TNT - INTO THE WEST Historic Character Bios

John C. Fremont

As an explorer, statesman, topographer and military leader, John C. Fremont was instrumental in settling America's western territories. Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1813, Fremont was named to the Corps of Topographical Engineers' first major western expedition into the country between the upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in 1838 under Joseph Nicolett. After marrying the daughter of a prominent senator, Fremont became the leader of expeditions surveying the Oregon Trail (1842), Oregon Territory (1844) and the Great Basin and Sierra Mountains to California (1845). He went on to play an instrumental role in freeing northern California from Mexican rule. For his actions, he was elected Governor of California and received a lieutenant colonel's commission. He was later elected to represent the newly formed state in the U.S. Senate. Fremont later struck it rich when gold was found on the land he purchased in California, but he lost his fortune through poor business practices. In 1856, Fremont was nominated as the anti-slavery candidate for U.S. president, but he lost the election to James Buchanan. In 1860, he was made a major general of the Regular Army and assigned command of the newly formed Western Department. But he was relieved of his command a year later after complaints that he was inefficient. After the war, he went on to serve as governor of Arizona (1878-81). Fremont published numerous volumes on his life and explorations. His descriptive narrative of these territories inspired the first major western migrations. His popular accounts of these expeditions gained him the name "Pathfinder." Fremont died in 1890.

Jedediah Smith

Born in 1799, Jedediah Smith grew up reading Nicholas Biddle's 1814 edition of Lewis and Clark's journals. His desire to explore and travel America's uncharted territory led him to travel more extensively throughout America's uncharted territory than any other man of his time. Although he chose a life of hardship and uncertainty, Smith resolved to live his life by the moral compass established by his parents. Unlike most hardened mountain men, Smith did not drink, curse or use tobacco. A modest man despite his many accomplishments, Smith was very religious and reportedly often prayed and meditated. Tales of his courage are many. Early in his career his was mauled by a grisly bear who torn off part of Smith's scalp and his ear. Ever the stoic, Smith calmly instructed a man in his party to sew the scalp and ear back on as best he could, and in two weeks, Smith was once again leading the expedition.

In 1831, after resolving to end his career as a mountain man, Smith set forth on one final journey before settling down in St. Louis, Missouri. It was on this trip that Smith met his demise at the hands of Comanche warriors who overtook him when he was looking for water on the Santa Fe Trail. He died before he began editing his journals for publication, but an entry sums up his success: "I started into the mountains, with the determination of becoming a first-rate hunter, of making myself thoroughly acquainted with the character and habits of the Indians, of tracing the sources of the Columbia River and following it to its mouth; and of making the whole profitable to me and I have perfectly succeeded."

William Tecumseh Sherman

Born in Ohio in 1820, Sherman was named for the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, who tried to unite the tribes of the Ohio River Valley against the new Americans during the early 1800s. Graduating sixth in his class from West Point, Sherman served in South Carolina and Georgia before resigning from the military in 1853 to pursue careers in banking and then law, but success eluded him. Sherman was acting as superintendent of a Louisiana military academy (now known as LSU) when the advent of civil war brought him back to active service in 1861. His erratic, often paranoid behavior in combat brought frequent criticism of his command; however, his supporters (including General Ulysses Grant) kept him in the forefront of the war. His historic burning of Atlanta and "march to the sea" ended in the capture of the Southern port in Savannah, which he declared a "Christmas gift" to President Lincoln and the Union. After the war, Sherman was made a full general, and became commander of the Missouri district, which encompassed the lands west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. With the objective of protecting the railroads, he established military posts throughout the western territories and set in motion a plan to move all Native Americans onto reservations. Sherman encouraged the slaughter of buffalo in an effort to further cripple the Native American tribes. His tactics were successful. With the help of General Philip Sheridan, by the late 1870s, the once free-roaming warrior tribes of the plains had been forced onto reservations. Retiring from the Army in 1884, Sherman refused political aspirations stating: "If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve." He died in 1891.

