The Sweetwater Affair

The Hamer family’s ongoing fight with ex-in-laws.

October 1, 1917. Frank Hamer (photo), his pregnant wife Gladys, and three others are driving through Sweetwater, Texas when Hamer stops to fix a flat–and is attacked by Gee McMeans and Red Phillips. It’s part of an ongoing feud between Gladys’ family and her former in-laws. Everybody pulls a gun (including Gladys). Within seconds, McMeans is dead, Hamer is severely wounded, and Phillips is under arrest. A grand jury is in session and witnesses the fight. Frank Hamer—still severely wounded—appears before the panel; the grand jury rules that Gee McMeans’ death was “justifiable homicide.”