Chris Madsen was a lawman of the Old West who is best known as being one of The Three Guardsmen

Three Guardsmen

The Three Guardsmen is the name popularized in Old West literature describing three lawmen who became legendary in their pursuit of many outlaws of the late 19th century. Deputy U.S. Marshals Bill Tilghman , Chris Madsen , and Heck Thomas were The Three Guardsmen, working under U.S...

, the name given to Madsen and two other Deputy US Marshals who were responsible for the apprehension and/or killing of several outlaw

Outlaw

In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

s of that era. The Three Guardsmen consisted of Madsen, Bill Tilghman

Bill Tilghman

William Matthew "Bill" Tilghman was a lawman in the American Old West.-Early life :Bill Tilghman was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on July 4, 1854. He became a buffalo hunter at age 15 and claimed he killed over 1000 bison over his five years of activity...

, and Heck Thomas

Heck Thomas

Henry Andrew "Heck" Thomas was a lawman on theAmerican frontier, most notably in Oklahoma.-Biography:Thomas was born in 1850 in Athens, Georgia, the youngest of five children of Lovick Pierce Thomas, I and Martha Fulwood Bedell.At the beginning of the American Civil War, at age 12, he accompanied...

.

Background

Chris Madsen was born Chris Madsen Rørmose in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. Upon emigrating to the United States in 1876, he dropped the last name, Rørmose. He later claimed to have been a soldier in the Danish Army and the French Foreign Legion

French Foreign Legion

The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...

. Arriving in New York City, Madsen enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 21, 1876, and served fifteen years in the Fifth Cavalry. He was quartermaster sergeant of the Fifth Cavalry and fought in many major Indian

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 campaigns. Later, in 1883, he became President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 Chester A. Arthur

Chester A. Arthur

Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...

's guide to Yellowstone.

Law career

Discharged on January 10, 1891, Madsen became a deputy U.S. marshal under Marshal William Grimes

William C. Grimes

William C. Grimes was an American politician and businessman who had a major influence on Oklahoma politics. He most notably served as Acting Governor of Oklahoma Territory from November 30, 1901, to December 9, 1901. For many years, he served as chair of the Territorial Republican Committee...

 in Oklahoma Territory. He had joined the US Marshals as a Deputy Marshal with the priority of policing the vast Oklahoma Territory

Oklahoma Territory

The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...

. Over 300 outlaws were either apprehended or killed by Madsen, Thomas and Tilghman, thus leading to their nickname, The Three Guardsmen.The three lawmen were largely responsible for bringing down outlaw Bill Doolin

Bill Doolin

William "Bill" Doolin was an American bandit and founder of the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang that specialized in robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas during the 1890s.- Early life :...

 and his Doolin Dalton

Wild Bunch

The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang or the Oklahombres, was a gang of outlaws based in the Indian Territory that terrorized Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Territory during the 1890s—robbing banks and stores, holding up trains, and killing lawmen. They were...

 gang. Madsen was personally responsible for the killings of Doolin gang members Dan "Dynamite Dick" Clifton

Dan Clifton

Dan Clifton , known as Dynamite Dan, was a western outlaw and member of the Doolin Gang.Clifton was a minor criminal wanted in the Oklahoma Indian Territory for robbery, safecracking, and cattle rustling before joining the Doolin Gang in 1892...

, George "Red Buck" Waightman, and Richard "Little Dick" West.
In 1898, he joined Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

's Rough Riders

Rough Riders

The Rough Riders is the name bestowed on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish-American War and the only one of the three to see action. The United States Army was weakened and left with little manpower after the American Civil War...

, serving as Quartermaster Sergeant

Quartermaster Sergeant

Quartermaster Sergeant is a class of rank or appointment in some armed forces, especially those of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.-Ireland:Quartermaster Sergeant appointments in the Irish Defence Forces include:...

. After the Spanish-American War

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

, Madsen returned to Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

 and served as deputy U.S. marshal. In 1911 he was appointed U.S. Marshal for the entire state of Oklahoma. While in his sixties he was appointed Chief of Police

Chief of police

A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...

 for Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...

. From 1918 to 1922 he served as a special investigator for the governor of Oklahoma

Governor of Oklahoma

The governor of the state of Oklahoma is the head of state for the state of Oklahoma, United States. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma...

. He eventually settled in Guthrie, Oklahoma

Guthrie, Oklahoma

Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...

, and at the outset of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he tried to enlist in the U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 but was rejected due to his age.

Additional Sources

• Croy, Homer Trigger Marshal: The Story of Chris Madsen (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1958)
• Samuelson, Nancy B.Shoot From The Lip: The Lives, Legends, and Lies of the Three Guardsmen of Oklahoma and U.S. Marshal Nix (Eastford, Conn.: Shooting Star Press, 1998)
• Reasoner, James Draw: The Greatest Gunfighters of the American West (Penguin Putnam Inc; Berkley Trade. 2003)