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Charles E. "Charlie" Bassett (1847-1896) was a lawman and saloon owner associated with the early days of Dodge City. He was one of the founders of the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, served as the first sheriff of Ford County, Kansas as well as city marshal of Dodge City. At various times, his deputies included Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. He is also seated next to Wyatt Earp in the iconic photograph of the Dodge City Peace Commission.
Early Years
On December 12, 1841 Benjamin Bassett married 15-year-old Julia H. Norton in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Their marriage produced six children. Benjamin and Julia would raise their family at a tiny house at 107 Smith Street in New Bedford. Their first child, Eugene K. was born in 1842 followed by a daughter Sarah in 1844. Another daughter, Sophia, was born in 1846.
On Saturday, October 30, 1847, Julia Norton Bassett gave birth to a son called Charles E. Bassett. The boy was called "Charlie" from the beginnng. Charlie's younger brother, Benjamin Franklin Bassett was born almost two years later to the very day on October 31, 1849. The final Bassett child, Harriet was born during 1854.
The marriage of Benjamin and Julia Bassett came to an end in 1865, when Benjamin was last listed in the New Bedford city directory. It is not known if they ever actually divorced. By 1865, Benjamin Bassett and his seventeen-year-old son Charlie had both relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Civil War Record
On February 14, 1865, Charles E. Bassett enlisted in the Union Army at Frankford, Pennsylvania (now a part of Philadelphia). He received a $100 bounty for signing on for one year as a private in Company I of the 213th Pennsylvania Infantry, a volunteer regiment. Bassett was mustered out of his volunteer regiment in Washington, D.C. on November 18, 1865. He served a little more than nine months - not the year he had signed for. This was most likely the result of an Army cutback after Lee's surrender in April.
Heading West
It has been alleged that Charles E. Bassett spent the period between late 1865 and early 1873 drifting around the West, serving various stints as a miner, bartender, and buffalo hunter. He was most likely in the neighbohood of what would become Dodge City, Kansas, when his father, Benjamin Bassett died in Philadelphia on January 2, 1872.
Dodge City and the Long Branch Saloon
Charlie Bassett opened the original Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City in late 1872 in partnership with Alfred J. Peacock. Eventually, Bassett and Peacock sold the Long Branch. The saloon changed hands several times until Luke Short became one of the owners. Short's partnership in the Long Branch would cause one of the high points of Bassett's life in 1883.
Sheriff of Ford County, Kansas
On June 5, 1873, the citizens of Ford County, Kansas chose Charles E. Bassett as their very first sheriff. His headquarters were in Dodge City. Bassett was re-elected twice, serving until 1878. On September 18, 1877, Sam Bass and his gang robbed a Union Pacific train of $60,000 at Big Springs, Nebraska. The bandits were reported in Kansas and Sheriff Bassett went out after them. Bassett's posse included Bat Masterson and John Joshua Webb. The group was unsuccessful in their pursuit of the train robbers. By Kansas law, Charles E. Bassett could not seek a third successive term as sheriff of Ford County. On November 6, 1877, Bat Masterson was elected as the second sheriff of Ford County. Bat Masterson was officially sworn in as sheriff on January 14, 1878. One of the new sheriff's first acts was to appoint Charlie Bassett as his under-sheriff. This amounted to a role reversal, since Bat had been serving as Bassett's under-sheriff.
Assistant Marshal of Dodge City
In addition to serving as Bat Masterson's under-sheriff, Bassett was also serving as assistant city marshal under Bat's brother, City Marshal Edward Masterson. He was still serving as sheriff when he got the appointment during December, 1877. The Dodge City Times reported that "Sheriff Bassett has been appointed by Mayor Kelley to assist Marshal Masterson in preserving order and decorum in the city. Mr. Bassett has had thorough training and is a good man for the place."
On January 27, 1878 Dave Rudabaugh and four others attempted to hold up a train at Kinsley, Kansas. On February 1, a posse led by Sheriff Bat Masterson captured two of the robbers - Dave Rudabaugh and Edgar West. Charlie Basset assisted his two bosses, Sheriff Bat Masterson and Marshal Ed Masterson, in the capture of two more of the train robbers right in Dodge City.
Marshal of Dodge City
1878 was to be Dodge City's most colorful and tragic year. The first tragedy was the murder of Marshal Ed Masterson by two Texans named Jack Wagner and Alfred Walker on April 9. After Ed Masterson's funeral, the Dodge City Council appointed Charlie Bassett as city marshal at a salary of $100 a month. On May 12, Wyatt Earp was appointed as Bassett's assistant marshal at a salary of $75 a month. On July 29, 1878 James "Spike" Kenedy, the son of the wealthy cattle baron Mifflin Kenedy (1818-1895) attempted to shoot Mayor James H. Kelley. He was stopped from doing so by Marshal Bassett. Kenedy paid his fine and court costs and left town. Within three weeks the young Texan would be back in Dodge and in trouble again. According to the court docket for August 17, 1878, Kenedy was again brought into court by Marshal Bassett. This time it was on a charge of being disorderly. After paying his fine, Kenedy was told by Marshal Bassett to get out of Dodge and stay out.
