Desmond Doss: the True Story Behind Hacksaw Ridge

by Martha Hutchens

Image by Deposit Photos, @ kamila_koziol

Last month I wrote about Alvin York, the man behind the movie Sergeant York. This month, I want to write about another unlikely hero, Desmond Doss. Desmond was the hero portrayed in the modern film Hacksaw Ridge. Once again, I was surprised at how much the movie got right.

At first, I thought most of the story of Desmond’s childhood was dramatized. I didn’t find much mention of it in interviews with him. However, when I went to the Encyclopedia of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I found that his father was indeed an alcoholic, and there was violence in his household. In fact, his father aimed a gun at Desmond’s uncle, and his mother got between them. She took the gun and gave it to Desmond to hide. So while the scene in the movie that shows Desmond pointing a gun at his father to protect his mother was dramatized, there was some basis for it.

Desmond went on to get a job at the shipyards. This position in a major wartime industry would have guaranteed him deferment. I have seen references to him being drafted, and others that say he volunteered. I think the confusion comes from the fact that he did not request deferment. But he did face one major problem.

During that incident in his childhood, Doss swore to God that he would never touch a gun again.

Image from Deposit Photos, @ zhukovsky

Doss volunteered as a conscientious objector and wanted to train as a medic. However, Army policy at the time expected even conscientious objectors to undergo weapons training, and Doss could not do that. Much of what was portrayed in the movie really did happen. He was verbally and physically abused. He faced a Section 8 discharge, where it was claimed he was mentally unfit for service. He fought this classification. I have not found any record of an actual court-martial, though the threat of one appears to have been real.

Doss persevered and graduated basic training with his unit. He then married Dorothy Schutte. From what I can find, the movie’s portrayal of love at first sight is not historically accurate. Instead, their relationship appears to have developed over time.

The 77th Infantry Division had some specialized training stateside before being sent to jungle warfare school in Hawaii. By early 1944, Doss’s commanders were still considering leaving him behind. The warfare in the Pacific was so brutal that even medics often carried weapons.

But Doss remained with his unit and deployed to Guam in July of 1944.

This is one place where I think the movie does him a disservice. The film implies that Doss faced combat for the first time at Okinawa. In reality, he had already seen combat at both Guam and the Philippines. He had already proven himself over and over by running into fire to retrieve his wounded brothers. He had already been awarded the Bronze Star. And, perhaps more importantly to him, he had already begun leading prayer services before going into combat.

Nonetheless, Doss is best known for his actions on Okinawa. His unit was sent to take the Maeda Escarpment—later known as Hacksaw Ridge—a 400-foot rise with a near-vertical face of about 50 feet.

Image by Deposit Photos, @ kuzmire

Doss said of the first day: 

“Japanese had been there for years. They had that mountain honeycombed and camouflaged to look like natural terrain. That’s what we had to face. There were eight or nine Japanese positions we destroyed before we contacted A Company. And when the day was done, I didn’t have a single man killed.” (He held up his hand to make a circle for zero.)

Of the next day, he said: “The next day, we thought the big job was done. Instead, everything we tried this day went wrong.”

By the end of that day, the only men on top of the escarpment were the wounded, the dead, the Japanese—and Desmond Doss.

Doss said, “I had these men up there, and I shouldn’t leave them. They were my buddies. Some of my men had families. And they trusted me. I didn’t feel like I should value my life above my buddies’. And so I decided to stay with them.”

But Doss did more than stay. He lowered those men over the cliff, one at a time, all while under fire or the threat of fire. According to the Encyclopedia of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Doss believed he rescued no more than 50 men, while his commanding officer believed it to be closer to 100. They agreed to record it as 75, and that is the number listed in his Medal of Honor citation.

Doss said, “So I just kept praying, ‘Lord, please help me get one more… one more…’ until there were none left. And I was the last one down.” (His smile as he said that last sentence was absolutely beautiful.)

The movie goes on to show Doss being wounded, which was accurate. What it does not show is that when he was being carried off the field, they passed another man whom Doss believed to be more gravely wounded. He crawled off the stretcher and insisted that the litter bearers take the other man instead.

