One of the most famous questions about Billy the Kid is whether or not he had any children. Although he claimed to have killed 21 men, the actual number is likely less than 10. After his sentence was passed, the Kid was taken to Lincoln to await his hanging. [108] In a second version, McCarty entered carrying a knife, evidently headed to a kitchen area. Director: Oliver Drake | Stars: Anthony Dexter, Sonny Tufts, Marie Windsor, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers Votes: 147 15. Dolan's gunmen and newly appointed sheriff, George Peppin and his men, had the McSween house surrounded with Alex McSween and many of the Regulators trapped in side. Check out nine facts about the brief and bloody life of the legendary outlaw. [83] Although McCarty's testimony helped to indict John Dolan, the district attorney, one of the powerful "House" faction leaders, disregarded Wallace's order to set McCarty free after his testimony. The outlaw was found guilty of the murder of Sheriff William Brady and confined to the Lincoln courthouse. Footnote 4: James Dolan was the protg of LG Murphy and when Murphy became ill of cancer and hospitalized in Santa Fe, Dolan stepped up to take his place. The gang made their way to Lincoln County where the Boys joined forces with James Dolan, who was currently in a feud against an Englishman entrepreneur named John Tunstall and his attorney and partner Alex McSween. William H. Bonney, known as Billy the Kid, was the youngest and most famous example of a gun-fighter from the American West. Billy the Kid knew he didnt stand a chance in court and he had lost faith in the governor, so he escaped. At the time Brady arrested them, the two men were attempting to serve a warrant on Brady for his suspected role in looting Tunstall's store after the Englishman's death, as well as his posse members for the murder of Tunstall. [23] Early biographers sought to explain McCarty's subsequent descent into lawlessness by focusing on his habit of reading dime novels that romanticized crime. Henry quickly adapted to life in the rugged territory and became fluent in Spanish, but his sickly mother died of tuberculosis in 1874, leaving him an orphan at the age of just 14. At first the deputized Regulators tried to do things legally by serving warrants, but with the prejudice Sheriff Brady and the bias court system, they couldnt count on justice being served. He never seemed to care for money, except to buy cartridges with. Later that evening, Grant pulled the same pistol on the Kid and tried to shoot him in the back. Billy the Kid was born Henry McCarty and spent his early life in New York. Most of those he killed deserved what they got. Though his life was short, he left a lasting impression on the American West. Geni requires JavaScript! [118] At least two men claimed to be McCarty, and they were successful in persuading a small segment of the public. By the Fall of 1880, Billy was still trying to convince the governor of a pardon, although continuing his outlaw activities. Contemporaries described him as a "neat" dresser who favored an "unadorned Mexican sombrero". Western outlaw Billy the Kid met his demise at about 12:30 a.m. on July 14, 1881, when he went to his friend Pete Maxwell's home in Fort Sumner, New Mexico in search of a slice . [51] Tunstall's men formed their own group called the Regulators. [21] The following year, on September 16, 1874, Catherine McCarty died; she was buried in the Memory Lane Cemetery in Silver City. One version suggests that as the Kid entered, he failed to recognize Garrett in the poor light. [50], McSween, who abhorred violence, took steps to punish Tunstall's murderers through legal means; he obtained warrants for their arrests from the local justice of the peace John B. On the run again and an outlaw, the Kid went back to making a living the only way he knew how rustling. [8], Little is known about McCarty's origins, but many reputable scholars of western history "contend that he was born on the eve of the Civil War in the bowels of an Irish neighborhood in New York City (70 Allen Street). Updated: April 8, 2020 | Original: July 14, 2016. The Kid was a celebrity in his own time, but his legend only grew after his death thanks to dime novels, television shows and Hollywood films. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, 1989 time travel time travel movie featuring Dan Shor as Billy the Kid. The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-handed Poems, by Michael Ondaatje, 1970 Governor General's Award-winning biography in the form of experimental poetry. Updates? Little of substance is known about Billy's life during this period, and myth has replaced fact to shroud the early years of Billy . (by Dr. Denis Ismael HaLevi-Otero) ISBN-10: 1558852344 ISBN-13: 978-1558852341WHO ARE BILLY'S PARENTS?