Scrapbook of 1903 Court Martial of Colorado National Guard Brigadier General John Chase

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Collection NumberMSS 0599LocationColoradoDateOctober - November 1903DescriptionThis impressive and well-preserved scrapbook, compiled by an unidentified individual, assembles newspaper articles and political cartoons published during the highly publicized court martial of Colorado National Guard Brigadier General John Chase that took place in October and November 1903. The charges revolved around “irregularities” in National Guard operations under his command while deployed to the Cripple Creek Mining District to assist mine operators throughout the ongoing violent miners’ strike and tumultuous labor wars of that time. By all accounts, this was a political battle between Colorado Governor James H. Peabody, Colorado National Guard Adjutant General Sherman M. Bell and Brigadier General Chase that took place in the Senate Chamber of the Colorado Capitol and was considered a farce. In the end, the governor acquitted Chase of all charges after a month of being the center of attention in the news. (Note: for an excellent overview of the of the events reported in this scrapbook’s newspaper clippings, Emma Florence Langdon (1875–1937, Cripple Creek Mining District linotype operator, historian, and labor leader) reported on these proceedings in her book "The Cripple Creek Strike: A History of Industrial Wars in Colorado, 1903-4-5", pp. 153-160 (Denver: Great Western Publishing Co., 1904-6) which is included in this collection in PDF form below.)SubjectCripple Creek Strike, Cripple Creek, Colo., 1903-1904Colorado National GuardCourt Martials

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Scrapbook of 1903 Court Martial of Colorado National Guard Brigadier General John Chase

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Scrapbook of 1903 Court Martial of Colorado National Guard Brigadier General John Chase