[19] Although she was fondly remembered by onetime boarders and neighbors as "a jolly Irish lady, full of life and mischief",[20] she was already in the final stages of tuberculosis when the family reached Silver City. Reliable accounts suggest McCarty retaliated by drawing his gun and shooting Cahill, who died the next day. In 1870 the two accompanied each other to Wichita, Kansas and settled in different homes. When Grant fired, nothing happened, and McCarty then shot him. It is said that they were very much an item and even had a child together, a boy called Jose Patrocinio Garcia in 1875 which would make Billy only fifteen at the time of the birth. Dirty Little Billy,[124] Stan Dragoti's 1972 film starring Michael J. Pollard. [70] On April 29, 1878, a posse including the Jessie Evans Gang and the Seven Rivers Warriors, under the direction of former Brady deputy George W. Peppin, engaged Regulators Frank McNab, Ab Saunders and Frank Coe in a shootout at the Fritz Ranch. [31] In 1877, McCarty was involved in an altercation with the civilian blacksmith at Fort Grant, a loquacious Irish immigrant named Frank "Windy" Cahill, who took pleasure in bullying young McCarty. He was born on December 21, 1925, and he passed away on April 25, 2023. Upon the Kid's release, however, the. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [73] By shooting at government troops, the Regulators earned their animosity and gained a whole new set of enemies. The Kid asked Grant if he could see his ivory handled revolver and, while looking at the weapon, rotated the cylinder so the hammer would fall on the empty chamber when the trigger was pulled. Billy the Kid has been the subject and inspiration for many popular works, including: Billy The Kid (1958), a serial poem by Jack Spicer. [76] Under indictment for the Brady killing, McCarty and the other Regulators spent the next several months in hiding and were trapped, along with McSween, in McSween's home in Lincoln on July 15, by members of "The House" (as the Murphy-Dolan faction was known) and some of Brady's men. Requiem for Billy the Kid, Anne Feinsilber's 2006 motion picture starring Kris Kristofferson. His legend survived and grew long after his death. He was killed not for who he really was, but for what people thought he was. One bullet struck the 21-year-old near his heart, killing him instantly. John Tunstall was brutally murder by members of Sheriff Bradys posse and the Boys. . At that exact moment, the Kid with a knife in hand went to Maxwells house to get some fresh beef for a late steak dinner. The Kid rode out of Lincoln a free man and headed to the only place he could call home: Fort Sumner. This nineteen or twenty year old lived a short life but made a lasting impression. Of course I cannot very well defend his stealing horses and cattle, but when you consider that the Murphy, Dolan, and Riley people forced him into such a lawless life through efforts to secure his arrest and conviction, it is hard to blame the poor boy for what he did". [66] Roberts, however, refused to be taken alive, even after he suffered a severe bullet wound to the chest. [82] McCarty, who had fled to Texas after his escape from McSween's house, was under indictment, but sent Wallace a letter requesting immunity in return for testifying in front of the Grand Jury. Now fighting for the Tunstall side and in the hopes of a better future, the Kid changed his name to William H. Bonney, but his friends called him Kid. Tensions were high and the feud between Dolan and Tunstall escalated in to bloody violence. There were other outlaws and rustlers in New Mexico, much worse than Billy the Kid, but the Kid had gain fame and was singled out by the newspapers who had built him up into something he wasnt. Shot three times and killed on Nov. 27, 1880 , possibly by Billy the Kid, Dirty Dave and Wilson, possibly by his own posse. Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarty and spent his early life in New York. Although the popularity of the first story persists, and portrays Garrett in a better light, many historians contend that the second version is probably the accurate one. One of the most famous questions about Billy the Kid is whether or not he had any children. After the death of his father, he traveled west with his mother ending up in Silver City, New Mexico Territory in 1873. [84] After the trial, McCarty and O'Folliard slipped away on horses that were supplied by friends. He spun around before Grant could reach a loaded chamber. While the evidence shows that Billy lived on, it does not appear that Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid. In 1949, a paralegal named William Morrison located a man in West Texas named Ollie P. Roberts (nicknamed "Brushy Bill"), who claimed to be Billy the Kid and challenged the popular account of Billy's slaying at the hands of Pat Garrett in 1881. a 19th century American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War. Updated: April 8, 2020 | Original: July 14, 2016. In December 1880 he was captured by Garrett and stood trial for murder in Mesilla, New Mexico, in April 1881; he was found guilty and was sentenced to hang. Thus, the Regulators "went from lawmen to outlaws". 