Chris Madsen (February 25, 1851 – January 9, 1944) was a lawman of the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

who is best known as being one of The Three Guardsmen, the name given to Madsen and two other Deputy US Marshals who were responsible for the apprehension and/or killing of several

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

s of that era. The Three Guardsmen consisted of Madsen,

Bill Tilghman William Matthew Tilghman Jr. (July 4, 1854 – November 1, 1924) was a career lawman, gunfighter, and politician in Kansas and Oklahoma during the late 19th century. Tilghman was a Dodge City city marshal in the early 1880s and played a role in ...

, and Heck Thomas.

Background

Chris Madsen was born Christen Madsen Rørmose in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. After he graduated from Kauslunde Agricultural School, the bright young man started a criminal career, resulting in several convictions for fraud and forgery. Upon emigrating to the United States in 1876, he dropped the last name, Rørmose. He later claimed to have been a soldier in the Danish Army and the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. Arriving in New York City, Madsen enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 21, 1876, and served fifteen years in the Fifth Cavalry. He was quartermaster sergeant of the Fifth Cavalry and fought in many major Indian campaigns. Later, in 1883, he became

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Chester A. Arthur's guide to

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

Law career

Discharged on January 10, 1891, Madsen became a deputy U.S. marshal under Marshal William Grimes in Oklahoma Territory. He had joined the US Marshals as a Deputy Marshal with the priority of policing the vast

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...

. Over 300 outlaws were either apprehended or killed by Madsen, Thomas and Tilghman, thus leading to their nickname, The Three Guardsmen. The three lawmen were primarily responsible for bringing down outlaw Bill Doolin and his Doolin Dalton gang. Madsen was personally accountable for the killings of Doolin gang members Dan "Dynamite Dick" Clifton, George "Red Buck" Waightman, and Richard "Little Dick" West. In 1898, he joined

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Rough Riders The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...

, serving as

Quartermaster Sergeant Quartermaster sergeant (QMS) is a class of rank or appointment in some armed forces, especially those of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, and formerly also in the United States. Ireland Quartermaster sergeant () a ...

. After the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, Madsen returned to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

and served as deputy U.S. marshal. In 1911 he was appointed U.S. Marshal for the entire

state of Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the east, New Mexico to the west, and Colo ...

. While in his sixties he was appointed

Chief of Police A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...

for

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. From 1918 to 1922 he served as a special investigator for the

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

. He eventually settled in

Guthrie, Oklahoma Guthrie is a city and county seat in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. Its population was 10,191 at the 2010 census, a 2.7% increase from 9,925 in the 2000 census. First known as a railroad st ...

, and at the outset of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he tried to enlist in the U.S. Army but was rejected due to his age.

Personal life

He was married to Margaret Bell Morris (1871-1898). They were the parents of Marion (1889) and Christian (1890). Chris Madsen died at the age of ninety-two in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and was buried in the Frisco Cemetery in

Yukon, Oklahoma Yukon is a city in eastern Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 23,630 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Founded in the 1890s, the town was named in reference to a gold rush in Yukon Territory, Canada, at the ...

References

Additional Sources

*Croy, Homer (1958) ''Trigger Marshal: The Story of Chris Madsen'' (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce) *Samuelson, Nancy B. (1998) ''Shoot From The Lip: The Lives, Legends, and Lies of the Three Guardsmen of Oklahoma and U.S. Marshal Nix'' (Eastford, Conn.: Shooting Star Press) *Reasoner, James (2003) ''Draw: The Greatest Gunfighters of the American West'' (Penguin Putnam Inc; Berkley Trade) *Andersen, Frans Ørsted (2018) ''Et liv på kanten. En biografisk fortælling om Chris Madsens utrolige liv'' (Denmark, Mellemgaard Publisher) *Andersen, Frans Ørsted (2019) ''Chris Madsen: 1876 A Transformative Year''. In: Wild West History Association Journal. Number 2, June 2019.

External links