Bill Tilghman
Encyclopedia
William Matthew "Bill" Tilghman (July 4, 1854 – November 1, 1924) was a lawman in the American Old West
.
, on July 4, 1854. He became a buffalo hunter
at age 15 and claimed he killed over 1000 bison over his five years of activity. During this time he may have become acquainted with Wild Bill Hickok
, Wyatt Earp
, Bat Masterson
, and Mysterious Dave Mather
, who hunted buffalo. Tilghman's older brother, Richard, hunted with him, and at one point during the mid-1870s when the hunting team was attacked by a war party of American Indians
, his brother was killed.
Following his hunting career, Tilghman moved to Dodge City, Kansas
, where he used the money he had saved to open a saloon
in 1875. Tilghman was a teetotaler but, like so many of the famous figures of the Old West, he saw owning a saloon as an irresistible financial opportunity. He would leave Dodge City following other opportunities three years later. However, he returned briefly and he was present with Wyatt Earp, Luke Short
, Bat Masterson, and others during the Dodge City War
, and was pictured in one of a series of three photographs taken of those considered to be the "Dodge City Peace Commission", although only one of the photos was widely publicized. In the most famous and well circulated photo taken that day, little known businessman and small time gunman W. F. Petillon is pictured with the group, whereas in another photo Petillon is absent and Tilghman is pictured with the group.
for the U.S. Cavalry during a surge of Cheyenne
raids on settlements, working alongside the likes of gunman
John Joshua Webb
. Later that same year, he was approached by Bat Masterson to serve as a deputy sheriff, and he accepted. He served in that capacity until 1884 and earned an excellent reputation, working at various law enforcement jobs for the rest of his life, earning the respect of Masterson, Doc Holliday
, and Wyatt and Virgil Earp
. By 1889 Tilghman moved on to Guthrie, Oklahoma
, during the land rush
. Town Marshal Bill Grimes approached him to serve as deputy marshal, and he accepted.
The territory had formerly been part of the Indian Territory
and was still one of the most lawless places in the west. As a deputy US Marshal, Tilghman was one of the three men most responsible for finally bringing law and order to the area. The others were Heck Thomas
and Chris Madsen
. The trio were collectively known as the Three Guardsmen
and were responsible for the arrest and/or killings of many of the worst criminal elements of the era, numbering by some estimates as high as 300 arrests, including the systematic elimination of the notorious Wild Bunch
. On January 15, 1895, his single handed capture of Bill Doolin
in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
, brought him increased fame as a lawman, for which he became best known. That same year he shot and wounded Doolin gang member "Little Bill" Raidler
. Raidler was sentenced to prison and was released some years later because he suffered constantly from his gunshot wounds. Raidler died in 1904 as a result of those wounds.
in 1911. In 1915, he co-wrote, directed, and starred in the movie The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws
, which dramatized the law enforcement activities of Tilghman and the other "Guardsmen." The film is noted as an early attempt to de-glamorize the image of outlaws. In 1924, at the age of 70, Tilghman accepted a position as marshal of Cromwell, Oklahoma
. During this time he lived in Chandler, Oklahoma
, where he is buried. A city park in Chandler is named Tilghman Park in his honor.
, a corrupt Prohibition Agent
. Lynn and Tilghman had had numerous verbal confrontations because Lynn repeatedly released prisoners who were arrested by Tilghman. The incident began on Halloween
night, when Tilghman, Deputy Marshal Hugh Sawyer, and businessman W. E. Sirmans were having coffee at a cafe called Ma Murphy's.
Shots were heard outside, and Tilghman drew his handgun and went outside. In the street stood a drunken Wiley Lynn, with a gun in his hand. Brothel
madam Rose Lutke was standing beside him. Another prostitute, Eva Caton, was sitting inside Lynn's car with a date, a furloughed army
sergeant
. Tilghman clasped Lynn's gun hand and called for Deputy Sawyer to come assist.
As Sawyer ran outside, Tilghman, Lynn and Rose Lutke stood body to body in the darkness. Two shots rang out, and Lutke screamed. As Deputy Sawyer rushed forward, Tilghman slumped forward and fell. Deputy Sawyer, inexperienced, did not fire but rather disarmed Lynn and yelled "Wiley Lynn has shot the marshal". Lynn then fled with Rose Lutke to the car and sped away.
Tilghman's body lay in state at the Oklahoma State Capitol
.
