Rufus Springs
Agency patch
Deputy U.S. Marshal

Rufus Springs

Felonious
End of Watch April 19, 1878
Age 24
The Vigil Panel 5 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy U.S. Marshal Rufus Springs was shot and killed by moonshiners as he and several revenuers raided a still in South Carolina. During the raid Marshal Springs stood outside of the still looking for suspects when a shot rang out, striking him. The rest of the officers on the scene fled the area. The same suspect had also murdered Deputy U.S. Marshal Alfred Duckworth on March 1st, 1876, in Transylvania County, North Carolina, and had been acquitted of murdering Deputy U.S. Marshal Van Buren Hendrix in Greenville County, South Carolina, on February 12th, 1877. Deputy Marshal Springs is buried in Sardis Methodist Church Cemetery, Buncumbe County, North Carolina.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-7604418A
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

148 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Springs served with the United States Department of Justice.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Washington, DC
Platform Identity usms.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 19, 1878
Age 24
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Rifle
Offender Not available

Deputy U.S. Marshal Rufus Springs is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In DC, 754 of 1,419 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53.1% of this state's fallen. That is 1.1 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.

At United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service, 251 of 313 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 80.2% of this agency's fallen.

United States Department of Justice - United States Marshals Service
251
of 313 officers
80.2% Felonious
DC — Statewide
754
of 1,419 officers
53.1% Felonious
Nationwide
17,623
of 32,508 officers
54.2% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Rufus Springs's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Rufus Springs Compares

Age at End of Watch
24
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years

Offender Outcome

Not available

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Rufus Springs is highlighted in Apr.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,517
May
1,505
Jun
1,443
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,516
Sep
1,553
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Rufus Springs was killed by rifle.

Gun; Unknown type
5,083
Handgun
2,077
Shotgun
922
Officer's handgun
909
Automobile; Alcohol involved
530
Rifle
518