Image by Deposit Photos, @ iakovenko123

Doss did, in fact, carry a Bible into battle with him. It was given to him by his wife. He lost it on the battlefield at Okinawa, and his fellow soldiers searched for it and returned it to him.

Doss faced one more battle after the war. He lost one lung and five ribs to tuberculosis, yet continued working a small farm with his family. He appeared on the television program This Is Your Life in 1959, where he was surprised with additional land and equipment. But the moment I remember most was simple. The host leaned over to Doss’s son and said, “We sure surprised your dad, didn’t we?”

The boy grinned from ear to ear and said, “We sure did.”

Desmond Doss was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor. He was not the last. His example would be followed by others who chose to serve without bearing arms. Click here to learn about two medics in Vietnam who received the same award.

Best-selling author Martha Hutchens is a history nerd who loves nothing more than finding a new place and time to explore. She won the 2019 Golden Heart for Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements. A former analytical chemist and retired homeschool mom, Martha occasionally finds time for knitting when writing projects allow.


Martha’s debut novel, A Steadfast Heart, is now available. You can learn more about her books and historical research at marthahutchens.com.

When his family legacy is on the line, rancher Drew McGraw becomes desperate for someone to tame and tutor his three children. Desperate enough to seek a mail-order bride. But when the wrong woman arrives on his doorstep, Drew balks.

Heiress Kaitlyn Montgomery runs straight from the scandal chasing her toward a fresh start on a secluded ranch. She strikes a bargain with Drew—a marriage convenient for both of them.

But the more Kaitlyn adapts to ranch life and forms a bond with Drew’s children and their enigmatic father, she realizes that this ranch is where she is meant to be. And then her past catches up with her…

Women Homesteaders: Mollie Dorsey Sanford 1857-1866

Women Homesteaders: Mollie Dorsey Sanford 1867-1866

By: Izzy James

Mollie and her sister, Nan. Mollie is on the left.

Of all the homesteaders I’ve read about, I think Mollie is my favorite. She’s continuously upbeat and tells so much of life as she experienced it. Always looking for God she found Him.

On March 27th 1857 Mollie and her family left Indianapolis on the 9 o’clock train and arrived seventeen hours later in St. Louis, Missouri. They spent 29 March purchasing supplies. Spring bonnets, and a cook stove. A whole barrel of sugar and other provisions. Her father booked passage for his family on the paddle steamer “Silver Heels” and on the 30th of March at sunset they set off for the Nebraska Territory.

“We have a motley crew, persons of every form, size , and color. Fussy old ladies with their poodle dogs. Anxious mamas in mortal terror let their youngsters should fall overboard; giddy young girls, frolicksome children, fascination young gents, and plenty of bachelors, who fly to their staterooms to hide from the females, and romping children.”

As young girls often do, Molly made a friend and the two of them had a marvelous time.
Two weeks to the day they arrived in Nebraska City—“nice name, but not much of a city…”

“Here there are nothing but rude cabins and board shanties not even plastered. I see such lots of men, but very few ladies and children. I heard one fellow shout, ‘Hurrah for the girls’ as father marched his brood into the hotel parlor, and Mrs. Allen, our landlady said, ‘I’m glad to see the girls.’ She is quite gossipy and has already told us more than we can digest in a month. She says the place is full of gamblers, topers (drunkards), and roughs of every description, and we will have to be very discreet. So I suppose we will hardly dare poke our noses outside the door for fear of contamination.”

After a short sojourn in Nebraska City, Mollie’s father completed a small log house on the Little Nemaha. Her father named it “Hazel Dell” Mollie and her family settled into life on the prairie. Her father worked in town as a carpenter. They welcomed travelers and neighbors to their little home. After a slow and steady romance with Byron Sanford, twelve years her senior, she became engaged to be married.

During their long engagement Mollie would go to town and work for various families sewing, sometimes nursing, and teaching. Byron, By as she called him, visited often. In between these jobs she would go home to Hazel Dell. She was always happy to be among her family working along side them aiding them in whatever way most useful.

Byron and Mollie on the left. Her son and his family on the right.