William "Bloody Bill" Anderson

William Anderson was born in Missouri in 1840. In 1862, his father was killed by a prominent Unionist for his pro-slavery views, and Anderson joined William Quantrill's Raiders. Quantrill and his small force of guerillas skirmished with Union soldiers and sympathizers along the Kansas-Missouri border and battled Jayhawkers, who used similar guerilla tactics in support of the Union. Anderson's hatred grew when Union soldiers imprisoned a number of women who were known consorts of the Rebels, including Anderson's two sisters. When the building collapsed, killing one of Anderson's sisters and maiming the other, he swore revenge. In 1863, Quantrill, Anderson and their gang raided Lawrence, Kansas, burning the city to the ground and murdering 183 civilians. From that point on, "Bloody Bill's" reputation and tales of his legendary cruelty grew. His hatred of the Union and its sympathizers led to countless murders of innocent women, men and children, as well as Union soldiers, who he executed with torturous malice. Eventually, Anderson parted ways with Quantrill and formed his own band of Rebel guerrillas, which included 16-year-old Jesse James. Anderson was said to have carried a silk scarf in which he tied a knot for every Yankee he killed. According to some reports, he became hysterical in battle, crying and frothing at the mouth like a mad dog. Anderson's reign of terror finally ended in October of 1864 when he was caught off guard and killed by Captain S.P. Cox and his Union troops. Reportedly, his body was taken back to Richmond where it was put on display for all to see.

Red Cloud

Born in 1822 near the forks of the Platte River in Nebraska, Red Cloud became one of the most important Lakota leaders of the 19th century. Red Cloud first gained prominence with the Lakota nation for his leadership in territorial wars against the Pawnees, Crows, Utes and Shoshones. His skills as a leader and warrior were then turned to the interloping U.S. Army, who had begun to construct forts along the Bozeman Trial, running through the heart of the Lakota territory. As the Gold Rush brought prospectors and settlers west, Red Cloud launched a series of attacks on the forts. In December, 1863, he successfully lead his warriors against Lieutenant Colonel William Fetterman's column of 80 men just outside Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming. The crushing defeat awed even the most seasoned military man. Red Cloud's strategies where so effective that the United States agreed to abandon its forts along the Bozeman Trail and guaranteed the Lakota possession of the Black Hills in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. But in 1874, General Armstrong Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills, ignoring the terms of the treaty. As the Lakota were greatly confined to reservation land, Red Cloud turned his attention to bettering the lot of his people by fighting against the corruption that withheld government food and supplies and controlled the Indian police force. In this capacity, he was successful in gaining the dismissal of Indian Agent Valentine McGillicuddy from the Pine Ridge Reservation as well as cultivating contacts with sympathetic Eastern reformers. Red Cloud refrained from endorsing the Ghost Dance movement, which cost many Native American leaders their lives, including Sitting Bull and Big Foot. Until his death in 1909, he continued to fight for the authority of chiefs and against the allotment of Indian reservations into individual tracts under the Dawes Act.

Roman Nose

Born around 1830, Roman Nose was a Cheyenne warrior whose boldness in battle won him the loyalty of his warriors and struck fear into the hearts of his enemies. Unlike many of the great Native American warriors whose prowess in battle was gained by fighting against enemy tribes, Roman Nose came into prominence during the Plains Indian wars of the 1860s. Although he was considered a warrior-leader, he was not a chief and had no political authority. His fearlessness in battle came in part from his belief in the sacred headdress that he wore, which was made of a buffalo horn and the red and black feathers of an eagle. This war bonnet was thought to have protective powers, and wearing this talisman, Roman Nose would ride up and down the line of Army troops within rifle range, encouraging his enemy to waste their ammunition before his warriors attacked. Refusing to take part in, let along acknowledge, the Fort Laramie Treaty, the fierce warrior became even more of a threat to the U.S. Army and their plans to contain the Native tribes. After the Sand Creek Massacre in which Colonel John Chivington led a brutal attack on Chief Black Kettle and his peaceful camp, Roman Nose led many retaliatory attacks. On September 17, 1868, Roman Nose led a party of Cheyenne and Sioux against Major George A. Forsyth's troops near the Colorado-Kansas border. Forsyth's men were heavily armed with superior repeating rifles. This time, Roman Nose's talisman failed him. He was shot in the back and died on the battlefield.