Wiley Lynn was acquitted after several of the witnesses to the shooting, allegedly intimidated, failed to appear, and Deputy Sawyer, whether he was coerced or merely incompetent, testified that he could not see clearly as to what actually happened. Rose Lutke disappeared, and was never heard from again. Despite his acquittal, Lynn was dismissed from the Prohibition Unit
. Years later, in a shootout with another police officer, Agent Crockett Long of the Oklahoma State Crime Bureau
, Lynn was killed, but not before fatally wounding Long and an innocent bystander.
The local Knights of the Ku Klux Klan demanded justice and printed fliers and warnings to criminal elements to leave town or suffer the consequences. One month after Tilghman's murder, the town of Cromwell was torched, with every brothel, bar, flophouse and pool hall burned to the ground and no arrests were ever made. The town of Cromwell never recovered its former "wild" status after that, and as of the 2000 census, its population was less than 300 residents.
In 1960, the western actor Brad Johnson played Tilghman in the episode "The Wedding Dress" of the anthology
Death Valley Days
.
Tilghman was portrayed by Rod Steiger
in the 1981 film Cattle Annie and Little Britches
.
The 1999 made-for-television movie You Know My Name
dramatized Tilghman's life and final days, and was based on Matt Braun's
novel One Last Town, which fictionalized Tilghman's activities in Cromwell. Veteran western movie actor Sam Elliott
produced the film and starred as Tilghman.
Tilghman's widow, Agnes Stratton Tilghman, wrote about him in the book Marshal of the Last Frontier.
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
.
Early life
Bill Tilghman was born in Fort Dodge, IowaFort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge is a city and county seat of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 25,206 in the 2010 census, an increase from 25,136 in the 2000 census. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa. It is located on U.S...
, on July 4, 1854. He became a buffalo hunter
Bison hunting
Buffalo hunting was an activity fundamental to the Plains Indian tribes of the United States, which was later adopted by American professional hunters, leading to the near-extinction of the species.- Native hunting :...
at age 15 and claimed he killed over 1000 bison over his five years of activity. During this time he may have become acquainted with Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
, Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
, Bat Masterson
Bat Masterson
William Barclay "Bat" Masterson was a figure of the American Old West known as a buffalo hunter, U.S. Marshal and Army scout, avid fisherman, gambler, frontier lawman, and sports editor and columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph...
, and Mysterious Dave Mather
Mysterious Dave Mather
Dave Allen Mather , known as Mysterious Dave, or sometimes as New York Dave, was an American lawman and gunfighter in the American Old West. The date and circumstances of his death are not known with any certainty...
, who hunted buffalo. Tilghman's older brother, Richard, hunted with him, and at one point during the mid-1870s when the hunting team was attacked by a war party of American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, his brother was killed.
Following his hunting career, Tilghman moved to Dodge City, Kansas
Dodge City, Kansas
Dodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
, where he used the money he had saved to open a saloon
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
in 1875. Tilghman was a teetotaler but, like so many of the famous figures of the Old West, he saw owning a saloon as an irresistible financial opportunity. He would leave Dodge City following other opportunities three years later. However, he returned briefly and he was present with Wyatt Earp, Luke Short
Luke Short
Western frontiersman Luke L. Short was a noted gunfighter, who had worked as a farmer, cowboy, whiskey peddler, army scout, dispatch rider, gambler and saloon keeper at various times during the four decades of his life.- Early life :...
, Bat Masterson, and others during the Dodge City War
Dodge City War
The Dodge City War was a bloodless conflict that took place in 1883 in Dodge City, Kansas. It came at the close of the first 10 years of the city's history at a time when whiskey and saloons were fading as a dominant force in the city's politics....
, and was pictured in one of a series of three photographs taken of those considered to be the "Dodge City Peace Commission", although only one of the photos was widely publicized. In the most famous and well circulated photo taken that day, little known businessman and small time gunman W. F. Petillon is pictured with the group, whereas in another photo Petillon is absent and Tilghman is pictured with the group.
Law enforcement
In September 1878, he served as a scoutReconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
for the U.S. Cavalry during a surge of Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
raids on settlements, working alongside the likes of gunman
Gunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
John Joshua Webb
John Joshua Webb
John Joshua Webb was a noted lawman turned gunfighter and outlaw of the American Old West.- Early life :Webb was born February 14, 1847, in Keokuk County, Iowa, the seventh of twelve children born to William Webb Jr and Innocent Blue Brown Webb. Webb moved about often in his youth. The family...
