Charles C. Carpenter
Encyclopedia
Charles C. Carpenter was a Boomer
who organized and instigated the first unauthorized attempt to homestead
the Unassigned Lands
in Oklahoma Territory
in May 1879. Carpenter's Boomers established a nominal settlement called City of Oklahoma on Deep Fork River
(Deep Fork of the North Canadian River
). The creek where they camped, in present Payne County, Oklahoma
, was given the name "Boomer Creek." Anticipating the Boomers' move, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
had issued a proclamation on April 26, 1879 forbidding homestead entry of the Oklahoma lands. U.S. Army troops from Fort Reno
were sent to eject the Boomers and destroy their improvements, ending the first major Boomer episode.
According to official U.S. Civil War documents, Carpenter was born in Ohio
, was a Jayhawker
before the American Civil War
, and had served as a scout
and spy
for Major General John C. Frémont
during his command of the Army's Department of the West
from May to November 1861. Later in the war, he commanded the Jessie Scouts
, an irregular organization named for Frémont's wife, Jessie Benton Frémont
, daughter of Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton
. Of his service in the scouts, Union Army Capt. William McMichael in a letter to General
Ulysses S. Grant
dated January 10, 1862 wrote that Carpenter was "admirably adapted for the dangerous services in which he engages. During the times that General Fremont was in command, he several times performed such services as clearly indicated that he adds great shrewdness to the reckless courage which he undoubtedly possesses." He also represented himself at times to be an officer of the U.S. Detective Police force. All of his service claims cannot be proved, but certainly suggest he was a man of significant ability, if somewhat flamboyant in style. In 1876, Carpenter had led an effort to settle Americans in the Black Hills
of South Dakota
, where settlement on Native American
lands had also been forbidden by the federal government, an experience which may have influenced him to take up the Boomer cause.
During his leadership of the Boomer
effort, Carpenter was described as a striking character who affected long Custer-like hair and fringed buckskin
., and was partisanly characterized as either a "scalawag
of the worst type, a burly, swaggering, reckless character" or as Moses
leading his people to the promised land
, depending on whether the describer agreed with his politics, or not. In the media of the day, he was sometimes styled "Colonel
" Carpenter and "General
" Carpenter, but no source of a military rank other than his rank of Captain during his Civil War service has been documented.
In late April 1879, Carpenter and his wife traveled from Kansas City, Kansas
to Independence, Kansas
to set up a headquarters for organizing the potential settlers and soliciting donations from town merchants to support the effort. Carpenter issued a statement announcing that "All parties and colonists wishing to join my expedition
to the Indian Territory
will concentrate at Independence, Kansas, between May 5th and 7th," from which location he instructed the Boomers to move into Oklahoma and rendezvous at his general headquarters at Carpenter's City, eighteen miles west of the Sac and Fox Nation
Agency, "where the general headquarters of the Governor of the Territory will be established," implying that he was to be the future governor
.
When the Boomers set out for the Unassigned Lands
, Carpenter remained in Montgomery County, Kansas
, where Inspector John McNeil
of the U.S. Indian Service was sent to order him to cease his activities. When confronted by McNeil, Carpenter ceased his support of the Boomers and left the border area, effectively ceding leadership of the Boomers
to David L. Payne
.
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers in the midwest of the United States who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement on March 2, 1889 with the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889...
who organized and instigated the first unauthorized attempt to homestead
Homestead (buildings)
A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...
the Unassigned Lands
Unassigned Lands
Unassigned Lands, or Oklahoma, were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled...
in 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...
in May 1879. Carpenter's Boomers established a nominal settlement called City of Oklahoma on Deep Fork River
Deep Fork River
Deep Fork River is an Oklahoma tributary of the North Canadian River. The headwaters flow from north Oklahoma City and the river empties into the North Canadian at Lake Eufaula about away....
(Deep Fork of the North Canadian River
North Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a tributary of the Canadian River, approximately long, that flows through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma in the United States....
). The creek where they camped, in present Payne County, Oklahoma
Payne County, Oklahoma
Payne County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2010 was 77,350. Its county seat is Stillwater, and the county is named for Capt. David L. Payne...
, was given the name "Boomer Creek." Anticipating the Boomers' move, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
had issued a proclamation on April 26, 1879 forbidding homestead entry of the Oklahoma lands. U.S. Army troops from Fort Reno
Fort Reno (Oklahoma)
Fort Reno was established as a permanent post in July 1875, near the Darlington Indian Agency on the old Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation in Indian Territory, in present-day central Oklahoma. Named for General Jesse L. Reno, who died at the Battle of South Mountain, it supported the U.S...
were sent to eject the Boomers and destroy their improvements, ending the first major Boomer episode.
