Lincoln County War
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Lincoln County War
v Primary Sources v
After the American Civil War the former soldier, James Dolan moved to Lincoln County where he was employed as a
clerk by Lawrence Murphy. In 1874 the two men became business partners and established the Murphy & Dolan
mercantile and banking operation. John H. Riley, another Irish immigrant, also became a partner in this venture. The
company was highly successful and won contracts to supply beef to both the Mescalero Apache Reservation and Fort
Stanton. Murphy and his friends were disliked by the small farmers in Lincoln County as they were forced to pay high
prices from Murphy & Dolan while at the same time they had to accept low prices for their cattle.
In 1876 Alexander McSween and John Tunstall set up a rival business. These two men were given the support of John
Chisum, the owner of a large ranch and over 100,000 head of cattle. McSween and Tunstall now established J. H.
Tunstall & Co, a shop and bank close to the one owned by Dolan, Murphy and Riley.
Dolan was furious at this development and attempted to goad Tunstall into a gunfight. Tunstall refused to use violence
himself but he did recruit Billy the Kid to help him in his business dispute. On 18th February, 1878, Tunstall was killed by
a gang of men that included William Morton, Jesse Evans and Tom Hill. This incident started what became known as the
Lincoln County War.
Pat Garrett later argued: "The majority of these outrages were not committed by the principals or participants in the war
proper, but the unsettled state of the country caused by these disturbances called the lawless element, horse and cattle
thieves, footpads, murderers, escaped convicts, and outlaws from all the frontier states and territories; Lincoln and
surrounding counties offered a rich and comparatively safe field for their nefarious operations."
Billy the Kid was deeply affected by this murder and claimed that Tunstall "was the only man that ever treated me like I
was a free-born and white." Apparently at Tunstall's funeral Billy the Kid swore: "I'll get every son-of-a-bitch who helped
kill John if it's the last thing I do." Billy joined the Regulators, a group led by Dick Brewer that supported Alexander
McSween. It was claimed that John Tunstall had been murdered on the orders of James Dolan and Lawrence Murphy.
Rumours began to circulate that Dolan had offered $1,000 for anyone willing to murder Alexander McSween. Over the
next few months the Regulators killed Sheriff William Brady, George Hindman, Frank Baker, William Morton, Buckshot
Roberts and others who they claimed they had been involved in the killing of Tunstall.
On 19th July, 1878, McSween and his supporters, including Billy the Kid, were besieged by Sheriff George Peppin and a
group of his men. McSween's house was set on fire and several people were shot dead as they came out of the house.
This included the unarmed McSween. Ella Davidson was living in the area at the time: "About noon we saw heavy
smoke. It was the McSween store that had been set afire by the Murphy men to burn out the McSween men who were
surrounded, so they couldn't escape. When the fire was under way Mr. McSween calmly walked to the door as if
surrendering and was shot down. Then, two others that followed were riddled with bullets. George Coe, Henry Brown,
and Charlie Bowdre were among the crowd that escaped. Billy the Kid was the last one left in the building. During the
excitement of the roof crashing in, he rushed out with two pistols blazing. Bob Beckwith, whose shot had killed
McSween, was killed by one flying bullet and two others were wounded. The Kid, with bullets whizzing all around him,
made his escape."
When Lewis Wallace took office as Governor of New Mexico on 1st October 1878, he proclaimed an amnesty for all
those involved in the Lincoln County War. It is estimated that nineteen men were killed during the conflict.
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3/25/2013 11:26 AM
Lincoln County War
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http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWlincolnwar.htm
Susan McSween, Alexander McSween's widow, hired Huston Chapman as her attorney after her husband was killed.
Chapman was murdered on 18th February, 1879. James Dolan was accused of the murder but with the help of powerful
friends, the case against him was dropped. Meanwhile, Dolan purchased the property previously owned by John
Tunstall.
Primary Sources
^ Main Article ^
(1) Pat Garrett, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid (1882)
"The Lincoln County War," in which the Kid was now about to take a part, had been brewing since the summer of 1876,
and commenced in earnest in the spring of 1877. It continued for nearly two years, and the robberies and murders
consequent thereon would fill a volume. The majority of these outrages were not committed by the principals or
participants in the war proper, but the unsettled state of the country caused by these disturbances called the lawless
element, horse and cattle thieves, footpads, murderers, escaped convicts, and outlaws from all the frontier states and
territories; Lincoln and surrounding counties offered a rich and comparatively safe field for their nefarious operations.
It is not the intention, here, to discuss the merits of the embroglio - to censure or uphold either one faction or the other,
but merely to detail such events of the war as the hero of these adventures took part in.
The principals in this difficulty were, on one side, John S. Chisum, called "The Cattle King of New Mexico," with Alex A.
