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that he would come back to the store in a few days with the money. On June 5, 1867, Baker returned, but instead of paying his debt stood in front of the store yelling for Mr. Rowden to come out and face him. Rowden armed himself with a shotgun and stepped out only to be shot in the chest and killed by Baker. Baker fled back into
Arkansas, and a few days later he was confronted by a U.S. Army sergeant and one private as he boarded a
225:, joining shortly after his second marriage. It is claimed he shot and killed at least three African Americans, killing a black woman in an immigrant train and later shooting a black boy six times with a pistol after taking the Oath of Allegiance and becoming an overseer of Freemen. By 1864 he had either been discharged or deserted, and he joined a group called the "Independent Rangers", loosely associated with the
202:, and beat the boy to near death. There were several witnesses to the incident, and Baker was soon charged with the crime. One of the witnesses, Wesley Bailey, was confronted by Baker at Bailey's home. Baker shot him in both legs with a shotgun, then left him lying in front of his house. Bailey died a few days later. Before he could be arrested for the murder, Baker fled to Arkansas, where he stayed with an uncle.
262:, but when the settlers refused to return Baker drew his pistol and shot and killed the group's leader. With assurances from Baker that he would not kill anyone else, the remaining settlers returned to Baker's side of the river, where he quickly led his "Rangers" in shooting and killing nine other men. The event became known locally as the "Massacre of Saline".
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Beth screamed, and as her husband looked her way, he was stabbed once with a knife Baker had in his possession. Warthom died on the spot. Baker fled back to Texas, and in July 1862, he married his second wife Martha Foster, who was unaware that he was wanted for murder. She was a daughter of
William and Elizabeth Young Foster.
289:, committing acts of robbery and murder. Authorities credit Baker officially with killing at least 30 people, though many of these no doubt were killed by his fellow gang members. Unlike the romanticized versions of his exploits, the reality was that he killed most of his victims from ambush or in the back, and many with a
293:, and he almost always had his victims outnumbered. Like many of the ex-Confederates who became criminals after the war, Baker was regarded as a hero by some because he opposed the Federal occupation, but his record shows a merciless killer who killed anyone who angered him, regardless of their loyalties.
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named Thomas Orr had become involved romantically with Baker's second wife Martha, and led a small band of men who ambushed Baker and Kirby at the Foster home, shooting and killing them near to the chimney of the house. It is known that a schoolteacher named Thomas Orr was a friend of the in-laws who
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where he found the store kept by Mrs. Rowden, after which he simply helped himself to whatever he wanted and left without paying. When the store's owner, John Rowden, discovered this he armed himself with a shotgun and rode out to Baker's house. He demanded that Baker pay him, to which Baker replied
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Although Baker was feared by his own men, Lee Rames, who was recognized as the co-leader and co-founder of Baker's gang, also had a substantial and deadly reputation. Rames began to doubt Baker's leadership, and believed that eventually Baker would lead the entire gang to its downfall. Rames defied
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In March 1866, Baker traveled back to Texas. Now on the run from Union authorities, he went on a killing spree during which he killed two men, W. G. Kirkman and John
Salmons. Salmons had previously killed one of Baker's gang members, Seth Rames, brother to gang member Lee Rames. Baker also killed a
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Baker returned to
Arkansas, but word of his crimes had spread, and a local woman named Beth Warthom was openly critical of him. He took several hickory switches to her house and threatened to beat her. Her husband, David Warthom, began to fight with Baker, and overwhelmed him in front of the house.
328:, on July 25, 1867, Baker became involved in an argument with several U.S. Army soldiers. A shootout ensued and Baker was shot in the arm, though he killed Private Albert E. Titus of the U.S. 20th Infantry Regiment. This resulted in a $ 1,000 reward being placed on Baker for his capture or death.
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He returned to
Arkansas, and while in a saloon in Brightstar he agreed to join a mob intending to raid the farm of a local farmer named Howell Smith. Smith had hired several recently freed slaves, which was considered inappropriate by much of the local population. During the raid, one of Smith's
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Whilst Doc Quinn refers to Cullen Baker as "Colonel" Baker, the text from which Doc Quinn is quoted has the following inclusion, presumably included by the editor of the publication to clarify any confusion: "Note: The Col. Baker referred to was Cullen Baker, the leader of a ruthless gang of
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and despised by Baker. Toward the end of 1864 Baker was in a saloon in the small town of
Spanish Bluff, Bowie County, Texas, when he was approached by four African-American Union soldiers and asked for identification. Baker turned to face them with his pistol drawn, shooting and killing one
198:, Baker married Martha Jane Petty, the daughter of Hubbard and Nancy Petty, and for a time he settled. However, eight months into his marriage, while out drinking with friends, he became involved in a verbal altercation with a youth named Stallcup. Baker became enraged, grabbed a
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The town of
Bloomburg, Texas continues to commemorate the event with the annual Cullen Baker Country Fair, held the first weekend in November. Proceeds benefit the Bloomburg City’s efforts to build a city park and revive tourism since the COVID-19 pandemic.
