Annie Oakley takes aim with a Lever Action Rifle towards the end of her career. The famous American sharpshooter played an interesting and unique role during World War I. 

“Little Sure Shot”: Annie Oakley during The Great War

By Charles Pauley
Staff Writer

Annie Oakley is renowned for being probably the best Woman Sharpshooter to ever live. Through her talent with firearms, she became a national celebrity in the United States during the late 1800s and into the early 20th century. While she was most famous for her feats of skill and shooting tricks during her time performing with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, she was also a huge supporter of the war effort when the United States entered into World War I.

She participated in a number of ways, and even tried to raise a small army to be used at the United States’ disposal. Some might even say that at one point, she had the opportunity to “prevent” the war with a single shot. Despite her involvement’s relative obscurity, the role she played during the conflict was quite interesting and unique.

Annie Oakley’s Humble Beginnings

A young Annie Oakley leveling her shotgun.Phoebe Ann Mosey (or Moses on some accounts) was born on August 13th, 1860 in Darke County, Ohio. Phoebe endured a difficult childhood. Her Father, Jacob Mosey, died when she was very young leaving her mother, Susan Wise Mosey, to raise Phoebe and her 6 siblings on her own. When her mother remarried to Dan Brumbaugh, he died soon after, leaving her with another child to support. After her mother’s third marriage to Joseph Shaw, Phoebe found herself using her father’s old Kentucky rifle to hunt and sell game to a local grocery store in order to help support her family. Through necessity, Phoebe began to discover her talents as an excellent shot. She was so successful in hunting game that at the age of 15, she was able to pay off her mother’s home mortgage. Considering her age and the time period, this was a truly remarkable feat. Little did she know that this would prepare her for a lifetime in show business.

Phoebe found her way into stardom through her participation in a shooting competition with renowned sharpshooter of the time, Frank Butler. Butler was one of the popular travelling marksmen of the day and thought that he could beat most anyone. When he was on tour in Ohio, the locals there told him they had a shooter who could best him. On the day of the competition, Frank was quite surprised to find that his opponent was an unassuming young woman. Despite their skill being evenly matched for the duration of the competition, Frank eventually missed a shot, handing the competition over to Phoebe.

Of course, Phoebe found herself the victor of the close competition, and with that winning shot, her life changed forever. After his loss, Frank began to fall in love with her. They eventually married in 1876. It was once she started performing with Frank that she adopted her iconic stage name, Annie Oakley.