Not all soulmates are made equal
It lasted just 30 seconds, but the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, on October 26, 1881 is the most famous shootout in American Old West history.
On September 7, 1876, eight outlaws rode into Northfield, Minnesota, and robbed the town's First National Bank. The bandits, known as the James-Younger Gang, comprised Cole Younger, Frank James, Jesse James, Jim Younger, Bob Younger, Clell Miller, Bill Chadwell, and Charlie Pitts. Pictured are Bob, Jim, and Cole Younger with their sister, Rhetta.
The outcome was swift and bloody. While lawman Wyatt Earp (pictured) escaped injury, his brothers Morgan and Virgil, together with their gunslinger friend Doc Holliday, were all wounded. Sibling cowboys Tom and Frank McLaury, however, were shot dead, as was Billy Clanton.
The robbery ended in disaster. Upon leaving the bank, the gang were met by gunfire. Three of the group (Clell Miller, Bill Chadwell, and Charlie Pitts) were killed. The Youngers were wounded and captured. The James brothers, meanwhile, fled into nearby swamps and escaped.
The public showdown was to settle a dispute over a gambling debt. The two men positioned themselves in the town's square, drew their pistols, and fired. Tutt missed, but Hickok's bullet found its mark, killing his opponent almost instantly.
The Dalton Gang—brothers Bob, Grat, and Emmet Dalton, together with Richard Broadwell and Bill Powers—nearly pulled off one of the most audacious heists of the era, an attempt to rob two banks at the same time in Coffeyville, Kansas.
The robberies took place simultaneously on October 5, 1892. In an ensuing 12-minute gun battle, Bill Powers, Bob Dalton, Grat Dalton, and Richard Broadwell were killed. Emmett Dalton (pictured) was shot and wounded. Later jailed, he was paroled after serving 14 years in prison.
Fourteen years after the infamous duel in Springfield, Wild Bill Hickock was again involved in a notorious gunfight. This time, however, the outcome was quite different.
In a notorious shootout that took place in El Paso, Texas, on April 14, 1881, Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire, a noted gunfighter, dispatched three men in five seconds using his twin .44 caliber Smith & Wesson revolvers.
The deadly showdown occurred in a saloon on the town's El Paso street. Cattle rustler John Hale, ex-city marshal George Campbell, and an innocent Mexican bystander were the victims of Stoudenmire's quick-fire gunplay. The fourth victim was a county constable, Gus Krempkau, shot dead by Hale.
Outlaw and gunslinger Billy the Kid, real name Henry McCarty, remains one of the most notorious individuals of the Old West era. He is alleged to have killed around 20 men during his lifetime, murders that Sheriff Pat Garrett swore to avenge.
On July 14, 1818, after tracking McCarty to a ranch in New Mexico, Garrett confronted the outlaw in a darkened room. The lawman shot twice, with one bullet striking his target in the chest. The "kid" was dead, and a legend born.
As barroom brawls go, the Long Branch Saloon gunfight of April 5, 1879, in Dodge City, Kansas, is up there among the most heinous.
Two hardened gamblers, Frank Loving and Levi Richardson, were involved in an altercation that quickly turned ugly. Richardson had developed some affection for Loving's wife Mattie, an attachment that infuriated the jealous husband. Matters came to a head in the saloon over a poker game. Pistols were drawn, with both men firing widely. Amazingly, Loving was only grazed. Richardson, however, had been plugged three times, dying on the sawdust floor.
The fate of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has intrigued historians for over 100 years. Cassidy, real name Robert LeRoy Parker, and his partner in crime, born Harry Longabaugh, were leaders of the Wild Bunch, a gang of outlaws responsible for a string of train robberies, bank holdups, and cattle rustling. Pictured is the gang, seated left to right: Harry Longabaugh, Ben Kilpatrick, and Robert LeRoy Parker. Standing from left to right: Bill Carver and Harvey Logan.
On the run from Pinkerton Agency detectives, Butch and Sundance escaped to South America, eventually ending up in Bolivia. On November 7, 1908, two men, purportedly the two wanted "Yankees," were gunned own by soldiers in the small mining town of San Vicente. No conclusive evidence to confirm the deaths of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was ever submitted. And there are suggestions that Cassidy in fact survived the shootout.
The little-known but hugely controversial Wham Paymaster robbery of May 11, 1889 was carried out in Arizona Territory by bandits intent on getting their hands on thousands of dollars-worth of gold and silver.
