The Lincoln County War was a conflict between two entrenched factions in 19th century America's western frontier. The "war" was between a faction led by wealthy ranchers and another faction led by the wealthy owners of the monopolistic general store in Lincoln County, New Mexico. A notable combatant on the side of the ranchers was William Bonney who is better known to history as Billy the Kid.

Events leading up

John Tunstall was a wealthy 24-year old English cattleman, banker and merchant who had employed Bonney and several other younger hands as cattle guards. Alexander McSween, a lawyer, John Chisum, a famous cattleman with huge herds in the area, and Tunstall led a faction of roughnecks against another powerful faction in the county that was led by two Irishmen, Lawrence Murphy (founder of L. G. Murphy & Co.) and J.J. Dolan (James Dolan).

John H. Riley also became a partner with Murphy and Dolan in their mercantile and banking operation. Dolan and Riley owned a large general store called The House in the county's seat, Lincoln, which was the focal point for a virtual monopoly of the county's trade. The proprietors of The House also had close ties to influential territorial officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico and also with local law enforcement and The Santa Fe Ring.

The Lincoln County War begins

In the fall of 1877, shortly after Bonney was hired by Tunstall, violence broke out. The House proprietors Dolan and Riley obtained a court order to seize some of Tunstall's horses as payment for an outstanding debt. When Tunstall refused to surrender the horses, the Lincoln County sheriff, William Brady, formed a posse, led by deputy William Morton, to seize the horses. After protesting the presence of the posse on his land, Tunstall was shot in the head by Morton.

Bonney joined a posse led by Richard Brewer (known as "Dick" Brewer), called the Regulators. Their aim was to hunt for Tunstall's killer William Morton. The Regulators found Morton somewhere in the countryside near the Rio Peñasco. Morton surrendered after a five mile running gunfight on the condition that Morton and his fellow deputy sheriff, Frank Baker, would be returned alive to Lincoln. On February 18, 1878, the third day of the journey back to Lincoln, near Agua Negra, the Regulators killed the prisoners along with one of their fellow Regulators that apparently either tried to stop them, or whom they believed to have been a traitor. This marked what many historians regard as the start of the war.

On April 1st, Regulators Jim French, Frank MacNab, John Middleton, Fred Waite, Henry Brown and Billy Bonney ambushed the sheriff, killing Sheriff Brady and mortally wounding one of his deputies. Bonney then broke cover and took back his rifle from the now dead Sheriff Brady. Bonney now shifted his allegiance to his former employer's ally the lawyer McSween. However, a new sheriff allied with The House faction, George Peppin, laid siege to McSween's adobe home in the center of Lincoln while Bonney, McSween and several comrades were inside. Bonney and several others were able to flee the area but McSween was gunned down while trying to escape. This ended the Lincoln County War but tensions were still high between the remnants of the two factions.

In actuality, there were more than 40 Regulators, mostly hired guns from Mexico hired by John Chisum. The small group of Regulators comprised of Billy the Kid, Dick Brewer (killed by Buckshot Roberts), Dirty Steve Stephens, Jose Chavez y Chavez, Charlie Bowdre, Josiah "Doc" Scurlock and Tom O'Folliard were the elite of the group, as they had all worked for John Tunstall.

Following the end of the Lincoln County War, only William Bonney, Charlie Bowdre, and Tom O'Folliard (all buried together although killed at different times by Pat Garrett) remained in Lincoln County out of the original group of "PALS". Dick Brewer, as mentioned, was killed by Buckshot Roberts, "Doc" Scurlock (who was actually a doctor, having attended medical school in New Orleans) moved to East Texas with his wife and became a teacher, never to return to Lincoln County, NM and Chavez y Chavez moved to Las Vegas (both men died of old age). The disposition of "Dirty Steve" is not known.

The new gang consisted of William Bonney, Charlie Bowrde, Tom O'Folliard, Dirty Dave Rudsbaugh (never known as "Arkansas Dave" in reality) and, some say, Pat Garrett himself. They stole cattle from only one man, John Chisum, because Bonney felt that Chisum owed the Regulators for their fighting in the Lincoln County War. He tallied the wages that the Regulators should have been paid and subtracted $5 for every head of cattle he stole.

William Bonney, A/K/A Kid Antrim was not the leader of the Regulators until he took control during the siege at the McSween home. Dick Brewer was the original leader and "Doc" Scurlock took control after that. Also, it was not until Bonney's capture by Pat Garrett at Stinking Springs, NM (where Charlie Bowrde was killed) that he was dubbed Billy the Kid.

Also, Pat Garrett and his posse killed Tom O'Folliard (while Pat was only Sheriff-Elect) outside of Fort Sumner, NM, Charlie Bowdre at Stinking Springs, NM (while he was unarmed and watering the horses) and William Bonney in Ft. Sumner at the home of Pete Maxwell (also unarmed). None of these location were within the confines of what was then Lincoln County, where he was Sheriff, leading the question of "who was the real criminal here?".

Garrett never collected the $500.00 bounty placed on William Bonney by the Governor of NM, for either the caputure at Stinking Springs or the killing at Ft. Sumner, as it was done outside of his jurisdiction. He only collected the additional $500.00 bounty that was placed on "The Kid" by the Cattlemen's Association and, more specifically, by John Chisum.

Wikipedia links

• Young Guns

History of New Mexico | History of the American West