back for reinforcements, and they sent us a company of cavalry to relieve us. We were ordered back by the commander of the regiment. A ballot was taken by the party and we decided to turn back. So we went back with the relief to Fort Rice, and from there on down the Missouri in flat boats, with the 30th Wisconsin, which was ordered home.”
Indians Eat Poisoned Food. In connection with this disastrous expedition and the Indians who wrecked it, a story has been told which Mr. Chemidlin does not vouch for and of which all other members of the company were always extremely skeptical—a story of poisoned food. Most of the company would have agreed that the plundering murderers deserved poisoning, but of course none of them knew anything about it. The story got back east and was made much of by the newspapers. This is what seems to have happened:
On breaking camp one morning, while the Indians were still harassing the travelers, orders were given as usual to burn all camp refuse. Among other things on this particular morning was a box of damaged hardtack or crackers and that was left on the burning pile. No sooner had the camp been abandoned than the Indians were seen to rush in and the hardtack was rescued from the fire. Later it was learned that the hardtack had slain more Indians than the firearms of the whites and it was hinted that the doctor’s medicine chest had been used to season the crackers.
[Apparently some 25 Hunkpapas died from strychnine poison planted in the hardtack by the Cavalry escort. The War Department censored Capt. Fisk’s report of this incident for more than 100 years.]
Second Attempt is Successful. Mr. Chemedlin’s second attempt to get into Montana was more successful. This was two years later. In 1866 he was a member of what was called the “Hundred Dollar Men.” That was a company of 100 men who had paid $100 each to get to Montana—no particular point guaranteed. There was also a number of emigrants in the expedition who had made other arrangements for their transportation. This expedition was also a Fisk expedition and conducted by Captain Fisk. [Ed. Note: The headquarters staff of the 1866 Expedition included Nicholas Chemidlin, who again served with the commissary.] It took the northern route this time, leaving Fort Berthold. No trouble on account of Indians was experienced but the travelers were afforded a chance to see a scalp dance at Berthold indulged in by Gros Ventres who claimed to have been on a raid against some of their red brethren.
[Ed. Note: During this expedition, Chemidlin’s Fisk Train followed two weeks behind an emigrant train led by Thomas A. Holmes. A member of the Holmes Expedition, Luther M. Brown, described their arrival at Fort Benton: “August 15th the main train arrived at Fort Benton, at least eleven hundred miles from St. Paul. We had been on the road between Fort Ridgely and Fort Benton, seventy-six days, and that, too, on a road that we had made ourselves, with small exceptions. At Fort Benton we again came in contact with the world. Here we found quite a thriving little town which is known as Benton city. There are quite a number of white people, and more have since come in. At the time we arrived at the Fort they had not fully ‘adopted the habits and customs of civilization,’ but they could lie, swear, steal and drink whiskey with a remarkable degree of accuracy, and were hat might be called quite ‘heavy on the steal.’ They stole my jack knife for which I doubt if I ever forgive them. But seriously Fort Benton should it remain as it now is, ‘the head of navigation on the Missouri,’ will be quite a large town in a few years, as the Montana trade increases. There was last season before our arrival there, about 7500 tons of freight landed there by steamboats from St. Louis. . .”
Reached Benton in 1866. Mr. Chemidlin arrived in Fort Benton in August, 1866, where the party broke up and scattered to various places. There are very few of the party who can be located at the present time. W. O. Dexter, public administrator of Chouteau county, living in Fort Benton, is one of the few. Mr. Chemidlin, with 18 other hundred dollar men, went up Sun river to the south fork, about three miles from Haystack butte, and camped there for several weeks. They had heard of gold prospects in the hills there. Nothing of value, however, was found, and the party made its way to Helena, where most of them engaged in placer mining and Mr. Chemidlin began his work as a printer.
In 1872 Mr. Chemidlin married Miss Mary Cox, in Helena. They have two children, Miss Marie Chemidlin of Fort Benton and W. S. Chemedlin.
Like so many early Montana pioneers, Nicholas T. Chemidlin quietly lived and worked, but thanks to the historical series of the Montana Newspaper Association we know about his exciting emigration in the 1860s to the new territory.
[Source: River Press Publishing Company Stock Book and Minutes; MNA The Roy Enterprise 26 Apr 1920; Ho! For The Gold Fields Northern Overland Wagon Trains of the 1860s by Helen McDann White, Editor; Overholser Historical Research Center SC 36 Correspondence W. K. Harber and Joel R. Overholser]
Photo:
(1) Nicholas T. Chemidlin in the Press Room of the River Press.
(2) Legendary Editor William T. Harber
(3) The River Press home for more than a century.
(4) Fisk 1866 Northern Overland Wagon Train Minnesota to Fort Benton
(5) Elderly N. T. Chemidlin nearing retirement in early 1920.
This honors the 130th anniversary of the River Press and continues the series of frontier sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Nicholas T. Chemidlin served as chief assistant to Editor William K. Harber of the Fort Benton River Press for three decades from 1891 to 1920. Chemidlin first tried to emigrate to Montana Territory in 1864 with Captain James L. Fisk’s wagon train from Minnesota. The Lakota drove the Fisk train back that year in Dakota Territory with a bloody loss of twelve emigrants dead. Eventually Chemidlin made it to Montana Territory by 1867 and worked for Helena newspapers. In 1883 he came on to Fort Benton, then the booming head of navigation on the Missouri River. In June 1884, Chemidlin paid $1250 for 50 shares of The River Press, acquiring an 8th interest and becoming secretary of the River Press Publishing Company. Over the years Editor Harber and Chemidlin often used transient printers keep both the weekly and daily newspapers going through the 1890s and the quiet years leading into the homesteading boom of the 1910s.
In late 1919, the aging Chemidlin, whose health was declining, decided to retire, although the decision came only after months of difficult negotiations between Harber and Chemidlin. It is interesting that even in his final letters discussing the situation, Editor Harber consistently referred to his assistant as “Mr. Chemidlin.” After many months delay Harber was finally able to offer Joel R. Overholser the opportunity to replace Chemidlin. In return, Overholser asked two conditions: that he be allowed to buy stock in The River Press; and that the struggling daily be discontinued. Editor Harber agreed, and Overholser moved his family to Fort Benton to join the operation. On the 31st of December 1919, Joel R. Overholser bought Chemidlin’s 58 shares of stock for $1450. His son, Joel Francis Overholser, then age nine, remembers being impressed by Mr. Chemidlin, the Sioux Indian fighter, at his retirement banquet at the Grand Union.
In April 1920, the Montana Newspaper Association distributed an article about Nicholas Chemidlin to its weekly newspaper subscribers. Author E. R. Russell wrote the story of the old newspaperman under the title, “Pioneer Printer”:
N. T. Chemidlin, of Fort Benton, who has just retired from active work at the age of 77, is believed to hold the record for continuous service as a printer in Montana, if not in the west. Mr. Chemidlin performed his first work as a printer on the Helena Herald in 1867, and when he sold out his interest in the River Press at Fort Benton in January, 1920, he did his last work in that line.
At the time Mr. Chemidlin commenced work on the Herald, that newspaper had been in existence but a short time. Fisk Brothers had purchased a newspaper known as the Radiator and shipped its equipment into Helena from Virginia City, and re-christened it The Herald. A little later the Herald was purchased by Jim Whitlash, a big mine owner from Unionville, and the outfit was doing business in the upper story of a log building at the corner of Bridge and West Main street. The lower floor of the building was used as a hurdy house. Later the Herald company built at the corner of Broadway and Jackson streets.
Mr. Chemidlin also worked on the Rocky Mountain Gazette at the time it was run by Wilkinson, Ronan and McGinnis, and was also employed on the Helena Independent at different times.
Joins Stevens at Benton. In 1883 he was invited by Jim Stevens, then one of the proprietors of the River Press, to come to Fort Benton, and he remained there until he sold out in January last. The River Press was founded in 1880, and had as a rival the Benton Record, which had been in existence since 1895 [sic 1875]. On account of the rivalry between the two papers the River Press commenced the publication of a daily edition. This was quite an innovation for a town of the size of Fort Benton, on the frontier. This little daily hung on valiantly for 38 years when, finding its days of usefulness at an end, it quietly dropped out of existence in 1919.
Life Far From Spectacular. While he has witnessed many stirring events and momentous changes as Montana has emerged from small beginnings in territorial days to the progressive and front-ranking state of today. Mr. Chemidlin’s life has been that of a very necessary, if non-spectacular chronicler of events through the medium of the newspapers. He did not make a very determined effort to get into the millionaire class through mining, although reports of gold in Montana was his principal reason for coming west. He never had occasion to join in the work of the Vigilantes, but was satisfied with being a spectator of two of their executions at a reasonable distance. He has not mixed much in politics, although urged at different times to take office in Fort Benton. He did serve several terms at a salary of less than a dollar a year, as school trustee in the Fort Benton schools.
Two Attempts to Reach Montana. If Mr. Chemidlin’s residence in Montana has not abounded in adventure, his attempt to get into the territory from the east was not without thrills. He made two attempts to get to Montana in pre-steamboat days, the first one of which was unsuccessful on account of the interference of Indians, his expedition being compelled to get back to civilization after the loss of 13 of its number.
It was in 1864 when Mr. Chemidlin, then 21 years of age, first took passage with an expedition bound for Montana under the management and personal conduct of Captain James L. Fisk, who had been for several years engaged in expeditions to the west from Minnesota, some of which were in the service of the government. The means of transportation was wagons drawn by oxen and mules, making from 20 to 25 miles a day.
The expedition leaving in 1864 was known as the Third Fisk Expedition, and started from Fort Ridgley on the western boundary of Minnesota. [Ed. Note: When the expedition was organized at Fort Ridgely, it included Fisk’s staff, members of his protective escort, and other emigrants—a total of about a hundred wagons and some 170 people. August Chemidlin, a French-born farmer and watchman-tollkeeper of the Minneapolis Suspension Bridge, was in charge of the commissary, and his nephew, Nicholas Chemidlin, drove the commissary wagon.]
There were about 150 people [sic] in this expedition, most of them men, with a small escort of soldiers. They also had a small mountain howitzer, which later aided materially in saving the expedition from complete annihilation. The expedition was headed for the mouth of the Big Horn river, where it was reported that gold was being found, but which report was not well founded as it proved afterwards.
Encounter Marauding Indians. When 200 miles beyond the Missouri river in Dakota signs of Indians appeared and several attempts at raiding warned the travelers that they must be on guard day and night. It was afterwards learned that General [Alfred] Sully had been after marauding tribes along the Canadian line, and had scattered them and broken up their food supplies. Many of them had drifted south and this fat train looked good to them. The raids finally resulted in a battle, when the Indians attempted to appropriate the “wet” goods from a wagon that had been overturned in a coulee.
