To order images and/or obtain permission to use them commercially, please contact the KSHS Reference Desk at KSHS.reference@ks.gov or 785-272-8681, ext. 117.
For more information see the Copyright and Permission FAQ.
This sepia colored post card shows the portraits of Henry Newton Brown and Ben Wheeler. Brown, a former member of Billy the Kid's Gang, and Wheeler, a former outlaw and friend of Brown's, found themselves on the other side of the law with their appointments as marshals of Caldwell, Kansas. In this south central Kansas community Brown and Wheeler, with their quick draw on the gun, turned the once lawless cowtown into a safe and peaceful place to live. They were trusted as lawmen until the unthinkable happened on April 30, 1884, when Brown and Wheeler and two of their outlaw friends John Wesley and Billy Smith attempted to rob the Medicine Valley Bank. The robbery was unsuccessful, and the robbers were eventually apprehended and brought back to Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Their time in jail was brief when pandemonium erupted over their capture creating a diversion for escape. In a hail of bullets Henry Brown was shot dead while an injured Wheeler was captured and hung beside Wesley and Smith.
Creator: Siringo, Charlie
Date: Between 1882 and 1884
Item Number: 212810
Call Number: B Brown, Henry *1a
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 212810
Business and Industry - Occupations/Professions - Law enforcement officers
Collections - Photograph
Date - 1880s
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Photograph
People - Notable People - Brown, Henry, 1857-1884
Places - Cities and towns - Caldwell
Places - Cities and towns - Medicine Lodge
Places - Counties - Barber
Places - Counties - Sumner
Thematic Time Period - Cattle Drives, 1867 - 1885
Type of Material - Photographs
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/212810