. Later that same year, he was approached by Bat Masterson to serve as a deputy sheriff, and he accepted. He served in that capacity until 1884 and earned an excellent reputation, working at various law enforcement jobs for the rest of his life, earning the respect of Masterson, Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
, and Wyatt and Virgil Earp
Virgil Earp
Virgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of...
. By 1889 Tilghman moved on to Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
, during the land rush
Land run
Land run usually refers to an historical event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened for homesteading on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run...
. Town Marshal Bill Grimes approached him to serve as deputy marshal, and he accepted.
The territory had formerly been part of the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and was still one of the most lawless places in the west. As a deputy US Marshal, Tilghman was one of the three men most responsible for finally bringing law and order to the area. The others were Heck Thomas
Heck Thomas
Henry Andrew "Heck" Thomas was a lawman on theAmerican frontier, most notably in Oklahoma.-Biography:Thomas was born in 1850 in Athens, Georgia, the youngest of five children of Lovick Pierce Thomas, I and Martha Fulwood Bedell.At the beginning of the American Civil War, at age 12, he accompanied...
and Chris Madsen
Chris Madsen
Chris Madsen was a lawman of the Old West who is best known as being one of The Three Guardsmen, the name given to Madsen and two other Deputy US Marshals who were responsible for the apprehension and/or killing of several outlaws of that era...
. The trio were collectively known as the Three Guardsmen
Three Guardsmen
The Three Guardsmen is the name popularized in Old West literature describing three lawmen who became legendary in their pursuit of many outlaws of the late 19th century. Deputy U.S. Marshals Bill Tilghman , Chris Madsen , and Heck Thomas were The Three Guardsmen, working under U.S...
and were responsible for the arrest and/or killings of many of the worst criminal elements of the era, numbering by some estimates as high as 300 arrests, including the systematic elimination of the notorious Wild Bunch
Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang or the Oklahombres, was a gang of outlaws based in the Indian Territory that terrorized Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Territory during the 1890s—robbing banks and stores, holding up trains, and killing lawmen. They were...
. On January 15, 1895, his single handed capture of Bill Doolin
Bill Doolin
William "Bill" Doolin was an American bandit and founder of the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang that specialized in robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas during the 1890s.- Early life :...
in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States. Along with Berryville, it is one of the two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 2,350...
, brought him increased fame as a lawman, for which he became best known. That same year he shot and wounded Doolin gang member "Little Bill" Raidler
Bill Raidler
Bill Raidler, known as "Little Bill" Raidler was an outlaw of the Old West, and member of the Doolin-Dalton gang.Raidler was born William F. Raidler in Pennsylvania, and raised to be an educated man. However he had an adventurous side, and drifted down to Texas where he became a cowboy, then...
. Raidler was sentenced to prison and was released some years later because he suffered constantly from his gunshot wounds. Raidler died in 1904 as a result of those wounds.
Retirement, return to law enforcement
Tilghman retired from his position in 1910 and was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate. He accepted the position of police chief of Oklahoma CityOklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
in 1911. In 1915, he co-wrote, directed, and starred in the movie The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws
The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws
The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws, subtitled Picturization of Early Days in Oklahoma, is a silent movie produced by the Eagle Film Company in 1915 depicting the end of the outlaw gangs which operated freely during the closing days of the Twin Territories...
, which dramatized the law enforcement activities of Tilghman and the other "Guardsmen." The film is noted as an early attempt to de-glamorize the image of outlaws. In 1924, at the age of 70, Tilghman accepted a position as marshal of Cromwell, Oklahoma
Cromwell, Oklahoma
Cromwell is a town in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 265 at the 2000 census.-History:Cromwell was a wild and wooly town in the early 1920s. The town was said to be full of saloons, brothels and outlaws...
. During this time he lived in Chandler, Oklahoma
Chandler, Oklahoma
Chandler is a city in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,842 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lincoln County and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area.Chandler is located east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on U.S...
, where he is buried. A city park in Chandler is named Tilghman Park in his honor.
Murder
Tilghman was on the job less than a year before he was killed in the line of duty. He died on November 1, 1924, after being shot by Wiley LynnWiley Lynn
Wiley Lynn was a corrupt American prohibition agent during the early 20th century, best known for having murdered legendary lawman Bill Tilghman, on November 1, 1924, in Cromwell, Oklahoma.-Prohibition agent, Cromwell, Oklahoma:...
, a corrupt Prohibition Agent
Bureau of Prohibition
The Bureau of Prohibition was the federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which backed up the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation...