The Killing of Dora Hand
At four o'clock on the morning of October 4, 1878, Kenedy was back in Dodge and fired two shots through the front door of a small frame house usually occupied by Mayor Kelley. One of Kenedy's bullets killed a 34-year-old woman named Dora Hand. The Dodge City Times noted that "the pistol shot was intended for the male occupant of the bed ... who had been absent for several days. The bed however was occupied by the female lodger at the time of the shooting."
A posse left Dodge City at 2:00 on the afternoon of October 4. Its members were Marshal Charles E. Bassett, Assistant Marshal Wyatt Earp, Bill Tilghman, Sheriff Bat Masterson and Deputy Sheriff William Duffey.At 4:00 on the afternoon of October 5 the posse caught up with Kenedy at a location some 35 miles from Dodge. The possemen turned loose a volley on Kenedy. Three shots slammed into Kenedy's horse, while another shot, supposedly from a .50 caliber Sharp's, shattered Kenedy's left arm. Three weeks after the killing of Dora Hand, Kenedy was released for a supposed lack of incriminating evidence. Spike Kenedy returned to Texas to manage his father's 390,000 acre LaParra Ranch. He died from typhoid fever during December 1884.
The Richardson-Loving Gunfight
On April 5, 1879 Marshal Bassett witnessed one of Dodge City's famous gunfights - the killing of Levi Richardson by "Cockeyed Frank" Loving. Later Bassett gave this testimony:
"When I first heard the firing I was at Beatty & Kelley's saloon. Ran up to the Long Branch as fast as I could. Saw Frank Loving, Levi Richardson and Duffey. Richardson was dodging and running around the table. I got as far as the stove when the shooting had about ended. I caught Loving's pistol. Think there were two shots fired after I got into the room, am positive there was one. Loving fired the shot, to the best of my knowledge. Did not see Richardson fire any shot, and did not see him have a pistol. I examined the pistol which was shown me as the one Richardson had. It contained five empty shells. Richardson fell while I was there."
Colorado, New Mexico and Texas
On November 4, 1879, the Dodge City Council appointed James Masterson as city marshal, to replace Charlie Bassett, who had resigned. According to the local paper: Ex-Sheriff Chas. E. Bassett, accompanied by Mysterious Dave and two other prospectors, started out last week in search of "greener fields and pastures new." They went in a two-horse wagon, after the style in the days of 49."
After unsuccessfully panning for gold in Colorado, Bassett and Mather drifted successively to New Mexico and Texas. Bassett and Mather were in San Antonio during the early part of 1881. Mather would remain in Texas for the next two years, but Bassett had grown homesick for Dodge City. His return to Dodge was noted by a local paper which reported that "Charles E. Bassett, ex-sheriff of Ford County, and formerly city marshal of Dodge City - one of the old timers - arrived in the city last Tuesday after an absence of a year and a half. Charley looks as natural as life, wears good clothes, and says Texas is suffering from the dry weather."
Kansas City
Bassett didn't remain in Dodge City for long. He moved on to Kansas City, Missouri, where he became manager of Webster & Hughes Marble Hall Saloon. The Kansas City Journal reported his arrival by noting that "Hon. C.E. Bassett, a well known cattle man of Kansas and Texas, returned to this city yesterday, after a brief stay in Dodge City. He will remain here for some time." On April 28, 1883 the celebrated "Dodge City War" broke out. Luke Short had been run out of Dodge and headed straight for Kansas City where he looked up Charlie Bassett at the Marble Hall Saloon. Bassett quickly proceeded to reestablish Short in Dodge City. Quick to respond were Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, along with several others.
The Dodge City Peace Commission
Main article: Dodge City War
The bloodless Dodge City War ended with both sides reaching an agreement in early June 1883. To maintain the shaky truce, the Dodge City Peace Commission was formed, including Bassett. Bassett returned to Kansas City where he opened the Senate Saloon and obtained the nickname "Senator." The venture was a failure and Bassett went to work as a bartender in an establishment that he didn't own. He suffered from inflammatory rheumatism during his final years. He went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, with the hope that the water would benefit his health, but he died there at age 48 on January 5, 1896.
References
- Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850. (New Bedford, Bristol County). Benjamin Bassett and Julia H. Norton, December 12, 1841.
- Jack DeMattos, "The Dodge Citians: Charles E. Bassett," NOLA Quarterly (Vol. XIX, No. 4), October–December 1995.
- U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 - "History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865."
- From Bassett's obituary in the Kansas City Star, January 7, 1896.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Death Certificates Index 1803-1915. "Benjamin Bassett, Sail Maker, January 2, 1872
- Dodge City Times, September 29, 1877.
- Dodge City Times, November 10, 1877.
- Dodge City Times - December 15, 1877.
- Dodge City Ford County Globe, May 14, 1878.
- This is not a typo. The family spelled their surname as "Kenedy," with just one letter N.
- Dodge City Times - October 8, 1878.
- Dodge City Times, October 12, 1878.
- Ford County Globe (Dodge City), October 29, 1878.
- Dodge City Ford County Globe - April 8, 1879
- Dodge City Ford County Globe - April 27, 1880.
- Dodge City Ford County Globe - September 13, 1881.
- Kansas City Journal, September 22, 1881.
- Kansas City Star, January 7, 1896.
External links
- Charles Bassett
- Dodge City Shootout The Deaths of Levi Richardson and Frank Loving, by Roger Myers, Ford County Historical Soc., Dodge City, KS