On Monday, February 13th 1860 Byron and Mollie’s brother Sam went to Tecumseh to get a marriage license for the wedding was to take place the next day. Turns out the newly appointed County Clerk was absent in order to procure more of those forms. Sam rode home to tell the family and Byron waited for the clerk. The family watched for Byron the rest of the day. The following morning all was set for the wedding. Guests gathered. Food prepared. No Byron. Mollie excused herself every so often to weep and pray, always coming back in with a smile as family members commented. Some were kind, some not so much. Her grandfather went so far as to suggest that Byron’s sole purpose may have been to steal her grandfather’s horse. At eight o’clock her grandfather went back home to bed, Mollie walked with him there to make sure he was settled in.

On her way back home,

“I heard the sound of horse’s hoofs, and rushing to the roadside, I saw in the bright starlight my truant lover. His first exclamation was: ‘My gracious, Mollie, what do they think?’
I said, “What do you suppose I think, Lord Byron?’”

After colluding with her brother Sam and her aunt and uncle, (who was to perform the service) to keep Byron’s arrival a secret. They sprung a surprise on their guests. Mollie and Byron let the family think he’d not arrived and that Mollie had given up on her wedding for that day. Hiding in a different house they got themselves dressed once their preparations were complete they signaled her aunt, who marched into the parlor.

“We will not wait for Mr. Sanford any longer,” declared her aunt. “Come out to prayers.” All marched solemnly into the kitchen. At a signal, the door opened, and stepping in, the ceremony was immediately begun, and Byron N. Sanford and Mary E. Dorsey were made man and wife together…”
“And we were married in the kitchen! Start not! Ye fairy brides. Beneath your veils and orange blossoms, in some home where wealth and fashion congregate, your vows are no truer, your heart no happier, than was this maiden’s in the kitchen of a log cabin, in the wilderness of Nebraska.”

Eventually Mollie and Byron made their home in Denver. They had three children. Two survived into adulthood. Byron was employed by the United States Mint for forty years. He died in November 1914, Mollie died three months later.

The Sanford Home in Colorado

My book Liberty's Promise is about an enterprising young woman just like Mollie.

 

It's book two in the Homesteading Liberty series. This time town founder, Willis Ogden, meets his match.

Willie is pretty open to new ideas, he even hired a lady doctor for the town of Liberty, but when the Union Pacific sends a woman telegrapher, he's got questions. He's heard stories about women on the rails and he doesn't like what he's heard.

 

It’s taken years for Sadie Joan Hill to earn her way up the ranks as a first class telegrapher, and now she's been offered the job of station master at Liberty. A small outpost to be sure, but it’s a step up Sadie cannot afford to miss. Imagine. A station of her own.
 

It figures the town would be run by an old-fashioned man who cannot see beyond her pretty pink coat. No matter, Sadie has plans and she’s not going to let a man with his mind in the past destroy her future.

Izzy James lives in the traces of history in coastal Virginia with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books. Born with a traveling bone and an itch to knit. Izzy travels to every location where her books take place, from Williamsburg to Wyoming, popping in yarn stores along the way.
 

Connect with Izzy through her website at izzyjamesauthor.com and sign up for her monthly newsletter.

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References:

The Journal of Mollie Dorsey Sanford in Nebraska and Colorado Territories 1857 -1866
Introduction and Notes by Donald F Danker
Introduction to the new Bison Books Edition by Lillian Schlissel
University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln/London, 2003

https://www.museum.littletonco.gov/Research/Littleton-History/Biographies/Sanford

Women of Resistance: Sonja Wigert

 

Would you do anything to save your family? Norwegian actress Sonja Wigert agreed to become an Allied spy (code name Bill) to secure the release of her father from a Nazi prison. Born in the lakeside town of Notodden, Norway to a military family, Sonja began acting as a child on stage. She transitioned to film at the age of twenty-one, then relocated to Sweden in 1939 to further her career. She would eventually star in nearly three dozen movies until her retirement.