Thirteen Whites Killed. The breakdown of a wagon resulted in the dividing of the train, as those in the lead went on. This gave the Indians a chance of attack, which they took advantage of. The Indians were armed principally with bows and arrows, though there were enough of them who had taken guns from whites they had killed to make them a dangerous outfit, as the travelers found to their sorrow. Thirteen of the whites were killed and it was estimated that over a hundred of the 900 Indians were killed. [Ed Note: After three days of fighting in late August 1864, 9 were killed and five wounded, at total of 14 casualties. Overall 12 died, while wounded Louis Dostaler and Charles Libby, recovered.] The Indians in this raid were known as Unkappa [Sic Hunkpapa] Sioux. The expedition, disheartened, proceeded on west, harassed every day by the troublesome reds, but by the utmost vigilance was able to defend itself from any further serious attack.
Had White Woman Captive. Mr. Chemidlin, in telling of the return of this expedition, says:
“After fighting and traveling for a couple of days we concluded to camp, and while in camp the Indians sent a party with a flag of truce. They wanted to parley with the captain. The captain sent out two or three men to find out what they wanted. They said they were starving and wanted some provisions. They were asked how much they wanted. They said they wanted two wagon loads. They also said they had a white woman, a Mrs. Kelley, whom they had captured in Wyoming and they wanted to trade her for these provisions. [Ed. Note: Mrs. Fanny Kelly was captured 12 July 1864 west of Fort Laramie while traveling in a wagon to Idaho.] The captain sent them word that he would give them a wagon load of provisions and four yoke of oxen. But they refused it, saying it was not enough for them. So after parleying a while they concluded to leave us.”
Forced to Abandon Journey. “There were two soldiers left of our escort—two or three at any rate—and the first night after the fight the captain sent two of the men to Fort Rice on the Missouri, about 15 miles below where the city of Bismarck is now, where there was a company of the 30th Wisconsin regiment stationed. He sent them back for reinforcements, and they sent us a company of cavalry to relieve us. We were ordered back by the commander of the regiment. A ballot was taken by the party and we decided to turn back. So we went back with the relief to Fort Rice, and from there on down the Missouri in flat boats, with the 30th Wisconsin, which was ordered home.”
Indians Eat Poisoned Food. In connection with this disastrous expedition and the Indians who wrecked it, a story has been told which Mr. Chemidlin does not vouch for and of which all other members of the company were always extremely skeptical—a story of poisoned food. Most of the company would have agreed that the plundering murderers deserved poisoning, but of course none of them knew anything about it. The story got back east and was made much of by the newspapers. This is what seems to have happened:
On breaking camp one morning, while the Indians were still harassing the travelers, orders were given as usual to burn all camp refuse. Among other things on this particular morning was a box of damaged hardtack or crackers and that was left on the burning pile. No sooner had the camp been abandoned than the Indians were seen to rush in and the hardtack was rescued from the fire. Later it was learned that the hardtack had slain more Indians than the firearms of the whites and it was hinted that the doctor’s medicine chest had been used to season the crackers.
[Apparently some 25 Hunkpapas died from strychnine poison planted in the hardtack by the Cavalry escort. The War Department censored Capt. Fisk’s report of this incident for more than 100 years.]
Second Attempt is Successful. Mr. Chemedlin’s second attempt to get into Montana was more successful. This was two years later. In 1866 he was a member of what was called the “Hundred Dollar Men.” That was a company of 100 men who had paid $100 each to get to Montana—no particular point guaranteed. There was also a number of emigrants in the expedition who had made other arrangements for their transportation. This expedition was also a Fisk expedition and conducted by Captain Fisk. [Ed. Note: The headquarters staff of the 1866 Expedition included Nicholas Chemidlin, who again served with the commissary.] It took the northern route this time, leaving Fort Berthold. No trouble on account of Indians was experienced but the travelers were afforded a chance to see a scalp dance at Berthold indulged in by Gros Ventres who claimed to have been on a raid against some of their red brethren.
[Ed. Note: During this expedition, Chemidlin’s Fisk Train followed two weeks behind an emigrant train led by Thomas A. Holmes. A member of the Holmes Expedition, Luther M. Brown, described their arrival at Fort Benton: “August 15th the main train arrived at Fort Benton, at least eleven hundred miles from St. Paul. We had been on the road between Fort Ridgely and Fort Benton, seventy-six days, and that, too, on a road that we had made ourselves, with small exceptions. At Fort Benton we again came in contact with the world. Here we found quite a thriving little town which is known as Benton city. There are quite a number of white people, and more have since come in. At the time we arrived at the Fort they had not fully ‘adopted the habits and customs of civilization,’ but they could lie, swear, steal and drink whiskey with a remarkable degree of accuracy, and were hat might be called quite ‘heavy on the steal.’ They stole my jack knife for which I doubt if I ever forgive them. But seriously Fort Benton should it remain as it now is, ‘the head of navigation on the Missouri,’ will be quite a large town in a few years, as the Montana trade increases. There was last season before our arrival there, about 7500 tons of freight landed there by steamboats from St. Louis. . .”
Reached Benton in 1866. Mr. Chemidlin arrived in Fort Benton in August, 1866, where the party broke up and scattered to various places. There are very few of the party who can be located at the present time. W. O. Dexter, public administrator of Chouteau county, living in Fort Benton, is one of the few. Mr. Chemidlin, with 18 other hundred dollar men, went up Sun river to the south fork, about three miles from Haystack butte, and camped there for several weeks. They had heard of gold prospects in the hills there. Nothing of value, however, was found, and the party made its way to Helena, where most of them engaged in placer mining and Mr. Chemidlin began his work as a printer.
In 1872 Mr. Chemidlin married Miss Mary Cox, in Helena. They have two children, Miss Marie Chemidlin of Fort Benton and W. S. Chemedlin.
Like so many early Montana pioneers, Nicholas T. Chemidlin quietly lived and worked, but thanks to the historical series of the Montana Newspaper Association we know about his exciting emigration in the 1860s to the new territory.
[Source: River Press Publishing Company Stock Book and Minutes; MNA The Roy Enterprise 26 Apr 1920; Ho! For The Gold Fields Northern Overland Wagon Trains of the 1860s by Helen McDann White, Editor; Overholser Historical Research Center SC 36 Correspondence W. K. Harber and Joel R. Overholser]
Photo:
(1) Nicholas T. Chemidlin in the Press Room of the River Press.
(2) Legendary Editor William T. Harber
(3) The River Press home for more than a century.
(4) Fisk 1866 Northern Overland Wagon Train Minnesota to Fort Benton
(5) Elderly N. T. Chemidlin nearing retirement in early 1920.
25 April 2011
The Life of the Community: The Fort Benton River Press 1880-2010
By Ken Robison
[Published in the Special 130th Anniversary Edition of the River Press 13 April 2011]
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Journalism in Fort Benton has a proud tradition. Only the Virginia City/Ennis Madisonian (which was established in 1873) is an older weekly newspaper than the Fort Benton River Press, which first published on October 27, 1880. One River Press editor, William K. Harber, is in the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame, and another, Joel F. Overholser, should be. On this 130th anniversary of The River Press let’s look at this proud history.
Fort Benton’s first newspaper, the Benton Record, was established February 1, 1875. This was eleven years after the first Montana newspaper, the Montana Post in Virginia City. The long delay in starting a paper in Fort Benton likely resulted from the “wild and wooly,” transient nature of the town’s population, with just a handful of white women resident until the mid-1870s. By 1875, the fur trade and gold rush days were past, and Fort Benton had weathered a long depression lasting until the birth of the Canadian trade including the arrival of the Mounted Police. Fort Benton was becoming a stable, prosperous, and growing town.
The Benton Record became a daily on Feb 2, 1881, and continued until owner-editor W. H. Buck went broke in 1884. The Record is an important source for area history covering the early boom years of the town as it emerged from fur trading post to a regional transportation hub. The Record carried lists of steamboat arrivals, passengers, departures, and cargo, many historical articles by Montana’s first great historian Lieutenant James Bradley, and Frontier Sketches from the pen of wildly colorful Sheriff Johnny J. Healy, who was also business manager of the paper. Exceptionally valuable coverage of the Sioux, Nez Perce, and other Indian Wars flowed through the pages of the Record. The paper strongly advocated free navigation on the Missouri River and championed Fort Benton as the head of navigation. The Record was close to Benton’s Irish Fenian residents, and passionately Democratic in politics.
The Record had been in existence five and a half years, when the first steps were taken to found The River Press. James E. Stevens had gone to work for W. H. Buck on the Record in 1880, but disliked his boss intensely. When H. C. Williams and Thomas D. Wright suggested Stevens join them in a newspaper venture, he jumped at the chance. Stevens later admitted, “the three of us together didn’t have $50. . . but we had lots of days work up our sleeves.” After a talk with Timothy Collins of the Bank of Northern Montana, the trio found backing from local citizens, chiefly on the partisan Republican political side.
James Stevens continued, “We bought a $2,300 outfit from the Helena Herald, which was then putting on a new dress and making other changes, including a new press. We paid the Herald $1,500 down and gave a mortgage for the balance. We borrowed $1,700 from the citizens of Fort Benton and it cost the other $200 for the freight from Helena. That was the start of the Fort Benton River Press . . . The first issue of The River Press was dated October 27, 1880. Timothy E. Collins, Scott Wetzel, John W. Tattan, John Power, Jeremiah (Jerry) Collins, Billy [William H.] Todd, and other leading citizens of Fort Benton took a turn at the crank in honor of the event. Billy Todd, who was managing Murphy, Neel & Co.’s store was an old Helena Gazette printer of former years.”
H. C. Williams, editor for the initial issue, proclaimed, “We present to our readers this week a paper which in typographical execution and general appearance is equal of any in the west.” Editor Williams claimed Fort Benton was big enough for two papers and said they had not come to sow seeds of dissention, but dissention there was. The first issue of the new River Press was printed in a large log cabin with an adobe exterior, once Jim Nabors’ “hotel,” near Main Street. This building was on the site of the current H-O Parts Plus. With Editor Williams, J. E. Stevens operated the mechanical department and Thomas Wright served as business manager.
Fifty years later, in 1900, old time Fort Benton resident Al. G. Wilkins sent a letter of congratulations to the editor of the River Press recalling that first winter. Wilkins wrote: “I am pleased to congratulate the River Press on its 50th birthday as I knew it in its infancy, just fifty years ago, and helped to keep the fires burning through the hard winter of 1880-1881 by hauling cordwood fourteen miles through two feet of snow to enable the force to continue their good work. I am proud to reflect back through so many years and note the progress of the River Press. There were two papers printed at Fort Benton at that time—the Benton Record and the River Press. It was an evident fact that through lack of business one or both had to fall, but the friends of the River Press helped to boost it over the hump and today, I believe the few old timers that are fortunate enough to be alive are elated over the outgrowth of their work. I received eight shares of stock in the River Press for the wood it took to carry it through that memorable hard winter, and I am pleased to know that it has not been snowed under since.”