McSween and John H. Tunstall as important allies. On the other side were the firm of Murphy & Dolan, merchants at
Lincoln, the county seat, and extensive cattle-owners, backed by nearly every small cattle-owner in the Pecos Valley.
This latter faction was supported by T. B. Catron, United States attorney for the Territory, a resident and eminent lawyer
of Santa Fe, and a considerable cattle-owner in the Valley.
John S. Chisum's herds ranged up and down the Rio Pecos, from Fort Sumner way below the line of Texas, a distance
of over two hundred miles, and were estimated to number from 40,000 to 80,000 head of full-blood, graded, and Texas
cattle. A. A. McSween was a successful lawyer at Lincoln, retained by Chisum, besides having other pecuniary interests
with him. John H. Tunstall was an Englishman, who only came to this country in 1876. He had ample means at his
command, and formed a co-partnership with McSween at Lincoln, the firm erecting two fine buildings and establishing a
mercantile house and the "Lincoln County Bank," there. Tunstall was a liberal, public-spirited citizen, and seemed
destined to become a valuable acquisition to the reliable business men of our country. He, also, in partnership with
McSween, had invested considerably in cattle.
This bloody war originated about as follows: The smaller cattle-owners in Pecos Valley charged Chisum with
monopolizing, as a right, all this vast range of grazing country - that his great avalanche of hoofs and horns engulfed
and swept away their smaller herds, without hope of recovery or compensation - that the big serpent of this modern
Moses, swallowed up the lesser serpents of these magicians. They maintained that at each "round-up" Chisum's vast
herd carried with them hundreds of head of cattle belonging to others.
On Chisum's part he claimed that these smaller proprietors had combined together to roundup and drive away from the
range - selling them at various military posts and elsewhere throughout the country - cattle which were his property and
bearing his mark and brand under the system of reprisals. Collisions between the herders in the employ of the opposing
factions were of frequent occurence, and, as above stated, in the winter and spring of 1877 the war commenced in
earnest. Robbery, murder, and bloody encounters ceased to excite either horror or wonder.
(2) Frank McNab interviewed in the Mesilla Independent (12th March, 1878)
When he had ridden some 20 miles and had reached a point about 5 or 6 miles from Black Water, Morton was riding
side by side with one of the posse, when he suddenly snatched McClosky's pistol from his scabbard and shot him dead.
Although mounted on a slow horse, he put him to his best speed, closely followed by Frank Baker. They were speedily
overtaken and killed.
(3) Francisco Gomez, knew Billy the Kid when he was a child. He was interviewed about this as part of the WPA
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Lincoln County War
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Project in 1938.
When I was about eighteen years old I went to work for the McSween's. I stayed with them for about two years. I
remember that one winter Billy the Kid stayed with the McSween's for about seven months. I guess he boarded with
them. He was an awfully nice young fellow with light brown hair, blue eyes, and rather big front teeth. He always
dressed very neatly.
He used to practice target shooting a lot. He would throw up a can and would twirl his six gun on his finger and he could
hit the can six times before it hit the ground. He rode a big roan horse about ten or twelve hands high, all that winter and
when this horse was out in the pasture Billy would go to the gate and whistle and the horse would come up to the gate
to him. That horse would follow Billy and mind him like a dog. He was a very fast horse and could out run most of the
other horses around there. I never went out with Billy but once.
Captain Baca was sheriff then and once some tough outlaws came to Lincoln and rode up and down the streets and
shot out window lights in the houses and terrorized people. Captain Baca told Billy the Kid to take some men and go
after these men. Billy took me and Florencio and Jose Chaves and Santano Mayes with him. The outlaws went to the
upper Ruidoso and we followed them. We caught up with them and shot it out with them. One of the outlaws was killed
and the other ran away. None of us were hurt.
When the Lincoln County war broke out my father did not want to get into it so he made me quit working for the
McSween's and come home and stay there.
(4) Ella Davidson lived in Lincoln, New Mexico, durng the Lincoln County War. She was interviewed about this as
part of the WPA Project in 1938.
On the Sunday evening before the terrible days that ended the Lincoln County War Mother said: "Ella this is the week
that will end all this bloodshed and fighting and, I thank God your father is away and won't be mixed up in the shooting,
but I an afraid to stay here with you children unprotected." So that night after supper she took us to stay with the Ellis
family, in their house which was built with all the rooms in one long row. About ten o'clock we heard someone with spurs
on, come clattering down the whole length of the house. The door where we sat opened and there was Billy the Kid! He
was followed by fourteen men who took possession of the house. We went back to our home but Mother was afraid to
stay there after she thought our water supply would perhaps be cut off, so we went to Juan Patron's house and about
midnight that house was taken over by some of the fighters. We then went to Montonna's store where we went to bed
and when we got up the next morning about twenty men had taken possession there, but we stayed there from Sunday
evening, until the next Friday morning. Mother got up and after we saw men fired on and one killed, she said, "I am
going to take you children out of this danger!"
