The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Monday, November 29, 2021

RoadTrippin' Thru History-- Part 11: Head West Young Man

The 49th Massachusetts mustered out of service on September 1, 1863, after 11 months of service (they enlisted for nine months).  I am unable to find out if Francis Warren reenlisted or not.  Or, if his wound was severe enough that it would keep him from further service.  

I have seen sources say that he later served as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.

Another one says he returned to Massachusetts after the war.

He married Helen Smith and in 1868, went West to the new territory that was developing around a small town named Cheyenne.

He recalled later that the first thing he saw on arrival in Cheyenne in May 1868.  Two brass bands  were serenading arrivals at the train station.  He wondered if there was some big shot on the train, but was told the two bands were from the town's two biggest gambling houses and inviting arrivals to the tables.

There wasn't much to Cheyenne at the time, "a city of  shanties and tents, camps and covered wagons.  The population was migratory and the railroads built further west by then.  Many felt that the days of Cheyenne were really numbered.  It wouldn't be long before there would be nothing to show for it.

Frances Warren didn't subscribe to that prophesy and saw a bright future.  He was there to stay.  He was there to seek his fortune.

And become a Rich Man, He Did.  --Old Secesh


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