Sonja was sent back to Norway where her assignment was to uncover information about the German officers stationed there. She was specifically instructed to get close to Joseph Terboven, the Reichskommissar of occupied Norway. His fascination with actresses made him an easy target, and he was quickly enamored with her beauty and intelligence. She convinced him that she could use her contacts to spy on Sweden, and he took her up on the offer, thereby solidifying her role as a double-agent feeding him controlled disinformation.

Her father was eventually released from Grini concentration camp, along with several other political

prisoners. Her work for the military continued, and she managed to identify the Gestapo’s highest-ranking operative and the networks of German agents stationed there. Additional reports from her included the exposure of leaks in Swedish security that enabled the German infiltration. She collaborated with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (precursor to the CIA) in their attempts to expel Nazi agents from Sweden.

By 1944, the Nazis had determined that Sonja was only providing information approved by the resistance. In retribution, they spread the word that she was a collaborator. Despite repeated efforts to clear her name, the public could not be convinced. After the war was over, she returned to the movie industry, but her reputation was besmirched, and she was never as successful as her pre-war career. She would later say in an interview, “All of it was horrible. It was torment to go on the stage and to make films whilst this farce was ongoing. However, the worst thing was the icy coldness I felt from my friends.” Sonja completed her last film in 1960 and withdrew from the industry. She moved to Spain in 1969, passing away in 1980.

Sadly, she would not receive vindication until 2005, twenty-five years after her death, when the Swedish Intelligence agency released its war archives to the public, and her activities and loyalties revealed. Based on historian Iselin Theien’s biography Sonja Wigert: A Double Life, Swedish director Jens Jonsson’s dramatized biopic, The Spy, was released in 2019.

_______________________

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and

women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state, immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors, and drinks copious amounts of tea.

 
Norwegian Nights

Can their marriage endure a debilitating injury, a devastating loss, and a world war?

The second anniversary of Germany’s occupation of Norway has passed with no end in sight, so Gustav Westgard and his wife are still exiled on Shetland. He’s convinced Oda’s miscarriage would have been prevented back in Norway and decides he must return to his homeland to do whatever possible to rid the country of its invaders. Will he live to see liberation?

Grieving the loss of her baby, Oda turns toward her heavenly Father as Gustav retreats inside himself. Rather than try to stop him after she discovers he plans to join the Norwegian resistance, she stows away onboard the ship taking him home. Can she convince him that they are better united in a cause than apart?

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/u/bwl5qv


Sources:
https://skbl.se/en/article/SonjaWigert
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonja_Wigert
https://www.filmreviewdaily.com/all-reviews/the-spy
https://grokipedia.com/page/Sonja_Wigert

Photo Credits:
Sonja Wigert: By Nostalgia - Swedish publicity/press still, photographer unknown, Public Domain.
Sonja Wigert still from the 1941 movie Love and Friendship.
Movie Poster: imdb

Mary Roberts Rinehart - America's "Agatha Christie"

 By Mary Dodge Allen

Mary Roberts Rinehart, (Public Domain)

This amazing woman was the First:

• Best-Selling American Female Mystery Writer
• American Female War Correspondent (WWI)
• Breast Cancer Survivor to go Public and Encourage Breast Exams

Early Life

Mary Ella Roberts was born on August 12, 1876 in Allegheny City (now northern Pittsburgh). She was the oldest of two daughters born to Tom and Cornelia Roberts. Her father ran a profitable business selling sewing machines, and her mother worked from home as a dressmaker.

When Mary was a young girl, her father lost his sewing machine franchise. He tried his hand as an inventor, but his unprofitable inventions only plunged them deeper into debt. The family finally moved in with Mary's grandmother, but the financial stresses continued. 

Mary loved reading and also enjoyed writing short stories. While still in high school, she won a Pittsburgh Press short story contest. After graduation, her Uncle John generously offered to pay her way through nursing school. At the age of 17, Mary began attending the Pittsburgh School for Nurses at Pittsburgh Homeopathic Hospital.

During her nursing training, Mary was distressed by all the disease and death at the hospital. She later described it as "all the tragedy of the world under one roof." Mary's personal life would also be touched by tragedy. When she was 18, her grandmother fell down the stairs and broke her neck. A year later, Mary's father committed suicide.