The River Press started with two disadvantages: its publishers were comparatively new to this part of Montana; and there was already an established newspaper in the town that many thought too small for two papers. Editor Buck of the Benton Record was not amused and sourly welcomed its new competitor, proclaiming that the new upstart would not live a month. The stage was set for dueling editorials over many issues over the next few years such as the hot topic in 1882, when the staunchly segregationist Benton Record argued for a separate school for Benton’s growing number of African American and mixed race children. The River Press argued forcefully for integrated schools, supporting the school board in their decision for a single school. Despite a boycott promoted by the Record, the integrated school prevailed. The journalistic squabbles in fact helped the circulation of both papers—after all, you had to buy both papers so that you did not miss anything.
To put pressure on its upstart competitor, the Record started a daily in February 1881, doubtless aiming to kill the upstart with a five days to one volley of abuse. The Press countered with The Daily River Press, also a five-day-a-week publication, which began operation on June 6, 1882 and remarkably continued until January 1, 1920. The daily began as a four-page paper, while the weekly was a 5-column eight-page newspaper.
By June 1881, Jerry [Jeremiah] Collins bought the interest of H. C. Williams in The River Press, and later in August Collins and Stevens bought out T. D. Wright. By then they had dressed up the look of the newspaper and considerably expanded the job printing department. Advertising patronage increased and public acceptance grew, and The River Press rapidly gained a dominant position in Northern Montana.
In August 1882 shares of stock were sold, and The River Press Publishing Company incorporated in December 1882, with Collins and Stevens taking half of the stock and being retained as editors in charge. At the first annual meeting of the stockholders December 4, 1882, J. C. Bothine, President, was in the chair. Trustees elected included J. E. Stevens, Jerry Collins, George Steell, W. J. Minar, and H. G. McIntire. The next day the stockholders met again and elected J. E. Stevens, President; George Steell, Vice President; H. G. McIntire, Secretary; Jerry Collins, Treasurer. Collins was appointed General Manager (and editor) at a salary of $30 per week. About twenty others held stock in small amounts, including William J. Harber, who bought the Stevens stock in 1883. While earlier The River Press had been a republican-leaning independent in politics, with the organization of the stock company, controlling interest moved solidly to republicans, and The Press became recognized as a republican journal.
By late 1884, Editor Buck went broke and the Record financially went under after sporadic publication for several years. Its fine printing plant was moved to a warehouse in preparation for a Sheriff’s sale. The River Press was quartered on Main Street in the lower floor of the Odd Fellows Hall, beside the new furniture store of Ferdinand C. Roosevelt. This building was on the site of the current home of Wally and Muncie Morger. On July 8, 1885, the River Press building burned out along with Roosevelt’s store. Fortunately, the Record’s modern press was available for the Press to continue operations in a new location. Only one edition of The Press was missed due to the fire. The Press moved into a fine brick building at 1212 Front Street, which had been the home of the Davidson & Moffitt Saddlery from 1881 to 1883. The River Press stayed in this location for more than 108 years
Jerry Collins was instrumental in the formation of the Montana State Press Association in Butte August 20-21,1885. Editor Collins was elected the Press Association’s first “corresponding” secretary and printed the proceedings at The River Press. By 1887, Collins had moved on to the new town of Great Falls, where he became publisher of the Great Falls Tribune. The following year, Collins sold the majority interest in The River Press to William H. Todd, a committed Democrat, and Democrats had taken over the board of trustees led by Charles E. Conrad as Presiden. On August 13, 1888 William H. Todd became manager, and he named Daniel Searles, also a partisan Democrat, editor.
Several men and women left marked imprints on The River Press. One was William K. Harber, an Englishman, who stepped off a stagecoach in Benton on January 23, 1884. Fort Benton’s population at the time probably was 2,000. It was the smallest city in the nation with two dailies. The town and the papers were in trouble. The Canadian trade had ended in 1883 with the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Empty storefronts were appearing on what had once been busy Front Street. Steamboat traffic from St. Louis and upper Missouri river ports was declining as the railroad moved westward.
As the 1880s passed, Montanans were looking forward to statehood, and in 1889 Choteau County merchant giant Thomas C. Power, a Republican, campaigned for governor. During the campaign, Editor Dan Searles turned his River Press against the favorite son, and Democrat Joseph K. Toole squeaked into the governor’s office by 576 votes, carrying Choteau County by 32. In addition, Editor Searles urged the defeat of T. C. Power’s brother, John W., running for state senator in Choteau County.
As consolation after his narrow loss in the governor’s race, T. C. Power with Wilbur Fisk Sanders, both Republicans, in a hotly contested election, were selected by the Montana legislature for the U.S. Senate as the state’s first two Senators, serving from January 2, 1890. Throughout this campaign, The River Press became even more vitriolic against Power and the Republicans. After Power’s selection for the Senate, The River Press refused to honor Power with the title “Senator Power.”
In October 1890, The River Press declared war on Senator Power, his brother John W., and their empire, T. C. Power & Brother. In an editorial on October 15th entitled “The Power Bros.” Editor Searles wrote:
“The River Press did not propose to enter into a discussion of the business affairs of the Power Bros. or of their business relations with the citizens of Fort Benton and of Choteau county. The people of northern Montana know all about the firm and have formed their opinion concerning it. They generally concede that its grab all policy has seriously injured this city, but they know that all the Powers in the world cannot kill it. The firm may succeed in crushing out all opposition as it has succeeded in crushing out many small houses, but it cannot destroy the natural advantages of the place which, some day, will make it one of the most prosperous cities in the state.
“Neither the [Helena] Independent nor [Butte] Miner correspondents, nor the [Helena] Journal man nor his correspondent “Old Timer: can give the people of this county any pointers concerning the firm. They know all about it, and the River Press, recognizing this fact, was content to leave Mr. John W. Power and his candidacy for the state senate to their tender mercies. But the truth of history must be vindicated, and the Journal’s “Old Timer?” in his amusing floundering in fact and fiction, makes it necessary for the River Press to vindicate it. In giving the history of the early settlement of Fort Benton “Old Timer” either ignorantly or purposely leaves the impression that John W. Power was in front of the procession of that noble army of men who blazed the trail into Montana and made it possible for others to follow them without enduring the hardships and privations of pioneer life. The impression is a wrong one. The house of T. C. Power & Co. was not established in Fort Benton until 1867. John W. Power was then selling hay in Dubuque, Iowa. He came to the then territory in 1868—a year in which over 40 steamboats landed at Fort Benton and when it was the liveliest and most prosperous town in Montana. John experienced his first dangers and trials of pioneer life in the wild and wooly west when he stood behind his brother’s counter in his city and traded a cup of sugar for a buffalo robe with the Indians who daily flocked to the place with furs and pelts of all kinds. The next year found the blooming modest John in Helena in an agricultural implement house, next door to John R. Watson’s on Main street, owned by his brother Tom and in charge of the late John M. Sweeney.
“We have traced the personal history of Mr. John W. Power thus far simply to prove that “Old Timer” knows nothing about it. It is not necessary to look farther into it. He became the junior member of the firm of T. C. Power & Bro. and there he is found to-day. What that firm has done from the year 1873, when it was mainly instrumental in causing all of northern Montana to be set off into one vast Indian reservation that it might, with others, control the whiskey and fur trade of the northern Indians, down to the present time is, as we have stated, pretty well known to the residents of Choteau county. “Old Timer” is ignorant or purposely misleads the readers of the Journal. We will show it.
“It is a well known fact that when the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroad entered the state it proposed to make Fort Benton its western terminus and that the Montana Central would be built from this point. In anticipation of this all the ground between the bluffs upon both sides of the river was surveyed and platted. A large flat a mile and a half below the city was also surveyed and platted. A fine imposing court house, the largest public school building in the state, a larger hotel than either Butte or Helena has, and several fine business blocks and private residences were erected.
“All this was done in anticipation of Fort Benton becoming a railroad center. The place was booming and times were lively. Men came in from Helena and from the east to invest their money and grow with the place. But they were crowded out or crushed out. Col. Broadwater, A. J. Davidson and Paris Gibson were among the number. The latter started a small lumber yard here. T. C. Power & Bro. shipped it in by the steamboat load and by selling at cost drove him out of business. Lumber then went up. A. J. Davidson brought in a big stock of harness and saddles, etc. T. C. Power brought in a larger one and undersold him. Col. Broadwater proposed to build a saw mill here. He was swindled out of his mill site. Men brought in drugs and medicines. T. C. Power & Bro. brought in drugs and medicines. Others started jewelry shops. T. C. Power & Bro. soon had more clocks and watches and silver and plated ware to sell than any one in town. A furniture store was started only to be closed by a larger one opened by T. C. Power & Bro. Wholesale liquor and cigar stores were met by a wholesale liquor and cigar department at T. C. Power & Bro.’s. Books and stationery stores were compelled to compete with T. C. Power & Bro. And so it ran along through the whole line of trades. They even started an opposition hotel to the Grand Union because the latter was not built where they wanted it built. Their latest venture is the starting of a newspaper in the city to run out the River Press because the latter cannot conscientiously recognize the senior member of the firm as a United States senator.
“The hoggishness of the firm became so pronounced that before the railroad reached here Mr. Paris Gibson, who had been one of the greatest sufferers by the oppressive dealings of the Power Bros., pulled up stakes, went to Great Falls and obtained a title to some land there. He then directed the attention of Mr. James J. Hill to the place, and we all know the result. Fort Benton was left out in the cold and one by one those in the city who had been victims of the Power Bros.’ oppressive competition followed Mr. Gibson to Great Falls and are now among the most prosperous and enterprising citizens of that phenomenal town.
“These are the facts in the case and every old timer in the country knows them. If the Journal’s “Old Timer” had confined himself to the truth the River Press would have had no occasion to refer to them at all. It has done so now simply to preserve the integrity of the record. Now that the Journal has invited a discussion of this subject we propose to notice in the near future other matters in which it will appear that the Power Bros. propose not only to override all opposition in business matters in Choteau country, but to ride into office on the backs of the very people who are striving to build up a living business here which the firm itself has done so much to cripple or destroy.
Editor Searles continued his attacks against both T. C. Power and his brother John throughout the fall of 1890. By the end of November, Senator Power had had enough, and he retaliated against the River Press by withdrawing his substantial advertising patronage. In response, Jerry Collins blasted back with an editorial headlined “The River Press Boycotted.
