1789 |
|
Oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency
On September 24, President George Washington appointed the first 13 U.S.
Marshals following the passage of
the first Judiciary
Act. |
1790 |
|
The U.S. Marshal has historically conducted death sentences on those
condemned by federal courts. |
1789-1865 |
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Until the creation of the Secret Service in 1865,
Marshals were
frequently called upon to pursue counterfeiters. |
1790-1870 |
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U.S. Marshals were required by Congress to take the national census
every ten years. |
1794 |
|
U.S.
Marshal Robert Forsyth was murdered while serving civil process on the
Allen brothers.
Conclusion: Retired Deputy U.S. Marshal Follows the Trail of
Robert Forsyth’s Murderer |
1794 |
|
August 4 - Supreme Court Justice James
Wilson certified that the Whiskey Rebels were "too powerful to be
suppressed by the powers vested in the Marshal of that district".
President Washington called out the state militia.
September 7 - The state militia marched
against the Whiskey Rebels. U.S. Marshal David Lenox rode with
them and marched under the command of President Washington, the only
time in American history a president has taken the field at the head of
his army. |
1798 |
|
July 13 - Congress passed the Sedition Act
punishing unlawful combinations against the government or publishing
"false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government.
U.S. Marshals and Attorneys enforced the infamous law. |
1850-1861 |
|
Upon passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 by Congress, U.S.
Marshals enforced the Act by arresting
fugitive slaves and returning them to their southern masters. Marshals
were required to enforce the law. Any negligence in doing so
exposed Marshals and deputies to severe financial penalties. |
1857 |
|
Nov. 14 - William Walker launched a military
expedition against Nicaragua. Although arrested by U.S. Marshal
William Wagner (E/LA), Walker posted bail. The expedition failed
in the face of poor weather, poor organization, and British ships. |
1861-1864 |
|
During the Civil War, U.S. Marshals confiscated property used to support
the Confederacy and helped root out Confederate
spies. Lincoln and His Deputy
The
Undefeated Rebel |
1865-1900 |
|
U.S. Marshals were instrumental in keeping law and order in the "Old
West" era and involved in apprehending desperadoes such as the Dalton
Gang, Bill Doolin, and Ned Christie. See also:
Line of
duty deaths prevalent in Old West How much
does it cost to find Billy the Kid? |
1870 |
|
On July 1, 1870, Congress created the Department
of Justice and gave it supervision over U.S. Marshals and Attorneys. |
1872 |
|
U.S.
Marshals assisted Internal Revenue agents (who had no arrest powers) in
enforcing the whiskey tax laws. |
1880 |
|
Prisoner Custody in the 1880's |
1881 |
|
Oct. 26 - Tombstone, Arizona Territory - Marshal
Virgil Earp and his deputies, brothers Wyatt and Morgan Earp, and Doctor
John H. Holliday, gunned down Frank and Tom McLaury, and Billy Clanton in
a vacant lot just down the street from the O.K. Corral.1881: |
1890 |
|
The
Supreme Court held that the President has
power, through the Attorney General, to direct a United States Marshal
to accompany and protect federal judges from a threatened assault:
Judicial Protection: Cunningham vs Neagle 135 U.S. 1 (1890)
; See also In the
matter of David Neagle, Deputy U.S. Marshal |
1894 |
|
During the Pullman strike, U.S. Marshals were ordered by the federal
courts and the Cleveland administration to keep the trains
rolling.
|
1896 |
|
July 1 - The fee system of paying Marshals was
abolished. The Marshals were put on annual salary. |
1910 |
|
Nov. 20 - Francisco Madero launched a revolution from U.S. soil
against Mexican President Porfirio Diaz.
The subsequent turmoil in Mexico compelled the U.S. Marshals to
protect the Mexican-American border. |
1906-1943 |
|
U.S. Marshals
served the
consular courts in China |
1917 |
|
Marshals and World War I:
While American troops fought in the trenches of Europe, United States
Marshals protected the home front against enemy aliens, spies, and
saboteurs. |
1919 |
|
Oct. 27 - The Volstead Act activated the 18th Amendment’s
prohibition on liquor. During Prohibition, U.S.
Marshals arrested bootleggers and seized all of their equipment - cars,
trucks, breweries, and warehouses. |
1920 |
|
The 18th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting
the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating beverages.
U.S. Marshals were the principal
enforcing agents. |
1920-1960 |
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The Twentieth Century era of specialization left the U.S. Marshals
performing fewer functions related to the courts. |
1937 |
|
Oct. 13 - U.S. Marshals were requested to
run background checks on deputies. |
1956 |
|
Dec. 17 - The Executive Office of U.S.
