| Lincoln County War | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Billy the Kid poses for a photo with his gun during the Lincoln County War. | |||
| Date | February 18 – July 20, 1878 or July 14, 1881 (when Billy the Kid was killed) | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by | Revenge killings | ||
| Resulted in | Regulators were suppressed and both factions collapsed | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Lead figures | |||
| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties and losses | |||
| |||
TheLincoln County War was anOld West conflict between rival factions which began in 1878 inLincoln County,New Mexico Territory, the predecessor of the state ofNew Mexico, and continued until 1881.[1] The feud became famous because of the participation of William H. Bonney ("Billy the Kid"). Other notable participants included SheriffWilliam J. Brady, cattle rancherJohn Chisum, lawyer and businessmenAlexander McSween,James Dolan andLawrence Murphy.[1]
The conflict began between two factions competing for profits from dry goods and cattle interests in the county. The older, established faction was dominated by James Dolan, who operated a dry goods monopoly through a general store referred to locally as "The House". English-bornJohn Tunstall and his business partner Alexander McSween opened a competing store in 1876, with backing from established cattleman John Chisum. The two sides gathered lawmen, businessmen, Tunstall's ranch hands,[2] and criminal gangs to their assistance. The Dolan faction was allied with Lincoln County Sheriff Brady and aided by theJesse Evans Gang. The Tunstall-McSween faction organized their own posse of armed men, known as theLincoln County Regulators, and had their own lawmen consisting of town constableRichard M. Brewer[3] and Deputy US MarshalRobert A. Widenmann.[4]
The conflict was marked by revenge killings, starting with the murder of Tunstall by members of the Evans Gang. In revenge for this, the Regulators killed Sheriff Brady and others in a series of incidents. Further killings continued unabated for several months, climaxing in thebattle of Lincoln, a five-day gunfight and siege that resulted in the death of McSween and the scattering of the Regulators.Pat Garrett was named County Sheriff in 1880, and he hunted down Billy the Kid, killing two other former Regulators in the process.
The war was fictionalized by several Hollywood movies, includingThe Left Handed Gun in 1958,John Wayne’sChisum in 1970,Sam Peckinpah’sPat Garrett and Billy the Kid in 1973 andYoung Guns in 1988.Ron Hansen’s novelThe Kid (2016) is also inspired by the Lincoln County War.
During November 1876, a wealthy Englishman named John Tunstall arrived inLincoln County, New Mexico, where he intended to develop a cattle ranch, store, and bank in partnership with the young attorney Alexander McSween and cattleman John Chisum. At the time Lincoln County was dominated both economically and politically by Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan, the proprietors of LG Murphy and Co., later James J. Dolan and Co., the only store in the county. The factions were divided along ethnic and sectarian lines, with the Murphy faction being mostly Irish Catholic, while Tunstall and his allies were mostly English Protestant.[5] LG Murphy and Co. lent thousands of dollars to the Territorial Governor, and the Territorial Attorney General eventually held the mortgage on the company. Tunstall learned that Murphy and Dolan, who bought many of their cattle fromrustlers, had lucrative beef contracts from the United States government to supply forts and Indian agencies. The government contracts, along with their monopoly on merchandise and financing for farms and ranches, allowed Murphy, Dolan and their partner Riley to become wealthy.[citation needed]
The main event that resulted in the beginning of the Lincoln County War was controversy over the disbursement of Emil Fritz's insurance policy. Emil Fritz was a partner of L. G. Murphy. When he died in 1874, the executors of the estate hired Alexander McSween to collect his insurance policy. After collecting the policy, McSween refused to give the money to the executor of the estate because The House claimed that the money was owed to them as a debt and McSween suspected that the executor of the estate would give the money to them. McSween also knew how badly needy for cash The House was and as a business competitor was likely loath to have the money go to them, whether their claim was legitimate or not.[6]
During February 1878, in a court case that was eventually dismissed, they obtained a court order to seize all of McSween's assets, but mistakenly included all of Tunstall's assets with those of McSween.[7] Sheriff Brady formed a posse to attach Tunstall's remaining assets at his ranch 70 miles from Lincoln. Dolan also enlisted theJohn Kinney Gang,Seven Rivers Warriors and theJesse Evans Gang, and their job was mainly to harass and rustle cattle from Tunstall's and Chisum's ranches, as well as being the faction's hired gunmen.[8][9]
On February 18, 1878, members of the Sheriff's posse caught up to Tunstall while he and his ranch-hands, Richard "Dick" Brewer, Billy the Kid,John Middleton,Henry Newton Brown, Robert A. Widenmann, andFred Waite, were herding his last nine horses back to Lincoln. Frank Warner Angel, a special investigator for theSecretary of the Interior, later determined that Tunstall was shot in "cold blood" by Jesse Evans, William Morton, and Tom Hill.[10] Tunstall's murder was witnessed from a distance by several of his men, including Richard Brewer and Billy the Kid. Tunstall's murder began the Lincoln County War.
