Echoes of the Lincoln County War: The Five-day Battle

Present day Montano Store.

By Ben Doss

Maurice Garland Fulton served as a professor of English and History at the New Mexico Military Institute for three decades. He was renowned for his expertise in the Lincoln County War and Southwestern History. Fulton conducted numerous interviews with surviving witnesses and their relatives, including Juan Peppin, the eldest son of George "Dad" Peppin, a former sheriff of Lincoln County. The following account is directly taken from an interview conducted in 1930 in Artesian, New Mexico with Juan Peppin, who was approximately 11 years old in 1878.

"My father often spoke extensively about the significant battle in which the McSween house was burned. A day or two before this event, Lucio Montoya, who happened to be my cousin and resided in our home, narrowly escaped a dangerous situation. He and an individual named ____ Crawford went up to the hills south of town to take a shot at the men inside the Montano store. They sought shelter behind a large rock, but that didn't prevent Crawford from sustaining a severe wound above his thighs. Lucio believed there was no point in staying there and fled down to where the Murphy men were. The following day, soldiers arrived in town, and two officers found Crawford still alive. They brought him down from the hills and transported him in an ambulance to Ft. Stanton. Unfortunately, he passed away a few days later.

During this intense battle, my father assumed the role of the ex-officio leader of the sheriff's posse since he had been appointed sheriff by Governor Axtell. He moved around frequently, visiting different locations, but he spent a considerable amount of time in the Torreon, which was situated just east of the McSween store. About a year later, I witnessed another deceased individual on the streets of Lincoln. This person was Chapman, a lawyer, if I remember correctly."

Analysis of the Account: The McSween home was set on fire around midday on July 19, 1878. Charlie Crawford, also known as "Lalleycooler," was shot on July 17, 1878. George Peppin's first wife was Felipe Moya, who passed away in 1878. Considering Juan Peppin was around 11 years old in 1878, his mother would have been George's first wife, not his second, who was Victoriana Salazar. Felipe Moya was Lucio Montoya's aunt, establishing Juan and Lucio as cousins at that time. The blank space likely indicates that Juan Peppin was unaware of Crawford's first name, Charlie.

The following account is sourced from Frederick Nolan's "West of Billy the Kid" (pg. 158): "The morning started quietly, so much so that Charlie Crawford and Lucio Montoya, two of the men Peppin had positioned in the hills south of town, were deceived into believing that the McSween party had moved out and started descending to rejoin the posse. A shot, allegedly fired from a Sharps Rifle by Doc Scurlock's father-in-law, a red-headed Basque named Fernando Herrera, passed through Crawford's body from hip to hip, piercing his spinal cord. Crawford fell critically wounded while Montoya hurried down the hill to safety. Crawford remained lying there under the scorching sun until the officers from Fort Stanton arrived."

The following account is sourced from Philip J. Rasch's "Gunsmoke in Lincoln County" (pg. 120): "While in Lincoln, they learned that Peppin had sent Crawford, Montoya, and three other men up to the hills south of the town to drive the McSween riflemen off the roofs of the buildings they occupied. Crawford was shot by Herrera and was left incapacitated on the hillside Blair and Appel went to his aid, and either they or the wounded man were fired upon from the Montano house. Despite the attack, Crawford was transported to the post hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a week later."

The following account is sourced from Joel Jacobsen's "Such Men as Billy the Kid: The Lincoln County War Reconsidered" (pg. 183, 184): "Like a character in a morality play, Sue continued down the road and unexpectedly encountered Sheriff Peppin. Peppin testified that he was safely situated in the Torreon when Sue shouted up to him, questioning why he was attempting to force her servants to assist in burning down the building. Sue later expressed her surprise to Colonel Dudley, stating it was peculiar to see Peppin's men guarding him while patrolling through town, as well as sending soldiers around their house and delivering the messages they received, considering Peppin's supposed lack of involvement."

Based on the accounts from the three sources mentioned above, Juan Peppin's recollection of Crawford's death, as conveyed by his cousin who was present, appears to be accurate. The mention of seeking protection behind a "big rock" provides additional details that were not previously mentioned. Juan states that Crawford was shot "just above the thighs," which indicates the general area around the hips. The reference to the "two officers" finding Crawford on the hill aligns with the presence of Blair and Dr. Appel, and it is reasonable that either Montoya or Juan Peppin were unfamiliar with their names. It is known that Crawford was taken to Ft. Stanton, where he passed away on Tuesday, July 23, 1878, at the Fort Stanton hospital.

Susan McSween's account places Peppin with soldiers moving through the town and being present in the Torreon after she left her house. However, it is plausible that George Peppin, while recounting these stories to his son, omitted his involvement in various other actions that took place that night. For instance, Peppin's posse firing upon the Regulators who fled the Ellis store after Goodwin aimed the howitzer directly at them, as well as into the foothills across the Bonito. Additionally, Peppin organizing a work party consisting of Bob Beckwith, John Kinney, and Johnny Hurley, who were instructed to stack lumber against the east side of the McSween house to set it ablaze. In the final sentence, the lawyer referred to is Huston Chapman, who was shot at point-blank range by Billy Campbell on February 18, 1879, on Lincoln's sole street.

Source of Interview: From Binder "Residents of Lincoln County, N-S" Box: 14, Folder: 2. Lewis A. Ketring Jr. collection of Lincoln County research, MS-0529. New Mexico State University Library Archives and Special Collections.