Sitting Bull

Among the most celebrated Native American leaders, as a chief and holy man, Sitting Bull united the Lakota tribes in their struggle to survive the onslaught of white settlers. Born in 1831, Sitting Bull first went to battle against the Crow at the age of 14. He later turned his military prowess against the advancing U.S. troops where he showed amazing courage. During a battle with soldiers protecting railroad workers, Sitting Bull led four other warriors out into the battlefield where they calmly shared a pipe while bullets flew around them. Later, as the struggle to keep their land escalated, Sitting Bull refused to compromise with the U.S. government over the sale of the Black Hills, in which gold had been found.

When the commissioner of Indian Affairs decreed that all Lakota not settled on reservations would be considered hostile, Sitting Bull and his people refused to yield. He gathered the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho to his camp on Rosebud Creek and performed the Sun Dance ritual. During the ceremony, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw soldiers falling like grasshoppers from the sky. Inspired by his vision, Crazy Horse and his band of 500 warriors forced the retreat of General Cook's troops. Sitting Bull then led his people to the valley of the Little Bighorn River, where they were joined by 3,000 more Native Americans, who had left their reservations. They were attacked by General George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Calvary, but Custer underestimated the strength of his enemy and Sitting Bull's vision came to pass as the troops were destroyed.

The Lakota victory fueled the flames of fear and hatred towards Native Americans and in 1877 Sitting Bull led his band across the border into Canada, beyond the reach of the U.S. Army. The great leader finally surrendered his rifle years later and returned to the U.S. He was sent to Fort Randall where he and his followers were held for nearly two years as prisoners of war. Finally, in 1883, Sitting Bull was returned to his tribe. In 1885, he was allowed to leave the reservation to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where he earned $50 a week. Upon returning to the reservation, Sitting Bull had another mystical vision, which foretold his death at the hands of his own people.

In the fall of 1890, Kicking Bear came to the great chief with news of a Ghost Dance ceremony that promised to rid the land of white people and restore the Native American way of life. Having spread in popularity across the Lakota reservations, the ceremony was cause for concern among the Indian agents who feared an uprising. Afraid that Sitting Bull would join the Ghost Dance movement, authorities sent 43 Lakota policemen to take him into custody. When his followers gathered to protect him, a gunfight broke out and Sitting Bull was shot and killed. Once again, his vision had come to pass.

Jack Wilson/Wovoka

Born in western Nevada about 1856, Wovoka was raised by white rancher David Wilson from the age of 14, following the death of his father. He took the name Jack Wilson and worked on Wilson's ranch well into adulthood. There he learned to speak English and was instructed in Christian beliefs. It was not until around the age of 30, that Wovoka began to create what would become known as the Ghost Dance religion. Blending the traditions and mysticism of his Paiute heritage with Christian dogma, Wovoka began to make prophecies predicting the dawning of a new age where whites would vanish and Native Americans would once again flourish. Wovoka's prophecies stressed the link between righteous behavior and imminent salvation, which could be ushered in with ritual dancing and upright moral conduct. He spoke of a "Supreme Being" and made references to Jesus. Although Wovoka called for passivity towards white people, the Ghost Dance became associated with violence when white reservation agents saw the ceremony as an invocation to uprising. The Ghost Dance spread throughout the tribes and in 1889, the Lakota sent a delegation to visit Wovoka. This group brought the ritual back to their reservations where believers made sacred Ghost Dance shirts, which were said to be bullet proof. After the Ghost Dance movement caused the massacre of Chief Big Foot and his followers at Wounded Knee Creek in 1890, Wovoka saw that his visions of a new world for Native Americans would not come to pass. He lived as Jack Wilson until his death in 1932.