The John Kinney Gang, also known as the Rio Grande Posse, was an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

gang of the

old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

, which operated during the mid-1870s into the mid-1880s. The gang was organized by outlaw John Kinney, in

Doña Ana County, New Mexico Doña Ana County is located in the southern part of the State of New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 219,561, which makes it the second-most populated county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Las Cruces, t ...

. From its beginning, the gang primarily committed acts of

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and

cattle rustling Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

. On December 31, 1875 the gang was involved in a gunfight with US Cavalry soldiers in a saloon in

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern New ...

. According to different accounts, they killed one or two soldiers and a civilian outright and wounded three soldiersAccording to one ''contemporary report'' dated January 3rd 1876, the soldiers came from "E" Company/Third Battalion/8th U.S. Cavalry. Two persons were killed-a Private Le Voir and a Mexican and three other soldiers were badly wounded and another soldier was found badly beaten. Se
Arizona citizen., January 15, 1876, Image 2
According to one newspaper report January 29, 1876 there were 3 to 4 killed and one crippled. See th
Las Vegas gazette. volume, January 29, 1876, Image 1
There are different versions of casualties-see Footnotes #1; #2 #3 on

Pony Diehl Charles "Pony Diehl" Ray (possibly "Deal") was an Old West outlaw in the New Mexico Territory and Arizona Territory. He was accused by Wyatt Earp of having taken part in an attempt to kill his brother, Virgil Earp. Diehl was not tried due to a lac ...

article. According to 1961 The English Westerners Brand Book Volume 3-13 "...Private John Reovir and a Mexican were killed and three soldiers, Benedict Alig, Hugh McBride, and Samuel Spence, and a Mexican were seriously wounded...". In addition another soldier would die of Injuries. See Nolan p.64]That the number of casualties was six is confirmed-se
Nolan, Frederick (1998). The West of Billy the Kid.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 64. . They became best known when they were enlisted by the "Murphy-Dolan Faction" during the

Lincoln County War The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between rival factions which began in 1878 in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, the predecessor of the state of New Mexico, and continued until 1881. The feud became famous because of the pa ...

, to counter

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...

and his "Regulators". Former gang member

Jesse Evans Jesse Evans (c. 1853 — unknown; disappeared 1882) was an American outlaw and gunman of the Old West, and leader of the Jesse Evans Gang. He received some attention due to his disappearance in 1882, after which he was never seen or heard from a ...

and his

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

also were enlisted by "Murphy-Dolan". Lincoln County

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

George Peppin deputized the gang members to make them "official" during this time. After the Lincoln County War ended, they resumed their previous criminal activities, with some members remaining with the Kinney Gang, while others joined the

Jesse Evans Gang The Jesse Evans Gang, also known as The Boys, was a gang of rustlers and robbers led by outlaw and gunman Jesse Evans, which lasted from 1876 until 1880. The gang was formed after Evans broke with the John Kinney Gang. After breaking away, he ...

, or John Selman's gang. The Kinney Gang ended when John Kinney was arrested, in 1883, for rustling. He was released from prison in 1886, but by that time all former gang members had either disappeared, were in prison or dead. John Kinney did not return to his former outlaw life, served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, and lived until 1919.

Known members

References

{{Reflist

External links

Angelfire.com: John Kinney Gang
Outlaws of the American Old West Gangs in New Mexico

John Kinney Gang The John Kinney Gang, also known as the Rio Grande Posse, was an outlaw gang of the old West, which operated during the mid-1870s into the mid-1880s. The gang was organized by outlaw John Kinney, in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. From its beginn ...

Lincoln County Wars 1870s in New Mexico Territory

Known members

See also

References

External links