When Lew Wallace was appointed Territorial Governor of New Mexico in 1879 one of the first missions he hoped to accomplish was to stop the killings...
The Lincoln County War: Armistice Gone Bad
read more
Lincoln County War
Did Billy the Kid and Jesse Evans Ever Have a Showdown?
They didn’t really “have it out” but they rode together briefly and later were on opposite sides in the Lincoln County War. The Kid might have been...
The Other Olinger John Wallace kept a low profile—and lived much longer than his brother.
One of the lesser-known combatants in the Lincoln County War was John Wallace Olinger, the older brother of Bob Olinger (photo). Wallace was one of...
An Unusual Background Lincoln County warrior Robert Widenmann wasn’t the typical westerner.
Of all the participants in the Lincoln County War, Robert Widenmann may have had the most interesting backstory. His father was the German consul in...
Feed the Dog An unusual explanation for being heavily armed.
Robert Widenman was a New Mexico deputy US marshal—and an associate of Billy the Kid and the Regulators during the Lincoln County War. He was...
Walking into War A pastor-physician moved to Lincoln County in 1878.
Taylor Ealy thought he had a simple assignment: go to Lincoln County, New Mexico to serve as a doctor, Protestant pastor and to run a school for...
Switching Sides Alexander McSween’s move didn’t pan out.
When Alexander McSween came to Lincoln County, NM in the early 1870s, he went to work for the Murphy-Dolan company. That outfit controlled...
Paying the Price? James Dolan didn’t have to pay the piper for Lincoln County actions.
James Dolan was a 25-year-old hothead when he got in trouble in Lincoln County, NM in 1873. He got into a tiff with Captain James Randlett, an...
And the Winner Is…. Susan McSween may have been the winner of the Lincoln County War.
If there was a winner in New Mexico’s Lincoln County War, it may have been Susan McSween. The widow of Alexander McSween used some gift cattle and a...