Lincoln County Regulators
The regulators ( English Regulators ) were a group of cowboys and outlaws , which in 1878 represented an important faction in the so-called Lincoln County Cattle War ( Lincoln County , New Mexico ). The most famous member of the regulators was the now legendary gunslinger Billy the Kid .
formation
The regulators were mainly recruited from cowboys from the farm John Tunstall , who was murdered on February 17, 1878 by outlaws of his rival Lawrence Murphy . The Tunstall cowboys then formed themselves to the regulators and began a vendetta against the faction of Lawrence Murphy and his partner James Dolan († 1898). They were reinforced by cowboys from other farmers, such as John Chisum , or by outlaws from Mexico. Their opponents in the Murphy Dolan group were the Jesse Evans gang , the John Kinney gang and the Seven Rivers Warriors. They also faced the official law enforcement officers associated with the Murphy Dolan group, and most recently the US Army .
The conflict culminated in the "Battle of Lincoln" (July 15-19, 1878), in which John Tunstall's business partner and lawyer, Alexander McSween , was killed. After Lawrence Murphy died in the same year, the war ended and the regulators virtually dissolved. A smaller group around Billy the Kid made New Mexico unsafe as cattle thieves and outlaws for a few years until Kid was finally shot by Pat Garrett in 1881 .
leader
| leader | From | To | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard 'Dick' Brewer | February 17, 1878 | April 4, 1878 | was shot |
| Frank McNab | April 4, 1878 | April 29, 1878 | was shot |
| Josiah Gordon 'Doc' Scurlock | April 29, 1878 | July 19, 1878 | died in 1929 |
Known members
- William H. Bonney / Henry McCarty ('Billy the Kid') : † 1881 shot
- Jose Chavez y Chavez : † 1924
- Tom O'Folliard: † 1880 shot
- Charles 'Charlie' Bowdre: † 1880 shot
- William McCloskey: † 1878 shot
- James Albert 'Ab' Saunders: † 1883
- John Middleton: †?
- Jim French: †?
- Frederick 'Dash' Waite: † 1895, became Attorney General for the Chickasaw Nation
- Henry Newton Brown: † 1884, was City Marshal of Caldwell, Kansas
- Benjamin Franklin 'Frank' Coe: † 1931, cousin of George Coe
- George Washington Coe: † 1941, cousin of Frank Coe, last surviving regulator
- Steven 'Dirty Steve' Stephens: †?
- John Scroggins: †?
- Ignacio Gonzales: †?
- Yginio Salazar: † 1936, at the age of 15 the youngest regulator
- Vincente Romero: † 1878 shot
- Fernando Herrera: †? Doc Scurlock's father-in-law
- Robert 'the dog feeder' Widenmann; † 1930, regulator of German origin, raised Tunstall's dog
The ties to Billy the Kid in the years after the Battle of Lincoln until his death (1878–1881):
- William H. Bonney / Henry McCarty ('Billy the Kid') : † 1881 shot
- Tom O'Folliard: † 1880 shot
- Charles 'Charlie' Bowdre: † 1880 shot
- Billy Wilson: †?
- Dave Rudabaugh: † 1886 shot and beheaded in Mexico
Timeline of major events
- January 17, 1878: John Tunstall is shot by members of the Jesse Evans gang, and his cowboys form up to the regulators.
- March 6, 1878: William Scott 'Buck' Morton and Frank Baker are murdered by the regulators. Both were members of the Jesse Evans gang and were involved in the Tunstall murder. On the same day, the regulator William McCloskey was shot dead by Frank McNab because he was suspected of being a Murphy informant.
- April 1, 1878: Regulators McNab, Middleton, Waite, Brown and Kid shoot Sheriff William J. Brady and his deputy George W. Hindman on Lincoln Main Street. Both victims were believed to have been corrupted by the Murphy Dolan group.
- April 4, 1878, Blazer's Mills shootout: Brewer, Kid, Bowdre, Scurlock, McNab, Stephens, the Coes, Middleton, French, Brown, Waite, Scroggins and Gonzalez fight Buckshot Roberts . Brewer is shot and Scurlock injured, McNab takes the lead. Buckshot Roberts himself succumbs a day later from the wounds he inflicted on Bowdre.
- April 18, 1878: George Coe shoots Charles 'Dutch Charlie' Kruling from a distance of about 400 meters with a Sharps rifle .
- April 29, 1878: Frank McNab is shot dead by Sheriff George Peppin and members of the Jesse Evans gang at the Charlie Fritz Ranch, 'Ab' Saunders is wounded and taken prisoner with Frank Coe. 'Doc' Scurlock takes the lead.
- April 30, 1878: The Seven Rivers outlaws Charles Marshall, Tom Green, Jim Patterson and John Galvin are shot by regulators.
- May 15, 1878: Regulators shoot Jesse Evans outlaw and McNab killer Manuel 'Indian' Segovia.
- July 16, 1878, Battle of Lincoln: Charlie Crawford (Seven-Rivers-Outlaw) is shot by Fernando Herrera.
- July 17, 1878, Battle of Lincoln: Robert 'Bob' Beckwith (Seven Rivers outlaw and Tunstall murderer) is shot.
- July 19, 1878, Battle of Lincoln: Vincente Romero (Regulator) and Alexander McSween are shot.
- October 20, 1878: Lawrence G. Murphy dies of cancer.
Dissolution of the regulators after the Battle of Lincoln.
- January 10, 1880: Billy the Kid shoots bounty hunter Joe 'Texas Red' Grant
- November 27, 1880: Billy the Kid, Dave Rudabaugh and Billy Wilson shoot Deputy James Carlyle.
- December 19, 1880: Tom O'Folliard is shot dead by Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner.
- December 23, 1880: Charlie Bowdre is shot dead by Pat Garrett in Stinking Springs. A few days later, Kid confronts his pursuers.
- April 28, 1881: The Kid shoots Deputies James Marshall Bell and Ameredith RB Olinger on his escape from Lincoln Prison.
- July 14, 1881: Billy the Kid is shot dead by Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner.
literature
- Philip J. Rasch: These Were the Regulators
- Frederick Nolan: The West of Billy the Kid (University of Oklahoma Press, 2003)
- Clifford R. Caldwell: Dead right: the Lincoln County War (2008)