The Lincoln County War

The Lincoln County War was a conflict between rival cattle barons in in 1878 in New Mexico Territory. This war became famous because of the participation of notable figures of the Old West, including Billy the Kid, sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett, cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and executive Alexander McSween, and the organized-crime boss Lawrence Murphy. In Lincoln County from a small death to a great deal of revenge became the Lincoln County war.

In the early 1870's two men named Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan owned the only store in Lincoln County, Murphy and Dolan Mercantile and Banking. During this time, Lincoln County was the largest county in the nation, covering one-fifth of New Mexico Territory. Murphy and Dolan Mercantile

Frustrated, Billy and many others succumbed to the temptation of revenge on Sheriff Brady. This was a crucial turning point in Billy's life. They ambushed the sheriff and his men on April 1, 1878, killing Sheriff Brady and wounding one of his deputies. On July 19, 1878, the new Sheriff, George Peppin, and a group of his men besieged McSween and his supporters, including Billy the Kid. McSween's house was set on fire and several people were shot dead as they came out of the house, including an unarmed Alexander McSween. Billy the Kid hoped for a better future by joining Tunstall’s side, but now it was blowing away with the ashes from McSween’s

Hayes removed New Mexico's Governor Axtell from office and appointed Lew Wallace as New Mexico's new governor. On February 18, 1879, Billy rode into Lincoln hoping to make a deal with Dolan and his group. One of the Dolan group wanted to shoot Billy. Instead, the two sides gathered on the road to shake hands and sign an agreement not to testify against anyone. In March, Governor Wallace removed the incompetent commander of Fort Stanford, Lieutenant Colonel Dudley, and the governor ordered the arrest of any person involved in Houston Chapman's death. Billy wrote a letter to Wallace describing the events that led to Chapman's death, which Wallace received on March. Billy wrote that he no longer wanted to fight and that the majority of them are my friends and has been helping him all they could.

In conclusion, the Lincoln county war was a blood bath over a sentimental death. Billy shows demonstrates that he does not really have a father figure in his life and the only one he had was Tunstall. By July, The House was prevailing, having added McSween to its lists of victims. However, fighting would continue to erupt sporadically until 1884 and The House finally regained full control of Lincoln County. By that time, Billy the Kid had already been dead for three years, gunned down by Lincoln County Sheriff Pat