Samuel Fields (abt. 1849 - aft. 1890)

Born about 1849 in Louisiana, United States

Died after 1890 after about age 41 in Deadwood, Lawrence, South Dakota, United States [uncertain]

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Biography

Samuel Fields was involved in the "Wild, Wild West," part of the westward expansion of the United States. Join the Wild Wild West Project.

Samuel Fields is a part of US Black heritage.

Samuel Fields is Notable.

Private Samuel Fields served in the United States Civil War.
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 114th Infantry Regiment, Company F

Samuel Fields was a free man of color born in Louisiana. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War. After moving to Deadwood, South Dakota some time after the Civil War, he became a well-known figure in the town, one who inspired a character on the HBO series, Deadwood (2004-2006). ^[1]

In 1880 he was unmarried and working as a hotel clerk in Deadwood. The census of that year tells us he was born in Louisiana, and that his parents were from Virginia and Illinois.^[2]

From Legends of America and his Wikipedia page:

Samuel Fields was an African American who was born a free man around 1849 and raised in Louisiana. In 1864, at the age of 15, he joined the Union Army where he served as a private in the 114th Infantry Regiment, Company F. After receiving a distinguished service discharge, he returned to Louisiana where he worked as a farm laborer.

However, when news arrived about the gold rush in Deadwood, Fields joined the thousands that flocked to the Black Hills in search of their fortunes. Arriving in Deadwood in 1876, the flamboyant man, who went about saying that he had been a general in the Union Army during the Civil War, immediately drew the attention of Deadwood's newspapers. Described with words like irrepressible, duplicatory, and candescent, he was often referred to as "N... General Fields".... Becoming an active participant in Deadwood's African-American Community, which was even more of a minority than the Chinese, Fields was quick to speak out at the many "Colored Citizens Meetings," as well as city political gatherings....

So "entertaining” was Fields, that the local papers often took his words out of context to provide even better stories for their readers. Such was the case when Fields correctly identified a tornado that touched down in Deadwood Gulch as a cyclone in June, 1881. Reporting on his statement, the Deadwood Times snidely referred to it as a "Sly-Coon,” which added that nickname to Samuel's already growing list of monikers. While sometimes the newspapers reported legitimate news about Fields, it was often ... trivial events.... The quick talking man seemed to be everywhere in Deadwood and in April, 1878; he was arrested as a murder accomplice when Bill Gay shot and killed a man named Lloyd Forbes who was having an affair with his wife. According to the tale, Fields had carried a note between the lovers, when Bill Gay intercepted it. Gay, who was a leading citizen in Deadwood and after whom, the adjacent camp of Gayville was named, defended himself on the basis that the killing was an accident. Gay argued that he only meant to pistol whip Forbes and the gun had gone off by accident. Fields was arrested on the same day as was Gay and kept in the jail for several weeks, mostly for his own protection. Though Fields soon went free, Bill Gay was found guilty of second degree murder and sent to prison. Though Fields had been vindicated, there were many of those in camp who believed that he should be made to leave. The next thing you know, the "General” was arrested for stealing from "Lola’s Place” in July. And, his bad luck continued when Deadwood's first public school teacher was murdered in her sleep in August, it seems that Fields was either constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time or had become the focus of blame for any evil that was taking place in the camp. Almost immediately after Minnie Callison had been found murdered, rumors began to circulate that the "General” had been seen outside her room that same night. To further complicate matters, Officer Siver found footprints in her yard that were the same size as Fields. Minnie’s husband, John Callison, was convinced that Fields was her murderer. On August 20, 1878, Samuel was arrested, and though he was later released, it was yet another "stigma” that continued to hang over his head.

Then, in December, 1878, the papers reported that Fields had prevented a woman named Annie Simms from committing suicide, so it seems it wasn’t all mischief that the papers were reporting on.

In 1879, Fields’ name was submitted for the position of Justice in Deadwood and by November he was once again practicing his "Shakespearian” oratory skills on soap boxes. But the camp hadn’t forgotten his alleged "criminal” past and he was egged by the audience. Though he didn’t win the election, it didn’t curb his political ambitions. In 1883, he was working to fill the vacant position of coroner and did in fact fill the position temporarily.

During Fields' time in Deadwood, he was known to have worked at the Merchants, Wentworth, and International Hotels as a porter and as a waiter. By 1889, he had moved on to Omaha, Nebraska, but a year later, he was again back in South Dakota, working as a bellhop in Rapid City. Afterwards, his whereabouts are lost in history. ^[3][4]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia:Samuel Fields
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCV7-4LN : 22 August 2017), Samuel Fields, Deadwood, Lawrence, Dakota Territory, United States; citing enumeration district ED 120, sheet 248C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,113.
3. ↑ ©Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated November, 2011. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/sd-samuelfields.html
4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Samuel Fields," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samuel_Fields&oldid=943800402 (accessed June 20, 2020).