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Please take notice of the footnote numbers in parenthesis within the summary, you will find the footnotes at the end of the paragraph in italics. [45] Events turned bloody on February 18, 1878, when Tunstall was spotted while driving a herd of nine horses towards Lincoln and murdered by William Morton, Jessie Evans, Tom Hill, and Frank Baker all members of the Murphy-Dolan faction, and members of a posse sent to attack McSween's holdings. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [16] Antrim found sporadic work as a bartender and carpenter but soon became more interested in prospecting and gambling for fortune than in his wife and stepsons. On May 15, the Regulators tracked down Seven Rivers gang member Manuel Segovia, the suspected murderer of Frank McNab, and shot him to death. and killed him. [69] Copeland's authority, however, was undermined by the Murphy-Dolan faction, which promptly rounded up recruits from among Sheriff Brady's former deputies. [2] Some historians speculate that his image was created deliberately to distract the public's attention from the nefarious activities of the Dolan faction and their influential supporters in Santa Fe, notably regional political leader Thomas Benton Catron. Billy is portrayed by Geoffrey Deuel. After his escape from death row, the Kid spent several months hiding out on the frontier and taking refuge with sympathetic locals in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. When Otero met Bonney in 1881, the Otero family and other prominent Hispanos of central and northern New Mexico shared little . He was humorous and told me many amusing stories. That is, unless he was buried in the middle of Texas. [100] On April 13, he was sentenced by Judge Warren Bristol to hang.[100]. Left in the care of an absentee stepfather, the future gunslinger spent the next year living in foster homes and boardinghouses. The Kid was a celebrity in his own time, but his legend only grew after his death thanks to dime novels, television shows and Hollywood films. Whatever happened, Bell staggered into the street and collapsed, mortally wounded. The Kids original plan of escape was to take Bell prisoner, lock him up, and slip out unseen before Olinger came back. [8], Little is known about McCarty's origins, but many reputable scholars of western history "contend that he was born on the eve of the Civil War in the bowels of an Irish neighborhood in New York City (70 Allen Street). [71], What is known about the morning following McNab's death is that the Regulator "iron clad" took up defensive positions in the town of Lincoln, trading shots with Dolan men as well as U.S. Despite lack of information on these three, here are short biographies on Catherine, Joseph, and William Antrim. Responding to rumors that McCarty was still lurking in the vicinity of Fort Sumner almost three months after his escape, Sheriff Garrett and two deputies set out on July 14, 1881, to question one of the town's residents, a friend of McCarty's named Pete Maxwell (son of land baron Lucien Maxwell). Our family looks favorably on Billy, we have some stories of him from our Jaramillo cousins. Sarah Brown, the owner of a boarding house, gave him room and board in exchange for work. [88] In Jacobsen's recounting of the incident, however, Grant attempted to shoot McCarty unawares. [118] At least two men claimed to be McCarty, and they were successful in persuading a small segment of the public. [17] At age 14, McCarty was taken in by a neighboring family who operated a hotel where he worked to pay for his keep. He was a good boy, maybe a little too mischievous at times. Young Guns II, Geoff Murphy's 1990 motion picture starring Emilio Estevez as Billy and William Petersen as Pat Garrett. DC shooting Gold heist The Power of Water 'Rust' shooting Photo of Billy the Kid and His Killer Uncovered at Flea Market, Owner Says Frank Abrams is working with experts to verify if the photo he bought at a North Carolina flea market is really of Billy the Kid posing in a group with Pat