Little Known Lawmen of The Wild West
The Old West produced a bunch of legends. As a matter of fact, if there’s one thing it was consistently good at, it was taking outlaws and turning them into icons. Men like Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy, and John Wesley Hardin because part of American culture despite that they were aggressive criminals. In a time of lawlessness and disorder, there were lawmen who commanded respect and weren’t afraid to stand up to outlaws. In the process they created the model of the Western hero. These men made a difference.
Pat Garrett: In the 1880’s Garrett became the Lincoln County, New Mexico Sheriff and secured his reputation when he gunned down one of the most popular bad guys in the Old West, William H. Bonney aka Billy the Kid. According to legend, Garrett and Bonney knew each other and they were even supposedly often seen together gambling in saloons. As soon as Garrett became sheriff, his duty was to bring Billy the Kid to justice. In 1881, Garrett tracked down Billy near Fort Summer and shot him.
Pat Garrett
William “Bill” Tilghman, Jr: was a lawman and gunfighter during the Wild West days of Kansas and Oklahoma. Tilghman earned admiration of many gunslingers like Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, the Mastersons, and Wild Bill Hickok. Tilghman developed the status of a man who only resorted to violence when it was absolutely essential, but was known to be deadly efficient in its use as a last resort. Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman, along with two others, Chris Madsen, and Heck Thomas, were known as The Three Guardsmen, a name popularized in Old West literature describing the three lawmen who became legendary in their pursuit of many outlaws of the late 19thcentury.
William "Bill" Tilghman, Jr.
William “Dave” Allison: Allison has been described as the most efficient lawman in Texas. In 1888, at the age of 27, he became the youngest sheriff in the Lone Star State. In the process, he became the youngest sheriff in Texas history. Allison was well-known for his confidence, but also had a dark side, as he was quite a bad gambler. Sometimes he left his positions under a cloud of suspicion. He is most noted for leading the group that caught and killed the Mexican revolutionary turned fugitive Pascual Orozco in 1915. Later on in life, Allison became a detective. While operating for the Texas Cattle Raisers Association, Allison built a case against two cattle rustlers in Seminole, Texas. In 1923, on the night before the trial, he was shot down and killed in his hotel room by the same two notorious cattle rustlers.
William "Dave" Allison
John Hicks Adams: In 1863, John ran for sheriff, and defeated William Aram. Shortly after his victory, a group of Confederate partisan rangers, known as Captain Ingram’s Partisan Rangers from the San Jose area, who had committed all sorts of crimes in Santa Clara County, robbed two stage coaches in the Bullion Bend Robbery near Placerville. Adams was close to getting the gang on several occasions, but they always managed to slip away. However, an information filtered to Sheriff Adams that the Confederates were holed up in a shack near Almaden. Adams and his posse surrounded the shack, and requested their surrender. The robbers failed to comply with the order and tried to escape. Sheriff Adams was wounded when a bullet struck his pocket watch and glanced into his ribs.
John Barclay Armstrong: Armstrong was a Texas Ranger lieutenant and a United States Marshal. In 1875, he joined the Special Force, and as second-in-command to Captain Leander, he earned the nickname “McNelly’s bulldog.” Armstrong is usually remembered for his part in the pursuit and capture of the most dangerous gunmen in the Wild West, John Wesley Hadin. Hardin had been captured once by rangers, but he managed to escape. Armstrong found himself in a train coach in a standoff against Hardin and four of his men. Armstrong killed one of the men, knocked Hardin unconscious, and disarmed the other three. He then safely escorted Hardin to Teas, where he received 25 years in prison. Besides this famous incident, Armstrong also helped track down outlaw King Fisher and was part of the group that killed violent train robber Sam Bass.
John Wesley Hardin
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