The Bellevue War: Mandate of Justice or Murder by Mob - Softcover

Susan K. Lucke

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1888223383 ISBN 13: 9781888223385

Publisher: McMillen Pub, 2002

Synopsis

This history shows Iowa and adjacent areas as the early American Wild West, circa 1833-1850. Based on historical writings, documents, and records, it offers the definitive account of a gunfight between approximately 100 vigilantes and outlaws that occurred in Bellevue, Iowa Territory, on April 1, 1840, along the Mississippi River--the fate of the prisoners decided by a vote of colored beans. The book also explores settlement patterns and daily life on the trans-Mississippi frontier; organized crime as it moved with settlement across America; the coexistence of vigilantism and statute law in early America; more than 150 years of controversy surrounding the Bellevue War; and the lives of major people involved, including men who influenced the territory, state, and nation.

About this title

From the Publisher

Featured on the Iowa Public Television series, "Living in Iowa," in May and November 2006.

In public, private, and academic libraries worldwide, including the: New York Public Library, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, University of Chicago Library, State Historical Society of Iowa libraries, Wisconsin State Historical Society Library, University of Alabama Law School Library, University of Iowa School of Law Library, Iowa State University Library, University of Northern Iowa Library, Utah State University Library, San Jose State University Library, University of Colorado at Boulder Library, and Gottingen State and University Library (Germany).

From the Inside Flap

The Wild West to most people is the far West of 1870 to 1890, from soon after the Civil War until the closing of the American frontier. Yet Iowa in an earlier period, 1833-1850, also was the American West.

And Iowa, too, abounds with tales of frontier settlement, events, and intrigue equal to anything that the Far West has to offer. One of the most intriguing--and enigmatic--of these stories comes from Bellevue, a picturesque, northeast Iowa community, founded in 1836 between majestic bluffs along the Mississippi River.

The story begins in the spring of 1837 and climaxes on April 1, 1840, in a mass gunfight that involved approximately 100 men. The gunfight--which immediately ignited impassioned controversy and eventually national attention--became known as the "Bellevue War." And the story has been told and debated since it occurred. But, what is the real story of the Bellevue War?

Was the Bellevue War retaliation by settlers against an alleged band of outlaws working for the charismatic William W. Brown, local hotel owner and entrepreneur?

Was it revenge--led by a young, enterprising sheriff, William A. Warren, and an ambitious, alcoholic surveyor and politician, Thomas Cox--against the suave Brown's apparent success during difficult times?

Was it something else?

Now, for the first time, the complete story of the Bellevue War is told--in the words of participants, contemporaries, and historians--analysis is made, and conclusions are drawn. Included is information not seen since the 1800s and never seen before as a complete body of evidence.

In the process, The Bellevue War: Mandate of Justice or Murder by Mob tells of:

- Iowa Territory and surrounding areas as important to early American settlement and important parts of the American Wild West.

- Life on this early frontier--social, economic, physical--enlivened by settlers' own words, and the complex ways that early settlers' lives became interwoven in efforts to survive on the edge of civilization.

- A three-year invasion of early Iowa and surrounding areas by an alleged criminal gang whose activities--including thievery, rustling, counterfeiting, espionage, robbery, murder, and assault, including rape--resulted in the gun battle that "cost more in human lives than any other battle on Iowa soil except the Spirit Lake massacre."

- A vote of colored and white beans taken to decide the fate of prisoners--and its surprising result.

- Engrossing personalities, especially William Warren--a handsome 30-year-old Kentucky-born sheriff--and William W. Brown--a dashing hosteler, merchant, entrepreneur, and aspiring community leader who came to Bellevue from Michigan with his wife, young daughter, and several questionable associates.

- Surprising relationships between individuals on both sides of the Bellevue War--in which Brown was a criminal mastermind according to some, but a victim according to others.

- The mix of people who entered early Iowa, including individuals central to the early settlement and government of Iowa and some later influential in national government.

- Tensions among settlers from varied ethnic backgrounds and geographical regions.

- Organized crime as it moved with the American frontier.

- Law and vigilantism as two opposing, yet interactive, responses to crime in frontier Iowa and frontier America.

- The controversy that followed the Bellevue War, immediately and well into the 20th century--with abundant newspaper articles and excerpts that also offer unique insights into journalism, politics, and ethics of the times.

- Opinions about the Bellevue War by individuals who influenced Iowa and U.S. history--including the first governor of Iowa, Robert Lucas, and Elihu B. Washburne, secretary of state for Ulysses S Grant.

- Evidence that still speaks from original writings, court dockets, business records, estate papers, and legal statutes.

- A link to the murder of Colonel George Davenport, founder of Davenport, Iowa.

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50 photographs, drawings, and original maps. Excerpts of original writings and records!

Edition details

• Publisher: McMillen Pub
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1888223383
• ISBN 13: 9781888223385
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 414