So she took us two miles out of town to where there were some tall poplar trees - they are still there - and about noon
we saw heavy smoke. It was the McSween store that had been set afire by the Murphy men to burn out the McSween
men who were surrounded, so they couldn't escape. When the fire was under way Mr. McSween calmly walked to the
door as if surrendering and was shot down. Then, two others that followed were riddled with bullets. George Coe, Henry
Brown, and Charlie Bowdre were among the crowd that escaped. Billy the Kid was the last one left in the building.
During the excitement of the roof crashing in, he rushed out with two pistols blazing. Bob Beckwith, whose shot had
killed McSween, was killed by one flying bullet and two others were wounded. The Kid, with bullets whizzing all around
him, made his escape.
After this battle that took place in July, 1878 everything quieted down, and my mother took us home. Mrs. McSween,
whose home was burned, stayed with us all night, and the next morning she asked me to go with her to see the ruins of
her house. We found only the springs and other wires of her piano that was the pride of her life. She raked in the ashes
where her bureau had stood and found her locket.
That was the most destructive battle of the Lincoln County War. We were terribly upset with all the fighting and killings.
My sister Amelia had more than she could stand so my mother sent her to a ranch until things could settle down.
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3/25/2013 11:26 AM
Santa Fe Ring: Ruler of the territory - SantaFeNewMexican.com
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Santa Fe Ring: Ruler of the territory
By Jason Strykowski | For The New Mexican
6/5/2010
Returning from war, veterans searched
the United States for opportunities. Some
chose to go home, while others hoped to
find profit in places they had never before
considered.
Famously, some Civil War survivors
packed what little they had and headed to
the South. Even more intrepid profiteers
looked west to make their fortunes. In
Santa Fe, a number of these Western
"carpetbaggers" discovered power and a
nickname for their affiliation. The Santa
Fe Ring came to dominate New Mexico
politics for several decades after the Civil
War.
Photo by: Wesley Bradfield, Courtesy Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), #13309
The men loosely tied to this ring were
paragons of what Mark Twain coined the
"Gilded Age." Members of the Santa Fe
Ring had power, money, few scruples and
ample opportunity for growth. The Ring
encircled lawyers, retailers, military
officers, ranchers and politicians. And, if
these men of such varied skills had a
common interest, it was land speculation
and subsequent revenue.
The land-grant legacy in New Mexico made the region attractive for the men who would create the Ring. The
muddled heritage of these Spanish leftovers translated into thousands of acres of grazing and mining land.
New Mexico held unadulterated opportunity.
One of the first to recognize the profitability in land grants, Stephen B. Elkins moved to Mesilla in 1864 to
pursue a career as a lawyer. At the time, Elkins possessed only a college degree and an undistinguished
record as a Union soldier. But, through a disarming personality and strict resolve, Elkins became a leader in
Mesilla.
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9/27/2012 10:03 AM
Santa Fe Ring: Ruler of the territory - SantaFeNewMexican.com
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Elkins found success as a lawyer and, boosted by a quick tongue in English and Spanish, he soon found his
way to the office of the territorial attorney general. His influence growing, Elkins decided to share the secret
of his success with an old friend.
Like Elkins, Thomas Benton Catron lived through the war only to struggle through peace time. Elkins'
invitation to New Mexico probably came as a minor revelation to Catron, and it didn't take long for Catron to
join Elkins on the short list of prominent New Mexicans. The two federally appointed attorneys would need
all their influence.
Seated as president of the Maxwell Land Co., Elkins hoped to use his position and connections to increase
acreage of the Maxwell Land Grant more than tenfold and therefore boost the company's holdings. Perhaps
the most famous of the Spanish land transfers, the Maxwell Land Grant encompassed a parcel that would
ultimately cover ground from Southern New Mexico into southern Colorado. At first, though, the grant held
less territory, and to get the surveyor to recognize that extra land, Elkins had to cash in on sympathetic links
to the Ring. These connections ran throughout Santa Fe and to the Republican Party in Washington.
The Maxwell case opened the gates for investors to stampede into New Mexico. As they rushed in, these
investors sought the counsel of Elkins and Catron, whose history of profiteering demanded respect. Elkins
and Catron became fixtures in many land exchanges and purchases.
With control of land and government, the Santa Fe Ring became the undisputed power of the territory until
some in Colfax County and others in Lincoln County chose to voice their objections with pistols. Fighting
erupted in Colfax and, quite famously, later engulfed Lincoln. In both cases, disputes revolved around the
Ring's unwillingness to share both resources and controls. And, in both fights, the Ring emerged victorious.
Until 1885, the Ring stayed in control. Only a reformer in territorial Gov. Edmund G. Ross and factionalism
in the local Republican Party could finally bring an end to the Ring's reign.
Jason Strykowski is a doctoral candidate at The University of New Mexico.
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9/27/2012 10:03 AM
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