Did you know that Wyoming briefly had two companies of women’s militia?
According to the Wyoming Historical Society, newspapers called them “girl guards” and, sometimes, “amazons.” Two teams of young women, mostly teenagers, began drilling and practicing as Wyoming was fighting for statehood. They used wooden rifles and practiced drill patterns out of a manual from the Knights of Pythias. Their female captains carried Knights-of-Pythias-style swords as well.
The first team wasCompany K. The group gave its first performance at the Merchant Carnival on October 22, 1889. On October 30, Company K performed at a statehood rally. As Wyoming’s bid for statehood was being held up by its allowing women to vote, one newspaper suggested sending the company to Washington, “[a]s a good, graceful and lovely lobbyist” to persuade congressmen and senators that “the women of Wyoming at least were deserving of statehood.”
A rival, Company H, was formed in April 1890, and they, too, received high praise in the papers. Both companies performed during Cheyenne’s huge statehood celebrations on July 23 that year - Wyoming had officially joined the Union just 13 days before that. Both companies disbanded after the celebration.