CAS CITY - COWBOY & WESTERN ACTION SHOOTING WORLDWIDE

Dr. Robert Butcher

Location:

* Independence * Missouri *
* United States of America *

Age:

Homepage:

Real life Occupation:

Clubs:

Organizations:

NCOWS

Recent News About Me:
I attended my first CAS shoot in early April. It was the Two Guns
Shoot put on by the Kansas Vigilance Committee, a NCOWS posse which is
in the greater Kansas City area. I have been doing living history for
25 years, but this if the first time after 1855. Lots to learn.

I mostly do military living history in the early 19th Century. This includes, the Lewis & Clark Expedition, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the exploration of the trans-Mississippi west 1819 to 1855. I portray a doctor, surveyor, Army Engineer and Army Topographical
Engineer.

My Chosen Alias (The story behind and how I picked it):

Dr. Robert Butcher: Dr. Bob, a man with a varied past.

Born December 17th 1815 in St. Genevieve, Missouri Territory to Joseph
and Mary Girard. Joseph was the owner of a mercantile establishment
selling goods imported from around the world. At age 8 Robert was sent
to boarding school in St. Louis for formal education. Graduating at age
17 he went east to Tansylvania Univ. to study medicine. This was a 2
year program which he completed successfully.

Returning to Missouri, he secured a position in Arrow Rock, to do
additional study with Dr. John Sappington who was well known for his
"Anti-Fever Pills" which contained quinine and treated malaria. During
his association with Dr. Sappington, he noticed that more money could be
made in the Santa Fe Trade [the Santa Fe Trail passed though Arrow Rock]
than in the practice of medicine.

Using his families mercantile connections Dr. Bob started int the Santa
Fe trade with two partners, Tatham and Pratt. Dr. Bob secured credit
and purchased the goods, Tatham supervised the caravans that transported
the goods to Santa Fe and Chihuahua. The company prospered!

With the annexation of Texas in 1845, war with Mexico seemed imminent
and Dr. Bob offered his services as Surgeon to his friend Maj. S. Abolt
of the 7th Reg't. of US Infantry. The 7th Infantry Reg't served with
Gen. Zachary Taylor's army in Texas at the start of the war and in the
campaign to Monterey. After the fall of Monterey, the 7th was
transferred to the command of Gen. Winfield Scott and landed at Vera
Cruz and participated in the capture of Mexico City. Beware of Dr.
Bob's war stories! At the completion of the Mexican War, he returned to
the Santa Re trade, now based in Westport, Mo on the border with the
Indian territories [now Kansas].

In 1861, with the trade interrupted, Dr. Bob moved to Council Grove, on
the Santa Fe trail and established a hotel and saloon, having had enough
war to last a lifetime and friends on both sides. He saw an occasional
patient, and was known to deal monte and poker in his saloon. He
continued in this business until 1871. Deciding to see the world, he
sold the hotel and saloon and traveled to Europe and the orient. After
4 years of travel to far away places, he returned to the States and set
out on a tour of the west. He still likes to play monte and poker and
enjoys dancing the waltz with the eligible ladies in the town and cities
that he visits.

I chose this persona because I have been using it for nearly 20 years as
a Santa Fe trader and just had to adjust the dates and build the post
1855 life to be complete. I have medical equipment from the period 1800
- 1850 which I use in my Army Surgeon impression and since Dr. Bob only
practices occasionally, he has not replaced his equipment with more
modern pieces. This will work for another 10 years since the general
change over to instruments made only of nickel plated steel which
allowed sterilization didn't happen until about 1885. I'm way too old
to try and carry off a cowboy impression, so the Doc is right up my
alley!

In the future, I may develop a character of a Railroad engineer - read
building, not driving here who had previously been a Topographical
Engineer and part of the Railroad survey that took place in 1853-54.

My current guns & gear:

I am shooting in the NCOWS working cowboy class which requires a
revolver and a rifle. I chose to have my character begin in 1875 so
that I can use a Single Action Army in 45 LC and a Winchester 1873 in
the same caliber. Since I am using an alias, I don't want to draw
attention to myself by having a revolver that is only sold to the Army,
so after they began selling them to civilians is where I decided to
start!

I dress as a well to do townsman would. I have traveling and hunting
clothes as well, but having been to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Hong
Kong, and I do like to be fashionable. On the trail, I travel with a
wagon and have a wall tent, fly which makes a nice front porch, a supply
tent [wedge] and enough camp furniture to be comfortable. Field bed,
field bar and liquor chest tables and chairs with the accessories that
any gentleman would expect. Just because you are traveling on the
frontier, you must still be civilized!

Other information I would like to share:

Since 1995 I have been retired on disability with Lyme's Disease. I was
an education/history major in college and taught Jr. High School for 4
years after I got off of active duty in 1968. I retired from the
General Services Admin. where I was a tool buyer. In addition the CAS
and living history, I am addicted to swing dancing and Argentine tango
and go dancing at least 2 times a week if history activities don't
interfere. I volunteer in the living history program that supports the
Frontier Army Museum at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and at Ft. Osage
National Historic Landmark in Sibley, Missouri on the Missouri River and
on the Santa Fe Trail!

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