Buffalo Bill Cody visits Staunton: Augusta County Historical Society talk

On Oct. 5, 1916, Buffalo Bill Cody came to Staunton with a Wild West Show under the theme of “Military Preparedness.” Within six months, Cody was dead and the United States was at war with Germany.  On Nov. 4, the Augusta County Historical Society will launch its World War 1 Commemoration with a talk by historian John Flood on the significance of Buffalo Bill’s efforts to Staunton and the nation on the eve of “The Great War.”

A veteran showman, Cody was known to incorporate current events into his shows.  In 1916, with Europe already embroiled in war and the U.S. ill prepared for combat, the legendary scout focused his show on preparing the nation’s scattered military for action. President Woodrow Wilson had, earlier in 1916, toured the nation on his own “Preparedness Campaign” to organize and coordinate the nation’s hodge-podge mass of volunteer militias and national guardsmen into a well-trained military force. Cody’s efforts in Staunton and around the nation promoted the same vital idea.

Historian John Flood will speak at the ACHS Fall Meeting November 4 on the intriguing connection of Buffalo Bill Cody, Staunton, Virginia, and Woodrow Wilson… a story from Wild West to World War. The 3 p.m. meeting will be in the Augusta County Government Center and is free and open to the public.  The presentation will follow a brief ACHS business meeting.

Flood, a Winchester historian who is completing a book on Cody and his remarkable career, will describe the times leading up to WW1 and the impact of Buffalo Bill and his shows on Staunton and the nation.

Buffalo Bill Cody actually brought the Wild West Show to Staunton twice, first in 1899 and again in 1916. . The 1916 event, on the eve of WWI, had a strong military element…  A theme requested by the War Department and President Wilson.  Several units of regular army infantry, cavalry, and artillery were furloughed in order to accompany Cody’s show that year. After a “military pageant” parade through downtown Staunton, the show set up at the city’s fairgrounds and featured the “U.S. Field Artillery in Expert Driving and Whirlwind Battery Drills.”

The ACHS was founded in 1964 to study, collect, preserve, publish, educate about, and promote the history of Augusta County and its communities. More information is available online at www.augustacountyhs.org.