Marriage

The one bright spot during her nursing training was her relationship with a young surgical intern - Dr. Stanley Rinehart. The hospital prohibited doctors and nurses from socializing, but that didn't stop them. Mary recalled, "How young we were, how secret we had to be."

Mary and Dr. Stanley Rinehart walking down a Pittsburgh street. (Public Domain)

They married in 1896, after Mary graduated from nursing school. The couple established a private medical practice, which they ran together in their home. In between the births of their three sons, Mary spent her free time writing short stories and poems. She earned a small amount of income each time one was published.

Financial Crisis

During 1903-04, the stock market took a severe downturn. Her husband Stan had invested heavily in stocks, and they lost their entire savings. Mary later wrote in her autobiography, "What could I do to help? I thought once more of writing but I was always so deadly tired."

Mary with her three sons. L-R: Stanley, Jr., Alan and Frederick "Ted" (Public Domain) 

Even so, the busy mother of three young sons went to work, "writing fast and furiously" at a card table. In that first year, she write 45 short stories and earned $1,842.50, (amounting to $58,000 today).

Even after her success writing short stories, Mary still had doubts. "I had no confidence in my ability... no desire whatever to write a book. A book was for real writers."

An editor with Munsey's Magazine, who had published one of her stories, encouraged her to try writing books. Her first mystery novel, The Circular Staircase was published in 1908 and became a best-seller.

In 1909, the Saturday Evening Post began publishing many of her short stories, and by 1911, she had written five mystery novels and began writing stage plays. Mary said she could "think faster than she could write, [and] devise plots and put them on paper with amazing speed."

Her financial success enabled the family to purchase a mansion in Sewickley, a wealthy Pittsburgh suburb. They also traveled with their sons to various countries overseas, which later became settings for her novels.

War Correspondent

After the outbreak of war in 1914, Mary expressed her interest in becoming a war correspondent for the Saturday Evening Post. The Post's editor objected, thinking a war zone was too dangerous for a woman. 

Mary then had what she called, "a grave conference with my husband" and obtained Stan's consent to travel to London to attend the opening of her play, Seven Days.

When she approached the Saturday Evening Post a second time, the editor - realizing how popular Mary had become with the Post's readers - agreed to finance her trip to London. He even gave her formal letters of introduction, so she could conduct interviews and write articles for the Post, while safely in England.

But Mary had more ambitious plans. After arriving in London during the Spring of 1915, Mary met with Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the London Times and asked him if she could tour war zone hospitals in Belgium and write articles for the Times. The publisher was impressed by her spirit and determination and arranged for her to travel to De Panne, Belgium and stay at the Red Cross's Hospital L'Ocean.

Red Cross's Hospital L'Ocean, De Panne, Belgium during WWI (Public Domain)

Mary was thrilled. "I am to go to the firing line." - an excerpt from her diary.

While there, she not only toured hospitals, but she also joined male journalists as they traveled to "No Man's Land," the barrier of one thousand feet that separated the weary troops on both sides, who were living in dismal muddy trenches.

From April to June 1915, Mary wrote wartime articles for both the Post and the London Times. She also interviewed Belgium's exiled King Albert, Britain's Queen Mary of Teck, (wife of King George V), and Winston Churchill.

Mary's article appeared in the June 19, 1915 issue of the Post (Saturday Evening Post)

Her Return to America

Mary loved the outdoors, and soon after she arrived home in the late Summer of 1915, she traveled out west to the newly-established Glacier National Park, where she camped, hiked and fished. She kept notes and then described her often humorous adventures in a book, Through Glacier Park, published in 1916.

Mary camping in Glacier National Park (Public Domain)

In 1922, Mary and her husband relocated to Washington, DC, where Stan began working for the Veterans Administration. Mary's prolific writing thrived. Her comedic mystery play, The Bat, (co-written with Avery Hopwood) ran for 867 performances in New York and 327 performances in London.

In the early 1930's, as the Great Depression worsened, the Rineharts lost money on many of Stan's investments. Mary continued earning a steady income writing mystery novels, as well as articles for the Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and the Ladies' Home Journal.

