The old west is full of tales about outlaws that turn into lawmen and lawmen that turn into outlaws. This is one of those true and fascinating stories about two men in particular named Henry Newton Brown and a man named William Sherod Robertson alias Ben Wheeler.
Henry Newton Brown & Ben Wheeler
We will start with Henry Newton Brown. Henry Brown was born in 1857 in the Rolla Missouri area. He lived with his Uncle Jasper and Aunt Aldamira Richardson until he was about 17 years old when he left their home and headed west. For the next few years he worked cowboy jobs in Colorado and Texas. It was in Texas that he is reported to have killed his first man in a gunfight.
Henry Newton Brown
Billy The Kid
1877 finds Henry Brown in Lincoln County New Mexico hanging around the likes of William H. Bonney known better to the world now as Billy The Kid. Henry Brown and several others were working for John Tunstall. It was here that Henry Brown found himself embroiled in the Lincoln County War, a war between two merchants and their backers.
John Tunstall's Store In Lincoln, New Mexico
John Tunstall
In 1878, it was the murder of Henry Brown's employer, John Tunstall, that ignited the Lincoln County War. After Tunstall was murdered the men working for him were sworn in as special constables. They called themselves The Regulators. They soon went on track down and dispose of several men whom they believed to have been behind John Tunstall's murder. One of those men they believed to have been responsible for the murder was Sheriff William Brady. On April 1, 1878 Henry Brown, Billy The Kid and four others found Sheriff Brady and four of his deputies on the main street in Lincoln New Mexico and ambushed them killing Sheriff Brady and at least one of his deputies.
Sheriff William Brady
Three days later they were in another intense prolonged gunfight with Buckshot Roberts who they would eventually kill but not before he killed Richard Brewer, a member of The Regulators. Warrants were sworn out on the men who killed Sheriff Brady which lead Henry Brown and members of The Regulators to lay low for a few months, On July 15, 1878 Henry Brown, Billy The Kid and several others were involved in another gunfight where they were trapped in the home of Alexander McSween. Henry Brown was not actually trapped in the house with the rest of the men. He was in a grain warehouse behind John Tunstall's store where he fired on Sheriff Brady's men. He escaped with Billy The Kid after Alexander McSween's home was set a blaze. Alexander McSween was killed trying to escape the flames essentially ending the Lincoln County War.
In the fall of 1878 Henry Brown, Billy The Kid and some of the other Regulators trailed a herd of rustled horses to Tascosa, Texas where they sold the horses. After the horses were sold many of the Regulators returned to New Mexico but Henry Brown having two murder warrants decided to stay in Texas. There he would eventually become some type of lawman though its unclear if he was a deputy sheriff, marshal or constable. He was quickly dismissed due to his hot temper and quickness to fight.
Henry Newton Brown As Marshal Of Caldwell, Kansas
In July of 1882 at about 25 years of age he settled in Caldwell, Kansas. Caldwell was a rough cattle town similar to Abilene and Dodge City. It was here in Caldwell that he took a job as Assistant Marshal of Caldwell. He was promoted to Marshal 5 months later. Henry Brown with the help of Assistant Marshal Ben Wheeler were effectively hired to clean up the town which was known as a rough and rowdy town full of violence.
Caldwell, Kansas
The following was taken from Henry Brown's Wikipedia page;
"Brown was described by contemporaries as a "very much undersize" man who didn't smoke, drink, chew, or gamble, and was noted to be in regular attendance at the Methodist Church. Said to be "exceedingly modest and, in fact, bashful," he displayed an introvert presence but "gained the entire confidence of the people . . . and . . . conducted himself in such a manner that the doors of society were always open to him."
But, "he had a square set jaw, not unlike that of a bull dog" and "his face indicated firmness and a lack of physical fear." "His words were few and parted with reluctantly," and when duty called, Brown's demeanor changed immediately. He was easily angered: his temper flared instantly and his outwardly meek manner transformed into one of deadly grave purpose. One contemporary commented that "he was a two-gun man. He could take a six-shooter in each hand and make one think a battle was on."
Henry Brown was so well respected and loved in the town of Caldwell, Kansas that the citizens there gave him a wonderfully engraved Winchester 1873 rifle with a silver medallion on the stock that reads "Presented to the City Marshal H. N. Brown for valuable services rendered in behalf of the citizens of Caldwell Kas A. N. Colson Mayor Dec 1882"
Henry Brown's Rifle Given To Him By A Grateful Town
In December 1883 Henry Brown would use that very rifle to kill a gambler, Newt Boyce. He would later kill Spotted Horse, a known renegade Indian. By the end of Brown and Wheeler's third term as Marshal and Assistant Marshal they were regarded as the most effective lawmen the town had ever known.
Ben Wheeler As Assistant Marshal Of Caldwell, Kansas
There is not as much readily available information on Ben Wheeler but what is known is that Ben Wheeler was born William Sherod Robinson around 1854 to a respected Texas family. By all accounts available to me at the time William Sherod Robinson lived an honest upright life marrying and having four children. It is here in Texas the he likely met Henry Brown. He was severely wounded in a gunfight in 1878 which led him to flee the state abandoning his wife and children. From Texas William Sherod Robinson ended up in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he took up work as a cowboy. He would eventually end up in Indianola, Nebraska using the name Ben F. Burton. In Nebraska the now Ben F. Burton would eventually marry a woman named Alice Wheeler in November 1881 but after living with her and her parents for about a year he abandoned her also.
