Henry Plummer
| Henry Plummer | |
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| Born | 1832 Addison, Washington County, Maine |
| Died | January 10, 1864 Bannack, Beaverhead County, Montana, Idaho Territory |
| Other names | William Henry Handy Plumer |
| Occupation | prospector, city marshal, sheriff, outlaw, road agent, criminal gang leader |
| Known for | Leader of "Road Agent" gang, the "Innocents" |
Henry Plummer (1832–1864) was a prospector, lawman, and outlaw in the American West in the 1850s and 1860s, who was known to have killed several men, some in what was considered self-defense. He was elected sheriff of Bannack, Montana from 1863 to 1864, during which period he was accused of being the leader of a "road agent" gang of outlaws known as the "Innocents," which preyed on shipments from Virginia City to other areas. In response some leaders in Virginia City formed the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch, and began to take action against Plummer's gang, gaining confessions from a couple of men they arrested in early January 1864. On January 10, 1864 Plummer and two associates were arrested in Bannack by a company of the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch and summarily hanged. He was hanged without a trial, evidence or even a reasonable theory. One resident even noted, "...not one body can be found." Yet, the Vigilante Committee claimed Henry Plummer and his gang killed over 100 people. He was hanged by the neck, being pulled up rather than given the drop. He was strangled slowly to death. Ironically, the leader of the Vigilante Committee took control of many of the committees victims properties and holdings, including Henry Plummer's gold claim outside of Bannack. He was pulled out of bed while suffering from TB. He was hanged without due process. Plummer and the Vigilantes often argued over the tactics of the committee. They hanged at least 138 people in Bannack without trial, including a 17 year old boy who stated Plummer was innocent after the committee had already hanged him. The Vigilante Committee always executed their victims late at night so the townspeople were never there to witness it and the only witnesses were committee members. They totally controlled the narrative. The accused never were given the opportunity to state their case, mount a defense or plead guilty or not guilty. Plummer was a Northern Democrat (anti-slavery) and the Vigilante Committee leader was a Southern Democrat (pro-slavery).
The only trial Henry Plummer got was a posthumous trial held in 1993 which led to a mistrial. If that same trial had been held in 1864, Plummer would have walked out a free man. The jury was split 6-6.
He was born William Henry Handy Plummer in 1832 in Addison, Maine, the last of six children in a family whose ancestors had first settled in Maine in 1634, when it was still a part of the Massachusetts Bay colony. He changed the spelling of his surname after moving West. His father died while Henry was in his teens.
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