The Wild West of Yesteryear Column by Rachel Kovaciny
If you’ve seen movies about Billy the Kid, you might think you know the true story of the infamous feud between five wealthy ranchers that became known as the “Lincoln County War,” but he only played a small part in the conflict.
Two cattlemen, Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan, ruled 1870s Lincoln County in New Mexico Territory. Not only did they own much of the land, they ran the only general store and financially backed the territory’s governor and attorney general. That let them control the county and gave them a monopoly on all goods sold. It also ensured them the contract to supply beef to nearby forts and reservations.
Until 1876, another rich cattleman in Lincoln County, John Chisum, couldn’t break their chokehold. He partnered with a British man named John Tunstall in starting a new general store. They joined forces with Alexander McSween, who agreed to run it. Tunstall bought a sizeable ranch and stocked it with cattle.
Murphy and Dolan did not welcome competition. Tension between the two groups mounted when Tunstall and Chisum discovered that Murphy and Dolan had rustled most of the beef they were supplying to the government. This boiled over into a violent feud when Murphy’s partner, Emil Fritz, died, and the executors of the estate hired McSween to collect the money from his life insurance policy. After McSween collected it, he refused to turn over the money because it would go to Murphy, who might use it against them.
A fight seemed inevitable. In retaliation, Murphy and Dolan obtained a court order to seize McSween’s assets, and hired gunmen to steal cattle from Tunstall and Chisum, whom they claimed were liable for his behavior.
Violence erupted on February 18, 1878, when three Murphy-Dolan gunmen killed John Tunstall.
An investigation determined Tunstall was murdered in cold blood; the murder was witnessed at a distance by several of Tunstall’s hired hands, including a young William H. Bonney, soon to be known as Billy the Kid.
Tunstall’s employees and some like-minded local citizens formed a group called the Regulators to get revenge on the murderers. The Regulators were deputized by the justice of the peace and provided with legal warrants to arrest the killers. But Murphy and Dolan controlled the sheriff of Lincoln, William Brady. Sheriff Brady threw the Regulators in jail, but had to release them when it was shown he had no just cause to hold them.
As soon as they were free, Regulators found and killed two of Tunstall’s murderers, along with a man who tried to help one of them evade capture, and a fourth was wounded and taken to Fort Stanton.
Thanks to political shenanigans involving the territorial government officials beholden to Murphy and Dolan, Sheriff Brady and his own deputies were declared the only legal law enforcement officers in Lincoln County. That meant the deputized Regulators had been acting without legal warrants and gave Sheriff Brady the right to arrest them. The Regulators didn’t wait to be arrested, but confronted Brady and his deputies on Lincoln’s main street on April 1, 1878. Sheriff Brady and one deputy were fatally wounded, and several of the Regulators received minor wounds, including Billy the Kid.
After that confrontation, revenge skirmishes and gunfights took place across the county into the summer. It all culminated in “the Battle of Lincoln.” On July 15, about forty Regulators arrived in Lincoln. A dozen bunked at the McSween house for the night, while the rest found places to stay in town. The Murphy-Dolan gang heard about this and sent a large force to Lincoln to lay siege to the Regulators.
For three days, the opposing sides traded gunfire sporadically, resulting in at least five of the Murphy-Dolan men being wounded. The Regulators suffered no casualties. On July 18, a detachment of Cavalry arrived from Fort Stanton, subdued the conflict, and made most of the gunmen leave town.
That left only the Regulators inside McSween’s house, including Billy the Kid. During the night, someone set fire to the house. McSween and several Regulators ran out and were shot and killed. The women and children were allowed to leave safely. The Regulators inside subdued the flames and held out until that evening, when Billy the Kid led most of them to escape.
The Battle of Lincoln ended the violent aspects of the Lincoln County War, but the political and legal battles continued. Susan McSween tried unsuccessfully to have her husband’s killers prosecuted.
In September, President Rutherford B. Hayes removed the corrupt governor and appointed General Lew Wallace instead. An impartial newcomer to the Territory and not beholden to any of the local factions, Wallace promised to stamp out lawless violence.
Many of the Regulators scattered to other parts of the West and settled down to become good citizens, but a few others, including Billy the Kid, continued living by their guns. Gov. Wallace granted amnesty to many of the Lincoln County War participants, but issued warrants for others, including Billy the Kid.
Wallace traveled to Lincoln to meet Billy the Kid and offer him a full pardon if he would appear in court and testify against the Murphy-Dolan organization. Although Billy did it, Wallace did not pardon him. Dolan was indicted on charges of complicity in John Tunstall’s murder, but acquitted. The conflict would have faded into historical obscurity if it weren’t for Billy the Kid’s ensuing notoriety as an outlaw.
Today, the Lincoln County War is a reminder that unchallenged greed and political machinations have always led to tragedy. ♦
