Annie Oakley once offered to lead a regiment of fifty female sharpshooters
In short: Before she was a global superstar, Phoebe Ann Moses survived a childhood of abuse and poverty. She transformed her survival instinct into world-class marksmanship, eventually offering her services to the President of the United States to fight in the Spanish-American War.
Born Phoebe Ann Moses in 1860 in Darke County, Ohio, Annie Oakley’s early life was defined by hardship. After her father died, she was sent to a county poor farm, and at age 10, she was forced to work for a family she described as 'the wolves.' She eventually escaped to reunite with her mother, surviving by shooting game to sell to local shopkeepers.
Her professional ascent began on Thanksgiving Day in 1875, when the 15-year-old Oakley defeated a touring champion in a shooting match. This victory led her to marry Frank Butler, who would later manage her act. By 1882, she had replaced Butler in his performance act, and by 1885, she joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West, a position she held for nearly 17 years. Her skills were so precise she could split cards on their edges or snuff candles.
In 1898, as tensions rose over Cuba, Oakley demonstrated her patriotism through a direct offer to President William McKinley. In a letter dated April 5, 1898, she volunteered to organize a regiment of 50 American lady sharpshooters. These women would have provided their own arms and ammunition to the government. However, the offer was declined because women were not permitted to serve in the military at that time.
Oakley's fame was truly international; she performed for Queen Victoria in 1887 and even famously shot a cigarette out of the mouth of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Despite the rejection of her military offer, she remained a significant role model for women, overcoming her difficult beginnings to become a superstar in a male-dominated profession.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: That Time Annie Oakley Offered to Put Together an All Female Sniper Team
- Also: Biography: Annie Oakley | American Experience | PBS
- Also: Annie Oakley: A Woman to be Reckoned With
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