Tunstall's cowhands and other local citizens formed a group known as theRegulators to avenge his murder, since the territorial criminal justice system was controlled by allies of Murphy and Dolan. While the Regulators at various times consisted of dozens of American and Mexican cowboys, the main dozen or so members were known as the "iron clad", including McCarty, Richard "Dick" Brewer,Frank McNab,Doc Scurlock,Jim French, John Middleton,George Coe,Frank Coe,Jose Chavez y Chavez,Charlie Bowdre,Tom O'Folliard, Fred Waite (aChickasaw), and Henry Newton Brown.[11]
The Regulators set out to apprehend the sheriff'sposse members who had murdered Tunstall. After the Regulators were deputized by the Lincoln Countyjustice of the peace, together with Constable Martinez, they attempted to serve the legally issued warrants to Tunstall's murderers. Sheriff Brady arrested and jailed Martinez and his deputies in defiance of their deputized status. They gained release and searched for Tunstall's murderers. They found Buck Morton, Dick Lloyd, and Frank Baker near theRio Peñasco.[clarification needed] Morton surrendered after a five-mile (8 km) running gunfight on the condition that he and his fellow deputy sheriff, Frank Baker – who had no part in the Tunstall murder but was riding with Morton and Lloyd – would be returned alive to Lincoln.[12] The Regulators' captain Dick Brewer assured them they would be taken to Lincoln, but other Regulators insisted on killing the prisoners. One Regulator, William McCloskey, who was a friend of Morton's, resisted such action.[citation needed]
On March 9, 1878, the third day of the journey back to Lincoln, the Regulators killed McCloskey, Morton, and Baker in the Capitan foothills along the Blackwater Creek. They claimed that Morton murdered McCloskey and tried to escape with Baker, forcing them to kill the two prisoners. Few believed the story, as they thought it unlikely that Morton would have killed his only friend in the group. As the bodies of Morton and Baker each bore eleven bullet holes, one for each Regulator, Utley believes that the Regulators murdered them and killed McCloskey for opposing them.[13] Nolan writes that Morton took ten bullets, and Baker was shot five times.[14] That same day, Tunstall's other two killers, Tom Hill and Jesse Evans, were shot while trying to rob a sheep drover nearTularosa, New Mexico. Hill died and Evans was severely wounded. While Evans was at Fort Stanton for medical treatment, he was arrested on an old federal warrant for stealing stock from an Indian reservation.[15]
Sheriff Brady asked for assistance from the Territorial Attorney General, Thomas Benton Catron, to end this "anarchy". Catron referred the topic to the TerritorialGovernor Samuel B. Axtell. The governor decreed that John Wilson, the Justice of the Peace, had been appointed illegally by the Lincoln County Commissioners. Wilson had deputized the Regulators and issued the warrants for Tunstall's murderers. Axtell's decree meant that the Regulators' actions, formerly considered legal, were now illegal. Axtell also was able to revoke Widenmann's status as a Deputy US marshal, making Sheriff Brady and his men the only law officers of Lincoln County.[16]
On April 1, 1878, the Regulators French, McNab, Middleton, Waite, Brown and McCarty (Billy the Kid) made ready in the corral behind Tunstall's store before attacking Brady and his deputies on the main street of Lincoln. Brady died of at least a dozen gunshot wounds;DeputyGeorge W. Hindman was also fatally wounded. McCarty and French broke cover and dashed to Brady's body, possibly to get his arrest warrant for McSween or to recover McCarty's rifle, which Brady had kept from a prior arrest. A surviving deputy, Billy Matthews, wounded both men with one bullet that passed through both of them. French's wound was so severe that he had to be temporarily harbored by Sam Corbet in a crawlspace in Corbet's house. Widenmann was also in the corral, but whether he participated was never ascertained: he claimed he was feeding Tunstall's dog.[17]
Riding 13-strong, the Regulators rein in at Blazer’s Mill on the Mescalero Apache reservation. After drawing the short straw, Regulator John Middleton stands lookout while the remaining bravos enter the Indian agency’s dining room and demand free meals. (The agency is leasing Dr. Blazer’s building for its office.)
