Recent sleuthing has cast light on Timothy E. Wilcox, a previously little-known early botanical collector and general naturalist who was active not only in Idaho but in several other states as well.  As an army surgeon, Wilcox had multiple postings in the western territories following the Civil War, including Fort Boise, Fort Niobrara, Camp Supply, and Fort Huachuca; he also traveled widely in Alaska inspecting hospital service and sanitary conditions at military posts.  At all of these locations he avidly collected plants and other natural history items, the majority of which were deposited at the Smithsonian Institution.  Wilcox had several plants named in his honor, including the cactus Wilcoxia, and he published several observations on natural history topics ranging from earthworms to condors.  A close look at Wilcox is inseparable from the army’s role in subjugating the indigenous inhabitants of these lands, with some intriguing complexities provided by Wilcox’s personal history.