Garrett. Wilson. [57] With this move, the McSween faction disillusioned many former supporters, who came to view both sides as "equally nefarious and bloodthirsty". He took pleasure in tormenting the helpless prisoner and used his shotgun to intimidate him. The Kid heard about Governor Axtell being replaced by Lew Wallace, who was now trying to bring law and order to Lincoln. He went by many names -- Henry McCarty, William Henry Bonney (William H. Bonney), Oliver P. Roberts (Ollie), and, most notably, Billy the Kid. Quin es?" The county sheriff decided to keep him locked up for a couple of days just to scare him, but the Kid escaped and ran away (3). [101] The details of the escape are unclear. He would have been a successful man under other circumstances. The Kid felt betrayed when he learned that Governor Wallace didnt have the power to pardon him without Rynersons cooperation, nor was the governor pressuring the attorney to collaborate. [88], In November 1880, a posse pursued and trapped McCarty's gang inside a ranch house owned by one of the Kid's friends, James Greathouse, at Anton Chico in the White Oaks area. [117], Frank Coe, who rode as a Regulator, recalled years after the Kid's death: "I never enjoyed better company. McCarty was shot in the thigh while attempting to retrieve a rifle that Brady had seized from him during an earlier arrest. [50], McSween, who abhorred violence, took steps to punish Tunstall's murderers through legal means; he obtained warrants for their arrests from the local justice of the peace John B. [23] Early biographers sought to explain McCarty's subsequent descent into lawlessness by focusing on his habit of reading dime novels that romanticized crime. Most historians reject Brushy Bill's claim, although his argument was not entirely bereft of supporting evidence. 4K views 3 years ago #BillyTheKid #Travel The Spirits of the Lincoln County War | Haunted Travels - In the heart of the state of New Mexico, lies the historic ghost town of Lincoln. [12] By 1868, Catherine McCarty had moved with her two young sons, Henry and Joseph, to Indianapolis, Indiana. One particularly legendary gunfight unfolded in January 1880 at a New Mexico saloon. Billy stood with us to the end, brave and reliable, one of the best soldiers we had. The Kid was in unfriendly territory and one of his threats was prosecutor attorney William Rynerson, who was part of the Ring and wanted to put the Kid on trial for the murder of Sheriff Brady. [95] On December 23, the Kid was tracked to an abandoned stone building located in a remote location known as Stinking Springs (near present-day Taiban, New Mexico). The governor, accompanied by James Dolan and associate John Riley, proved hostile to the faction now headed by McSween. It's not known Billy the Kid is one of the most notorious Wild West outlaws, which is especially impressive because he had to fit all his outlawing into just 21 years of life. The young gunslinger stole the occasional horse, but he never once held up a bank, train or even a stagecoach. Once in control of the courthouse, the Kid collected a small arsenal of weapons, cut his leg shackles with a pickaxe and fled town on a stolen horse. [48] Although members of the Murphy-Dolan faction sought to frame Tunstall's death as a "justifiable homicide", evidence at the scene suggested that Tunstall attempted to avoid a confrontation before he was shot down. Purgatory (film), Uli Edel's 1999 made for TV movie starring Donnie Wahlberg as Deputy Glen/Billy The Kid. The conflict centered on a business rivalry. [30] Biographer Robert M. Utley writes that the nickname arose because of McCarty's "slight build and beardless countenance, his young years, and his appealing personality". Most recently explored in the Discovery Channel documentary, Billy the Kid: Unmasked, this theory contends that Garrett went to the bedroom of Pedro Maxwell's sister, Paulita, and bound and gagged her in her bed. [86] He then informed Grant of his identity. Quin es?" On July 14, 1881 just before midnight, Pat Garrett waited till the town was quiet before he slipped into Pete Maxwells room to ask him about Billy the Kid. [60] Catron cooperated closely with the Murphy-Dolan faction, which was perceived as part of the notorious "ring". All Rights Reserved. Raised by a single mother, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, as a boy before later migrating west to New Mexico in the early 1870s. He returned some stolen horses to the army to clear himself and got work as a ranch hand. [34] Years later, Louis Abraham, who had known McCarty in Silver City but was not a witness, denied that anyone was killed in this altercation. Now an outlaw and unable to find honest work, the Kid met up with another outlaw named Jesse Evans, who was the leader of a gang of rustlers called The Boys. The Kid didn't have anywhere else to go and since it was suicide to be alone in the hostile and lawless territory, the Kid reluctantly joined the gang. Another theory holds that McCarty slipped off his manacles at the top of the stairs, struck Bell[102] over the head with them, grabbed Bell's own gun, and shot him with it. [96] Soon afterward, somebody from within the building reached for the horse's halter rope, but Garrett shot and killed the horse, whose body blocked the building's only exit. So Billy the Kid used his wit and courage to escape his date with the hangman which boosted his notoriety even more. In July 1878, the feud reached its climax with a deadly, five-day firefight in the town of Lincoln, after which the Regulators disbanded and the two sides sealed a flimsy peace agreement. Billy the Kid, byname of William H. Bonney, Jr., original name Henry McCarty?, (born November 23, 1859?, New York, New York, U.S.died July 14, 1881, Fort Sumner, New Mexico), American outlaw who was one of the most notorious gunfighters of the American West. WATCH: Cowboys & Outlaws:The Real Billy the Kid on HISTORY Vault. The next day Billy the Kid was buried at the Fort Sumner cemetery near his two fallen companions, Tom OFolliard and Charlie Bowdre. Henry Hooker, one-time employer of Billy the Kid, at his Sierra Bonita Ranch in southeast Arizona McCarty was 15 years old when his mother died. Western outlaw Billy the Kid met his demise at about 12:30 a.m. on July 14, 1881, when he went to his friend Pete Maxwell's home in Fort Sumner, New Mexico in search of a slice . [59] Notably, Axtell refused to acknowledge the existence of the so-called "Santa Fe Ring", a group of corrupt Republican politicians and business leaders led by U.S. Attorney Thomas Benton Catron. So they took the law in their own hands. The Regulators revenge only made things worse. Updates? This year, in her book Billy the Kid's Writings, Words, and Wit, Billy the Kid historian Dr. Gale Cooper specifically authenticated an additional Billy the Kid letter. Billy the Kid was born in 1859, most likely in New York City. McCarty (or Bonney, the name he used at the height of his notoriety) was 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) to 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall with blue eyes, a smooth complexion and prominent front teeth. [75], The Regulators' position worsened when the governor, in a quasi-legal move, removed Copeland and appointed George Peppin (an ally of the Murphy-Dolan faction) as sheriff. History first traces the Kid as a youngster in Indiana in the late 1860s and then in Wichita, Kansas in 1870. Garrett was a former employee of Pete Maxwell's and it's possible that Maxwell tipped Garrett off that the Kid was in the area. B illy The Kid was born in the slums of New York City in 1859. In January 1880, he reportedly killed a man named Joe Grant in a Fort Sumner saloon. He got in with a band of rustlers in Apache Tejo in part of the county where he was made a hardened character".[35]. [64], The connection between McSween and the Regulators was ambiguous, however. After a year of no parental guidance and looking out for himself, the Kid quickly fell in with the wrong crowd. Dave Stamey's "The Skies of Lincoln County", which features the deceased Bonney as narrator, answering historical distortions by Pat Garrett. He noticed someone in the darkness, and uttered the words, "Quin es? [36] He eventually arrived at the former army post of Apache Tejo, where he joined a band of cattle rustlers who targeted the sprawling herds of cattle magnate John Chisum. A Billy the Kid Mystery Solved IHS owns most of Billy the Kid's more famous letters - including one in our collections that was previously unidentified. After some name-calling, Cahill rushed the Kid and slammed him down on the ground, then jumped on top of him and proceeded to slap him in the face. Footnote 2: Its my guess that Billy the Kids stepfather never legally adopted his stepsons, since the Kid would also be referred to by his last name McCarty in Silver City. The other guard Bob Olinger was across the street having dinner when he heard the gunshots. #billythekid. [100] On April 9, after two days of testimony, McCarty was found guilty of the murder of Sheriff Brady, the only conviction ever secured against any of the combatants in the Lincoln County Cattle War.
Inferior Oblique Palsy Vs Brown Syndrome, Types Of Earth Angels Quiz, San Antonio Pd Lateral Transfer, Articles L