Williams Station Massacre (1860) - The Williams Station Massacre was the incident that ignited the Pyramid Lake War of 1860. Accounts vary as to the exact details leading to the events at Williams Station; but, most accounts say that two Paiute girls were abducted by traders, held at the station and assaulted. Unbeknownst to their chief, Paiute warriors returned to the station on May 7, 1860, forcing five white men, believed to be have been responsible for the kidnapping inside the building. These men including Oscar Williams, 33; David Williams, 22; Samuel Sullivan, 25; John Fleming, 25; and Dutch Phil were forced into the building and the station was burned, with all five men dying inside. Station operator and owner, J.O. Williams, was camping a couple of miles further up the river, and thus escaped the fate of his brothers. The deaths of the men led to a great panic in nearby Virginia City, Nevada. Within no time, a militia was formed from volunteers from Virginia City, Silver City, Carson City and Genoa with the purpose of apprehending the perpetrators. This force consisted of about 105 men and was under the overall command of Major William Ormsby. The site of Williams Station is now submerged beneath Lahontan Reservoir.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:38:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015