Thomas H. Rynning

Thomas Harbo Rynning (February 17, 1866 – June 18, 1941) was an officer in the United States Army who served with Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War. He was also the captain of the Arizona Rangers, warden of Yuma Territorial Prison, and a United States Marshal in San Diego, California.

Early life and military career American Indian Wars Thomas Rynning was born in Christiania, Norway on February 17, 1866. At the age of two, his parents emigrated to the United States and settled in Beloit, Wisconsin. By 1885, Rynning was in Texas when he decided to enlist in the United States Army's 8th Cavalry Regiment. His first battle was against the Cheyenne while serving under General Philip Sheridan. After the Cheyenne were defeated, he was transferred with his regiment to Arizona Territory. Under Lieutenant Samuel Fountain, Rynning engaged in Geronimo's War and was present when Geronimo was captured by Leonard Wood. In 1888, Rynning participated in the Great March, the longest cavalry ride in American history, from Arizona Territory to Dakota Territory. In Dakota, the 8th Cavalry relieved the 7th Cavalry and eventually went on to fight in the Ghost Dance War against Chief Sitting Bull. Rynning was honorably discharged in 1891 with a record of seventeen battles against natives. He then went to California, but, two years later, he settled in Tucson, Arizona, where he became a successful building contractor.

On September 4, 1906, Rynning led Arizona Rangers and immigration officers in a raid on an underground cell of the Partido Liberal Mexicano during a meeting in Douglas. Discovering dynamite, pistols and banners, seven members were arrested for violation of the Neutrality Law. The group had been gathering weapons and ammunition for a major expedition into Mexico which included capturing custom houses on the border, blowing up railways, cutting telegraph wires and raiding stores for weapons and supplies. The Douglas group had also commissioned Javier Huitemea to negotiate with the Yaqui to support them, promising the tribe the return of the land which had been taken from them. Extensive evidence of correspondence with Saint Louis Junta provided American authorities with evidence of other groups operating in Mowry and Patagonia.

Yuma Territorial Prison and Florence State Prison Resigning his position with the Arizona Rangers in March 1907, he was appointed superintendent of the Yuma Territorial Prison in Yuma by President William Howard Taft. He then immediately began the process of abandoning the old prison complex and building a new one in Florence. Rynning supervised the construction and brought convicts from Yuma to help with the work. When Arizona became a state in 1912, a Democratic government under George W. P. Hunt took over and removed Rynning from his post. However, after Thomas Edward Campbell was elected, Rynning was again appointed superintendent of the prison in 1921. He wrote a book with Al Cohn and Joe Chisholm called “Gun Notches” a saga of his life.