On October 28, 1932, Mary's beloved husband Stan died of a heart attack. As she dealt with her grief, she decided to spend the winter on Florida's Gulf Coast, with her adult sons and their families. They enjoyed this so much, they returned to sunny Florida every winter.

Mary with her sons, L-R: Stanley, Jr., Alan and Frederick "Ted" (Public Domain)

Mary loved wearing fashionable outfits (Public Domain)

Breast Cancer

In 1935, Mary moved from Washington, DC to a Park Avenue apartment in New York City. The following year, while wintering in Florida, Mary discovered a lump in her breast. She returned to New York, received a diagnosis of breast cancer and had a radical mastectomy. After this surgery, Mary remained cancer-free.

Mary's daughter-in-law, Gratia Rinehart, (Alan's wife), was not as fortunate. She died of breast cancer in 1939.

In that era, breast cancer was not openly-discussed, and this bothered Mary, a former nurse. In 1947, she wrote an article, I Had Breast Cancer, published in the Ladies' Home Journal. Mary encouraged women to conduct periodic breast examinations for early detection. The article generated an overwhelming public response, larger than any in the magazine's history.

Mary later wrote in her autobiography, "It wasn't easy to write this story, but one out of every three cancer deaths is needless... could I continue to be silent? Perhaps I have done some good, as I had hoped."

Later Life

An autographed copy of Mary's photo (Public Domain)

Some have called Mary Roberts Rinehart "America's Agatha Christie."

In 1952, Mary hosted a luncheon for Agatha Christie at her Park Avenue apartment. It's the only time these two best-selling mystery writers ever met in person.

On September 22, 1958, at the age of 82, Mary died of a massive heart attack at home. 

During her life, she maintained a strong marriage, raised three sons and succeeded as a foreign correspondent and a best-selling writer - careers dominated by men. Between 1909 and 1952, Mary wrote 54 mystery novels, which sold an estimated 10 million copies.

Some of her books were made into movies, such as the 1931 early sound movie, I Take This Woman, starring Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. It was based on her novel, Lost Ecstasy, published in 1927.

1931 movie poster (Public Domain)

After her death, Mary's sons established the Mary Roberts Rinehart Foundation, which presents the annual Mary Roberts Rinehart Award to a woman author of a major nonfiction work.

Mary's novels can still be found online, including her first, The Circular Staircase, available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

______________________________

Mary Dodge Allen is currently finishing her sequel to Hunt for a Hometown Killer. She's won a Christian Indie Award, an Angel Book Award, and two Royal Palm Literary Awards (Florida Writer's Association). She and her husband live in Central Florida. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers. 

Website: www.marydodgeallen.com

Recent release, anthology devotional: El Jireh, The God Who Provides

Mary's story, entitled: A Mother's Desperate Prayer, describes her struggle with guilt and despair after her young son is badly burned in a kitchen accident. When we are at the end of all we have, El Jireh provides what we need. 

Click the link below to purchase on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/El-Jireh-God-Who-Provides/dp/1963611608

Mary's novel: Hunt for a Hometown Killer won the 2022 Christian Indie Award, First Place - Mystery/Suspense; and the 2022 Angel Book Award - Mystery/Suspense.

Click the link below to buy Hunt for a Hometown Killer at Amazon.com:

Hunt For A Hometown Killer: A Novel: Allen, Mary Dodge: 9781952369704: Amazon.com: Books

Link to Mary's Spotlight Interview:   Mary Dodge Allen Author Spotlight EA Book

How Leadville Colorado Stole Georgetown's Title as the Silver Queen, Part 1

By Donna Wichelman

Over the last two years, readers of my blog have learned about how Colorado's rise to statehood came on the heels of vast discoveries of gold and silver deposits found in the territory during the 1860s and '70s. It was because of men like David T. Griffith, one of the founding fathers of Georgetown, Colorado, who had heard about the discoveries, that people came from all over the globe to make their fortunes. The town of Georgetown benefited from its reputation as the Silver Queen and continued to grow and prosper through the latter half of the 1870s.