According to official U.S. Civil War documents, Carpenter was born in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, was a Jayhawker
Jayhawker
Jayhawkers is a term that came to prominence just before the American Civil War in Bleeding Kansas, where it was adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause. These bands, known as "Jayhawkers", were guerrilla fighters who often clashed with pro-slavery groups from Missouri known...
before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, and had served as a scout
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
and spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
for Major General John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
during his command of the Army's Department of the West
Department of the West
The Department of the West, later known as the Western Department, was a major command of the United States Army during the 19th century. It oversaw the military affairs in the country west of the Mississippi River to the borders of California and Oregon.-Organization:The Department was first...
from May to November 1861. Later in the war, he commanded the Jessie Scouts
Jessie Scouts
Jessie Scouts were irregular soldiers during the American Civil War on the side of the Union who operated in territory of the Confederate States of America in the southern United States in insurgency missions. The unit was created by John C. Frémont and named in honour of his wife, rather than of a...
, an irregular organization named for Frémont's wife, Jessie Benton Frémont
Jessie Benton Frémont
Jessie Ann Benton Frémont was an American writer and political activist.Notably remembered for being the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of military officer, explorer and politician, John C. Frémont, she wrote many stories that were printed in popular magazines of the...
, daughter of Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (senator)
Thomas Hart Benton , nicknamed "Old Bullion", was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States. He served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms...
. Of his service in the scouts, Union Army Capt. William McMichael in a letter to General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
dated January 10, 1862 wrote that Carpenter was "admirably adapted for the dangerous services in which he engages. During the times that General Fremont was in command, he several times performed such services as clearly indicated that he adds great shrewdness to the reckless courage which he undoubtedly possesses." He also represented himself at times to be an officer of the U.S. Detective Police force. All of his service claims cannot be proved, but certainly suggest he was a man of significant ability, if somewhat flamboyant in style. In 1876, Carpenter had led an effort to settle Americans in the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, where settlement on Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
lands had also been forbidden by the federal government, an experience which may have influenced him to take up the Boomer cause.
During his leadership of the Boomer
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers in the midwest of the United States who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement on March 2, 1889 with the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889...
effort, Carpenter was described as a striking character who affected long Custer-like hair and fringed buckskin
Buckskin (leather)
Buckskin is the soft, pliable, porous preserved hide of an animal, usually deer, moose or elk or even cowhide tanned to order, but potentially any animal's hide,. Modern leather labeled "buckskin" may be made of sheepskin tanned with modern chromate tanning chemicals and dyed to resemble real...
., and was partisanly characterized as either a "scalawag
Scalawag
In United States history, scalawag was a derogatory nickname for southern whites who supported Reconstruction following the Civil War.-History:...
of the worst type, a burly, swaggering, reckless character" or as Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
leading his people to the promised land
Promised land
The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised or given by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is firstly made to Abraham and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob , Abraham's grandson...
, depending on whether the describer agreed with his politics, or not. In the media of the day, he was sometimes styled "Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
" Carpenter and "General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
" Carpenter, but no source of a military rank other than his rank of Captain during his Civil War service has been documented.
In late April 1879, Carpenter and his wife traveled from Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
to Independence, Kansas
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,483.-Geography:...
to set up a headquarters for organizing the potential settlers and soliciting donations from town merchants to support the effort. Carpenter issued a statement announcing that "All parties and colonists wishing to join my expedition
Expedition
An expedition typically refers to a long journey or voyage undertaken for a specific purpose, often exploratory, scientific, geographic, military or political in nature...
to the 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...
will concentrate at Independence, Kansas, between May 5th and 7th," from which location he instructed the Boomers to move into Oklahoma and rendezvous at his general headquarters at Carpenter's City, eighteen miles west of the Sac and Fox Nation
Sac and Fox Nation
The Sac and Fox Nation is the largest of three federally recognized tribes of Sac and Meskwaki Native Americans. They are located in Oklahoma and are predominantly Sac....
Agency, "where the general headquarters of the Governor of the Territory will be established," implying that he was to be the future governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
.
When the Boomers set out for the Unassigned Lands
Unassigned Lands
Unassigned Lands, or Oklahoma, were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled...
, Carpenter remained in Montgomery County, Kansas
Montgomery County, Kansas
Montgomery County is a county located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 35,471. Its county seat is Independence, and its most populous city is Coffeyville. The Coffeyville Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Montgomery...
, where Inspector John McNeil
John McNeil
John McNeil was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for his role in the Palmyra Massacre and other acts of alleged brutality.-Early life and career:...
of the U.S. Indian Service was sent to order him to cease his activities. When confronted by McNeil, Carpenter ceased his support of the Boomers and left the border area, effectively ceding leadership of the Boomers
Sooners
Sooners is the name given to settlers in the midwest of the United States who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement on March 2, 1889 with the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889...
to David L. Payne
David L. Payne
David Lewis Payne was an American soldier and pioneer. Payne is considered by some to be the "Father of Oklahoma" for his work in opening the state to settlement....
.