. Lynn and Tilghman had had numerous verbal confrontations because Lynn repeatedly released prisoners who were arrested by Tilghman. The incident began on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
night, when Tilghman, Deputy Marshal Hugh Sawyer, and businessman W. E. Sirmans were having coffee at a cafe called Ma Murphy's.
Shots were heard outside, and Tilghman drew his handgun and went outside. In the street stood a drunken Wiley Lynn, with a gun in his hand. Brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
madam Rose Lutke was standing beside him. Another prostitute, Eva Caton, was sitting inside Lynn's car with a date, a furloughed army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
. Tilghman clasped Lynn's gun hand and called for Deputy Sawyer to come assist.
As Sawyer ran outside, Tilghman, Lynn and Rose Lutke stood body to body in the darkness. Two shots rang out, and Lutke screamed. As Deputy Sawyer rushed forward, Tilghman slumped forward and fell. Deputy Sawyer, inexperienced, did not fire but rather disarmed Lynn and yelled "Wiley Lynn has shot the marshal". Lynn then fled with Rose Lutke to the car and sped away.
Tilghman's body lay in state at the Oklahoma State Capitol
Oklahoma State Capitol
The Oklahoma State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the building that houses the Oklahoma Legislature, and the meeting place of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. It is located along Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City. The present structure includes a dome that was...
.
Wiley Lynn was acquitted after several of the witnesses to the shooting, allegedly intimidated, failed to appear, and Deputy Sawyer, whether he was coerced or merely incompetent, testified that he could not see clearly as to what actually happened. Rose Lutke disappeared, and was never heard from again. Despite his acquittal, Lynn was dismissed from the Prohibition Unit
Bureau of Prohibition
The Bureau of Prohibition was the federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which backed up the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation...
. Years later, in a shootout with another police officer, Agent Crockett Long of the Oklahoma State Crime Bureau
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the city police departments of the state and is the primary investigative agency of the state government...
, Lynn was killed, but not before fatally wounding Long and an innocent bystander.
The local Knights of the Ku Klux Klan demanded justice and printed fliers and warnings to criminal elements to leave town or suffer the consequences. One month after Tilghman's murder, the town of Cromwell was torched, with every brothel, bar, flophouse and pool hall burned to the ground and no arrests were ever made. The town of Cromwell never recovered its former "wild" status after that, and as of the 2000 census, its population was less than 300 residents.
In 1960, the western actor Brad Johnson played Tilghman in the episode "The Wedding Dress" of the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
.
Tilghman was portrayed by Rod Steiger
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
in the 1981 film Cattle Annie and Little Britches
Cattle Annie and Little Britches (film)
Cattle Annie and Little Britches is an American film based on the lives of two adolescent girls in the late 19th century who became infatuated with the Western outlaw heroes they had read about in Ned Buntline's stories and left their homes to join them...
.
The 1999 made-for-television movie You Know My Name
You Know My Name (film)
You Know My Name is a 1999 made-for-television movie, written and directed by John Kent Harrison. Its plot is based on the real-life story of lawman and gunslinger Bill Tilghman, who also became noted for directing and producing the 1915 Western, The Passing of the Oklahoma Outlaws.- Plot :It is...
dramatized Tilghman's life and final days, and was based on Matt Braun's
Matt Braun
Matt Braun is an author specializing in fictional stories of the American West. He has written fifty-six books, most of which are in the Western genre and has over 40 million copies in print....
novel One Last Town, which fictionalized Tilghman's activities in Cromwell. Veteran western movie actor Sam Elliott
Sam Elliott
Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
produced the film and starred as Tilghman.
Tilghman's widow, Agnes Stratton Tilghman, wrote about him in the book Marshal of the Last Frontier.
Quotes about Tilghman
- His friend and fellow lawman Bat MastersonBat MastersonWilliam Barclay "Bat" Masterson was a figure of the American Old West known as a buffalo hunter, U.S. Marshal and Army scout, avid fisherman, gambler, frontier lawman, and sports editor and columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph...
referred to him as "the greatest of us all."
- Teddy Roosevelt said "Tilghman would charge hell with a bucket."
External links
- Bill Tilghman bio
- Dodge City Lawmen
- Find-A-Grave biography for Zoe Tilghman
- Find-A-Grave biography for Bill Tilghman
Further reading
- Zoe Tilghman, "Marshal of the Last Frontier" at Amazon (not consulted)