Ben F. Burton would leave Nebraska end up in Caldwell, Kansas under the name Ben Wheeler where he would meet up with an old friend Henry Newton Brown and be appointed Assistant Marshal Ben Wheeler in December 1882.
Assistant Marshal Ben Wheeler's Badge
In Caldwell, Kansas, Henry Newton Brown and Ben Wheeler would forever be linked together. First as top notch citizens and the best lawmen the town had ever known. As lawmen they would first clean up Caldwell, Kansas of some of the meanest and nastiest criminals around. Then they would have a brisk fall from grace like few in their position have ever seen.
Assistant Marshal Ben Wheeler's Colt SAA
It was April 1884 when Henry Brown and Ben Wheeler would come up with a plan to rob the bank in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Brown and Wheeler convinced the mayor to give them a leave of absence to track down a murderer through Indian Territory. The mayor, knowing Henry Brown was in debt and could use the bounty money from capturing the murdering outlaw agreed to let them go.
Medicine Valley Bank In Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Henry Brown and Ben Wheeler along with two other cowboys named William Smith and John Wesley rode to Medicine Lodge, Kansas where they attempted to rob Medicine Valley Bank. Their plan quickly fell apart and gunfire erupted. Two of the bank officers were shot. Henry Brown is said to have killed bank president Wylie Payne although there have been conflicting reports that John Wesley may have been the killer of Payne. Ben Wheeler is said to have shot and killed the bank's chief cashier, George Geppert. Some reports state that John Wesley may have also fired some shots at George Geppert. At that point it did not matter who shot who. The fate of the four men had been sealed.
The outlaws fled the scene under fire from townspeople. A posse of 12 men was quickly formed from a group of men who had been across the street from the bank at a stable.
The Posse That Captured The Outlaws
Heavily pursued by the posse the outlaw gang unknowingly ended up in a box canyon several miles south of town where they were trapped and eventually had to surrender to the posse. They were taken back to Medicine Lodge, Kansas where they were put into the town's small jail but not before a photo of the outlaw gang was taken.
The Outlaws Had Their Photo Made Before Being Lynched
While jailed in Medicine Lodge, Kansas Henry Brown wrote a letter to his wife. The following is a transcription of the letter.
It read in part:
"Darling Wife: I am in jail here. Four of us tried to rob the bank here and one man shot one of the men in the bank. I want you to come and see me as soon as you can. I will send you all of my things and you can sell them. But keep the Winchester. It is hard for me to write this letter, but it was all for you, my sweet wife, and for the love I have for you. "Do not go back on me. If you do it will kill me. Be true to me as long as you live, and come to see me if you think enough of me. My love is just the same as it always was. Oh, how I did hate to leave you last Sunday evening. But I did not think this would happen. I thought we could take in the money and not have any trouble with it, but a man's fondest hopes are sometimes broken with trouble. We would not have been arrested but one of our horses gave out and we could not leave him [the rider] alone. I do not know what to write. Do the best you can with everything. I want you to send me some clothes. Sell all the things you don't need. Have your picture taken and send it to me. Now, my dear wife, go and see Mr. Witzleben and Mr. Nyce and get the money. If a mob does not kill us we will come out all right after while. Maude, I did not shoot anyone and didn't want the others to kill anyone. But they did and that is all there is about it. Now, my darling wife, goodbye. H. N. Brown."
Tension was rising in town and a lynch mob was forming. Fearing they would be lynched John Wesley removed his boot along with the shackle of the leg iron with which he and Henry Brown were shackled together with. Henry Brown used a bandana to tie his leg iron to his leg with and allow him to run. John Smith who was handcuffed to Ben Wheeler was able to slip the handcuff over his small hand resulting to all four men being free from one another.
When the lynch mob rushed the door at 9pm on April 30, 1884 Henry Brown burst through the lynch mob to an alley along side of the jail. As he ran he met both barrels of a shotgun at close range which nearly cut him in half. Henry Brown was dead. It is said that the mob was so disgusted that Henry Brown had cheated them out of a hanging, various members of the lynch mob pumped bullets into Brown's mangled corpse.
Ben Wheeler was able to run about 100 yards before being wounded in a hail of gunfire. He lived long enough to be hanged by the angry mob from a nearby elm tree along with William Smith and John Wesley.
Within a few minutes all four outlaws were dead.
You can imagine how shocked the townspeople of Caldwell, Kansas were when they found out their beloved Marshal and Assistant Marshal attempted to rob a bank, killed two employees of the bank and were lynched by an angry mob.
Henry Brown's widow continued to live in Caldwell but she ignored his instructions for his Winchester Rifle and gave it to some of her husband's acquaintances.
Noose That Was Kept At Medicine Valley Bank As A Reminder To Would Be Robbers
Both Henry Brown and Ben Wheeler lived contradicting lives. At times good and at other times bad. They both seemed to be men who possibly wanted to do good but kept finding themselves in situations where the lines were crossed. In the end they paid heavily for their crimes and became a part of western history.
Edit: I have since found what looks to be a very good and well documented book on Ben Wheeler. I ordered it and look forward to finding out more about him. I will add new info at a later time as I become more aware of his life before Caldwell, Kansas.
