The Vigilantes of Montana: 1864 Revisited

Victim 3: William Henry Plummer

Born near the town of Addison in Maine in1832. The Plumers (as it was spelled by the family) were a prosperous seafaring folk, and also farmers. Henry was a sickly child and was not sent to sea, but allowed to continue his studies and work on the farm. In 1852 he sailed as a passenger on the mail steamer Illinois to Panama, travelled overland to take the Golden Gate to San Francisco, arriving on May 21, 1852.

Plummer spent the years 1852 - 1862 in California and Nevada, never once being accused of robbery. He was convicted of second degree murder while acting as the elected town marshal of Nevada City, California, in a case that today certainly would be deemed self-defense. After serving 6 months of a 10 year sentence he was pardoned by the Governor of California.

He arrived in Bannack in the fall of 1862, the exact day is not known, but he was there before November 23, 1862. He had just come from a stay at the Vail farm on the Sun River, near present day Great Falls, Montana, where he had fallen in love with Electa Bryan, the sister of Martha Vail. Henry and Electa were married on June 20, 1863, and immediately travelled to Bannack in a wagon.

• He was an excellent miner. His judgment was sought by many miners of Bannack, and he was partial owner of several rich claims.
• He was a superb horseman, and the fastest gun east of the mountains, except for one Charley Forbes, until he was shot in the back by Hank Crawford, resulting in a partially disabled right arm.
• Edwin Purple describes him as 5' 9" 128lbs, soft spoken. Frank Thompson judged him at 5' 10" 150lbs.
• According to Purple he was scrupulously neat in his person -- the best dressed man in town.

Henry Plummer was living at the Goodrich Hotel at the time, but was boarding with his sister-in-law, Martha Vail, and the night the vigilantes came for him was resting on the couch, since he was not feeling well. Very likely the reason he was ill was his trip from Bannack to Fort Benton protecting a shipment of gold being carried from Virginia City by John Largent and Matt Carroll. In later years Largent marvelled at the sacrifice Plummer had made on their behalf when he recorded his story.

My opinion:

Henry Plummer was not guilty of any crime during his fourteen months in Montana.