William Thompson (Gunslinger)

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William "Texas Billy" Thompson (* around 1845 in Knottingley , England ) was a classic gunslinger in the second half of the 19th century in the American West and the little brother of the better-known Ben Thompson .

Life

Thompson emigrated to America with his family as a child. Until the outbreak of the Civil War he lived as a fisherman and gambler in Austin , Texas . He took part in the war on the southern side . He fought with the Texas Mounted Rifles in Louisiana .

After the end of the war in 1868, he returned to Austin. There he shot and killed US Army sergeant William Burke in a dispute during a binge. He fled to Indian territory and then turned his back on Texas for the time being. His trail was found in Abilene , Kansas in 1872 . He worked as a croupier at the Bull's Head Saloon, but then moved on to Ellworth , Kansas. There he was involved in another shootout in 1873. In a completely drunk state, he accidentally killed his friend the Sheriff CB Whitney with a shotgun. Thompson went to Buena Vista , Colorado and was elected mayor there. In 1876 he reappeared in Texas. He was arrested near Austin by the Texas Rangers after stealing cattle and extradited to Kansas, where he was tried for the murder of Sheriff Whitney. He was acquitted.

Thompson returned to Austin for the time being and then moved on to Ogallala , Nebraska . There he was hit by five bullets in a shootout in 1880. Bat Masterson , a friend of his brother's, had to get the seriously injured man to safety from the citizens of Ogallala who want to lynch him. Thompson's trail was lost. He may have been shot in Laredo , Texas around 1888 . However, this is not clearly proven.

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