The Assassination Of John Tunstall

The assassination of John Henry Tunstall on February 18, 1878, in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, marked a pivotal moment in the violent power struggle known as the Lincoln County War. Tunstall, a 24-year-old English rancher and businessman, had come to the American Southwest seeking opportunity, and his death would ignite one of the most infamous feuds of the Old West.

Born in London in 1853, Tunstall emigrated to the United States in 1872, eventually arriving in New Mexico Territory in 1876. There, he partnered with attorney Alexander McSween to establish a mercantile and cattle enterprise that challenged the longstanding economic monopoly held by Lawrence Murphy and James Dolan. This monopoly—often called "The House"—controlled much of the trade, land, and political power in Lincoln County through their store, banking connections, and their alliance with the local sheriff, William Brady.

Tunstall's business was built on honest principles, offering better prices and fairer dealings than his rivals. However, his competition threatened the entrenched power of Murphy and Dolan, who responded with legal harassment and violent intimidation. They employed a group of gunmen known as the Jessie Evans Gang to enforce their will, while Tunstall and McSween began hiring their own protection, including a young cowboy named William H. Bonney—later known as Billy the Kid.

Tensions boiled over in early 1878 when Dolan and Murphy secured court orders for the seizure of Tunstall’s property under the pretense of debt collection. Tunstall, expecting foul play, attempted to remove his livestock from his ranch to prevent their confiscation. It was during this attempt that he and his hired hands were intercepted near Blackwater Creek by members of the Sheriff’s posse loyal to Dolan, including Jesse Evans, Tom Hill, and William Morton.

Though Tunstall was unarmed and reportedly attempting to negotiate, he was gunned down—shot in the chest and head. His death was not merely a casualty of frontier disputes; it was a calculated murder meant to eliminate a rival and intimidate others who might challenge the old order.

Tunstall’s assassination sparked outrage among his allies, particularly Billy the Kid and the group known as the Regulators, who were deputized to bring his killers to justice. This began a chain of bloody reprisals and ambushes, including the famous gunfights at Blazer’s Mill and Lincoln, escalating the Lincoln County War into a full-blown guerrilla conflict.

Though Tunstall never lived to see the war unfold, his murder became a symbol of lawlessness and corruption in the American frontier. His grave in Lincoln bears a simple marker, but his story remains a powerful example of the lethal mix of politics, commerce, and violence in the Old West. His death would also be the event that began Billy the Kid’s transformation from cattle hand to legendary outlaw.

To learn more about the life, legacy, and brutal assassination of John Tunstall, click the link below to the History At The OK Corral episode “The Assassination of John Tunstall : The Lincoln County War Begins”, linked below: