In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a private express messanger or guard, especially on a stagecoach but also a train, in charge of overseeing and guarding a valuable private shipment, such as the contents of a strongbox or safe. The express messenger for stagecoaches typically rode in a seat on top of the coach, next to the driver (this was usually on the driver's left, since stage drivers typically sat on the right). In the Old West of the 1880's, if a stagecoach had only a driver and no Wells Fargo messenger, this meant the coach carried no strongbox, and was thus a less interesting target for "road agents" (bandits). Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Buffalo soldiers guard a Concord style stagecoach somewhere in the American West, ca. ... For other types of train see train (disambiguation) In rail transport, a train consists of a single or several connected rail vehicles that are capable of being moved together along a guideway to transport freight or passengers from one place to another along a planned route. ... Great Basin region, typical American West The Western United States has played a significant role in history and fiction. ... A typical Wells Fargo store, located in Berkeley, California Wells Fargo NYSE: WFC is a financial services company in the United States with consumer finance subsidiaries doing business in Canada, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Caribbean. ...

Wells Fargo express messengers typically carried a short (or sawn-off) 12- or 10-gauge double-barrelled shotgun, loaded with buckshot. This was a most effective weapon in use against pursuing riders. Such weapons were sometimes referred to as "messenger shotguns." To some extent these weapons also carried over to use by private guards in trains with strongboxes, where they were again effective. A sawn-off shotgun (British) or sawed-off shotgun (U.S.) is a type of shotgun with a shorter barrel (and often a shortened or removed stock), compared to regular shotguns. ... When speaking of a shotgun, gauge is the measurement of the bore, or diameter (caliber) of the barrel. ... A pump-action and two semi-automatic action shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a target thrower, and 3 boxes of clay targets. ... A shotgun shell is a self-contained cartridge loaded with shot or a slug designed to be fired from a shotgun. ...

Like "gunslinger", the actual term "riding shotgun" was apparently never used until the 1920's fiction about the Old West. See also "calling shotgun" which dates from use in autos to about 1954. Gunslinger from The Great Train Robbery Gunslinger, also gunfighter, is a name given to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun. ... Great Basin region, typical American West The Western United States has played a significant role in history and fiction. ... The front seat of a passenger vehicle, next to the driver, is called the shotgun in an apparent, though disputable, reference to men who rode on stage coaches next to the driver with a shotgun to protect the stage from banditos (highwaymen), literally riding shotgun. ...

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