Uncovering the True Story of Bass Reeves: What Makes His Legacy So Impactful in American History?

Erin Wright
Apr 12
5 min read

Bass Reeves was many things: a former enslaved person, a farmer, a railroad worker, a gunfighter, and one of the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals. His story is one of a man rising up in society so he would not be forgotten.

Bass Reeves, the first Black US Deputy Marshal, circa 1910. Source: Western History Collections at the University of Oklahoma Library.

Bass Reeves Early Life

There isn’t too many records of Reeves’s childhood, something that can be attributed to record keeping at the time not prioritizing records of minorities, especially those that were enslaved. Which is one of the reasons it’s important to keep sharing these stories so they will not disappear. Bass Reeves was born in 1838 in Crawford County, Arkansas before growing up in Texas. He was born enslaved to man named William S. Reeves.

According to Britannica, there are stories of him serving in the American Civil War at several battles between 1862-183. These claims are unsubstantiated, although this is the time frame that he made his way to freedom in “Indian Territory” in the area that are now the states of Oklahoma and Kansas. He spent time there as a guide-for-hire after the end of the Civil War and a farmer. He also got know local Indigenous tribes like the Cherokee, Creek and Seminole.

Becoming a Lawman

Cabinet photo of Marshal Reeves circa 1902. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The skills he acquired as a guide in the territory would serve him well when he would be hunting criminals. In 1875 Judge Isaac C. Parker was in charge of the Fort Smith Federal Court, and charged with dealing with the large amount of criminals in the area. He would be the one to commission Reeves into service. [1] There doesn’t seem to be a reason on why exactly Reeves chose to stop farming full-time and take up the Marshal job. Some speculate the adventure of it, the fact that he was gifted at the hunt, or that it made more money.

According to the U.S. Marshals during his entire career Reeves would arrest more than 3000 felons. At some point it becomes difficult to fully sort out the facts from fiction by going on word of mouth.

So who exactly were the U.S. Marshals? Back before the creation of the FBI, or other standardized law departments, it became clear that it was necessary for the United States to create it’s own law enforcement. President George Washington signed the Judiciary Act into law on September 24, 1789, eventually appointing members. The U.S. Marshal Service was born. Throughout their time they have assisted on some high-profile duties including protecting Ruby Bridges. They are not without their faults. The Fugitive Slave Act on September 18, 1850 meant that Marshals were charged with arresting Black individuals who were escaping enslavement.

How was Reeves's Work Ethic?

"Federal Official Family" group photo, circa November 1907. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Reeves always worked hard to arrest the criminals he pursued. He even arrested his own son who was wanted for murder, indicating that he placed importance in the law. His son had been charged with murdering his own wife and warrant was issued for his arrest. While originally the writ was going to be given to another due to the conflict of interest Reeves insisted on taking it. [2] As of 1910 his son was still in prison serving his term.

When taking a job they came in the form of writs. Writs are defined as an order or formal written document that was a legal instruction from a sovereign, court, or officer commanding an action to the person it was written to, in the case of the writs received by the Marshals they were essentially arrest warrants. Reeves was illiterate, however this didn’t stop him from carrying out his duty or excelling at it. In order to carry out the orders correctly he would have to memorize the contents.

While newspapers different numbers on the number of wanted men he killed in the line of duty—for example one paper reported 14, another reported 20, it was mentioned that the killings were always in self-defense or when it was impossible to bring the criminal back alive. The Daily Ardmoreite reported that many of the federal officers and retired officers mourned Reeves and that although he was once tried for murder it was determined to be “in the discharge of his duty and to save his own life.” [3]

The NPS states that Reeves retired at the age of 67 in 1907. He became a policeman in Muskogee, Oklahoma for two years. He passed away from Bright’s disease—what we now call nephritis, and was survived by his wife and children. [4]

Cultural Significance

Bass Reeves death notice. Source: Muncie Evening Press, January 13, 1910, Newspapers.com, Ancestry.com. — Bass Reeves death notice. Source: *Muncie Evening Press,* January 13, 1910, Newspapers.com, Ancestry.com.

While he was not the first or only Black Marshal to serve in the 1800s to early 1900s, the ability of Reeves to serve at the time that he did, and be widely recognized upon his death in newspapers is a significant milestone in the history of the Marshal service, Black history, and the history of law enforcement. At the time when Jim Crow reigned across the United States Reeves managed to perform his duties taking in fugitives, even those that were white. It was only a short time before he was commissioned into service that the Marshals stopped the practice of the previously discussed Fugitive Slave Act. Although he did seem to pick and choose what writs would keep him out of having to deal with potential issues regarding that. [5]

According to one article, “Racism played an important role in Reeves’s career and much of the criticism [of the time] against him stemmed from prevailing racial prejudices among Southerners who resisted placing blacks in positions of authority over whites.” [6]

Recognition and Legacy

Bronze statue dedicated to Deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves. Located in Ross Pendergraft Park, Fort Smith, Arkansas. Source: National Park Service.

For a time after his death in 1910 there seemed to be little recognition to his contribution to society, although his death was widely reported in the papers. Recently there was a resurgence in interest in his career revitalized.

The legacy of Reeves has extended to popular culture. On Paramount, a show debuted on 2023, starring Barry Pepper, David Oyelowo, Demi Singleton, Dennis Quaid, and Donald Sutherland. The show uses events from his life starting from when he was enslaved to his rise in law enforcement.

As there are many holes in the records the show expands outside of the actual events in order to tell a compelling and rich story. To read a more researched biography, Art. T. Burton wrote Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Marshal Bass Reeves. The acknowledgment of these histories and understanding these legacies is essential, especially with the climate of erasing different histories. Burton reported in a NY Times article that when he had been doing his research, “a historical society in Muskogee...did not keep records of Black people. Today, a statue dedicated in his honor in Ross Pendergraft Park, Fort Smith, Arkansas near the Fort Smith National Historic Site.