They were tough and courageous men who drove Union Pacific's railroad construction forward. They came from Germany, Ireland, Sweden and many other countries besides. They were led by General Jack Casement, the head of railroad construction. And Casement had his work cut out for him when the crew reached Julesburg.
Julesburg, the so-called "hell on wheels", was full of shady characters, whores, gamblers and swindlers who all wanted to take the railroad workers' hard-earned money away from them any way they could.
When the first deaths occurred, General Casement knew that something had to be done. Julesburg needed cleaning out. So he called his men together and they marched to Julesburg on July 4, 1868, and he promised them an Independence Day they would never forget ...