Marshals was created. |
1960-1965 |
|
U.S. Marshals provided security to enforce federal laws and orders
related to civil rights. After riots erupted over
James Meredith's enrollment at Ole Miss in 1962, teams of deputies protected him 24 hours
a day for an entire year. In a similar circumstance,
Ruby Bridges was
also provided U.S. Marshals protection when she was one of the first
students to integrate the New Orleans public schools. |
1967 |
|
October 21 - Deputy U.S. Marshals protect the Pentagon against possible
damage. See:
U.S. Marshals and the Pentagon
Riot |
1969 |
|
The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) was established as a headquarters
organization, overseeing the district U.S. Marshals.
Former agency leaders |
1971 |
|
The Witness Security Program was established as a division within the
USMS after the passage of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. The Special Operations Group (SOG) was established to
provide a well trained, self-sufficient, mobile group of deputies
capable of responding anywhere within the United States and its
territories within a few hours of receiving an activation order. |
1973 |
|
Marshals and FBI agents contained the unrest at Wounded Knee, South
Dakota. |
1979 |
|
The USMS assumed the responsibility for the apprehension of federal
fugitives. The capture of Christopher Boyce
was the first high profile fugitive arrested by the Marshals after their
fugitive responsibilities were expanded to include escapees from federal
prison facilities. |
1981 |
|
The first of the Fugitive Investigation Strike Team (FIST operations)
was established to operate as a multi-agency task force to apprehend
federal, state, and local fugitives. |
1982 |
|
The
closing of the Panama Canal Zone Marshals Service Office. In cooperation with
the Administrative Office of
the U.S. Courts, established the Court Security
Officer Program. |
1984 |
|
Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 |
1985 |
|
U.S. Marshals assumed the responsibility for managing and disposing of
properties seized and forfeited by federal law enforcement agencies and
U.S. Attorneys nationwide.
Marshals Service acquired
its first Boeing 727 used for prisoner
transportation. |
1989 |
|
U.S. Marshals celebrated 200 years of service to the United States.
Official
U.S. Law Enforcement entity in Antarctica |
1996 |
|
U.S. Marshals assumed the responsibility for the Justice Prisoner and
Alien Transportation System (JPATS), which merged the air fleets of the USMS
and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
Marshals Protect Clinics and Doctors - As a result of the bombings and threats against abortion clinics, U.S.
Marshals were responsible for protecting the clinics and doctors. |
1997 |
|
U.S. Marshals provided security for the Timothy McVeigh and Terry
Nichols trials, convicted of bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. |
1998 |
|
Investigative Presence in Mexico - U.S. Marshals established a foreign
investigative presence in the U.S. Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico. |
1999 |
|
USMS signed a Memorandum of Understanding with U.S. Customs, giving
the USMS responsibility to investigate the
majority of their fugitive warrants. |
2005 |
|
U.S.
Marshals completed the largest fugitive apprehension operation in
American history. Through Operation
FALCON (“Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally”), which was
conducted April 4–10, 2005, Deputy U.S. Marshals and their law
enforcement partners arrested a total of 10,340 fugitives and cleared
more than 13,800 felony warrants. |
2006
|
|
Operation FALCON II April 17- 23, 2006
- U.S. Marshals coordinated with federal, state, city and
county law enforcement agencies in a massive fugitive
dragnet. Read More
Operation FALCON III - Federal and Local Cops Organized
Nationally - A massive fugitive operation took place the week
of October 22- 28, 2006 and covered the eastern half of the United States.
As a cooperative effort, Operation FALCON III removed some
of the country’s most dangerous sex offenders and gang
members from the streets. |
2006 |
|
Fugitive Safe Surrender
was authorized by Congress in July 2006. The program is
believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. A unique,
creative, and highly successful initiative that encourages persons
wanted for non-violent felony or misdemeanor crimes
to voluntarily surrender to the law in a faith-based or other neutral
setting. |
2007 |
|
America's Star in Space Again!
FALCON 2007 focused on gang
members and gang activity in targeted urban areas. |
2008 |
|
FALCON
2008 - In June 2008, the U.S.
Marshals teamed with its partners from federal, state, and local law
enforcement to engage in the record-breaking Operation FALCON 2008. This represented the fifth effort in a continuing series of historically
successful national fugitive apprehension missions, and resulted
in the collective capture of more than 55,800 dangerous fugitive
felons.
A Visit to Chief
Deputy U.S. Marshal Helen Crawford, Retired - At age 100, Helen
Crawford still prides her long career with the U.S. Marshals. On July
14, 2008, from the sitting room at an assisted living facility, Bonner
Place in Jacksonville, Texas, she related the most exciting of times.
** Ms. Helen V. Crawford passed on June 29, 2010, just two weeks shy
of her 102nd birthday. Representing the Eastern District of
Texas at the service was former U.S. Marshal John Moore and former Chief
Deputy David Sligh. She was interred at Cathedral in the Pines,
Beaumont, Texas. She was an original and will be greatly missed. |