The chronology of the movie

My thread "Buffalo Bill's Biography and Chronology" lists many important dates in the real life of William Frederick Cody. So it can be used to compare with the movie's plot see how much the scriptwriters changed things for various reasons.

The chronology in the movie is often vague.

The opening narration says:

In 1877, a young man
rode out of the West...
...and overnight his name became
a household word...
...His name was William Frederick Cody.
But to young and old, rich and poor,
king and commoner...
...he is known as Buffalo Bill.
This is the story of his life.

But Cody doesn't go east until 2/3 through the movie.

At the beginning Cody is a buffalo hunter at an unnamed fort (Wallace or Hays?) near the Smoky [Hill] River. Ruthless railroad baron Schuyler Vandervere gets the government to try to force the Cheyenne Indians under Chief Tall Bull and his son war chief Yellow Hand (unrelated in real life) out of their homeland to make room for his railroad. After some fighting, peace is made and the Cheyenne under Tall Bull get to keep the land between the two rivers.

In real history, there were several alternations of war and peace with the southern Cheyenne between 1864 and 1869 until they were all put on the reservations. In 1869 the last large group of hostile southern Cheyenne was defeated at the Battle of Summit Springs. Chief Tall Bull was killed there, probably by Luther North and not by Cody.

in 1874 the slaughter of buffalo by commercial hunters led to the Red River or Buffalo War; the southern Cheyenne and other southern hostiles were defeated by 1875.

Meanwhile the transcontinental railroad from Nebraska to California was completed in 1869, The Kansas Pacific Railway from Kansas City, Missouri reached Denver, Colorado, in 1870, and the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railway reached Albuquerque, New Mexico from Kansas in 1880. The Northern Pacific Railway reached west from Minnesota to Bismark, North Dakota in 1873, but Jay Cooke's bank that financed it went under, starting the Panic of 1873 and halting construction.

Cody meets Louisa Frederici and they marry after the Cheyenne war ends. (They married in 1866 in real life). Later Louisa's father arrives and says:

It doesn't look as if you have been
living in luxury for the past two years.
That's changing, though, right away.

and he continues:

- Vandervere's starting a new industry.
- A tremendous affair.

So the movie blames Vandervere for starting the great slaughter of the buffalo.

The two year gap indicates that Cody and Louisa marry sometime between 1866 and 1874, and Vandervere starts the buffalo slaughter sometime between 1868 and 1876. The movie is vague about how many days, weeks, months, or years the buffalo slaughter lasts for. After the buffalo hunt for Grand Duke Alexius (1872) and when their child Kit Carson Cody (1870-1876) is three days old, they return to the fort and General Blazier gives them news:

The Sioux have overrun the North,
beaten Crook and wiped out Custer.

Referring to the Battle of the Rosebud (June 17, 1876) and the Little Bighorn (June 25, 1876). Cody guides the cavalry to join General Crook and they detour to fight the Battle of Warbonnet Gorge with Yellow Hand's Cheyenne, based on the Battle of Warbonnet Creek (July 17, 1876) where Cody killed a Cheyenne named Yellow Hair or Yellow Hand .

An unspecified time later, Cody is back at the fort, and receives a summons to receive a medal of honor for Warbonnet Gorge. (In real life Cody's medal was for a skirmish on April 26, 1872). Sergeant McGraw says the president is new on the Job, indicating this is after March 4, 1877, when President Hayes was inaugurated. Cody travels east and discovers he is now famous, probably making it the year 1877 in the opening narration.

Between the time when Cody Bill goes east and the time that he starts Buffalo Bill's Wild West three successive dates are seen.

First a message saying that Kit Carson Cody is very ill dated August 20 (he died April 20, 1876).

Second an invitation to a testimonial banquet to be held on August fifteenth. (President Hayes is present at the banquet).

Third a hotel bill dated April 15, 18__

Assuming that everything in the movie is correctly placed the first note would be written on Aug. 20 of a first year, the banquet would be on August 15th of a second year, and the hotel bill written on April 15 of a third year. Thus the fictional dates were probably August 20, 1877, August 15, 1878, and April 15, 1879.

Cody starts Buffalo Bill's Wild West show later (1883 in real history). At one performance President Hayes is present, as well as possibly General Blazier and Chief Tall Bull. (President Hayes's Administration ended on March 4, 1881). Guests of honor at later performances include Queen Victoria and President Teddy Roosevelt (administration September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909), and Cody eventually retires and returns to the west with Louisa.