Lincoln County Regulators

The Lincoln County Regulators, or just the Regulators, were an American old west deputized posse that fought in the Lincoln County War.

Members history and friendships

The Regulators were formed out of numerous small ranch owners and cowboys in the Lincoln, New Mexico area. Many of those who became best known as "Regulators" had a long history with one another previously. William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid or Henry McCarty, would become the best known, most likely due to the notoriety of his name, which arose because news accounts attached his name to everything the Regulators did. The Lincoln County War brought him to the front, but several of the other Regulators were actually the driving force behind the events, and had a history of killing alongside one another prior to the war.

Ab Saunders, Charlie Bowdre, Doc Scurlock, Frank Coe, and George Coe had previously killed rustlers together. On July 18, 1876, that group had stormed the Lincoln jail, removing horse thief Jesus Largo, and hanged him. Ab Saunders and Frank Coe had tracked down cattle rustler Nicos Meras, shooting and killing him that same month in the Baca Canyon. Their association with McCarty began when, in the spring of 1876, Henry (at the time known as either Henry Antrim or William Bonney) moved to Lincoln County and began working for Doc Scurlock and Charlie Bowdre at their cheese factory. He later worked, for a time, for rancher Henry Hooker, and then for Ab Saunders and the Coes on their ranch. By the time the Lincoln County War came along, those main core members, referred to as the "iron clad", were all more experienced and closer to being actual "gunmen" than was McCarty.

Formation and notoriety

The Lincoln County War began when a posse of men, deputized by Sheriff William J. Brady, murdered young Englishman John Henry Tunstall on February 18, 1878. The posse had ostensibly been chasing Tunstall in order to attach some stock Tunstall and his men were driving from Tunstall’s ranch on the Feliz River to Lincoln, but the posse’s real motivation was clear – eliminate John Tunstall as an economic threat to businessmen James Dolan and L.G. Murphy, who had Sheriff Brady in their control.[1]

Tunstall's ranch-hands and other local citizens formed a group known as the Regulators to avenge his murder, and counter what was believed to have been a corrupt territorial criminal justice system controlled by allies of Murphy, Dolan, and co.

The Regulators received their cloak of legality from Justice of the Peace of the town of Lincoln, John B. Wilson.[2] Justice of the Peace Wilson issued warrants for the arrests of John Tunstall's killers, and appointed Regulator Dick Brewer a Special Constable to execute the warrants. Additionally, Regulator Robert Widenmann, who previously secured an appointment as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, was given permission to form a civilian posse and arrest the accused.[3][4]

The Lincoln County War and the Regulators would launch Billy the Kid to everlasting fame. However, in reality, other Regulators, for certain Doc Scurlock, were closer to actually being "gunmen" than Billy. In some cases, Billy the Kid was credited with killings that in fact were carried out by other Regulators. By the Regulators' end, any killings committed by them had his name attached, whether he was the actual shooter or not. This would eventually be detrimental to his attempts at amnesty.

The Regulators would go through three different leaders, all but one being killed. Although Billy the Kid would achieve fame as a member of the Regulators, he never led them. Their first leader was Richard "Dick" Brewer, killed later by Buckshot Roberts and replaced by Frank McNab, who was killed by members of the Seven Rivers Warriors. McNab was replaced by the Regulators final leader, Doc Scurlock.

William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, never made any effort to become well known, or to be the main subject of news reports on the events taking place during the range war. Frank Coe commented years later, "He never pushed in his advice or opinions, but he had a wonderful presence of mind."[5]

Known members

Timeline of events

Aftermath

Ultimately, the Lincoln County War accomplished little other than to fester distrust and animosity in the area and to make fugitives out of the surviving Regulators, most notably Billy the Kid. The Kid, Scurlock, Bowdre, Chavez y Chavez, Saunders, Brewer, Brown, McNab and the Coe cousins received the most notoriety as being "Regulators". Gradually, his fellow gunmen scattered to their various fates, and Billy the Kid was left with Charlie Bowdre, Tom O'Folliard, Dirty Dave Rudabaugh, and a few other friends with whom he rustled cattle and committed other petty crimes while negotiating for an amnesty that would never come, and evading capture.

Ab Saunders later died, in 1884 in San Francisco, California, during surgery to correct problems he still suffered due to his wound received on April 29, 1878. Frank and George Coe moved around for a time, eventually returning to Lincoln, where they became highly respected citizens, and successful ranchers. Jose Chavez y Chavez eventually became a police officer, but became involved in a Murder for hire, for which he spent time in prison. After his release he lived a seemingly quiet life until dying in 1924. Robert A. Widenmann's post-New Mexico career took him to Great Britain, where he visited Tunstall's family, and to Haverstraw, N.Y. where he died on April 13, 1930 at the age of 78. Doc Scurlock moved to Texas, where he became a respected citizen in both Potter County, Texas and Eastland County, Texas, dying at the age of 79. Despite the fact that the Regulators numbered some forty plus, most members, however, were relative unknowns, and their whereabouts after the war ended is lost to history.

• The Regulators were featured in the movie Young Guns, which only featured seven members.

• A group of gun-slinging self-appointed lawmen known as the "Regulators" can also be found in the computer game series Fallout.

• The Lincoln County Regulators are a popular bluegrass/folk band based in Scotland.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.lincolncountynm.org/LCHS%20Newsletter%20SUMMER%202010.pdf
  2. ↑ Wallis (2007) p. 199
  3. ↑ textmessageguest. "Deputy Marshal v. Deputy Marshal". The Text Message. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  4. ↑ "Billy the Kid and the U.S. Marshals Service | HistoryNet". HistoryNet. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  5. ↑ Eulogy for Billy the Kid. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  6. ↑ Jameson, W. C. (2008-08-07). Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave. Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 9781589794030.
  7. ↑ textmessageguest. "Deputy Marshal v. Deputy Marshal". The Text Message. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  8. ↑ Caldwell, C. R. (2008-01-01). Dead Right: The Lincoln County War. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780615171524.
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