William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody
Buffalo Bill Cody is famous for his Wild West Show but did you know that he was also in the Civil War and a Medal of Honor winner? Ms. Rebelle travelled to Golden, Colorado to find his grave and tour the Buffalo Bill Memorial Museum there. Buffalo Bill died in Denver on January 10, 1917 of kidney failure at his sister May’s home. She asked him while he was on his death bed where he wanted to be buried. He told her he thought Lookout Mountain in Golden would be a good place. It seems that the town of Cody, Wyoming had different ideas as to where they wanted their town’s namesake to be buried. Buffalo Bill’s family won out but the ensuing circumstances are similar to what was done to Abraham Lincoln’s grave in Springfield, Illinois.
Three people from the town of Cody tried to steal Buffalo Bill’s body and take it back to Cody for burial. Two were friends of Buffalo Bill and the third was a local undertaker. They concocted a scheme using the body of an unclaimed ranch hand made up to look like Buffalo Bill. The three of them took the body to Denver and asked permission to view Buffalo Bill’s body. Later that night the body was switched. How that is possible surely comes to mind but that’s the story. The three took Buffalo Bill back to Cody. The legend is that he is buried on Cedar Mountain in an undisclosed location. Meanwhile, the town of Golden fearing that Cody, WY was going to steal the body, poured 20 tons on concrete over the grave of Buffalo Bill similar to what Springfield, Illinois did to Lincoln’s body after his corpse was stolen.
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Buffalo Bill’s wife, Louisa, was down and out at the time of his death. Although Cody made much money from his Wild West show, he was bankrupt at the time of his death from bad investments and his overly generous nature. It is rumored that the Denver Post offered her $10,000.00 to have the body buried in Golden. Harry Tammen who owned the Post was one of Buffalo Bill’s creditors. Louisa Cody opened the glass-topped coffin to look at Buffalo Bill once more before his burial. If it was not his body, she never said a word. She is buried on top of his coffin in Golden. Cody’s funeral procession was lead by his friend and Governor of Colorado, John B. Kendrick. Cody was baptized the day before his death in the Catholic religion. A full Masonic funeral was held for him as he was a Mason holding his 2nd and 3rd degrees. He also was a Knight Templar with a 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.
William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa near Le Claire on February 26, 1846. Cody’s father was from Canada and the family lived in Canada for a time. After his father’s death in 1857, his mother moved to Kansas. At age 11 Cody took a job as a “boy extra” riding up and down wagon trains delivering messages. At age 14 the Pony Express was looking for “skinny, expert riders willing to risk death daily.” Cody joined the Pony Express. On February 19, 1864 at Fort Leavenworth, he enlisted in the Union Army and served with the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, Co. H, working as a teamster. His unit saw action in Missouri and Tennessee. He was discharged in September 29, 1865.
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Cody acquired his nickname Buffalo Bill in 1867 by killing 4,280 buffalo in seventeen months to feed the construction crews of the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Cody and William Comstock competed in a shooting match to see who should have the name of Buffalo Bill. Cody shot 68 buffalo and Comstock shot 48 so Cody received the name Buffalo Bill.
In 1868 General Phillip Sheridan made Cody Chief Scout of the 5th Cavalry. He served in the army from 1868-1872. He was awarded his Medal of Honor on April 26, 1872 for gallantry in action at Platte River, Nebraska at the battle of Summit Springs. Cody was serving as a civilian scout at the time with the Pawnee Scouts. His Medal of Honor was revoked twenty-four days after his death since he was a civilian scout at the time. The medal was restored to him in 1989. His Medal of Honor is displayed in the Golden Museum. In 1883 he founded Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. The show ended with a reenactment of Custer’s Last Stand. While still performing in his show, he was called back to the Army in 1890 during the Ghost Dance Indian uprisings. After the Wounded Knee massacre, he was requested to help restore order.Cody and his wife had four children. Only one, his daughter Irma, lived to adulthood. Buffalo Bill owned a hotel in Cody named The Irma which he built in 1902. It still stands and is definitely a trip into the old West. The bar is mahogany and covers one whole side of the restaurant on the main floor. The hotel is still open for business. You can actually rent the Buffalo Bill suite if you are so inclined. Calamity Jane and Frank Butler were some of the guests that stayed at The Irma.
Cody also is the home of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center which is a definite must see. There are five museums included at the Center – the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, the Draper Museum of Natural History, the Plains Indian Museum, and the Whitney Gallery of Western Art. Memorabilia from his Wild West show dominates the Buffalo Bill Museum including many of his showman outfits, his tent, a travelling bathtub, guns, and memorabilia. One of the relics in the Plains Indian Museum is the headdress of White Man Runs Him, one of the Indian Scouts at Little Big Horn. He is buried at the National Cemetery at Little Big Horn.
Cody also is home of the Trail Town, a collection of old buildings salvaged from around Wyoming, including Butch Cassidy and Sundance’s cabin, the cabin of Curley, Custer’s scout at Little Big Horn, frontier stores, bars, etc. Walking the streets is like walking into a Western movie. The site also includes the grave of John “Jeremiah” Johnston.
John “Jeremiah” Liver Eating Johnston
Jeremiah “Liver Eating” Johnston served in the Civil war from 1862 to September, 1865 in the 2nd Colorado Cavalry as a sharpshooter. He was wounded at the battle of Newtonia, Missouri. Johnston got his name of “Liver Eating” when he would take a bite out of the liver of a dead enemy. General Nelson A. Miles appointed him chief scout in 1877 where he engaged in more raids than any other scout. In the year 1899, in failing health and with no money, he moved into the Santa Monica National Soldier’s Home where he died on January 21, 1990. He was buried in the Sawtell National Cemetery in Los Angeles but later reinterred in Trail Town, Cody, Wyoming on June 8, 1974. Robert Redford starred in a movie in 1968 loosely based on the life of Johnston entitled Jeremiah Johnston. Redford served as one of the pallbearers when Johnston was reinterred in Trail Town.
NOTE: Ms. Rebelle’s hobby is travelling the country finding and honoring the graves of our 1,008 Civil War generals. So far she has located and photographed 385….169 Confederate and 216 Union. You may contact her at jlgrtree@erols.com.
Ms. Rebelle is a member of the The Bull Run Civil War Round Table which meets every second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Centreville Regional Library. The public is invited to attend at no cost and visit the website www.bullruncwrt.org for additional activities (tours, etc.)
