At just 21 years old, Billy the Kid had already become one of the most notorious outlaws of the American Old West. His death at the hands of Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881 ended a short but violent life that had made him a legendary figure. Born Henry McCarty in New York City to Irish Catholic parents Patrick and Catherine McCarty, his exact birth date has been disputed. Church records indicate he was baptized at Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan on September 28, 1859.
His younger brother Joseph was born in 1863. After Patrick’s death, Catherine McCarty moved her sons to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she met William Henry Harrison Antrim in 1870. The family later relocated to Wichita, Kansas, before settling in New Mexico Territory. Catherine married Antrim on March 1, 1873, in Santa Fe.
The family eventually moved to Silver City, where Antrim abandoned the McCarty boys. Catherine died of tuberculosis on September 16, 1874, leaving young Henry an orphan at age 14. Hotel owner Sarah Brown took him in, and those who knew him at the time described him as honest and diligent. But within a year, McCarty found himself in trouble.
He was first arrested for stealing food, then five months later for stealing clothing and firearms. After escaping from jail after two days, he began life as a fugitive. McCarty briefly stayed with his stepfather, who threw him out after McCarty stole clothing and firearms from him. They never saw each other again.
Moving to Arizona Territory, McCarty worked as a ranch hand and gambled his earnings. In 1876, he met John Mackey, a Scottish-born criminal and former U. S. Cavalry soldier, and the two began robbing local soldiers of their horses.
Because of his youth, slim build, and clean-shaven appearance, McCarty earned the nickname “Kid Antrim. ”
After stealing a horse and fleeing to New Mexico Territory, McCarty nearly died of starvation. Apaches took the horse, forcing him to travel on foot to Fort Stanton in the Pecos Valley. A friend’s mother, Barbara Jones, nursed him back to health.
Once recovered, McCarty joined a group of cattle rustlers raiding herds owned by cattle baron John Chisholm. Around 1877, he began calling himself William H. Bonney. McCarty went to work as a cowboy for English rancher John Henry Tunstall in Lincoln County.
There, he became caught up in a bitter economic and political conflict between Tunstall and Irish-American businessmen Lawrence Murphy, James Dolan, and John Reilly. Since the early 1870s, this alliance had controlled the county’s economy and politics, partly through the beef contract with nearby Fort Stanton. By February 1878, Tunstall’s partner Alexander McSween owed Dolan $8,000. Dolan obtained a court order directing Sheriff William Brady to seize Tunstall’s possessions and livestock, worth nearly $40,000.
On February 18, 1878, Tunstall and his men, including McCarty, were driving horses toward Lincoln when Sheriff Brady’s posse caught up with them. Without warning, the deputies opened fire. Tunstall was shot in the chest and then in the back of the head with his own gun, killing him. Tunstall’s murder ignited the Lincoln County War.
McCarty and Dick Brewer obtained murder warrants against Brady and his posse members after swearing affidavits. On February 20, deputies arrested McCarty and two other men. Brewer and Deputy U. S.
Marshal Robert Whiteman freed them after overpowering the jail guards. McCarty joined the Lincoln County Regulators, who arrested Frank Baker and William Morton on March 9, 1878, for Tunstall’s murder. Both men allegedly tried to flee and were killed. On April 1, the Regulators ambushed Sheriff Brady and his deputies in Lincoln.
McCarty was wounded in the thigh during the gunfight. Brady and Deputy George Hindman were killed. On April 4, “Buckshot” Roberts and Dick Brewer were killed in a shootout at Blazers Mill. Warrants were issued against multiple participants on both sides, and McCarty was accused of killing Brady, Hindman, and Roberts.
The conflict reached its climax in the Battle of Lincoln in July 1878. On Sunday, July 14, McSween and around 50 or 60 Regulators entered Lincoln and set up among several buildings. McCarty was present at the McSween home with others. The Murphy-Dolan faction hired a sizable force commanded by George Peppin, which surrounded the Regulators on July 16.
Gunfire was exchanged through the day, with at least five of the opposing force wounded and one killed. Colonel Nathan Dudley of Fort Stanton declined to intervene at first but arrived with a Cavalry detachment on July 19. A fire broke out in the building where McSween’s supporters had gathered. Most escaped the burning structure, but Robert Beckwith shot and killed McSween.
McCarty then shot and killed Beckwith. On August 5, 1878, McCarty and three other survivors of the Battle of Lincoln were near the Mescalero Indian Agency when bookkeeper Morris Bernstein was killed. Despite conflicting evidence suggesting another man may have been responsible, all four were charged. The other charges were later dropped.
Newly appointed territorial governor Lew Wallace, a former Union Army general, issued an amnesty proclamation on November 13, 1878, covering those involved in the Lincoln County War after Tunstall’s murder. McCarty was excluded because the proclamation did not cover those already indicted for crimes. On February 18, 1879, McCarty was in Lincoln when Jesse Evans and Billy Campbell shot and burned attorney Huston Chapman, who had been hired by McSween’s widow. On March 13, McCarty wrote to Governor Wallace, offering testimony about Chapman’s murder in exchange for amnesty.
Wallace agreed to a private meeting on March 17, 1879. He promised McCarty clemency and protection in exchange for grand jury testimony. McCarty surrendered on March 21, provided a statement, and testified in court. But the local district attorney declined to free him.
McCarty, believing Wallace had lied to him, broke out of the Lincoln County jail on June 17, 1879. McCarty remained peaceful until January 10, 1880, when he killed a man named Joe Grant. Sources claimed McCarty had been warned that Grant planned to kill him. McCarty asked to examine Grant’s revolver and, noticing only three bullets, positioned the cylinder so the next hammer fall would land on an empty chamber.
When Grant pointed the gun at McCarty and pulled the trigger, it failed to fire. McCarty drew his own weapon and shot Grant in the head. In November 1880, McCarty and his companions fled from a posse led by Deputy James Carlyle, who was killed after being shot three times. McCarty, Dave Rudabaugh, Billy Wilson, Tom O’Folliard, Charlie Bowdre, and Tom Pickett arrived at Fort Sumner, where a posse led by Pat Garrett opened fire, killing O’Folliard.
Governor Wallace posted a $500 bounty for McCarty’s capture on December 13, 1880. On December 23, the gang was surrounded in a rock house at Stinking Springs. Bowdre was shot as he came out to feed the horses at dawn. The remaining gang members surrendered later that day and were taken into custody.
After being transported to Santa Fe, McCarty wrote to Governor Wallace seeking clemency. Wallace declined to intervene. At trial in Mesilla, New Mexico, in April 1881, McCarty was found guilty of Sheriff Brady’s murder. It was the only conviction obtained against any combatant in the Lincoln County War.
Judge Warren Bristol sentenced him to death by hanging, scheduled for May 13, 1881. On the evening of April 28, 1881, McCarty escaped from the town courthouse, killing Deputy James Bell and Deputy Bob Olinger. Wallace placed a new $500 bounty on his head. Rumors placed McCarty near Fort Sumner.
On July 14, 1881, Garrett and two deputies went there to question Pete Maxwell, a friend of McCarty’s. Around midnight, Garrett was sitting in Maxwell’s darkened bedroom when McCarty walked in unexpectedly. The exact sequence of events varies by account, but in the standard version, McCarty failed to recognize Garrett in the poor light. Drawing his revolver and backing away, he asked who was there.
Garrett recognized McCarty’s voice and fired twice. The first bullet struck McCarty in the chest just above his heart; the second missed. It is unclear from Garrett’s account whether McCarty died instantly or took some time to die.