“The firm of T. C. Power & Bro. has commenced a boycott against the River Press. The motive is easily surmised. During the past campaign this paper was outspoken in its denunciation of the course pursued by Thomas C. Power to obtain a seat in the United States senate. It also gave a number of good and sufficient reasons why the people of Choteau county should not support John W. Power for the state senate. To avenge itself for the unpleasant exposures which the River Press was forced to make the arrogant, domineering firm now seeks to drive the River Press out of Fort Benton or to seriously cripple it. The firm started the boycott by withdrawing all its patronage from the office, stopping its papers, daily and weekly, and advising its friends to do the same. The attitude of the firm towards this paper is on a line with that which it has pursued toward every other business enterprise in the city during the past few years. It evidently thinks it owns the bodies and souls of the people of northern Montana and proposes to ruin any man or set of men who dispute its claim or title thereto. The firm will tolerate no opposition and seeks to destroy what it cannot put down by fair business methods. In pursuance of this well known and long continued practice the selfish, partisan outfit has turned its batteries against the River Press. As this paper has no apologies to make to Tom Power or his big fat brother [Author’s emphasis] for what it has said concerning them, the boycott which they have inaugurated against it means war to the knife and the knife to the hilt. If the River Press go down in the fight it will go down with its flag nailed to the mast head and unfurled to the breeze.”
In addition to the boycott, Tom Power started an opposition Republican newspaper, The Benton Review, under editor Charles L. Harris. A group of leading Republicans, Jere Sullivan, Charles L. Harris, J. M. Boardman, George W. Crane, and Charles E. Miller, incorporated The Review Publishing Company. In the first issue of The Benton Review on August 28, 1890, Editor Harris proclaimed, “Politically, the Review will be republican, but not one of that rampant class which can see no good in anything that did not spring from its own party and which is continually on the war path in search of the scalps of those who are disposed to differ with it in regard to what each may consider to be the proper mode of dealing with public affairs, either local, state or national, as is so frequently the case among journals in all parties.”
On October 1, 1890, Searles’ River Press carried a long, critical article about the T. C. Power firm and his new newspaper. This editorial was followed by another, blasting Tom Power’s company for crushing opposition and driving Paris Gibson out of Fort Benton.
By 1891, T. C. Power was acquiring a majority interest in The River Press from W. H. Todd, who saw the handwriting on the wall, and Editor Dan Searles moved on to Great Falls in April to work for the Democrat Tribune. Todd’s resignation as manager and treasurer of The Press came on September 19, 1891. By January 1892, the Republican take-over was complete with the election of Republicans Thomas A. Cummings, President; George D. Patterson, Vice President; and Jere Sullivan, trustee. William K. Harber became editor and manager of The River Press with Tom Power’s take-over, and continued until Harber’s death in 1922. Editor Harber satisfied Power, and the ads came back to help keep the Press alive. The Benton Review quietly closed down operations in January 1892. In Joel F. Overholser’s opinion “there were never any efforts by Thomas C. Power, or brother John, local manager of Power businesses here [Fort Benton], to control or influence stands taken by the River Press except the implied ‘just keep off my back.’”
By the Presidential election in the fall of 1892, The River Press was safely back in Republican hands, featuring on its editorial page large woodcut portraits of Republican candidates Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for President and Whitelaw Reid of New York for Vice President. Featured also was the slate for the State Republican ticket. In a bit of bi-partisanship both Republican and Democrat tickets for Chouteau County were listed. The Press took special pleasure in opposing Timothy E. Collins of Great Falls, Democrat candidate for Governor, with headlines such as “Caught in the Act. T. E. Collins Makes a Futile Attempt to Steal Valuable School Lands.”
A quiet, soft-spoken Englishman, William K. Harber was skilled in the newspaper trade from experience in England, including serving as the London correspondent for the Northwest at Deer Lodge, Montana Territory. His arrival at Fort Benton in January 1883, from England was to protect a loan he made to a brother, W. J. Harber, for an interest in the River Press. W. K. Harber returned to England to marry Fannie Hart at Saffron-Walden February 6, 1889, and they spent the rest of their lives in Fort Benton. Harber was editor during the great open range ranching days, and he invested in local ranches. As editor and manager, Harber showed skill and a fine command of language. One Montana editor reflected, “He seldom wrote an editorial, but when he did it went the rounds of Montana’s newspapers.”
Safely republican, during the 1900 election of William McKinley as President, The River Press lamented, “Choteau County Laurel’s Lost. A few days after the presidential Election the River Press claimed for Choteau county the distinction of being the banner republican county in Montana, her plurality of 469 for McKinley electors being the largest among the official returns made public at that time. We must now regretfully surrender the palm to Custer county, which comes to the front with a McKinley plurality of 503; which secures to her the proud honor that we fondly hoped was ours. We doff our roughrider hat to the loyal republicans of Custer county.” This commentary was carried in the Anaconda Standard of December 15, 1900.
During the turn of the 19th century battle of Montana’s Copper Kings, William Andrews Clark emerged successful in controlling most Montana’s newspapers including the Great Falls Tribune. Clark became U. S. Senator by buying votes and newspapers. Some publishers were able to remain independent, especially those in rural areas. Dennis L. Swibold in Copper Chorus, his study of the Montana Press, wrote, “Men such as William K. Harber of Fort Benton’s River Press . . . would come to deplore the corruption that scrambled Montana politics and corroded their profession’s credibility. After the storm, they and other Progressives would argue passionately for reform—and Montanans would listen. But the stain on Montana journalism would linger for decades. The legend of the state’s copper-collared press was no mere fiction.” Ironically, in 1886 W. A. Clark had bought 8 shares in The River Press, which he later transferred to Jerry Collins and W. H. Todd. The River Press was one newspaper in Montana the infamous Clark did not control.
The little River Press spoke loudly during this period as Editor Harber took on the corporate giants and their mouthpiece newspapers. Writing in the September 13, 1903, Press, Harber asked, “Is it not the mission of these newspapers to serve their masters? When the interests of the corporations and the general public conflict, is it not reasonable to assume that corporation-owned newspapers will work for the success of their proprietors?”
In the words of Dennis Swibold, “Harber’s criticism of the [Clark’s Amalgamated Copper] company and newspapers carrying the company’s water rang loudly in rural areas beyond Anaconda’s direct influence.” Editor Harbor wrote on November 18, 1903, “Corporation ownership of Montana newspapers and corporation interference in Montana politics are not dictated by an unselfish desire to promote the welfare of the general community.”
Editor Harber led promotion of reforms such as a direct primary law in Montana, woman’s suffrage, higher mining taxes, legislation by initiative. Dennis Swibold writes, Harber “made an elegant spokesman for Progressive Republicans east of the Continental Divide.” President Teddy Roosevelt and his Republicans in Montana such as Congressman, then Senator Joseph Dixon enjoyed the strong support of The River Press.
In the Republican landslide election of 1906, Choteau County’s “favorite son” Charles N. Pray, just 37 years of age, was elected to serve as Montana’s Representative in Congress, defeating popular Democrat Thomas J. Walsh.
The River Press of September 19, 1906, headlined on its front page, “Pray For Congress. The Favorite Son of Chouteau County Is Highly Honored by Montana Republicans. Nomination Made By Acclamation and Followed By Enthusiastic Demonstration.
“The happiest people in Montana Saturday night were the friends of the Hon. Charles N. Pray, Chouteau county’s popular and efficient prosecuting attorney, who was the recipient of congressional nomination honors conferred by the republican state convention at Helena. It was a red-letter occasion for Mr. Pray and his multitude of friends in various parts of the state; it was a day of triumph for those who, to the best of their ability, have urged and worked for the nomination of the favorite son of Chouteau country for representative in congress. . .”
With the strong backing of The River Press, Pray swept to victory throughout Montana, carrying Chouteau County by 1310 votes to just 395 for Democrat Thomas J. Walsh. Within ten years of his arrival in Montana from Vermont, young Pray was serving as Montana’s lone Congressman and working to create Glacier National Park. The River Press supported Pray throughout his six years in Congress as he skillfully moved the park legislation through the House despite the opposition of powerful Speaker “Uncle Joe” Cannon. Pray succeeded in passing important new homestead legislation, increasing the patent to 320 acres and reducing prove-up time to three years. In this and many other measures directly impacting Choteau County and its homestead boom, Pray enjoyed the solid support of The River Press.
A decade later, Editor Harbor was still taking on the Great Falls Tribune and its master, Amalgamated Copper, writing in the River Press on March 26, 1913, “It has been announced from time to time that the Amalgamated is ‘out of politics,’ but its lobby and other legislative agencies have not yet disappeared from public view.”
The River Press had one other competitor over the years, the Chouteau County Independent, established by the Schmidt Brothers in 1910 at the beginning of the homestead boom in the area. The Independent operated by B. H. Kreis and William H. Jenkinson, lasted well into the agricultural depression until 1925 when it was purchased by The River Press and discontinued. Other Chouteau County “boom” newspapers popped up at Highwood, Carter, Loma, Square Butte, Montague, Floweree, Genou, though most of these lasted but a few years. In addition the Geraldine Review published for fifty years, 1913-1963, and the Big Sandy Mountaineer, begun in 1921 continues today.
Chief assistant over the years to Editor Harber was Nicholas T. Chemidlin, who first tried to emigrate to Montana Territory in 1864 with Captain James L. Fisk’s wagon train from Minnesota. The Fisk train was turned back by the Lakota in Dakota Territory with a bloody loss of twelve dead. Chemidlin came to Benton via Helena in 1883, and bought an 8th interest in The River Press. Harber and Chemidlin, often with transient printers, kept both the weekly and daily newspapers going through the quiet years leading into the homesteading boom of the 1910s.
On to the scene came young Joel R. Oversholser to homestead in the Egly community near the Goosebill in Chouteau County in 1913. Oversholser, born May 31, 1885, on a farm near Polen, Iowa, worked for several newspapers in Iowa, before he and his new bride Beulah Fuller joined the homestead stampede promoted by the Great Northern Railroad. Overholser proved up his 320 acre homestead and worked for The River Press as time permitted, until he got title to the land in 1916. He then bought the Moore Independent in the Judith Basin and operated it for three years.
In early 1920, Editor Harber offered Overholser the opportunity to replace the retiring Nicholas Chemidlin. In return, Overholser asked two conditions: that he be allowed to buy stock in The River Press and that the struggling daily be discontinued. Editor Harber agreed, and Overholser moved his family to Fort Benton to join the operation. His son, Joel F. then age nine, remembers being impressed by Mr. Chemidlin, the Sioux Indian fighter, at his retirement banquet at the Grand Union.
The great editor William K. Harber died in 1922, and the Tom Power stock came on the market upon the latter’s death the following year. With financial help from Mrs. Fannie Harber, Joel R. Overholser, by then editor of the paper, was able to take controlling interest. Mrs. Harber loaned the needed money to the new editor with no security beyond his signature, saying “my husband trusted you also.”
A high point for the memory of Editor Harber and for The River Press came in 1970, when the Montana Press Association elected Editor William K. Harber to the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Nora E. Harber, a daughter, had inherited her father’s fine editorial writing and business abilities, and she continued to worked at The River Press for many years until a stoke, ultimately fatal, ended her long career on December 3, 1967.
Editor Joel R. Overholser kept The River Press operating during the agricultural depression of the 1920s that extended into the national depression in the 1930s. In 1930, Editor Overholser wrote: “With this issue of the River Press this newspaper completes fifty full years of service to Fort Benton and Chouteau County. Fifty years in any line of business for an institution is a long time, but in the western states where settlement was of a more recent date than throughout the eastern portion of the United States, this is indeed, a long period of time.
“Twenty-six hundred weekly publications have been issued from the River presses in that length of time to say nothing of the hundreds of daily issues which have been put out. From 1883 to 1920 the River Press issued, in addition to its weekly newspaper, a daily and possibly 11,100 days news was chronicled before the daily passed into history. For a good many years Fort Benton had the distinction of being one of the smallest cities in the northwest to be furnished with a daily newspaper.
“. . . There have been ups and downs in the newspaper business in Fort Benton the same as in all businesses but throughout the years the company has been able to meet the demands of the people of this section, and gradually add to its equipment until today, we believe that we are safe in saying that this newspaper has one of the best equipped newspapers plants in the state for a city the size of Fort Benton.
“It is interesting to go through the old files of this newspaper and see the progress that has been made in Fort Benton. A copy of every paper printed in this office, with the possible exception of a very few, is on file in bound volumes in this office. [Note: This is true today in 2011.] The publication of items of 41 years ago and twenty years ago was started about 1920 and has proved a very interesting feature of this newspaper for the past ten years and we believe that all, both old and young, are interested in these items as shown by the numerous letters received at this office and the many words of comments expressed.
“It has been the aim of the present publishers of the River Press to give to our many readers a newspaper furnishing as nearly all the news of the county as is possible of interest to Chouteau county readers. That we have partly succeeded in our efforts is manifested by the growing list of readers in all parts of the county.”
One of Editor Joel R. Overholser’s four sons, Joel Francis, showed early interest and ability in the newspaper business. Joel F., who was two years old when his father came to Montana to homestead in 1913, graduated from Chouteau County High School in 1928. He received a B. A. degree in journalism from the University of Montana in 1932, after working on the student newspaper, the Kaimin, and returned to Fort Benton to work on the River Press. Joel F. served in the U. S. Army during World War II, from 1942 to 1946, and then returned once again to Fort Benton to work with his father on The River Press.
Joel R. Overholser, his son recalled, “spent more than seventy years at the printing trade and a half-century of those in The River Press. . . For forty-seven years, he was the guiding spirit . . .” At one period, Joel R. was an officer of the Montana State Press Association, but he resigned in panic when scheduled to be elected president at the next convention.
The decades of the 1940s and 50s were golden years for the Press, and Joel F. emerged as Montana’s premier newspaper historian, injecting a steady diet of historical articles in the small weekly. During these years, The River Press was far more important than most Montana newspapers, and it is likely that the River Press carried more significant history in its weekly pages than most dailies.
Over the years, The River Press has published historically important special editions. The first, in July 1926, honored the annual meeting of the Sons and Daughters of the Society of Montana Pioneers in Fort Benton. A second special edition was issued in honor of the 10-12 June, 1937, St. Louis to Fort Benton Boat Race. The Fort Benton Centennial Special Edition, published August 21, 1946, received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History in recognition of its outstanding contribution to American local history. Joel F. Overholser wrote this edition shortly after his return from service in the U. S. Army during World War II. In 1960 Overholser assembled a Centennial Steamboat Edition of the River Press to commemorate the arrival of the first steamboats at the Fort Benton levee in 1860. For the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976, The River Press issued a Bicentennial Edition. More recent special editions have honored the 125th Anniversary of the Grand Union Hotel and the 150th Anniversary of The Mullan Military Wagon Road.
With a seamless transition from father to sons, Joel F. Overholser took over editorial operation of The River Press while Leland, Joel’s brother, took over bookkeeping. During these years, Joel F. published the weekly paper and spent countless hours reading and researching Montana history, building meticulous and extensive index entries and vertical files.
In 1973, The River Press converted from letterpress to offset printing, and began to have the paper printed in Shelby.
Joel F. Overholser served as a member of the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1972, and wrote a pageant, “Wagons to Whoop-Up,” that was presented during the Whoop-Up Trail celebration. He served as a member of the Montana Lewis and Clark Memorial Committee in 1976, and in 1984 he received the Montana Historical Society Board of Trustees Award as Fort Benton’s resident historian. A final tribute came in February 1995, when he was honored at a reception in Fort Benton attended by many residents and Governor Marc Racicot. The day was proclaimed Joel F. Overholser Day in Fort Benton by Mayor Roger Axtman.
In 1980 Joel F. Overholser retired to write a book based on his lifelong research on the history of Fort Benton and the Upper Missouri. Joan Stewart, daughter of Leland Overholser, took over editorship of the newspaper. Joel’s book, Fort Benton, World’s Innermost Port, was published in 1987, packed with great detail and insight into Montana’s most historically significant region.
The day after the sale of The River Press in 1993, Joel sadly came to visit John G. Lepley at the new Museum of the Northern Great Plains/Montana State Agricultural Museum. Joel said, “What am I going to do, I don’t have an office any longer.” Lepley’s answer came back, “I’ve got an office for you, here at the Ag Center.” They quickly made arrangements for Joel’s historical archives to be merged with the Museum archives. Joel’s office in the Ag Center from 1993 until his death in 1999 was a welcoming research center for a constant stream of historians and researchers. Today, this operation continues under the non-profit River & Plains Society as the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center, named in his honor.
In 1992, as The River Press owners Leland Overholser, Joan Stewart, and William A. Johnstone worked toward selling the paper, they had a four-person staff from the Liberty County Times in Chester come in to manage The River Press. Sharon Dunham, who had been a reporter-photographer for the Liberty County Times, became The River Press editor in January 1993. This relationship lasted for three months, and then Leland Overholser and Joan Stewart again took over the publication of The River Press. In May, 1993, Stan and Esther Tichenor, who had previously owned The Townsend Star, purchased The River Press. At this time, Stan’s brother, Daryl Tichenor, owned The Madisonian, Montana’s oldest publishing weekly newspaper, so the two brothers owned the two oldest weekly newspapers in Montana.
The week after purchasing The River Press, Stan and Esther Tichenor hired Tim Burmeister as a writer and photographer. The Tichenors moved the printing of The River Press from Shelby to Great Falls. In February 1994, they moved The River Press office from 1212 Front Street to its current location at 1114 Front Street, the former location of the Farm Service Agency offices.
Tim Burmeister was named editor of The River Press in 1994. While Burmeister was gone from February 1998 to February 1999, Curt Wall was editor of The River Press for four months, and Larry Thornton was editor for ten months. Tim Burmeister returned as editor in May 1999. Mike Tichenor purchased The River Press from his parents, Stan and Esther, in July 1999. Tim Burmeister purchased The River Press from Mike Tichenor in October 2007.
Recent years have seen a shift in form and substance with a heavy emphasis on local photography, Chouteau County community reporting, and historical sketches by historians from the Overholser Historical Research Center.
The River Press continues operations today as it celebrated its 130th Anniversary on October 27, 2010. Locally owned and community focused, the Press carries on its proud journalistic tradition.
[Sources: River Press Minute Book and Stock Book; Joel F. Overholser Vertical File Notes; The Press Gang A century of Montana newspapers, 1885-1895. By Sam Gilluly; Copper Chorus Mining, Politics, and the Montana Press, 1889-1859. By Dennis L. Swibold; various Fort Benton River Press; John G. Lepley Oral History; Tim Burmeister.]
Photos:
1. River Press issue No. 1 [Tim may want to take a photo of this first issue]
2. The First River Press building, a long wood and adobe building.
3. Second River Press Building [This is the Lithograph I set this morning. The second River Press location in first floor of the Odd Fellows Hall on the corner of Bond and Main streets
4. W. K. Harber, famed editor of The River Press 1891-1922, member of the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame
5. Joel F. Overholser
6. The Third River Press Building.
[Published in the Special 130th Anniversary Edition of the River Press 13 April 2011]
This continues the series of frontier historical sketches by historians at the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton.
Journalism in Fort Benton has a proud tradition. Only the Virginia City/Ennis Madisonian (which was established in 1873) is an older weekly newspaper than the Fort Benton River Press, which first published on October 27, 1880. One River Press editor, William K. Harber, is in the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame, and another, Joel F. Overholser, should be. On this 130th anniversary of The River Press let’s look at this proud history.
Fort Benton’s first newspaper, the Benton Record, was established February 1, 1875. This was eleven years after the first Montana newspaper, the Montana Post in Virginia City. The long delay in starting a paper in Fort Benton likely resulted from the “wild and wooly,” transient nature of the town’s population, with just a handful of white women resident until the mid-1870s. By 1875, the fur trade and gold rush days were past, and Fort Benton had weathered a long depression lasting until the birth of the Canadian trade including the arrival of the Mounted Police. Fort Benton was becoming a stable, prosperous, and growing town.
The Benton Record became a daily on Feb 2, 1881, and continued until owner-editor W. H. Buck went broke in 1884. The Record is an important source for area history covering the early boom years of the town as it emerged from fur trading post to a regional transportation hub. The Record carried lists of steamboat arrivals, passengers, departures, and cargo, many historical articles by Montana’s first great historian Lieutenant James Bradley, and Frontier Sketches from the pen of wildly colorful Sheriff Johnny J. Healy, who was also business manager of the paper. Exceptionally valuable coverage of the Sioux, Nez Perce, and other Indian Wars flowed through the pages of the Record. The paper strongly advocated free navigation on the Missouri River and championed Fort Benton as the head of navigation. The Record was close to Benton’s Irish Fenian residents, and passionately Democratic in politics.
The Record had been in existence five and a half years, when the first steps were taken to found The River Press. James E. Stevens had gone to work for W. H. Buck on the Record in 1880, but disliked his boss intensely. When H. C. Williams and Thomas D. Wright suggested Stevens join them in a newspaper venture, he jumped at the chance. Stevens later admitted, “the three of us together didn’t have $50. . . but we had lots of days work up our sleeves.” After a talk with Timothy Collins of the Bank of Northern Montana, the trio found backing from local citizens, chiefly on the partisan Republican political side.
