Frank Wolcott
Encyclopedia
Frank Wolcott was an officer in the Union Army, a law man and also an outlaw
. Working for the WSGA he became involved in the Johnson County War
. Leading a small band of Regulators they terrorized and killed small ranchers that were obstructing the WSGA's goal of greater consolidation and an end to free ranging. These ranchers were accused of cattle rustling. The book "History of Wyoming" bt T. A. Larson credits this plan directly to Wolcott, other sources disagree and trace the "lynching bee" to WSGA board members.
After the murder of Nate Champion
the Sheriff of Johnson County hunted down the regulators at a ranch near Crazy Woman Creek. The Governor of Wyoming requested the assistance of federal troops from President Harrison
. So with the aid of the 6th cavalry they were forced to surrender, and were brought in to Fort McKinney. But due to the influence of the WSGA both Wolcott and his Regulators were set free without charge.
Early life
Frank Wolcott was born in 1840 in Canandaigua, NY. He served in the Union Army in the Civil War, and was promoted to the rank of Major before being discharged in 1866 after the end of the war. He attempted to work for the U.S. Land Office in Kentucky but left for Wyoming only a few years later for a position as a U.S. Marshall.Johnson County War
There he purchased a ranch near Deer Creek and joined the Wyoming Stock Growers AssociationWyoming Stock Growers Association
The Wyoming Stock Growers Association is a historic American cattle organization created in 1873. The Association was started among Wyoming cattle ranchers to standardize and organize the cattle industry, but quickly grew into a political force that has been called "the de facto territorial...
. Working for the WSGA he became involved in the Johnson County War
Johnson County War
The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River, was a range war which took place in April 1892 in Johnson County, Natrona County and Converse County in the U.S. state of Wyoming...
. Leading a small band of Regulators they terrorized and killed small ranchers that were obstructing the WSGA's goal of greater consolidation and an end to free ranging. These ranchers were accused of cattle rustling. The book "History of Wyoming" bt T. A. Larson credits this plan directly to Wolcott, other sources disagree and trace the "lynching bee" to WSGA board members.
After the murder of Nate Champion
Nate Champion
Nathan "Nate" D. Champion was a key figure in the Johnson County War. Labeled falsely by the wealthy cattlemens association in Wyoming as a rustler, Champion was the first person murdered by a band of hit men hired by the cattlemen...
the Sheriff of Johnson County hunted down the regulators at a ranch near Crazy Woman Creek. The Governor of Wyoming requested the assistance of federal troops from President Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
. So with the aid of the 6th cavalry they were forced to surrender, and were brought in to Fort McKinney. But due to the influence of the WSGA both Wolcott and his Regulators were set free without charge.