The Reynolds Gang: Colorado Confederates and Their Buried Treasure

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Be careful taking credit for plagiarized work. This is largely copied from my blog https://lifedeathiron.com/2015/04/26/exonerating-the-reynolds-gang-debunking-colorados-greatest-outlaw-legend/ which was printed in 2015. I do not mind people sharing these facts, but please don't take credit for work you didn't do.

Thank you for commenting and sharing your concerns. Accusations of plagiarism are something we take very seriously, but there is a large gulf between plagiarism and telling the same historical tale. Here is some more background on my research process to clarify where I found this information. While I was aware of your blog, it was not my first encounter with the Reynolds Gang and the lack of citations meant it did not provide a jumping off point for my research, which is the most fun part of writing these. As I’m sure you are aware, this story has been told many times, both before and after your blog was published. While the storytellers and researchers change, the facts do not. We see this in Rebels in the Rockies by Walter Pittman, Outlaw Tales of Colorado by Jan Elizabeth Murphy, and so forth. My real interest, however is getting closer to the source, so, like yourself (particularly regarding the images you used), I relied mostly on the memoir Hands Up by D. J. Cook, published in 1882. There was also the True History of Some of the Pioneers of Colorado, published in 1909. We also have, among my favorite sources, an extensive set of newspaper clipping files; I also used the priceless resource, the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Of these, I utilized Rocky Mountain News articles from 4/20/1861, 11/21/1861, 10/11/1959 as well as some Daily Mining Journal articles from 1864 and articles from the Daily Colorado Republican and Rocky Mountain Herald in 1861. I hope this will assuage your concerns and inspire you to know that people will continue treading this historic ground for many years to come.

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Great stuff! I am under the impression there was quite a purge of confederates from CO in 1861-62. Do you have info on that too?

PS I have a copy of “A Confederate in the Colorado Gold Fields” which seems to support the idea of a purge.

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I didn't come across any formal, government purges, but there was definitely high-tension between Unionists and Confederate sympathizers within the state. I will have to sit down with the book you recommended as it is part of our collection.

 

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I live near in elk creek and have found some evidence of old camps such as extremely rotten shelters and other things. Makes me think if they had used or built the structures

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Just found this after watching Death Valley Days. Really interesting , very well done. Love history!

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