Annie Oakley (August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926), born Phoebe Ann Mosey, was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar. Her image in popular culture has been colored by the larger-than-life version depicted in Irving Berlin's play Annie Get Your Gun.
More than a century after the Russian-American War devastated the world in 1967, Annie Oakley's name was remembered in the Valley, but their educational system, poor even by the standards of the region, was not too accurate about getting her facts right. Not only was her identity conflated with the comic strip character "Little Orphan Annie," but it was believed that "Little Orphan Annie Oakley" had been a train robber, and partner of Jesse James. While the two were finally caught, Annie escaped justice by marrying Judge Warbucks.[1]
