Forget Armie Hammer.
Born a slave in Texas in 1838, Bass Reeves escaped during the Civil War and took refuge in the “Indian Territory” of present-day Oklahoma. After the Civil War, he moved to Arkansas and assisted local Deputy Marshals in their pursuit of outlaws. He was officially commissioned a Deputy U.S. Marshal by “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker in 1875. During his 32 year career, he is said to have arrested more than 3,000 fugitives. He was 71 when he passed away in 1910.
That soup strainer…
Reeves’ 1873 Colt Single Action Army is on display at the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, MO. It is on loan from the forthcoming U.S. Marshals Museum in Arkansas. The revolver is owned by Judge Paul L. Brady, great-nephew of Bass Reeves and the first African-American to assume the role of an Administrative Law Judge, in 1972.
Judge Brady is also the author of The Black Badge: Deputy United States Marshal Bass Reeves from Slave to Heroic Lawman, which is a great read.
