Background
The Horrell and Higgins families had both settled in the Lampasas County area several years before the American Civil War. By all accounts, the two families got along well for over a decade. However, by the early 1870s, the Horrell boys, Mart, Tom, Merritt, Ben and Sam were involved in numerous lawless activities. In January 1873, Lampasas County Sheriff Shadrick T. Denson attempted to arrest two brothers, Wash and Mark Short, but was impeded by the Horrell brothers, which resulted in a gunfight with Sheriff Denson being shot and killed. The county judge appealed to Governor Edmund J. Davis for help. This prompted the Texas State Police to dispatch a number of lawmen to settle things down.
Read more about this topic: Merritt Horrell
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