But almost overnight, Leadville, Colorado, at an elevation of 10,200 feet, overtook Georgetown for the number-one spot as the Silver Queen, and by 1880, Colorado became the number-one mining state in the United States. How did this happen?

Modern-day Chestnut Street, Leadville, Colorado: Donna's Gallery June 2025

Historic Chestnut Street, Leadville, CO: The New York Public Library. (1850 - 1930). Chestnut Street, looking west. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/12960f50-c536-012f-37fe-58d385a7bc34

Initially, Leadville was a mining camp like Georgetown during the Colorado gold rush of 1859 - 1861. Prospectors had discovered placer gold in California Gulch. But surface gold declined, activity slowed, and the area lacked the capital investment to mine for placer gold. For more than fifteen years, nothing much happened in Leadville, while Georgetown grew and prospered.

Leadville, Colorado Mining Camp, April 1879Leadville, Colorado. (Apr. 23, [18]79) Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0dd74f60-c536-012f-d918-58d385a7bc34

But just as Georgetown became comfortable with its successful title with steady growth and $2 million in production per year at the outset of 1878, miners in the district of Leadville made a discovery that changed everything. A "black sand" they had previously overlooked was actually a high-grade silver-rich cerussite ore, also known as lead carbonate. It contained as much as 77% lead and sufficient silver to be easily extracted during smelting.

Silver Nugget, Silver Plume: Donna's Gallery June 2019

Coupled with the discovery of an immense quantity of the ore, US government policy at the time favored silver, passing the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. Backed by farmers, bankers, and Western Mining interests, the act sought to expand the money supply and reverse deflationary pressures in the economy. Though it was vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes, the act passed and required the US Treasury to purchase $2 - $4 million dollars per month. The legislation also led to the US Treasury's minting of the Morgan Silver Dollar, which had high silver content.

Morgan Silver Dollar: ID 1629995 © Robert Fullerton | Dreamstime.com

Leadville's prosperity soared in the late 1870s and 1880s. In 1879, Leadville miners made $11 million in silver. The next year, they produced $14 million. The railroads followed, cashing in on the profits. Leadville had not only surpassed Georgetown in production but had realized the key to expansion and affluence, becoming one of the richest mining districts in the world.

Miners flocked to Leadville, making it a "mecca" for mining engineers who had previously made Georgetown their home. Major investors, like Horace Tabor, Guggenheim, and others made millions. People started talking about making Leadville the capital of Colorado, as they once had Georgetown. The US census recorded population growth in 1880 at 14,280 to 15,185 people, though some sources cite more than 30,000.

Tabor Opera House, Leadville, CO: Donna's Gallery, June 2025

Regardless, the town grew into an industrialized community and became the second-largest in Colorado. Many investors also brought their wealth to Denver, paving the way for Denver to become the predominant town in the Rockies. Leadville's popularity had supplanted Georgetown's reputation for its cosmopolitan and sophisticated aura, having produced far more ore in four years than Georgetown had in two decades. The wealth and investment put Colorado on the US map as the state where people wanted to live.

By 1879, Georgetown noticed the impact on their community. The 1880 census showed the loss of 1,200 people, 37% of their population, as people headed to Lake and Summit Counties. The Courier, Clear Creek County's newspaper, tried to put a positive spin on the circumstances. It would prove to demonstrate the vulnerability of the mining industry in the years to come, as we move into Part II of this series in May.

Donna is an Angel-award-winning author of Historical fiction for A Song of Deliverance. Book Two in the Silver Singing Mine series, Rhythms of the Heart, was released in November 2025. Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of Donna's love of travel, history, and literature as a young adult while attending an international college in Wales, U.K. She enjoys developing plots that show how God's love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, belonging, and forgiveness.

Donna was a communications professional before becoming a full-time writer. Her short stories and articles have appeared in inspirational publications. She has two indie-published romantic suspense novels, Light Out of Darkness and Undaunted Valor, in her Waldensian Series. 

Donna and her husband of forty-one years participate in ministry at their local church in Colorado. They love spending time with their grandchildren and bike, kayak, and travel whenever possible.

