In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a shotgun messenger was a private "express messenger" and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, especially on a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

but also on a

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

, in charge of overseeing and guarding a valuable private shipment, such as particularly the contents of a strongbox (on a stagecoach) or

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

(on a train). The express messenger for stagecoaches typically rode in a seat on top of the coach, on the left next to the driver (who typically sat on the right side, operating the wheel brake with right arm). In the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

of the 1880s, if a stagecoach had only a driver and no

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

messenger, this meant the coach carried no strongbox and was thus a less interesting target for "road agents" (

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

s). Wells Fargo Co. express messengers typically carried a short (or

sawn-off A sawed-off shotgun (also called a sawn-off shotgun, short-barreled shotgun, shorty or a boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under —and often a shortened or absent stock. Despite the colloquial term, ...

) 12- or 10-

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...

double-barrelled

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

, loaded with

buckshot A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small, pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired thro ...

. This was a most effective weapon in use against pursuing riders. Such weapons were sometimes referred to as "messenger shotguns" or, more commonly, "

coach gun A coach gun is a modern term, coined by gun collectors, for a double-barreled shotgun, generally with barrels from in length, placed side-by-side. These weapons were known as "cut-down shotguns" or "messenger's guns" from the use of such shotgu ...

s" (a name still used today). To some extent these weapons also carried over to use by private guards in trains with strongboxes or safes, where they were again effective. Like "

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

", the actual term "

riding shotgun "Riding shotgun" was a phrase used to describe the bodyguard who rides alongside a stagecoach driver, typically armed with a break-action shotgun, called a coach gun, to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans. In modern use, it refer ...

" first appeared in fiction about the

, dating back as far as the 1905 book ''The Sunset Trail'' by Alfred Henry Lewis. See also "

calling shotgun "Riding shotgun" was a phrase used to describe the bodyguard who rides alongside a stagecoach driver, typically armed with a break-action shotgun, called a coach gun, to ward off bandits or hostile Native Americans. In modern use, it refer ...

" which dates from use in autos to about 1954, at a time when it was being used in the popular TV series '' Gunsmoke''.

References

{{reflist 19th-century establishments 20th-century disestablishments American frontier Obsolete occupations Protective service occupations History of road transport

Further reading

References