When it comes to historical accuracy in movies and television, one might not think ofTaylor Sheridan’s1883as being an example, given that the characters are fictional. Regardless, this critically acclaimedYellowstoneprequel features several demographics who did indeed head out to the frontier, including large familieslike the Duttons, new German immigrants, and Civil War veterans. While the Oregon Trail had long since been discarded by the time the show takes place,the journey portrayed is quite true to life, with the hazards the immigrants face being more mundane than violent. The series has a higher casualty rate than what was normally the case, so much so thata sequel is basically impossible, but it makes up for this by striking a careful balance between the romanticization of the West and the historical reality of it. For those who chose to embark on such a journey, it could be a trial by fire, but the freedom it granted them to start a new life made it worth all the trouble.
In ‘1883,’ Settlers Come From a Variety of Places
When we think of the Old West, most of the people we like to imagine are often grizzled men traveling for weeks on horseback through rough and deadly terrain. While there is a grain of truth in these perceptions, they also do not match reality. Rather than individuals seeking to free themselves from the government, those who went west after the Civil War did sowith massive land grantssigned into law by Congress. However,1883does nail one important aspect ofjust who exactly traveled westin search of a better life. Although some settlers were Civil War veterans like Shea (Sam Elliot),many such immigrants were actually from Europe, though the series never addresses the many former slaves who also traveled west during the time period.
Another underrated aspect of Western travel that1883gets right is the means settlers had to travel. As much as the idea contrasts with our image of the West as untamed,immigrants actually depended upon railroads to reach the Great Plains, but the way1883depicts this is only half true. Like the show depicts, most people who journeyed west did so in wagon groups, but the problem here is the timing. After we see the Dutton family riding by train out to Fort Worth, where the serieswas partially filmed, they use the Oregon trail to reach their destination. In reality, the completion of the Intercontinental Railroad in 1869made wagon travel obsoleteand the trip to Oregon took days, not months. By the time the series takes place, the Oregon trail used by the Dutton family was nothing more than a historical relic that was rarely used by new settlers, and the fifty years of the Wild West were almost over.
‘1883’ Captures the Hardships Settlers Would Face
Although1883is not,with a few rare exceptions, based upon real people, it does a great job of displaying actual experiences of those who traveled west on the Oregon Trail. Despite our views of the West as a violent place, the dangers settlers faced were often more mundane. In place of local government,most traveling parties enforced their own rulesor hired private militias to guard their small towns, with the Pinkerton Company that Shea joins being perhaps the most famous example. We also see this form of frontier justice in the series, when he punishes the thieves in his party with banishment and leaves them for dead. Native attacks were actually quite rare and the ones that did occur in this time periodwere during military expeditionsby the US Army. Still, this does not invalidate the Comanche attack depicted in the series, as it was a retaliatory strike against the settlers they wrongly thought were responsible for a massacre.
Most of the casualties on the Oregon Trail were not from violent skirmishes, but disease, rough terrain, and wagon accidents. These new territories were certainly unfamiliar, but for those who knew what they were doing,the journey could be relatively peacefuland deaths were uncommon, as long as they departed on time before June. When one considers their inexperience, it makes sense that 1883 shows many of these hazards through the immigrant party, who struggle to endure the elements, wild animals, and deadly river crossings. For the unlucky ones who were injured,medicine was both primitive and scarce, meaning that an injury on the road could be a death sentence. Aside fromtheir clean teeth,1883plays this well for dramatic effect, with Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) dying in the finale after being critically wounded by a Comanche arrow. When he loses a leg, Josef (Marc Rissmann) goes through a very similar experience, enduring the amputation without anesthesia after already losing his wife in a horse riding accident.
What Does the Piano Song Mean in ‘1883’?
“Cool heads cross rivers. Hot heads drown.”
How ‘1883’ Shows the Spirit of the West
Perhaps no film genre has been more romanticized than Westerns over the decades, built upon myths of rugged individualism and freedom from the government. At itspeak in the 1940s, the genre dominated cinema and these portrayals define our modern view of the era in ways we might not even realize. Although the series reflects an era forty years before it takes place, it still feels more accurate than many other Westerns, capturing the best and the worst experiences for those who lived through it. There are onlya few rare caseswhere the genre gives historical realism any attention, and 1883 does thisin a way that drastically raises the stakesfor everyone involved in the journey. The series is more than aYellowstoneprequel and is great on its own as a piece of historical fiction. What few inaccuracies the series does have are largely inconsequential, and it serves as a fascinating exploration of an era that has been long gone but still remains a popular part of American mythology.
Thematically,1883also captures what makes Westerns so fascinating in the first place, acknowledging the myth of the Wild West and its power but still showing its dangers. The world of 1883 is filled withvery real hazards, ones that led to the deaths of actual people, but it’s also a place where romance can flourish on the Great Plains,continuing similar themesfrom the original series. Yes, Elsa perishes in the final episode, but she also finds a new identity for herself and feels more alive during her time out west than she ever did back home. Despite their hardships, other characters like Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) and Noemi (Gratiela Brancusi) manage to start a new life. The series finale isclearly a bittersweet one, but it still captures the spirit of the West that real settlers had witnessed and features what seemed an entirely new world to them in an era where people rarely ventured beyond their home state. Perhaps the most accurate moment in1883, and the thing that makes it stand out from the rest of the genre, is how it understands that the West can be just as inspiring as it is terrifying.
1883is available for streaming on Paramount+ in the US.
The post-Civil war generation of the Dutton family travels to Texas, and joins a wagon train undertaking the arduous journey west to Oregon, before settling in Montana to establish what would eventually become the Yellowstone Ranch.
Watch on Paramount+
