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The Lincoln County War: Store Monopoly, Beef Contracts and Bloodshed in 1878

A fight over credit, insurance and government beef contracts turned into a shooting war in Lincoln County.

What was the Lincoln County War?

The Lincoln County War was a feud in New Mexico Territory in 1878 between two rival groups of merchants and their allies. The Wikipedia article on the Lincoln County War describes the Murphy-Dolan faction, which ran the county's only general store, called The House, and held a dry goods monopoly, against the Tunstall-McSween-Chisum faction.

It is often grouped with cattle wars, but the cause was commercial: who would supply goods and beef to the army post and the reservation. Cattle were the contract, not the quarrel.

The two factions and the beef contracts

The Murphy-Dolan side was allied with Sheriff William J. Brady and aided by the Jesse Evans Gang, the Seven Rivers Warriors and the John Kinney Gang. John Tunstall and Alexander McSween opened a competing store and bank in 1876, backed by cattleman John Chisum.

Murphy and Dolan already held beef contracts for the Mescalero Apache Reservation and Fort Stanton. Tunstall, McSween and Chisum formed a cattle business to pursue beef contracts in the territory, which put them in direct conflict with Murphy and Dolan. The federal beef contract system is described in the EBSCO open range summary, which says the government awarded beef contracts to cattle companies for reservation residents.

The Fritz insurance dispute and the killing of Tunstall

The dispute began over Emil Fritz's insurance policy. McSween collected it for the estate but refused to hand it over to The House, which claimed it as a debt. In February 1878 a court order mistakenly seized Tunstall's assets along with McSween's.

On February 18, 1878, a sheriff's posse caught Tunstall while he was herding horses with his ranch hands. Special investigator Frank Warner Angel later determined that Jesse Evans, William Morton and Tom Hill shot Tunstall in cold blood. Richard Brewer and Billy the Kid witnessed the killing from a distance, and it started the war.

The Regulators and the killings of 1878

Tunstall's cowhands and local citizens formed the Lincoln County Regulators to avenge his death. The core members, called the iron clad, included Richard Brewer, Frank McNab, Doc Scurlock and Billy the Kid. Justice of the peace John Wilson deputized them, but Territorial Governor Samuel Axtell later ruled Wilson's appointment illegal, which made the Regulators' actions illegal.

On March 9, 1878, the Regulators killed prisoners Morton and Baker, and McCloskey, near Blackwater Creek. On April 1 they killed Sheriff Brady and Deputy George Hindman in Lincoln. In mid-April Buckshot Roberts killed Brewer at Blazer's Mill before dying of his own wound, and on April 29 McNab was killed at the Fritz Ranch.

The Battle of Lincoln, July 1878

From July 15 to 19, 1878, the Regulators were besieged in two positions in Lincoln, the McSween house and the Ellis store. U.S. Army troops under Colonel Nathan Dudley arrived and pointed cannons at the positions, and several Regulators, including Billy the Kid, fled to the McSween house.

On July 19 the Murphy-Dolan faction set the McSween house on fire. McSween was killed, and Harvey Morris was also killed. Billy the Kid, Jim French, Tom O'Folliard and Jose Chavez y Chavez escaped.

Why It Mattered

The war shows how government beef money could drive violence on the frontier. The prize was supply, and the fighting came when each side expected the other to take it.

The article does not frame the war as a lesson. It is better read as a record of what happened when a monopoly, a feud and an unreliable legal system collided.

  • The Murphy-Dolan House held a dry goods monopoly and existing beef contracts at Fort Stanton and the Mescalero reservation.
  • Tunstall and McSween challenged it by opening a store and bank in 1876 with Chisum's backing.
  • A court order that mistakenly seized Tunstall's assets helped lead to his killing.
  • The Regulators' deputation was ruled illegal, which weakened their claim to act as law.
  • Army troops at the Battle of Lincoln changed the balance by pointing cannons at the Regulators.
  • Both factions collapsed, and the war mainly fostered distrust and animosity in the area.

Billy the Kid, the aftermath and the legend

Billy the Kid became a fugitive after Lincoln, rustling cattle and committing other crimes with Charlie Bowdre, O'Folliard and Dave Rudabaugh. Pat Garrett's posse killed him in July 1881, and he is buried at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Susan McSween hired attorney Huston Chapman to pursue charges against Dolan and others, and Evans and Billy Campbell killed Chapman on February 18, 1879.

Dolan was indicted for Tunstall's murder but acquitted. He later acquired Tunstall's property and died in 1898. The Regulators were suppressed, and both factions collapsed. The wider beef trade behind such contracts is outlined in the Wikiwand cattle drives overview. For more range-war history see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about Billy the Kid.

Timeline

  1. 1876Tunstall and McSween open a competing store and bank
  2. Feb 18, 1878John Tunstall killed by members of a sheriff's posse
  3. Mar 9, 1878Regulators kill prisoners Morton and Baker near Blackwater Creek
  4. Apr 1, 1878Regulators kill Sheriff Brady and Deputy Hindman in Lincoln
  5. Jul 15-19, 1878Battle of Lincoln; McSween killed when his house is set on fire
  6. Feb 18, 1879Attorney Huston Chapman killed
  7. Jul 1881Pat Garrett's posse kills Billy the Kid
  8. 1898James Dolan dies

Frequently asked questions

What caused the Lincoln County War?

It began with a dispute over Emil Fritz's insurance policy and a rivalry over trade and beef contracts between the Murphy-Dolan store and the Tunstall-McSween-Chisum group. Tunstall's killing on February 18, 1878 set off the fighting.

Was Billy the Kid in the Lincoln County War?

Yes. Billy the Kid witnessed Tunstall's killing and later fought as a Regulator, escaping the burning McSween house on July 19, 1878. He became a fugitive and was killed by Pat Garrett's posse in July 1881.

How did the Lincoln County War end?

The Regulators were suppressed after the Battle of Lincoln, and both factions collapsed. Dolan was indicted for Tunstall's murder but acquitted, and the war mainly left distrust in the area.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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