Riding in from the South, “Buckshot” Roberts is unaware of the Regulators as he approaches Blazer’s Mill. He ties his packhorse to a tree and prods the “little mule” he’s riding into Tularosa Creek. Halfway across, his mount hits a hole and has to swim. As rider and mule come up the bank, both are wet “clear up over the saddle.”
New to the area, Middleton spots the soaked and “heavily armed man” approaching and watches him warily.
Roberts reins in at the corner of the agency’s office and tethers his mule. Leaving his gunbelt with its knife and pistol hanging over the saddle horn, he carries his .44 Winchester and goes into the post office, still oozing creek water. As Middleton eavesdrops on the stranger, he overhears the name Roberts. He then slips into the dining room and tells his captain, Richard Brewer, who responds, “I’ve got a warrant for him.”
Regulator Frank Coe comes outside to talk to Roberts—a friend and neighbor—about surrendering. The two walk to the west side of the building. Roberts asks Coe to go inside and look at a Las Cruces newspaper, claiming it will exonerate him from the warrant charges. But Coe balks—“I saw some guns in the corner and there were some parties behind the door”— so the two sit on the stoop.
“We talked for half an hour,” Frank Coe later recalls. “I begged him to surrender, but the answer was ‘no, no, no.’ I think he was the bravest man I ever met—not a bit excited, knowing, too, that his life was in his hands.”
Worrying that Roberts could be using Coe as a hostage, Brewer asks for volunteers to end the stalemate. Chuck Bowdre steps forward, followed by John Middleton, Frank MacNab, Henry Brown, George Coe (Frank’s cousin), Doc Scurlock and Billy Bonney.
“We. . . bucked up, cocked our guns, and started around the house,” George Coe explains later. “Bowdre taking the lead. We took the dare, but we knew some of us were playing our last card. Roberts had his cocked rifle lying in his lap as he and Frank talked, and as Charlie Bowdre turned the corner of the house, he dropped his gun on Roberts and commanded him to throw up his hands.”
Rising to his feet, Roberts faces his adversaries and says cryptically, “Not much, Mary Ann.”
Roberts and Bowdre fire at the same time. Roberts’ first bullet hits Bowdre’s belt buckle and knocks his gunbelt to the ground. The same bullet then ricochets into George Coe’s gun hand, mangling his trigger finger and burrowing a groove down the barrel of his revolver.
Bowdre’s bullet hits Roberts just below the belly. Roberts staggers backwards, still firing rapidly. Frank Coe later remarks, “I never saw a man that could handle a Winchester as fast as he could.”
Roberts’ next bullet nails Middleton in the chest, just missing his heart. Another hits Doc Scurlock’s holstered pistol and courses down his leg. Billy Kid is “shaved” in the arm. (The “the” in Billy the Kid was added after the war.) Billy later claims, “it was too hot there for me.”
As Regulators stumble for cover, Roberts retreats into Dr. Blazer’s office, pulls a mattress off a bed and throws it in the doorway as a breastwork. Roberts’ Winchester is empty, so he grabs a single-shot 1873 officer’s model .45-70 Springfield rifle off the wall and takes up position behind the mattress.
Angrily, the Regulators’ leader vows to “have that man out” if he has to “pull the house down.” Brewer sprints down to a footbridge, crosses the creek and takes a position 150 yards—Frank Coe later says it was 125 steps—from the house. Peering up behind a pile of logs, Brewer fires at Roberts but the bullet “just shaved the door facing,” as Frank Coe recounts later. After spotting the puff of smoke from Brewer’s gun, Roberts guesses the trajectory and waits for Brewer to take another peek. Seeing Brewer’s head poke up, Roberts lets loose with the big Springfield. The arcing lead slug hits Brewer’s left eye, leaving a tiny blue mark, before blowing out the back of his skull.
With three men severely wounded and their leader slain, the Regulators flee the battlefield, heading over the mountains for the Ruidoso Valley.
With wounded men sprawled all around him, Brewer demands that Dr. Blazer and others bring Roberts out, but all of them decline the invitation.
