The popular image of the Wild West—particularly in Texas—is filled with shootouts, blood feuds, and outlaws, but in reality, was life in the western frontier actually that chaotic and violent? Yes, writes Bryan Burrough in his new book The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild.
The "Wild West" is a period, roughly 1865–1900, that was marked by extreme lawlessness and violence. It was often localized, linked to cattle rustling, range wars, ethnic tensions, reconstruction-era conflict, and law enforcement vs. outlaw confrontations.
San Antonio was known as one of the deadliest cities of the era. Legend says that it was frequently home to outlaws like Butch Cassidy (his real name was Robert LeRoy Parker) and his Wild Bunch gang.
The Alamo City of old was the location of many gunfights, including the 1882 Opera House shootout, also known as the Ben Thompson–Jack Harris shooting. It contributed to San Antonio's reputation as a rough and corrupt frontier town, where justice was subjective, and power was tied to money and guns.
Ben Thompson was a notorious Texas gunman, gambler, and former city marshal of Austin. Jack Harris was owner of the Vaudeville Theater—part opera house, part saloon and gambling den in downtown San Antonio. The two had a falling out over a gambling debt and personal insults. Harris banned Thompson from the establishment.
On July 11, 1882 Thompson returned to the theater with King Fisher, another feared gunman. As they entered, a bloody confrontation ensued—though exactly who shot first is debated. Harris had set up an ambush with allies waiting above and behind the stage. Harris was shot dead, but Thompson and Fisher were caught in a crossfire. Both men were killed in the ambush—a controversial act, seen by some as murder. The event sparked outrage in parts of Texas, especially among Thompson’s supporters, but no one was ever convicted for the killings.
The Sutton–Taylor Feud in DeWitt County, Texas was one of the longest and bloodiest feuds in Texas history. It lasted from 1866 to 1876 and involved over 35 deaths. At its core was a violent power struggle between two families and their allies—escalating from local law enforcement disputes into a deadly vendetta fueled by Reconstruction politics, ethnic tensions, and frontier justice.
The Taylors was a large, established Texas family with Confederate loyalties. Jack Taylor, the patriarch, had several sons and allies who were fiercely opposed to Reconstruction-era authorities. They were at odds with the Suttons, led by William E. Sutton, a former Confederate soldier turned lawman and member of the State Police, aligned with the Reconstruction government, which was seen by many Texans as illegitimate.
Conflict began when William Sutton killed Charley Taylor (Jack Taylor’s son) in 1866, reportedly during an arrest attempt. This act sparked a retaliation cycle that would grow deadlier each year. The feud quickly turned into guerrilla warfare: ambushes, revenge killings, and hit squads. Both sides accused each other of cattle rustling, murder, and corruption. The Texas Rangers were brought in multiple times but struggled to restore order. John Wesley Hardin, one of the most infamous Texas outlaws, sided with the Taylors and participated in killings during the feud.
The Sutton–Taylor Feud is often compared to other infamous American vendettas like the Hatfields and McCoys, but it had broader political implications because of its ties to Reconstruction tensions and law enforcement corruption.
Guest:
Bryan Burrough is the author of The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild. He gained prominence co-authoring Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco (1990), a seminal work on corporate takeovers. His other notable books include Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34 (2004), which inspired the 2009 film starring Johnny Depp; The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes (2009); Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence (2015); and Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth (2021), co-authored with Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford.
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