=. [97] Realizing that they had no hope of escape, the besieged and hungry outlaws finally surrendered later that day and were allowed to join in the meal. Supporting Dolan was the powerful Santa Fe Ring (similar to a mafia) in which members consisted of the governor, politicians and attorneys. He noticed someone in the darkness, and uttered the words, "Quin es? In July 1878, the feud reached its climax with a deadly, five-day firefight in the town of Lincoln, after which the Regulators disbanded and the two sides sealed a flimsy peace agreement. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [2] Meanwhile, McCarty scooped up Ollinger's[103] 10-gauge double barrel shotgun and waited at the upstairs window for Ollinger, who had been across the street with some other prisoners, to come to Bell's aid. He returned some stolen horses to the army to clear himself and got work as a ranch hand. Footnote 8: Its of great speculation whether or not the Kid was armed with a gun. Shot three times and killed on Nov. 27, 1880 , possibly by Billy the Kid, Dirty Dave and Wilson, possibly by his own posse. The Green Mile, Wild Bill has a tattoo of Billy the Kid in the 1999 film. He said he had lived incognito for decades but. The Kid was successful in getting a drop on the lone guard, Deputy James Bell, by slipping his hand out of the handcuffs and using the heavy restraints to hit the deputy over the head. McSween and three men were killed, but Billy the Kid and the others escaped into the darkness. His negotiations with Governor Lew Wallace (famed Civil War general and author of the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ) for amnesty came to nothing. Buster Crabbe played Billy the Kid in a serial series during 1942 and 1943. Billy the Kid, 1941 remake of the 1930 film, starring Robert Taylor and Brian Donlevy. Billy stood with us to the end, brave and reliable, one of the best soldiers we had. Left in the care of an absentee stepfather, the future gunslinger spent the next year living in foster homes and boardinghouses. History first traces the Kid as a youngster in Indiana in the late 1860s and then in Wichita, Kansas in 1870. After a short standoff, Billy the Kid came out and surrendered. [17] Nevertheless, young McCarty often used the surname "Antrim" when referring to himself. The thirteen films included Blazing Frontier, The Renegade, Cattle Stampede, and Western Cyclone (1943).[122]. He escaped jail on April 28, however, killing two deputies, and remained at large until tracked down and ambushed by Garrett, who shot him dead on the evening of July 14 at the ranch home of Pete Maxwell. [71], What is known about the morning following McNab's death is that the Regulator "iron clad" took up defensive positions in the town of Lincoln, trading shots with Dolan men as well as U.S. at which point he was shot and killed in ambush style. The Kid took Tunstalls offer. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [31] In 1877, McCarty was involved in an altercation with the civilian blacksmith at Fort Grant, a loquacious Irish immigrant named Frank "Windy" Cahill, who took pleasure in bullying young McCarty. Finally on December 23, 1880 Garrett trapped the Kid and three other gang members at a cabin in Stinking Springs. Added as an immortal to Michael Scott's series Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel during the third book The Sorceress. [2][104] The Kid's escape was delayed for an hour while he worked free of his leg irons[105] with a pickax and then the young outlaw mounted a horse and rode out of town, reportedly singing. Or, possibly,. This was done to prevent an accidental discharge should the hammer be struck. Billy the Kid's DEATH PHOTO displayed in a 1920s museum in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Also known as: Brushy Bill, Henry McCarty, William H. Bonney, Jr. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [25] Two days after McCarty was placed in jail, the teenager escaped by worming his way up the jailhouse chimney. [74] Around the time of Segovia's death, the Regulator "iron clad" gained a new member, a young Texas "cowpoke" named Tom O'Folliard, who became McCarty's close friend and constant companion. [107] Close to midnight, as Garrett and Maxwell sat talking in Maxwell's darkened bedroom, McCarty unexpectedly entered the room. Now the Dolan side struck back. The feud would be famously known as the Lincoln County War (4). [100] On April 9, after two days of testimony, McCarty was found guilty of the murder of Sheriff Brady, the only conviction ever secured against any of the combatants in the Lincoln County Cattle War. Thus, the Regulators "went from lawmen to outlaws". Various accounts recorded by friends and acquaintances describe him as fun-loving and jolly, articulate in both his writing and his speech, and loyal to those for whom he cared. It is said that they were very much an item and even had a child together, a boy called Jose Patrocinio Garcia in 1875 which would make Billy only fifteen at the time of the birth. After the death of his father, he traveled west with his mother ending up in Silver City, New Mexico Territory in 1873. Garrett was a former employee of Pete Maxwell's and it's possible that Maxwell tipped Garrett off that the Kid was in the area. When the men began to run out of the burning house the Dolan side opened fire and all hell broke loose. [79] McCarty and the other Regulators fled, although McCarty is believed by some to have killed one "House" member named Bob Beckwith. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Other investigators have since theorized that the Kid lived to be an old man under the alias John Miller. Millers alleged remains were exhumed in 2005, but a plan to compare his DNA to the Kids never materialized. There were other outlaws and rustlers in New Mexico, much worse than Billy the Kid, but the Kid had gain fame and was singled out by the newspapers who had built him up into something he wasnt. Partner of Paulita Jaramillo, alleged girlfriend of Billy the Kid; Celsa Gutierrez; Maria Manuelita Martinez Herrera, alleged girlfriend of BTK and Nasaria Yerby, alleged girlfriend of BTK [47] "As a wry and macabre joke on Tunstall's great affection for horses, the dead bay's head was then pillowed on his hat", writes Frederick Nolan, Tunstall's biographer. He would practice shooting at anything he saw, from every conceivable angle, on and off his horse". Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [57] The incident had the effect of further alienating the public, given that many local residents "admired the way Roberts put up a gutsy fight against overwhelming odds". If it werent for our attraction to Billy the Kid, the history of the Lincoln County War and its participants would've been long forgotten. One biographer, Joel Jacobsen, recounts the story as described in Utley, describing Grant as a "drunk" who was "making himself obnoxious in a bar". And also because he never committed most of the crimes we associate with most Wild West bad guys: He never robbed a bank or a train or held up a stagecoach. Please take notice of the footnote numbers in parenthesis within the summary, you will find the footnotes at the end of the paragraph in italics. Wallis wrote in 2007 that McCarty was ambidextrous. When the boy was placed in jail and escaped, he was not bad, just scared. As a result, people interpret him in their own ways.. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Cowboys & Outlaws:The Real Billy the Kid, https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-billy-the-kid, 9 Things You May Not Know About Billy the Kid. For the next 2 years the Kid tramped around as a ranch hand and gambler. Add languages. The Kid worked his hand free to his revolver and fired it into Cahills gut. [7] "His many Hispanic friends did not view him as a ruthless killer but rather as a defender of the people who were forced to kill in self-defense," Wallis writes. Abrana Garcia lived in Fort Sumner at the time Billy the Kid frequented the town. The family moved to Silver City in Grant County, located in southern New Mexico. The Kid was a thousand times better and braver than any man hunting him, including Pat Garrett". Abrana Garcia. They retaliated by killing Bill Morton, Frank Baker and William McCloskey. The journey begins with Billy's mother Catherine McCarty Catherine Bonney arrived in New York City by way of Devonshire, England in 1846. a 19th century American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War. By 1873 he had moved west to New Mexico as a result of his mother remarrying after. [14] In 1873, after several years of moving around the country, the two were married at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico,[15] and settled further south in Silver City. [97] As the lawmen began to cook breakfast over an open fire, Garrett and McCarty engaged in a friendly exchange, with Garrett inviting McCarty outside to eat, and McCarty inviting Garrett to "go to hell". He was not a cold-blooded killer, nor was he a robber of trains or banks. McCarty then fled town and embarked on a career as a roving ranch hand, gambler and gang member. [88] In Jacobsen's recounting of the incident, however, Grant attempted to shoot McCarty unawares. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The song spent twenty weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1992, peaking at number four. [81], In the Autumn of 1878, a former Union Army general, Lew Wallace, became Governor of the New Mexico Territory. There is only one known photograph of him. [84] After the trial, McCarty and O'Folliard slipped away on horses that were supplied by friends. Its estimated that he was born around 1860-61 possibly in New York. Tom Sullivan, a former sheriff of Lincoln County, and Steve Sederwall, a former mayor of Capitan, disinterred the bones of John Miller in May 2005. Reliable accounts suggest McCarty retaliated by drawing his gun and shooting Cahill, who died the next day.
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