A Room with a View and the Beginning of Freedom

Did you ever consider the volume of people and events contributing to our freedoms? So many partook in helping to develop our current state over the years. Why the ride of Paul Revere popped into my mind at this moment, I do not know. I read an article recently about a young woman who also alerted townspeople of impending danger. The reality is, we may never know of each piece and parcel that built this foundation. In addition, we may not stop to investigate those who stood together to ensure a future of opportunities. As children, we heard about founding forefathers. We learned presidents’ names. We studied various details of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Did we ever once think about where and how these individuals lived? 

Perhaps as we age, our appreciation deepens and then we embark upon understanding. Alas, that is where I find myself. Today I would like to share a peek into a family with multiple members who gave so we could be free. The Rutledge Family who lived in Charleston, South Carolina, or could I say clan as they herald from Scotland. 

Have you ever stayed in a B&B, a Bread and Breakfast establishment? A dear friend of mine found the John Rutledge House Inn. Imagine this... John wrote multiple variations of the United States Constitution in this very house. Yes indeed. See photo below of the room where guests now partake in meals and fellowship on the second floor. This is where John pondered words that would later allow us to live as we do today.   

Steeped in history, this beautiful home allows us the opportunity to envision life in earlier days when times were slower, simpler, and the nation took its first steps. The photos infused here amongst details of some Rutledge family members' lives are from our stay last year. If you have the chance to go to Charleston, I highly recommend at least a few nights in this lovely house.

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Photo at left above features the front view of the John Rutledge House Inn. To the right, the back of the home with courtyard offer an entirely different facade. Below left, notice the view of the courtyard from an upstairs hallway window. Below right shows the ornate staircase and detailed landing. Look at the intricate carvings after the brick, approaching the stairs. Such craftsmanship throughout the house.

    

         

The concierge offered us this photo below of the original home. Not much has changed on the exterior over the years. The next photo depicts the plaque designating the John Rutledge Home, where John Rutledge lived and served as President of South Carolina and the first Governor of the State of South Carolina.

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I am often fascinated in imagining who stepped across thresholds and climbed stairs. The number of feet crossing and to whom they belonged. What were their lives like? Whom did they love? What did they do?

       

This room below at right is named the Signers Ballroom. Artifacts from the era encircle the room. The photo below offers a view of the house across the street.

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Here are some notable timeline entries of the lives and service of a few Rutledge family members:

John Rutledge

1761 began practicing law

1762 provincial assembly

1774 Delegate to the First Continental Congress

1775 Delegate to the Second Continental Congress

1776-1778 president and commander in chief of South Carolina

1779-1782 served as governor

Signed the U.S. Constitution

1789-1791 Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

1790-1795 Chief justice of South Carolina

Edward Rutledge

1773 Career began as a lawyer

1774 Delegate to the First Continental Congress

1775-1776 Delegate to the Second Continental Congress

Signed the Declaration of Independence

Revolutionary War - captain in Militia of South Carolina, specifically the Charleston Battalion of Artillery

May 12, 1780 after British capture, prisoner at St. Augustine through July 1781

1782, 1786, 1788, 1792 member of the South Carolina state house of representatives 1790 member - South Carolina state constitutional convention

1794 offered appointment of Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court in by President Washington, but did not accept

December 6, 1798 elected governor of South Carolina

Hugh Rutledge

Practiced law

Veteran of the American Revolution

1783 Served as Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives

Incidentally, Edward Rutledge was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence at 26 years of age. Other relatives also participated in government and the formation of this nation. 

Can you think of another family with multiple members who contributed to the birth of the United States of America?

The John Rutledge House Inn has insightful drone footage from outside the property right through the front doors. You can take a virtual tour of sorts and then perhaps book at stay. You'll be glad you did.

Rebecca and her husband share a townhouse with their rescued dog named Ranger, who is not spoiled in the least. They are enjoying a new season nestled in a quaint southeastern US city. She is a proud mom of an American soldier and an Aerospace grad student. If it were up to Rebecca, she would be traveling - right now. First up, trips to see their two grown sons. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, she tackles the craft of fiction while learning from a host of generous writers.

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