229:. It was intended to pursue and capture deserters from the Confederate Army, but more often than not took advantage of most of the men being away at war, leaving mostly elderly men, women and children. This left the door open for acts of intimidation,
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What both versions share is the outcome. Baker and Kirby were killed at the Foster home, with both shot numerous times, and then the bodies were dragged through the town of
Bloomburg. The bodies were taken to the U.S. Army outpost near
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and the home of Baker's in-laws in
January 1869. It was there that Cullen Baker and "Dummy" Kirby were killed. The exact circumstances of their deaths, however, remain unclear. There are at least two conflicting accounts:
191:. His father was an honest farmer and owned cattle as well as working in the fields. Even when young, Cullen is said to have had a quick temper, which was further revealed as he got older, as he drank heavily and often.
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for a better life out west. Baker allegedly considered this "un-patriotic", but more likely than not his motives were simple robbery. The "Rangers" caught up with these fleeing settlers as they were crossing the
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daughters was stabbed and another clubbed, and a black man was shot and killed. Smith resisted and a shootout ensued, resulting in several mob members being wounded, including Baker being shot in the leg.
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On
October 24, 1868, Baker and his gang were reported to have been involved in the killings of Major P. J. Andrews, Lt. H. F. Willis, and an unnamed negro, as well as the wounding of Sheriff Standel of
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with another band called the "Mountain Boomers", but by the end of that year the "Boomers" had been driven out or forced to disperse due to several of their members having been killed by the "Rangers".
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On May 24, 1857, Martha Jane Baker gave birth to a baby girl, Louisa Jane. On June 2, 1860, Martha Jane died. Cullen Baker then returned to Texas, where he left his daughter with his in-laws.
409:"I saw Colonel Baker killed. We had just arrived at his father-in-law's house and I wuz in the horse lot, about 50 yards from de house, when Joe Davis. Thomas Orr and some more men rode up."
403:"He wuz mah frien' as long as he lib, and he wuz a good frien' ob de South 'cause he saved lots ob white folks frum de wrath ob de mean niggers." (sic)
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In November 1864, Baker led a group of "Rangers" to intercept a band of Arkansas settlers, mostly older men, women and children, who had fled
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422:, author of many western novels, wrote about Cullen Baker in several of his books. Baker only starred in one of these, however, that being
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365:. Kirby and Baker drank and ate it, and both died from poisoning. Their bodies were then shot several times by Foster and some friends.
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Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States - From Interviews with Former Slaves - Arkansas Narratives, Part 6
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Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves - Arkansas Narratives, Part 6
412:"De Colonel wuz standin' by de chimney an did not see dem come aroun' de house. Dey killed him befo' he knew dey wuz aroun'."
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First version: Unknown to Baker, his wife Martha Foster's father and friends had laced a bottle of whiskey and some food with
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Baker and Baker backed down, leading to the gang breaking up. All but one gang member, "Dummy" Kirby, sided with Rames.
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brawls. During one fight, he was knocked unconscious by a man named Morgan Culp, who hit him in the head with a
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Memphis Daily Appeal May 1, 1869 reporting killing of Ben Bickerstaff {reported to have been of Baker's gang
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By that stage of the war the Union Army occupied most of Arkansas, with several troops under the command of
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430:, one of L'Amour's many novels about a feuding Tennessee family. Baker was also the subject of the book
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384:, where they were placed on public display. Baker is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Jefferson, Texas.
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Memphis daily appeal., November 17, 1868, Image 1 reports only the killing of Andrews and Willis
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Doc Quinn provides an account of Cullen Baker's death at which he claims to have been present:
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F. S. Dodge enforcing the law in the area of Lafayette County. Most of these Union troops were
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After the war ended, Baker organized a gang with outlaw Lee Rames, which operated out of the
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took part in the killing of Baker; whether the story of the affair is true is unknown.
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Santa Fe weekly gazette., May 08, 1869, Image 4 reporting killing of Ben Bickerstaff
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local man named George W. Barron, who had previously taken part as a member of a
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A reference to Cullen (Col) Baker is made by former slave Doc Quinn in the
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bushwhackers that operated in this section shortly after the Civil War."
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On June 1, 1867, having returned to Cass County, Baker entered the Rowden
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The Aftermath of the Civil War in Arkansas by Powell Clayton .p.100 1915
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January 29, 1869 account of Baker's Death from the Athens {Tenn} Post
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whose gang terrorized Union soldiers and civilians in Northeast
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Baker was notorious for his fiery temper and for fighting in
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and violence for groups of well-armed men like the "
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Cullen Montgomery Baker: champion of the lost cause
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463:The South-western., August 07, 1867, Image 2
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
524:The First Fast Draw, by Louis L'Amour.
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432:Cullen Baker; Reconstruction Desperado
634:People from Weakley County, Tennessee
575:1869 newspaper brief of Baker's death
124:(June 23, 1835 – January 1869) was a
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619:Outlaws of the American Old West
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539:. Huntsville, Ala.: R.W. Teel.
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194:On January 11, 1854, in
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122:Cullen Montgomery Baker
251:Perry County, Arkansas
227:Confederate Home Guard
217:Baker served with the
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181:Clarksville, Arkansas
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560:Outlaw Cullen Baker
508:Library of Congress
424:The First Fast Draw
307:Texarkana, Arkansas
239:Independent Rangers
644:Murdered criminals
309:during this time.
260:Ouachita Mountains
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