Henry Plummer

Henry Plummer (1832 – 1864) was a prospector, government bureaucrat, law enforcement officer and outlaw in the 1850s-60 west. He was the elected sheriff of Bannack, Montana in 1863-64 when he was accused of being the leader of a "road agent" gang of outlaws known as the "Innocents". On from January 10, 1864 he was arrested in Bannack by a company of the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch and summarily hanged along with two other "road agents". At the time Bannack and Virginia City, Montana were part of a remote region of the Idaho Territory without formal law enforcement or justice system. Plummer's road agent gang was believed to be responsible for numerous robberies, attempted robberies, murders and attempted murders in and around Alder Gulch in October–December 1863. The criminal activity led leading citizens of Virginia City and Bannack to form the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch in Virginia City on December 23, 1863. Between January 4 and February 3, 1863, the vigilantes arrested and summarily executed at least 20 alleged members of Plummer's gang.