Battle of Lincoln (1878) - Background

Background

The range war had begun with the murder of rancher John Tunstall by members of the Jesse Evans Gang, who were hired by the "Murphy-Dolan" faction as gunmen to harass that faction's competition. The murder and the subsequent lack of action by Lincoln County Sheriff William J. Brady led to the formation of the Lincoln County Regulators, led by Richard "Dick" Brewer and other friends and supporters of Tunstall. The Regulators included Billy the Kid, Charlie Bowdre, John Middleton, Frank Coe, George Coe, and Doc Scurlock. The "war" had resulted in numerous killings by both factions, to include the shooting death of Sheriff Brady, and culminated in a final showdown in Lincoln.

On April 29, 1878, a posse including the Evans Gang and the Seven Rivers Warriors, under the direction of Sheriff Peppin, engaged Regulators Frank McNab, Ab Saunders, and Frank Coe in a shootout at the Fritz Ranch. McNab was killed in a hail of gunfire, with Saunders being badly wounded, and Frank Coe captured. On April 30, 1878, Seven Rivers members Tom Green, Charles Marshall, Jim Patterson and John Galvin were killed in Lincoln, and although the Regulators were blamed, that was never proven. Frank Coe escaped custody some time after his capture, although it is not clear exactly when, allegedly with the assistance of Deputy Sheriff Wallace Olinger, who also gave him a pistol. On May 15, twenty-two Regulators led by Deputy Sheriff Doc Scurlock (who had been deputized by the new Sheriff, John N. Copeland), and including Billy the Kid, tracked down Seven Rivers gang member Manuel Segovia, who is believed to have shot McNab. There was a short fight and Segovia was shot and killed while allegedly trying to escape custody,

The morning after the shootout at the Fritz Ranch, George Coe, also a Regulator and the cousin of Frank Coe, took up position on the roof of McSween's house. George Coe, missing his trigger finger due to an earlier gunfight with Buckshot Roberts, took aim at 'Dutch Charlie' Kruling, a member of the Seven Rivers Warriors gang. The distance has been estimated at being 444 yards, but that has never been confirmed, although it was likely in excess of 350 yards. Henry Newton Brown warned Coe he was wasting his shot, and could not hope to hit him at that distance. To Brown’s astonishment, Coe hit Kruling, wounding him.