Gunfighter - Famous Gunfights and Showdowns

Famous Gunfights and Showdowns

For a list of notable Old West gunfighters, see List of Old West gunfighters.

The image of a Wild West filled with countless gunfights was a myth generated primarily by dime-novel authors in the late 19th century. However, gunfights did occasionally occur. The most notable and well-known took place in the states/territories of Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The cause for each varied. Some were simply the result of the heat of the moment, others were the result of longstanding feuds, while others were between outlaws and lawmen. There were also various other reasons that resulted in gunfights. Some of these shootouts became famous, while others faded into history with only a few accounts surviving.

The Gunfight at the OK Corral is a famous example of a real-life western shootout. It lasted only 30 seconds, contrary to many movie adaptations. The gunfight itself didn't actually happen in the corral, but happened in a vacant lot outside of the corral. The shooting started when Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury cocked their pistols. It is not known who fired the first shot, but Doc’s bullet was the first to hit home, tearing through Frank McLaury's belly and sending McLaury’s own shot wild through Wyatt’s coattail. Billy Clanton fired at Virgil, but his shot also went astray when he was hit with Morgan's shot through his rib cage. Billy Claiborne ran as soon as shots were fired and was already out of sight. Ike Clanton, too, panicked and threw his gun down, pleading for his life. "Fight or get out like Claiborne!" Wyatt yelled and watched Ike desert his brother Billy, as he ran towards the door of the photography shop. But Ike then drew a hidden gun and fired one more round at Wyatt before disappearing. The sound distracted Morgan, enough so that Tom McLaury sent a bullet into Morgan's shoulder. Doc instantly countered, killing Tom with blasts from both barrels of his shotgun. Desperately, wounded and dying, Billy Clanton fired blindly into the gun smoke encircling him, striking Virgil's leg. Wyatt responded by sending several rounds into Billy.

A famous and well-recorded duel occurred on 21 July 1865. Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt quarrelled over cards and decided to have a gunfight. They arranged to walk towards each other at 6 p.m. When they were about 50 yards apart, both men drew their guns. Tutt fired first but missed. Hickok's shot hit Tutt in the heart. This was the first recorded example of two men taking part in a quick-draw duel. The following month Hickok was acquitted after pleading self-defense. Tutt was one of the estimated 20,000 men in the American West who were killed by gunshot between 1866 and 1900.

Another well-known gunfight is the Long Branch Saloon Shootout, involving Levi Richardson, a buffalo hunter, and "Cockeyed Frank" Loving, a professional gambler. Richardson had developed some affection for Loving's wife Mattie, and the two began to argue about her. In the saloon, Frank sat down at a long table, Richardson turned around and took a seat at the same table. The two were then heard speaking in low voices; no one could make out what they were saying. After the conversation, Richardson drew his pistol, and Loving drew his in response. The Long Branch Saloon was then filled with smoke. Dodge City Marshal Charlie Bassett was in Beatty & Kelley's Saloon, heard the shots and came running. Both men were still standing, although Richardson had fired five shots from his gun and Loving's Remington No. 44 was empty. Deputy Sheriff Duffey threw Richardson down in a chair and took his gun, while Bassett disarmed Loving. Richardson then got up and started toward the billiard table, when he fell to the floor with a fatal gunshot in the chest, as well as a shot through the side and another through the right arm. Frank Loving, who had only a slight scratch on the hand, was immediately taken to jail. Two days later, on April 7, 1879, the coroner's inquest ruled that the killing had been in self-defense and Loving was immediately released.

Another face-to-face gunfight in the American West happened in Fort Worth, Texas, and was known as the Luke Short-Jim Courtright Duel. Timothy Isaiah "Longhair Jim" Courtright was running the T.I.C. Commercial agency in Fort Worth, which provided "protection" to gambling dens and saloons in return for a portion of their profits. At the same time, Luke Short, a former friend of Courtright's, was running the White Elephant Saloon and Jim was trying to get Short to utilize his services. But the Dodge City gunfighter told Courtright to "go to Hell," that he could do any gunslinging that was necessary to take care of his business. On February 8, 1887, the two quarreled, and with Bat Masterson at Short's side, Courtright and Short dueled in the street. They drew their pistols at close range, and Short fired first, blowing off Courtright's thumb. Courtright attempted the "border shift", a move where a gunfighter switches his gun to his uninjured hand, but he was too slow. Short shot him in the chest, killing him.

On March 9, 1877, gamblers Jim Levy and Charlie Harrison argued over a game of cards in a saloon in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Levy challenged Harrison to take it outside, Harrison agreed, and the two squared off in the street. Western novelist James Reasoner claims in a recent issue of Esquire that this was "the most 'Hollywood' showdown". During the duel, Harrison shot wild, while Levy took more careful aim and shot him. He then approached the dying Charlie and shot him again. Many accounts claimed that Harrison fired at Levy while sprawled on the ground, but contemporary opinion held that Levy had shot the man while he was down. Harrison died 13 days later.

Another well-documented gunfight, which resulted in the most kills by one person in a single event, was Jonathan R. Davis's shooting of eleven bandits single-handedly on 19 December 1854. Unknown to Davis and his companions, a band of robbers was lying in wait in the canyon brush near the trail. They were a typically diverse and motley group of Gold Rush bandits: two Americans, one Frenchman, two Britons, five Sydney Ducks, and four Mexicans. As Captain Davis and his companions trudged on foot past the place of ambush, the bandit gang charged out of the brush, pistols flaming. James McDonald died instantly, without time to draw his revolver or react in any way. Dr. Bolivar managed to get his six-shooter out and fire twice at the highwaymen before he dropped, badly wounded. Captain Davis later described himself as being "in a fever of excitement at the time." Unfazed, he stood his ground, pulling both pistols and firing a barrage at the charging outlaws. One after another he shot down his assailants. The outlaw bullets tore at Davis's clothing but caused only two slight flesh wounds. Within moments seven of the bandits were dead or dying on the ground and Davis's pistols were empty. Four of the remaining robbers now closed in on the Captain to finish him off. Davis whipped out his Bowie knife, and quickly warded off the thrusts from the two of the bandits. He stabbed one of them to death; the other he disarmed by knocking the knife from his grasp and slicing off his nose and a finger of his right hand. The two last attackers were the men who had been wounded in a previous bandit raid. Despite their weakened condition, they foolishly approached Davis with drawn knives. The captain reacted in an instant. Slashing with his heavy Bowie, he killed them both. Seven of the robbers were dead, three desperately wounded, and the eleventh, the now noseless bandit, did not appear to be fatally injured. The three remaining outlaws fled.

Not as well known today but famous in his time was the dapper, derby-wearing train robber Marion Hedgepeth, who despite his swell appearance, "was a deadly killer and one of the fastest guns in the Wild, Wild West". William Pinkerton, whose National Detective Agency had sought to capture Hedgepeth and his gang for years, noted that Hedgepeth once gunned down another outlaw who had already unholstered his pistol before Hedgepath had drawn his revolver.