Ed Masterson - Lawman Career

Lawman Career

Ed Masterson was born in Henryville, Canada East. His family moved to near Wichita, Kansas in the early 1870s. Ed Masterson, as reported by those who knew him, never possessed the characteristic personality of his more famous brother, Bat Masterson, or his other brother James. He was killed by gunfire while trying to disarm a drunken cowboy.

Prior to beginning his lawman career, he and his two brothers worked as buffalo hunters. During his service as the marshal and Deputy Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, Ed Masterson was shot twice. The first incident occurred in November 1877, when he was shot in the breast by Bob Shaw in the Lone Star Dance Hall. Although his right arm was paralyzed, Ed switched his gun to his left hand and shot Shaw in the arm and leg. After Masterson's recovery, he replaced Larry Deger as the town marshal. It is commonly believed that he replaced lawman Wyatt Earp, but it was actually Deger. On March 15, 1878, Masterson assisted his brother Bat Masterson, who was the Ford County Sheriff at that time, and lawman Charlie Bassett in the capture of two train robbery suspects.

Later that same month, Masterson announced publicly that he had a new plan to rid Dodge City of vagrancy and street violence, which included the disarming of gun-carrying men inside the city limits, and that it would be implemented immediately. On April 9, 1878, while attempting to disarm a drunken cowboy, Jack Wagner, Ed was shot once in his right side. Bat Masterson, who was nearby, responded, running across the street shooting at both Wagner, and his employer Alf Walker. Ed Masterson died about an hour thereafter, after walking across the street and collapsing. Wagner, hit in the abdomen, died in agony the next day at a nearby room. Walker, hit in the lung and twice in the arm, was thought likely to die but was taken back to Texas and subsequently recovered to take the trail to Kansas again. Witnesses who saw the killing of Ed Masterson report that it appeared he was carrying a rather pungent cigar in his hand. Actually it was the close range muzzle blast from Wagner's gun which had set Ed Masterson's clothes smoldering.

There has been some debate as to whether Bat Masterson or Ed shot Wagner and Walker. Local papers reported that Ed, after being shot, staggered across the Santa Fe tracks to the north side and into Hoover's Saloon. All the "Texan" bars were on the south side of the tracks and this is the area that Ed Masterson patrolled, while the more "respectable" establishments were on the north side of town. Bat was the elected Sheriff for Ford County and thus did not have direct jurisdiction in town. The incident occurred approximately 10:30 at night and the local newspapers were ambiguous, perhaps trying to shield Bat from Texan vengeance, although Dodge City residents of the time generally suspected that Bat had been responsible. In later years, the newspaper reports led some historians to conclude that Ed had shot his own attackers, and two or three reminiscences have come to light that suggest that Ed might have shot Wagner at least. However,far more of the published accounts by those who were in Dodge at the time were clear that Bat shot both Wagner and Walker. This is supported by accounts by another Masterson brother, Tom, and Alf Walker's family always believed that Bat had shot him. The recent discovery of two court cases in which Bat testified that he had shot both men when it was hardly in his interests to do so means that it is now generally accepted that Bat avenged his brother.

Masterson was replaced by Charlie Bassett as marshal, with Wyatt Earp, James Earp, and Ed's brother Jim Masterson working as deputies. His brother Jim would later replace Bassett as marshal. Despite common belief, Wyatt Earp never served as the marshal of Dodge City. Ed Masterson was initially buried at the notorious "Boot Hill" plot overlooking the town, but was eventually moved to the cemetery at Ft. Dodge. In later years all but military graves were moved to a new city cemetery, but it is unknown whether Ed's grave was moved and his current location is unknown.