Coxey's Army in Montana Quarterly
I first heard about Coxey’s Army from Caroline Lockhart’s boyfriend. Andrew McKenzie, a Boston-area journalist recently graduated from college, made a name for himself by traveling with the “campaign of squalor” during the nation’s first-ever March on Washington. This was in 1894 (needless to say, my knowledge was coming from archival research, not over a beer). I took a few minutes to learn what Coxey’s Army was, and then wisely left it out of The Cowboy Girl.
But earlier this year, I saw a brief account of Coxey’s Army in Billings, Montana. Montana? I had thought the story was about a march from Ohio to Washington DC. But as I dug, I found that the Montana story was actually far more dramatic than that McKenzie had followed in Ohio. I pitched it to my good friends at The Montana Quarterly, where it is running as the History column in the just-published Autumn issue.
With stolen trains, labor unrest, instantly-deputized marshals, and a surprising joke about Billings real estate agents, it turned into one of articles I have most enjoyed writing recently.
For more on Coxey’s Army, I recommend the following sources:
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
But earlier this year, I saw a brief account of Coxey’s Army in Billings, Montana. Montana? I had thought the story was about a march from Ohio to Washington DC. But as I dug, I found that the Montana story was actually far more dramatic than that McKenzie had followed in Ohio. I pitched it to my good friends at The Montana Quarterly, where it is running as the History column in the just-published Autumn issue.
With stolen trains, labor unrest, instantly-deputized marshals, and a surprising joke about Billings real estate agents, it turned into one of articles I have most enjoyed writing recently.
For more on Coxey’s Army, I recommend the following sources:
Schwantes, Carlos A., Coxey's Army: An American Odyssey (1985).
Clinch, Thomas A., "Coxey's Army in Montana," Montana: The Magazine Of Western History, (Autumn, 1965).
Fritz, Harry, et al, Montana Legacy : Essays On History, People, And Place (2002)
“Coxey’s Montana Navy,” Pacific Northwest Quarterly, July 1982
Billings (Mont.) Times, 21 Aug 1924
Billings (Mont.) Times, 13 May 1926
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks dot com