James Stevens continued, “We bought a $2,300 outfit from the Helena Herald, which was then putting on a new dress and making other changes, including a new press. We paid the Herald $1,500 down and gave a mortgage for the balance. We borrowed $1,700 from the citizens of Fort Benton and it cost the other $200 for the freight from Helena. That was the start of the Fort Benton River Press . . . The first issue of The River Press was dated October 27, 1880. Timothy E. Collins, Scott Wetzel, John W. Tattan, John Power, Jeremiah (Jerry) Collins, Billy [William H.] Todd, and other leading citizens of Fort Benton took a turn at the crank in honor of the event. Billy Todd, who was managing Murphy, Neel & Co.’s store was an old Helena Gazette printer of former years.”
H. C. Williams, editor for the initial issue, proclaimed, “We present to our readers this week a paper which in typographical execution and general appearance is equal of any in the west.” Editor Williams claimed Fort Benton was big enough for two papers and said they had not come to sow seeds of dissention, but dissention there was. The first issue of the new River Press was printed in a large log cabin with an adobe exterior, once Jim Nabors’ “hotel,” near Main Street. This building was on the site of the current H-O Parts Plus. With Editor Williams, J. E. Stevens operated the mechanical department and Thomas Wright served as business manager.
Fifty years later, in 1900, old time Fort Benton resident Al. G. Wilkins sent a letter of congratulations to the editor of the River Press recalling that first winter. Wilkins wrote: “I am pleased to congratulate the River Press on its 50th birthday as I knew it in its infancy, just fifty years ago, and helped to keep the fires burning through the hard winter of 1880-1881 by hauling cordwood fourteen miles through two feet of snow to enable the force to continue their good work. I am proud to reflect back through so many years and note the progress of the River Press. There were two papers printed at Fort Benton at that time—the Benton Record and the River Press. It was an evident fact that through lack of business one or both had to fall, but the friends of the River Press helped to boost it over the hump and today, I believe the few old timers that are fortunate enough to be alive are elated over the outgrowth of their work. I received eight shares of stock in the River Press for the wood it took to carry it through that memorable hard winter, and I am pleased to know that it has not been snowed under since.”
The River Press started with two disadvantages: its publishers were comparatively new to this part of Montana; and there was already an established newspaper in the town that many thought too small for two papers. Editor Buck of the Benton Record was not amused and sourly welcomed its new competitor, proclaiming that the new upstart would not live a month. The stage was set for dueling editorials over many issues over the next few years such as the hot topic in 1882, when the staunchly segregationist Benton Record argued for a separate school for Benton’s growing number of African American and mixed race children. The River Press argued forcefully for integrated schools, supporting the school board in their decision for a single school. Despite a boycott promoted by the Record, the integrated school prevailed. The journalistic squabbles in fact helped the circulation of both papers—after all, you had to buy both papers so that you did not miss anything.
To put pressure on its upstart competitor, the Record started a daily in February 1881, doubtless aiming to kill the upstart with a five days to one volley of abuse. The Press countered with The Daily River Press, also a five-day-a-week publication, which began operation on June 6, 1882 and remarkably continued until January 1, 1920. The daily began as a four-page paper, while the weekly was a 5-column eight-page newspaper.
By June 1881, Jerry [Jeremiah] Collins bought the interest of H. C. Williams in The River Press, and later in August Collins and Stevens bought out T. D. Wright. By then they had dressed up the look of the newspaper and considerably expanded the job printing department. Advertising patronage increased and public acceptance grew, and The River Press rapidly gained a dominant position in Northern Montana.
In August 1882 shares of stock were sold, and The River Press Publishing Company incorporated in December 1882, with Collins and Stevens taking half of the stock and being retained as editors in charge. At the first annual meeting of the stockholders December 4, 1882, J. C. Bothine, President, was in the chair. Trustees elected included J. E. Stevens, Jerry Collins, George Steell, W. J. Minar, and H. G. McIntire. The next day the stockholders met again and elected J. E. Stevens, President; George Steell, Vice President; H. G. McIntire, Secretary; Jerry Collins, Treasurer. Collins was appointed General Manager (and editor) at a salary of $30 per week. About twenty others held stock in small amounts, including William J. Harber, who bought the Stevens stock in 1883. While earlier The River Press had been a republican-leaning independent in politics, with the organization of the stock company, controlling interest moved solidly to republicans, and The Press became recognized as a republican journal.
By late 1884, Editor Buck went broke and the Record financially went under after sporadic publication for several years. Its fine printing plant was moved to a warehouse in preparation for a Sheriff’s sale. The River Press was quartered on Main Street in the lower floor of the Odd Fellows Hall, beside the new furniture store of Ferdinand C. Roosevelt. This building was on the site of the current home of Wally and Muncie Morger. On July 8, 1885, the River Press building burned out along with Roosevelt’s store. Fortunately, the Record’s modern press was available for the Press to continue operations in a new location. Only one edition of The Press was missed due to the fire. The Press moved into a fine brick building at 1212 Front Street, which had been the home of the Davidson & Moffitt Saddlery from 1881 to 1883. The River Press stayed in this location for more than 108 years
Jerry Collins was instrumental in the formation of the Montana State Press Association in Butte August 20-21,1885. Editor Collins was elected the Press Association’s first “corresponding” secretary and printed the proceedings at The River Press. By 1887, Collins had moved on to the new town of Great Falls, where he became publisher of the Great Falls Tribune. The following year, Collins sold the majority interest in The River Press to William H. Todd, a committed Democrat, and Democrats had taken over the board of trustees led by Charles E. Conrad as Presiden. On August 13, 1888 William H. Todd became manager, and he named Daniel Searles, also a partisan Democrat, editor.
Several men and women left marked imprints on The River Press. One was William K. Harber, an Englishman, who stepped off a stagecoach in Benton on January 23, 1884. Fort Benton’s population at the time probably was 2,000. It was the smallest city in the nation with two dailies. The town and the papers were in trouble. The Canadian trade had ended in 1883 with the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Empty storefronts were appearing on what had once been busy Front Street. Steamboat traffic from St. Louis and upper Missouri river ports was declining as the railroad moved westward.
As the 1880s passed, Montanans were looking forward to statehood, and in 1889 Choteau County merchant giant Thomas C. Power, a Republican, campaigned for governor. During the campaign, Editor Dan Searles turned his River Press against the favorite son, and Democrat Joseph K. Toole squeaked into the governor’s office by 576 votes, carrying Choteau County by 32. In addition, Editor Searles urged the defeat of T. C. Power’s brother, John W., running for state senator in Choteau County.
As consolation after his narrow loss in the governor’s race, T. C. Power with Wilbur Fisk Sanders, both Republicans, in a hotly contested election, were selected by the Montana legislature for the U.S. Senate as the state’s first two Senators, serving from January 2, 1890. Throughout this campaign, The River Press became even more vitriolic against Power and the Republicans. After Power’s selection for the Senate, The River Press refused to honor Power with the title “Senator Power.”
In October 1890, The River Press declared war on Senator Power, his brother John W., and their empire, T. C. Power & Brother. In an editorial on October 15th entitled “The Power Bros.” Editor Searles wrote:
“The River Press did not propose to enter into a discussion of the business affairs of the Power Bros. or of their business relations with the citizens of Fort Benton and of Choteau county. The people of northern Montana know all about the firm and have formed their opinion concerning it. They generally concede that its grab all policy has seriously injured this city, but they know that all the Powers in the world cannot kill it. The firm may succeed in crushing out all opposition as it has succeeded in crushing out many small houses, but it cannot destroy the natural advantages of the place which, some day, will make it one of the most prosperous cities in the state.
“Neither the [Helena] Independent nor [Butte] Miner correspondents, nor the [Helena] Journal man nor his correspondent “Old Timer: can give the people of this county any pointers concerning the firm. They know all about it, and the River Press, recognizing this fact, was content to leave Mr. John W. Power and his candidacy for the state senate to their tender mercies. But the truth of history must be vindicated, and the Journal’s “Old Timer?” in his amusing floundering in fact and fiction, makes it necessary for the River Press to vindicate it. In giving the history of the early settlement of Fort Benton “Old Timer” either ignorantly or purposely leaves the impression that John W. Power was in front of the procession of that noble army of men who blazed the trail into Montana and made it possible for others to follow them without enduring the hardships and privations of pioneer life. The impression is a wrong one. The house of T. C. Power & Co. was not established in Fort Benton until 1867. John W. Power was then selling hay in Dubuque, Iowa. He came to the then territory in 1868—a year in which over 40 steamboats landed at Fort Benton and when it was the liveliest and most prosperous town in Montana. John experienced his first dangers and trials of pioneer life in the wild and wooly west when he stood behind his brother’s counter in his city and traded a cup of sugar for a buffalo robe with the Indians who daily flocked to the place with furs and pelts of all kinds. The next year found the blooming modest John in Helena in an agricultural implement house, next door to John R. Watson’s on Main street, owned by his brother Tom and in charge of the late John M. Sweeney.
“We have traced the personal history of Mr. John W. Power thus far simply to prove that “Old Timer” knows nothing about it. It is not necessary to look farther into it. He became the junior member of the firm of T. C. Power & Bro. and there he is found to-day. What that firm has done from the year 1873, when it was mainly instrumental in causing all of northern Montana to be set off into one vast Indian reservation that it might, with others, control the whiskey and fur trade of the northern Indians, down to the present time is, as we have stated, pretty well known to the residents of Choteau county. “Old Timer” is ignorant or purposely misleads the readers of the Journal. We will show it.
“It is a well known fact that when the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba railroad entered the state it proposed to make Fort Benton its western terminus and that the Montana Central would be built from this point. In anticipation of this all the ground between the bluffs upon both sides of the river was surveyed and platted. A large flat a mile and a half below the city was also surveyed and platted. A fine imposing court house, the largest public school building in the state, a larger hotel than either Butte or Helena has, and several fine business blocks and private residences were erected.
