How Calamity Jane Became A Wild West Living Legend | Legend Of The West

I take great exception with your statement that "On June 25th Custer and his men were ambushed". That's a blatant misrepresentation of events. Custer's scouts had located the Indian encampment, Custer had sent word to Captain Benteen, and then proceeded to ride into an encampment of what he thought to be women, children and elderly. It was not until he rode into the encampment that he was to learn that there were roughly 2000 Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors there. In no possible way was Custer "ambushed".

I started watching this, never expecting to see my old history professor from DWU on here! How fun to hear him telling me about Calamity Jane again!

Calamity is one of the greatest nicknames in history. She was a true hero of the West.

My grandparents, my dad and I went to Deadwood in the 80s and I made my dad take my picture with the woman playing Calamity Jane. I loved her as a character and I’m glad to see her true and sad story. So much trauma in her life and her daughter’s life.

The first true american heroine is molly pitcher. She was a nurse in the revolution and helped to win one of the most important battles of the war. By manning a cannon when one of the crew members became heat stroked.

The men the “soiled doves” had to put up with would be drunken, smelly, crude, violent and often cruel. No wonder they died young and became drunks and addicts.

My great-grandfather wrote a book about her and was a big historian here in South Dakota. His father was 1 of the first 100 settlers in the dakotas too and that home is a museum still to this day.

By the end of the video where the dude is saying that she was not respectable that she did not dress well talk well all that stuff... I mean I get it he's just reciting what folks really thought of her I guess, but I would say that she was one of the most influential people with her stories shaping our views of the west. She didn't dress like people out east because she didn't f-ing need to. She was her own person, with her own style!

I. Love how Calamity goes wherever the hell she wants to go military be damned. Thanks for the suggestion Chief I'll take that into consideration after I go where I'm about to go.

What a hard and sad life…and she never got to see her daughter at the end

My friend is related to her. She looks exactly like calamity Jane. It's so crazy to see how much they look alike.

My mom often referred to me as calamity Jen throughout my childhood. I had no idea who she was referring to at the time. Now that my “wild child “ days are over, and I grew to know more about Martha/Calamity I have embraced that label I was given so long ago. This was a fantastically presented documentary and I enjoyed every minute, including the narrator’s silky smooth voice! 👍🏼love it!

I'm sure in no way was she the first American heroine just the first recognized. Before Paul Revere ride his short ride A teenage girl 16-year-old Sybil Ludington rode a longer route with arguably more danger with no recognition.

I wasn't expecting her story to be so sad.

She was a much better person than most people think. She and her siblings were abandoned and somebody had to feed her siblings. Give her a break. I am sure that God has.

Born in May 1852, Died in August 1903. Seems that she was 51 years old when she died, NOT 47. Even so, that is very young. And in her last photo, she looks much older than 51. Seems she did the best she could, based on the opportunities and wisdom that a 12-year-old orphan could produce for herself. And by the time she got older, her patterns were too ingrained.

I was in Deadwood, saw their tombs, the guide was funny and fast talking. There was an Australian dying from cancer, traveling the Old American West.

His wife died and he abandoned his children on trail? That is hard-core cruel

This was a really well done documentary! I thoroughly enjoyed it, I learned a lot, and Calamity Jane certainly made a very interesting life for herself. Wish they had gone farther into whatever happened to her daughter and maybe any grandchildren or further issue that came out of that line . Thank you .

Custer was not ambushed. His scouts found a settlement of around 500 women & children. They slaughtered them all. One boy, about 7 years old was able to duck away & ran 25 miles to a settlement of about 7,000 warriors. After telling them what happened the elders sent in about 1,500 young men from 12 to 17 yrs old to go fight Custer. It was their right to Passage, so to speak. In other words Custer was killed by boys. Custer knew they were coming & the force they were bringing. He was aragant, chose to die there. He was not ambushed. I know many Lakota natives. This is the story they tell.