Major Joseph W. Wham was transporting the valuable payroll from Fort Grant to Fort Thomas when he and his escort of 11 Buffalo Soldiers were ambushed. A firefight ensued, during which the robbers cracked the strongbox with an ax, and carried off the hoard. Most of the gang were caught but later walked free. The loot was never recovered. Isaiah Mays (pictured) and Benjamin Brown were awarded the Medal of Honor for their bravery under fire.
Four of Bailey's friends vowed revenge. Days later, they cornered McCluskie and his associate Jim Riley in a bar in the town's Hide Park district. The ensuing shootout was deadly. McCluskie was killed, while two of his attackers plus two bystanders also died. Riley, meanwhile, his guns both empty, walked away from the carnage and was never seen again. The body count was higher than that of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the "Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight."
On April 7, 1899, two cattle rustlers, brothers William and Thomas Lee Halderman, were confronted by lawmen Chester L. Ainsworth and Teddy Moore at a ranch located in the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona Territory. In the gunfight that followed, Ainsworth was killed and Moore mortally wounded.
Not so much a shootout as a massacre, the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25–26, 1876 was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army.
The engagement resulted in a humiliating loss for the US forces, with nearly 270 killed, including General George Armstrong Custer. Pictured is the battlefield in Montana shortly after the engagement.
James' killer was Robert Ford, a fellow gang member who betrayed his friend for reward money. Also present during the murder was Ford's brother, Charles.
In an incident that has gone down in Old West folklore, outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed at his home in Missouri on April 3, 1882.
One of the last gunfights to take place in the Old West era, the Battle of Ingalls was a shootout between United States Marshals and the Doolin-Dalton Gang that took place on September 1, 1893 in Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory.
The gang had been involved in a number of train and bank robberies and had holed up in the town. A posse tracked them down, and during the subsequent gunfight three lawmen were killed. With the exception of one, all gang members escaped, including Bill Dalton (pictured).
Sources: (Northfield Historical Society) (History) (Legends of America) (CBS News) (Police1)
Taking place in Newton, Kansas, on August 19, 1871, the Hide Park gunfight developed out of a fist fight between two local lawmen, Billy Bailey and Mike McCluskie. The brawl spiraled out of control, with McCluskie eventually shooting dead his colleague.
The Haldermans were later captured and stood trial. During cross examination, it was suggested that Moore was responsible for the theft of the livestock. Nevertheless, the brothers were found guilty and were hanged in Tombstone. They were the last criminals to be buried in Tombstone's Boothill Graveyard, and their graves can still be visited today.
The Frisco shootout is noted for the extraordinary bravery shown by lawman Elfego Baca in holding off up to 80 gunmen during an intense shootout in the town of Reserve, New Mexico Territory, in 1883.
Baca had arrested a cowboy named Charley McCarty (no relation to Henry McCarty, Billy the Kid) for rowdy behavior, but was quickly confronted by dozens of McCarty's friends demanding his release. In the gunfight that followed, Baca killed four of the protagonists and wounded four others in a siege that lasted 36 hours with as many as a 1,000 rounds fired.
Legendary Old West figure Wild Bill Hickok was involved in America's first one-on-one quick draw duel when he faced down errant gambler Davis Tutt on the streets of Springfield, Missouri, on July 21, 1865.
On August 1, 1879, Hickock was playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. As he played his hand, Jack McCall, a man whom Hickock had beaten at cards the previous evening, drew his gun and shot the frontiersman in the back of the head, killing him instantly. The cards Hickock held at the time of his death, a two-pair poker hand consisting of the black aces and black eights, is today known as a "dead man's hand."
The history of America's Old West is peppered with numerous gunfights and shootouts, violent confrontations that matched fearless lawmen with desperate outlaws. Many of these firefights have gone down in Wild West legend. Others, while lesser-known, are still infamous for their brutality and high body count. The locations where these bloody encounters took place and the gunslingers involved have helped shape the American West. But who, ultimately, was quicker in the draw?
Click through and witness these notorious Wild West gunfights.
Draw! Notorious Wild West gunfights
Infamous shootouts of the Old West
LIFESTYLE History
The history of America's Old West is peppered with numerous gunfights and shootouts, violent confrontations that matched fearless lawmen with desperate outlaws. Many of these firefights have gone down in Wild West legend. Others, while lesser-known, are still infamous for their brutality and high body count. The locations where these bloody encounters took place and the gunslingers involved have helped shape the American West. But who, ultimately, was quicker in the draw?
Click through and witness these notorious Wild West gunfights.