“All this was done in anticipation of Fort Benton becoming a railroad center. The place was booming and times were lively. Men came in from Helena and from the east to invest their money and grow with the place. But they were crowded out or crushed out. Col. Broadwater, A. J. Davidson and Paris Gibson were among the number. The latter started a small lumber yard here. T. C. Power & Bro. shipped it in by the steamboat load and by selling at cost drove him out of business. Lumber then went up. A. J. Davidson brought in a big stock of harness and saddles, etc. T. C. Power brought in a larger one and undersold him. Col. Broadwater proposed to build a saw mill here. He was swindled out of his mill site. Men brought in drugs and medicines. T. C. Power & Bro. brought in drugs and medicines. Others started jewelry shops. T. C. Power & Bro. soon had more clocks and watches and silver and plated ware to sell than any one in town. A furniture store was started only to be closed by a larger one opened by T. C. Power & Bro. Wholesale liquor and cigar stores were met by a wholesale liquor and cigar department at T. C. Power & Bro.’s. Books and stationery stores were compelled to compete with T. C. Power & Bro. And so it ran along through the whole line of trades. They even started an opposition hotel to the Grand Union because the latter was not built where they wanted it built. Their latest venture is the starting of a newspaper in the city to run out the River Press because the latter cannot conscientiously recognize the senior member of the firm as a United States senator.
“The hoggishness of the firm became so pronounced that before the railroad reached here Mr. Paris Gibson, who had been one of the greatest sufferers by the oppressive dealings of the Power Bros., pulled up stakes, went to Great Falls and obtained a title to some land there. He then directed the attention of Mr. James J. Hill to the place, and we all know the result. Fort Benton was left out in the cold and one by one those in the city who had been victims of the Power Bros.’ oppressive competition followed Mr. Gibson to Great Falls and are now among the most prosperous and enterprising citizens of that phenomenal town.
“These are the facts in the case and every old timer in the country knows them. If the Journal’s “Old Timer” had confined himself to the truth the River Press would have had no occasion to refer to them at all. It has done so now simply to preserve the integrity of the record. Now that the Journal has invited a discussion of this subject we propose to notice in the near future other matters in which it will appear that the Power Bros. propose not only to override all opposition in business matters in Choteau country, but to ride into office on the backs of the very people who are striving to build up a living business here which the firm itself has done so much to cripple or destroy.
Editor Searles continued his attacks against both T. C. Power and his brother John throughout the fall of 1890. By the end of November, Senator Power had had enough, and he retaliated against the River Press by withdrawing his substantial advertising patronage. In response, Jerry Collins blasted back with an editorial headlined “The River Press Boycotted.
“The firm of T. C. Power & Bro. has commenced a boycott against the River Press. The motive is easily surmised. During the past campaign this paper was outspoken in its denunciation of the course pursued by Thomas C. Power to obtain a seat in the United States senate. It also gave a number of good and sufficient reasons why the people of Choteau county should not support John W. Power for the state senate. To avenge itself for the unpleasant exposures which the River Press was forced to make the arrogant, domineering firm now seeks to drive the River Press out of Fort Benton or to seriously cripple it. The firm started the boycott by withdrawing all its patronage from the office, stopping its papers, daily and weekly, and advising its friends to do the same. The attitude of the firm towards this paper is on a line with that which it has pursued toward every other business enterprise in the city during the past few years. It evidently thinks it owns the bodies and souls of the people of northern Montana and proposes to ruin any man or set of men who dispute its claim or title thereto. The firm will tolerate no opposition and seeks to destroy what it cannot put down by fair business methods. In pursuance of this well known and long continued practice the selfish, partisan outfit has turned its batteries against the River Press. As this paper has no apologies to make to Tom Power or his big fat brother [Author’s emphasis] for what it has said concerning them, the boycott which they have inaugurated against it means war to the knife and the knife to the hilt. If the River Press go down in the fight it will go down with its flag nailed to the mast head and unfurled to the breeze.”
In addition to the boycott, Tom Power started an opposition Republican newspaper, The Benton Review, under editor Charles L. Harris. A group of leading Republicans, Jere Sullivan, Charles L. Harris, J. M. Boardman, George W. Crane, and Charles E. Miller, incorporated The Review Publishing Company. In the first issue of The Benton Review on August 28, 1890, Editor Harris proclaimed, “Politically, the Review will be republican, but not one of that rampant class which can see no good in anything that did not spring from its own party and which is continually on the war path in search of the scalps of those who are disposed to differ with it in regard to what each may consider to be the proper mode of dealing with public affairs, either local, state or national, as is so frequently the case among journals in all parties.”
On October 1, 1890, Searles’ River Press carried a long, critical article about the T. C. Power firm and his new newspaper. This editorial was followed by another, blasting Tom Power’s company for crushing opposition and driving Paris Gibson out of Fort Benton.
By 1891, T. C. Power was acquiring a majority interest in The River Press from W. H. Todd, who saw the handwriting on the wall, and Editor Dan Searles moved on to Great Falls in April to work for the Democrat Tribune. Todd’s resignation as manager and treasurer of The Press came on September 19, 1891. By January 1892, the Republican take-over was complete with the election of Republicans Thomas A. Cummings, President; George D. Patterson, Vice President; and Jere Sullivan, trustee. William K. Harber became editor and manager of The River Press with Tom Power’s take-over, and continued until Harber’s death in 1922. Editor Harber satisfied Power, and the ads came back to help keep the Press alive. The Benton Review quietly closed down operations in January 1892. In Joel F. Overholser’s opinion “there were never any efforts by Thomas C. Power, or brother John, local manager of Power businesses here [Fort Benton], to control or influence stands taken by the River Press except the implied ‘just keep off my back.’”
By the Presidential election in the fall of 1892, The River Press was safely back in Republican hands, featuring on its editorial page large woodcut portraits of Republican candidates Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for President and Whitelaw Reid of New York for Vice President. Featured also was the slate for the State Republican ticket. In a bit of bi-partisanship both Republican and Democrat tickets for Chouteau County were listed. The Press took special pleasure in opposing Timothy E. Collins of Great Falls, Democrat candidate for Governor, with headlines such as “Caught in the Act. T. E. Collins Makes a Futile Attempt to Steal Valuable School Lands.”
A quiet, soft-spoken Englishman, William K. Harber was skilled in the newspaper trade from experience in England, including serving as the London correspondent for the Northwest at Deer Lodge, Montana Territory. His arrival at Fort Benton in January 1883, from England was to protect a loan he made to a brother, W. J. Harber, for an interest in the River Press. W. K. Harber returned to England to marry Fannie Hart at Saffron-Walden February 6, 1889, and they spent the rest of their lives in Fort Benton. Harber was editor during the great open range ranching days, and he invested in local ranches. As editor and manager, Harber showed skill and a fine command of language. One Montana editor reflected, “He seldom wrote an editorial, but when he did it went the rounds of Montana’s newspapers.”
Safely republican, during the 1900 election of William McKinley as President, The River Press lamented, “Choteau County Laurel’s Lost. A few days after the presidential Election the River Press claimed for Choteau county the distinction of being the banner republican county in Montana, her plurality of 469 for McKinley electors being the largest among the official returns made public at that time. We must now regretfully surrender the palm to Custer county, which comes to the front with a McKinley plurality of 503; which secures to her the proud honor that we fondly hoped was ours. We doff our roughrider hat to the loyal republicans of Custer county.” This commentary was carried in the Anaconda Standard of December 15, 1900.
During the turn of the 19th century battle of Montana’s Copper Kings, William Andrews Clark emerged successful in controlling most Montana’s newspapers including the Great Falls Tribune. Clark became U. S. Senator by buying votes and newspapers. Some publishers were able to remain independent, especially those in rural areas. Dennis L. Swibold in Copper Chorus, his study of the Montana Press, wrote, “Men such as William K. Harber of Fort Benton’s River Press . . . would come to deplore the corruption that scrambled Montana politics and corroded their profession’s credibility. After the storm, they and other Progressives would argue passionately for reform—and Montanans would listen. But the stain on Montana journalism would linger for decades. The legend of the state’s copper-collared press was no mere fiction.” Ironically, in 1886 W. A. Clark had bought 8 shares in The River Press, which he later transferred to Jerry Collins and W. H. Todd. The River Press was one newspaper in Montana the infamous Clark did not control.
The little River Press spoke loudly during this period as Editor Harber took on the corporate giants and their mouthpiece newspapers. Writing in the September 13, 1903, Press, Harber asked, “Is it not the mission of these newspapers to serve their masters? When the interests of the corporations and the general public conflict, is it not reasonable to assume that corporation-owned newspapers will work for the success of their proprietors?”
In the words of Dennis Swibold, “Harber’s criticism of the [Clark’s Amalgamated Copper] company and newspapers carrying the company’s water rang loudly in rural areas beyond Anaconda’s direct influence.” Editor Harbor wrote on November 18, 1903, “Corporation ownership of Montana newspapers and corporation interference in Montana politics are not dictated by an unselfish desire to promote the welfare of the general community.”
Editor Harber led promotion of reforms such as a direct primary law in Montana, woman’s suffrage, higher mining taxes, legislation by initiative. Dennis Swibold writes, Harber “made an elegant spokesman for Progressive Republicans east of the Continental Divide.” President Teddy Roosevelt and his Republicans in Montana such as Congressman, then Senator Joseph Dixon enjoyed the strong support of The River Press.
In the Republican landslide election of 1906, Choteau County’s “favorite son” Charles N. Pray, just 37 years of age, was elected to serve as Montana’s Representative in Congress, defeating popular Democrat Thomas J. Walsh.
The River Press of September 19, 1906, headlined on its front page, “Pray For Congress. The Favorite Son of Chouteau County Is Highly Honored by Montana Republicans. Nomination Made By Acclamation and Followed By Enthusiastic Demonstration.
“The happiest people in Montana Saturday night were the friends of the Hon. Charles N. Pray, Chouteau county’s popular and efficient prosecuting attorney, who was the recipient of congressional nomination honors conferred by the republican state convention at Helena. It was a red-letter occasion for Mr. Pray and his multitude of friends in various parts of the state; it was a day of triumph for those who, to the best of their ability, have urged and worked for the nomination of the favorite son of Chouteau country for representative in congress. . .”
With the strong backing of The River Press, Pray swept to victory throughout Montana, carrying Chouteau County by 1310 votes to just 395 for Democrat Thomas J. Walsh. Within ten years of his arrival in Montana from Vermont, young Pray was serving as Montana’s lone Congressman and working to create Glacier National Park. The River Press supported Pray throughout his six years in Congress as he skillfully moved the park legislation through the House despite the opposition of powerful Speaker “Uncle Joe” Cannon. Pray succeeded in passing important new homestead legislation, increasing the patent to 320 acres and reducing prove-up time to three years. In this and many other measures directly impacting Choteau County and its homestead boom, Pray enjoyed the solid support of The River Press.
A decade later, Editor Harbor was still taking on the Great Falls Tribune and its master, Amalgamated Copper, writing in the River Press on March 26, 1913, “It has been announced from time to time that the Amalgamated is ‘out of politics,’ but its lobby and other legislative agencies have not yet disappeared from public view.”
