Wham Paymaster Robbery
Encyclopedia
The Wham Paymaster Robbery of 1889 is the popular name for the theft of $28,000 dollars from the United States 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...

 in Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

. On May 11, a gang of bandits attacked a small troop of Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas....

s under the command of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 Joseph W. Wham. During the ensuing shootout
Shootout
A shootout is a gun battle between armed groups. A shootout often, but not necessarily, pits law enforcement against criminal elements; it could also involve two groups outside of law enforcement, such as rival gangs. A shootout in a military context A shootout is a gun battle between armed groups....

, the 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 Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...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 forced the soldiers to retreat and then robbed their wagon of a strong box containing specie
Specie
Specie may refer to:* Coins or other metal money in mass circulation* Bullion coins* Hard money * Commodity money* Specie Circular, 1836 executive order by US President Andrew Jackson regarding hard money* Specie Payment Resumption Act...

. Major Wham was wounded in the engagement along with seven of his men in what became one of the most daring heists of the Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...

 period.

Robbery

The robbery occurred on May 11, 1889, when a band of robbers ambushed an army payroll in the possession of Paymaster
Paymaster
A paymaster often is, but is not required to be, a lawyer . When dealing with commission payments on contracts dealing with large amounts of money , most banks in the United States are very wary of handling such large amounts of money...

 Major Wham and his escort. The robbery occurred on the road between Fort Grant and Fort Thomas
Fort Thomas
Fort Thomas may refer to a place in the United States:* Fort Thomas, Arizona, an unincorporated community* Fort Thomas, Kentucky, a city...

, about fifteen miles west of Pima
Pima, Arizona
Pima is a town in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 1,965. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. The escorting soldiers engaged the robbers in a lengthy gunbattle, which resulted in eight of the soldiers being wounded. The robbery suspects made off with $28,000.00 of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 coins.

Within days of the robbery, Deputy Marshal William Kidder Meade, with the assistance of the Graham County Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

, had eleven men in custody, most of whom were citizens of Pima, Arizona. Seven of the men were set to stand trial. They were; Gilbert Webb and his son Wilfred, brothers Lyman and Warren Follett, David Rogers, Thomas Lamb, and Mark Cunningham.

Gilbert Webb, who at the time was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Pima, was considered the leader of the robbery plot. In 1879 he had fled to Pima from Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, to escape prosecution for grand larceny
Larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...

. Both he and his son, Wilfred, had been suspected of numerous thefts in and around the area of Pima. Webb had recently received government contracts to supply 300,000 lbs of straw and 50,000 pounds of barley to the United States Army. However, he lacked the capital to complete the jobs. This was believed to be the driving force behind the commission of the crime.

Webb employed numerous local cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

s who became members of his gang, to include the six listed above. Another, thirteen year old Andy Carlson, later bragged that he had held the horses during the robbery. As early as May 8, 1886, the gang began constructing fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

s at the site where they intended to ambush the escort. The men made all possible attempts to stay out of sight while working, although later, during the trial, Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

 Charles Roper testified that he had seen Gilbert Webb at the location where the ambush took place a good while before the robbery, and that Webb had ducked out of sight when he realized he'd been seen.

Wham and his escort had completed their paying of the soldiers at Fort Grant, and were on their way to Fort Thomas, then Fort Apache
Fort Apache
-Places:* Fort Apache, Arizona* Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the White Mountain Apache tribe's reservation and former US Army cavalry post near Whiteriver, Arizona* Fuerte Apache, a housing project outside Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Military:...

. Major Wham's escort was made up of eleven Buffalo Soldiers, and the small troop was accompanied by gambler Frankie Campbell, who intended on being present at Fort Apache when the soldiers were paid. The ambush sight was only eighteen miles out of Fort Thomas. The soldiers noticed a rock falling from the slope above, and as they attempted to see what had caused the rock to fall, they observed Webb and Cunningham in hiding. Gilbert Webb yelled down to them to leave the wagon and go. The soldiers, somewhat confused, scrambled for cover.

The robbers began shooting immediately, hitting Private Hamilton Lewis in the side, knocking him to the ground. Frankie Campbell, approximately fifty yards ahead of the escort, reined her horse to return, but the horse reared and threw her. Several of the robbers called out to her by name, as they shot at her. She recognized Webb, having seen him and met him previously at Fort Thomas. She was able to crawl into a rocky area, where she observed the entire fight from start to finish.

The soldiers distinguished themselves in their defense of the payroll, with two being commended for their actions afterward. One was Sergeant Benjamin Brown, who after being shot, still continued to fight by using his revolver. Brown was shot five times over the course of the shootout, finally being disabled by a bullet wound to his forearm. Private James Young ran through heavy gunfire, then carried Brown more than 100 yards to safety. With Brown out of the fight, Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....

 Isaiah Mays
Isaiah Mays
Isaiah Mays was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions during the Wham Paymaster Robbery in Arizona Territory.-Biography:...

 took command, and continued to resist until almost all of his men had been taken down with severe wounds. Both Brown and Mays would later receive the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 for their conduct during the shootout. Wilfred Webb was slightly wounded.

By this time, almost thirty minutes had passed since the engagement began. The fight had by this time become one sided, as almost all of the soldiers were out of action due to wounds, and the robbery suspects were firing on them from three heavily fortified sides. Corporal Mays, despite protests by Major Wham, ordered a withdrawal to a location some 300 yards from the sight. Eight of Wham's eleven man escort were severely wounded, but all survived. Frankie Campbell, still hidden and unseen by the robbers, stated later that she watched as five men removed the strongbox containing the payroll. All of the robbery suspects were captured, and seven were tried for robbery in Federal Court
Federal court
Federal court may refer to a court of the national government in a country that has a federal system of government. Examples include:* United States federal courts** A particular federal court, such as the United States district courts....

. Despite the overwhelming evidence all of the suspects were found not guilty. Major Wham was held accountable by the army for the loss of the payroll, until a court found him innocent. No one else was tried for the crime. It was the subject of the book Ambush at Bloody Run, by author Larry D. Ball.

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