After Brewer's death, the Regulators elected McNab as their captain. On April 29, 1878, Sheriff Peppin was directing a posse that included the Jesse Evans Gang and theSeven Rivers Warriors. They engaged in a shootout with the Regulators McNab, Saunders, and Frank Coe at the Fritz Ranch. McNab died in the gunfire, Saunders was badly wounded, and Frank Coe was captured.[18]
The next day, the Seven Rivers members Tom Green, Charles Marshall, Jim Patterson and John Galvin were killed in Lincoln, and although the Regulators were blamed, this was never proven. Frank Coe escaped custody some time after his capture, allegedly with the assistance of Deputy SheriffWallace Olinger, who gave him a pistol.[18]
The day after McNab's death the Regulators known as the "iron clad" assumed defensive positions in the town of Lincoln, trading shots with Dolan men and, allegedly, members of the US Army cavalry. "Dutch Charley" Kruling, a Dolan man, was wounded by rifle fire by George Coe. By allegedly shooting at government troops, the Regulators gained a new set of enemies. On May 15, the Regulators tracked down and captured theJesse Evans gang member Manuel Segovia, who is believed to have shot McNab. They shot him during an alleged escape. Around the time of Segovia's death, the Regulator "iron clad" gained a new member, a young Texas cowboy namedTom O'Folliard, who soon became McCarty's best friend.[19]
A large confrontation between the two forces occurred on the afternoon of July 15, 1878, when the Regulators were surrounded in Lincoln in two different positions; the McSween house and the Ellis store. Opposing them were the Dolan/Murphy/Seven Rivers cowboys. In the Ellis store were Scurlock, Bowdre, Middleton, Frank Coe, and several others. About 20 Mexican Regulators, commanded by Josefita Chavez, were also positioned around town. In the McSween house were Alex McSween and his wife Susan, Billy the Kid, Henry Brown, Jim French, Tom O'Folliard, Jose Chavez y Chavez, George Coe, and a dozen Mexican vaqueros.[20]
During the next three days, the men exchanged shots and shouts. Tom Cullens, one of the McSween house defenders, was killed by a stray bullet. Around this time, Henry Brown, George Coe, and Joe Smith left the McSween house and went to the Tunstall store, where they chased two Dolan men into an outhouse with rifle fire and forced them to dive into the bottom to escape. The impasse continued until the arrival of US Army troops commanded byColonelNathan Dudley. When these troops pointed cannons at the Ellis store and other positions, Billy the Kid, Doc Scurlock and his men fled from their positions, as did Chavez's cowboys, leaving those remaining in the McSween house to their fate.[20]
On the afternoon of July 19, the Murphy-Dolan faction set the house afire. As the flames spread and night began, Susan McSween and the other woman and five children were granted safe passage out of the house, while the men inside continued to fight the fire.[21] By 9 pm, those left inside got set to flee out the back door of the burning house. Billy the Kid and Jim French assessed their situation, and figured out a way to escape by using pistol fire as cover and escaping. Jim French went out first, followed by Billy the Kid, O'Folliard, and Jose Chavez y Chavez. The Dolan men saw them running and began shooting, killing Harvey Morris, McSween's law partner. Some troopers moved into the back yard to take those left into custody when a close-quarters gunfight erupted. Alexander McSween and the Seven Rivers cowboy Bob Beckwith both died. Three other Mexican Regulators got away in the confusion, to rendezvous with the "iron clad" members yards away.[20]
The Lincoln County War accomplished little other than to foster distrust and animosity in the area. The surviving Regulators, most notably Billy the Kid, continued as fugitives. Gradually, his fellow gunmen scattered to their various fates. Billy rode with Bowdre, O'Folliard,Dave Rudabaugh, and a few other friends, with whom he rustled cattle and committed other crimes. Eventually sheriff Pat Garrett and his posse tracked and killed O'Folliard, Bowdre, and, in July 1881, the "Kid". The three men were buried atFort Sumner, New Mexico.[22]
ThePosse Comitatus Act, signed into law June 18, 1878, would have prevented the use of federal troops for domestic law enforcement, but President Hayes invoked theInsurrection Act of 1807 on October 7.
Murphy died of cancer on October 20, 1878, about the age of 47.Susan McSween hiredattorney Huston Chapman to pursue charges against Dolan and others, in addition to working for amnesty for the Regulators.[23] On February 18, 1879, one year to the day after Tunstall was murdered, Evans and Billy Campbell killed Chapman, then fled the territory. That murder also was attributed to Dolan, though his involvement was never proven. Dolan was indicted for the murder of Tunstall, but was acquitted.[24] He later acquired all of Tunstall's property before dying on his ranch in 1898, aged 49.[25] Susan McSween took over a large sum of land in the years after the Lincoln County War ended, establishing a ranch inThree Rivers, New Mexico. By the mid-1890s her ranch holdings were some of the largest in the territory.[26] She averaged during this time between 3,000 and 5,000 head of cattle. She died a wealthy woman on January 3, 1931, aged 85.[27]