The River Press had one other competitor over the years, the Chouteau County Independent, established by the Schmidt Brothers in 1910 at the beginning of the homestead boom in the area. The Independent operated by B. H. Kreis and William H. Jenkinson, lasted well into the agricultural depression until 1925 when it was purchased by The River Press and discontinued. Other Chouteau County “boom” newspapers popped up at Highwood, Carter, Loma, Square Butte, Montague, Floweree, Genou, though most of these lasted but a few years. In addition the Geraldine Review published for fifty years, 1913-1963, and the Big Sandy Mountaineer, begun in 1921 continues today.
Chief assistant over the years to Editor Harber was Nicholas T. Chemidlin, who first tried to emigrate to Montana Territory in 1864 with Captain James L. Fisk’s wagon train from Minnesota. The Fisk train was turned back by the Lakota in Dakota Territory with a bloody loss of twelve dead. Chemidlin came to Benton via Helena in 1883, and bought an 8th interest in The River Press. Harber and Chemidlin, often with transient printers, kept both the weekly and daily newspapers going through the quiet years leading into the homesteading boom of the 1910s.
On to the scene came young Joel R. Oversholser to homestead in the Egly community near the Goosebill in Chouteau County in 1913. Oversholser, born May 31, 1885, on a farm near Polen, Iowa, worked for several newspapers in Iowa, before he and his new bride Beulah Fuller joined the homestead stampede promoted by the Great Northern Railroad. Overholser proved up his 320 acre homestead and worked for The River Press as time permitted, until he got title to the land in 1916. He then bought the Moore Independent in the Judith Basin and operated it for three years.
In early 1920, Editor Harber offered Overholser the opportunity to replace the retiring Nicholas Chemidlin. In return, Overholser asked two conditions: that he be allowed to buy stock in The River Press and that the struggling daily be discontinued. Editor Harber agreed, and Overholser moved his family to Fort Benton to join the operation. His son, Joel F. then age nine, remembers being impressed by Mr. Chemidlin, the Sioux Indian fighter, at his retirement banquet at the Grand Union.
The great editor William K. Harber died in 1922, and the Tom Power stock came on the market upon the latter’s death the following year. With financial help from Mrs. Fannie Harber, Joel R. Overholser, by then editor of the paper, was able to take controlling interest. Mrs. Harber loaned the needed money to the new editor with no security beyond his signature, saying “my husband trusted you also.”
A high point for the memory of Editor Harber and for The River Press came in 1970, when the Montana Press Association elected Editor William K. Harber to the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame.
Nora E. Harber, a daughter, had inherited her father’s fine editorial writing and business abilities, and she continued to worked at The River Press for many years until a stoke, ultimately fatal, ended her long career on December 3, 1967.
Editor Joel R. Overholser kept The River Press operating during the agricultural depression of the 1920s that extended into the national depression in the 1930s. In 1930, Editor Overholser wrote: “With this issue of the River Press this newspaper completes fifty full years of service to Fort Benton and Chouteau County. Fifty years in any line of business for an institution is a long time, but in the western states where settlement was of a more recent date than throughout the eastern portion of the United States, this is indeed, a long period of time.
“Twenty-six hundred weekly publications have been issued from the River presses in that length of time to say nothing of the hundreds of daily issues which have been put out. From 1883 to 1920 the River Press issued, in addition to its weekly newspaper, a daily and possibly 11,100 days news was chronicled before the daily passed into history. For a good many years Fort Benton had the distinction of being one of the smallest cities in the northwest to be furnished with a daily newspaper.
“. . . There have been ups and downs in the newspaper business in Fort Benton the same as in all businesses but throughout the years the company has been able to meet the demands of the people of this section, and gradually add to its equipment until today, we believe that we are safe in saying that this newspaper has one of the best equipped newspapers plants in the state for a city the size of Fort Benton.
“It is interesting to go through the old files of this newspaper and see the progress that has been made in Fort Benton. A copy of every paper printed in this office, with the possible exception of a very few, is on file in bound volumes in this office. [Note: This is true today in 2011.] The publication of items of 41 years ago and twenty years ago was started about 1920 and has proved a very interesting feature of this newspaper for the past ten years and we believe that all, both old and young, are interested in these items as shown by the numerous letters received at this office and the many words of comments expressed.
“It has been the aim of the present publishers of the River Press to give to our many readers a newspaper furnishing as nearly all the news of the county as is possible of interest to Chouteau county readers. That we have partly succeeded in our efforts is manifested by the growing list of readers in all parts of the county.”
One of Editor Joel R. Overholser’s four sons, Joel Francis, showed early interest and ability in the newspaper business. Joel F., who was two years old when his father came to Montana to homestead in 1913, graduated from Chouteau County High School in 1928. He received a B. A. degree in journalism from the University of Montana in 1932, after working on the student newspaper, the Kaimin, and returned to Fort Benton to work on the River Press. Joel F. served in the U. S. Army during World War II, from 1942 to 1946, and then returned once again to Fort Benton to work with his father on The River Press.
Joel R. Overholser, his son recalled, “spent more than seventy years at the printing trade and a half-century of those in The River Press. . . For forty-seven years, he was the guiding spirit . . .” At one period, Joel R. was an officer of the Montana State Press Association, but he resigned in panic when scheduled to be elected president at the next convention.
The decades of the 1940s and 50s were golden years for the Press, and Joel F. emerged as Montana’s premier newspaper historian, injecting a steady diet of historical articles in the small weekly. During these years, The River Press was far more important than most Montana newspapers, and it is likely that the River Press carried more significant history in its weekly pages than most dailies.
Over the years, The River Press has published historically important special editions. The first, in July 1926, honored the annual meeting of the Sons and Daughters of the Society of Montana Pioneers in Fort Benton. A second special edition was issued in honor of the 10-12 June, 1937, St. Louis to Fort Benton Boat Race. The Fort Benton Centennial Special Edition, published August 21, 1946, received an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History in recognition of its outstanding contribution to American local history. Joel F. Overholser wrote this edition shortly after his return from service in the U. S. Army during World War II. In 1960 Overholser assembled a Centennial Steamboat Edition of the River Press to commemorate the arrival of the first steamboats at the Fort Benton levee in 1860. For the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976, The River Press issued a Bicentennial Edition. More recent special editions have honored the 125th Anniversary of the Grand Union Hotel and the 150th Anniversary of The Mullan Military Wagon Road.
With a seamless transition from father to sons, Joel F. Overholser took over editorial operation of The River Press while Leland, Joel’s brother, took over bookkeeping. During these years, Joel F. published the weekly paper and spent countless hours reading and researching Montana history, building meticulous and extensive index entries and vertical files.
In 1973, The River Press converted from letterpress to offset printing, and began to have the paper printed in Shelby.
Joel F. Overholser served as a member of the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1972, and wrote a pageant, “Wagons to Whoop-Up,” that was presented during the Whoop-Up Trail celebration. He served as a member of the Montana Lewis and Clark Memorial Committee in 1976, and in 1984 he received the Montana Historical Society Board of Trustees Award as Fort Benton’s resident historian. A final tribute came in February 1995, when he was honored at a reception in Fort Benton attended by many residents and Governor Marc Racicot. The day was proclaimed Joel F. Overholser Day in Fort Benton by Mayor Roger Axtman.
In 1980 Joel F. Overholser retired to write a book based on his lifelong research on the history of Fort Benton and the Upper Missouri. Joan Stewart, daughter of Leland Overholser, took over editorship of the newspaper. Joel’s book, Fort Benton, World’s Innermost Port, was published in 1987, packed with great detail and insight into Montana’s most historically significant region.
The day after the sale of The River Press in 1993, Joel sadly came to visit John G. Lepley at the new Museum of the Northern Great Plains/Montana State Agricultural Museum. Joel said, “What am I going to do, I don’t have an office any longer.” Lepley’s answer came back, “I’ve got an office for you, here at the Ag Center.” They quickly made arrangements for Joel’s historical archives to be merged with the Museum archives. Joel’s office in the Ag Center from 1993 until his death in 1999 was a welcoming research center for a constant stream of historians and researchers. Today, this operation continues under the non-profit River & Plains Society as the Joel F. Overholser Historical Research Center, named in his honor.
In 1992, as The River Press owners Leland Overholser, Joan Stewart, and William A. Johnstone worked toward selling the paper, they had a four-person staff from the Liberty County Times in Chester come in to manage The River Press. Sharon Dunham, who had been a reporter-photographer for the Liberty County Times, became The River Press editor in January 1993. This relationship lasted for three months, and then Leland Overholser and Joan Stewart again took over the publication of The River Press. In May, 1993, Stan and Esther Tichenor, who had previously owned The Townsend Star, purchased The River Press. At this time, Stan’s brother, Daryl Tichenor, owned The Madisonian, Montana’s oldest publishing weekly newspaper, so the two brothers owned the two oldest weekly newspapers in Montana.
The week after purchasing The River Press, Stan and Esther Tichenor hired Tim Burmeister as a writer and photographer. The Tichenors moved the printing of The River Press from Shelby to Great Falls. In February 1994, they moved The River Press office from 1212 Front Street to its current location at 1114 Front Street, the former location of the Farm Service Agency offices.
Tim Burmeister was named editor of The River Press in 1994. While Burmeister was gone from February 1998 to February 1999, Curt Wall was editor of The River Press for four months, and Larry Thornton was editor for ten months. Tim Burmeister returned as editor in May 1999. Mike Tichenor purchased The River Press from his parents, Stan and Esther, in July 1999. Tim Burmeister purchased The River Press from Mike Tichenor in October 2007.
Recent years have seen a shift in form and substance with a heavy emphasis on local photography, Chouteau County community reporting, and historical sketches by historians from the Overholser Historical Research Center.
The River Press continues operations today as it celebrated its 130th Anniversary on October 27, 2010. Locally owned and community focused, the Press carries on its proud journalistic tradition.
[Sources: River Press Minute Book and Stock Book; Joel F. Overholser Vertical File Notes; The Press Gang A century of Montana newspapers, 1885-1895. By Sam Gilluly; Copper Chorus Mining, Politics, and the Montana Press, 1889-1859. By Dennis L. Swibold; various Fort Benton River Press; John G. Lepley Oral History; Tim Burmeister.]
Photos:
1. River Press issue No. 1 [Tim may want to take a photo of this first issue]
2. The First River Press building, a long wood and adobe building.
3. Second River Press Building [This is the Lithograph I set this morning. The second River Press location in first floor of the Odd Fellows Hall on the corner of Bond and Main streets
4. W. K. Harber, famed editor of The River Press 1891-1922, member of the Montana Newspaper Hall of Fame
5. Joel F. Overholser
6. The Third River Press Building.
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