Langford M. Peel (1829/1831 – July 21, 1867), also known as Farmer Peel was a soldier, gunman, and gambler in the

American 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 ...

. Convis alleges that Peel's middle name was "Farner" but this contradicts U.S. Army enlistment records which have "Langford M. Peel". According to his grave marker, Langford was born in Liverpool, England. At age 12 he enlisted in the U.S. Army with the approval and help of his mother and stepfather. At the age of 17, he enlisted as a bugler in "B' Company of the 1st US Dragoons under Captain Edwin Vose Sumner; Peel, still under 20 years of age,Lowe (1965) p. 90 when he killed his first three Indians at the

Battle of Coon Creek A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and fo ...

in 1846. In 1850 he killed two more near

Fort Kearney Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the western U.S. during the middle and late 19th century. The fort was named after Col. and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located along the Ore ...

Kansas and a sixth later. Peel "was the best specimen of 160 pounds, five feet, nine inches, naturally bright, clear headed and helpful always." Sgt. Percivel Lowe would go on to say that a "full set of such noncommissioned officers under a good commander would make a troop

or company Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mi ...

invincible against any reasonable odds." At the time of his First Sergeant's (Percival Lowe) honorable discharge from the army in 1854, Langford was married and had a two year old son living on the fort, named after his 1st Sgt: Percival Lowe Peel. He traveled to

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

; Salt Lake City; Nevada; and eventually to

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would ...

. One evening while walking down the sidewalk in Helena, arm in arm, with his girlfriend, a former associate of his, John Bull, sprang from a black alley and shot Peel once in the upper chest. Peel's girlfriend gripped his gun arm so hard from fear, that Peel had to use extra force to free his shooting arm from her, but it was too late, those precious 2 seconds brought him another bullet from Bull, and as Peel lay on the ground dying, Bull finished him off. The defendant was acquitted August 24, 1867. Bull was later involved in the stabbing of a railroad baggageman and also in 1874 was indicted in Omaha Nebraska for involvement with others on a robbery charge ne of the defendants escaped and the rest were freed In 1879, he had a faro game at the Sacramento State Fair; Bull was killed in Denver, Colorado on January 9, 1882 by a fellow gambler Jim Bush. Alleged by some sources to have been Harvard educated,However he is not listed as having graduated from Harvard Harvard University Catalogue
/ref> Peel was known for always giving any opponent a chance in a gunfight. Mark Twain, in his book '' Roughing It'', refers (perhaps as an inside joke) to Peel as "Farmer Pease".

References

*Lowe, Percival G. (1965). ''Five Years A Dragoon,('49 to '54) And Other Adventures on the Great Plains. University of Oklahoma Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, Langford 1831 births 1867 deaths Military personnel from Liverpool English emigrants to the United States Gunslingers of the American Old West Deaths by firearm in Montana American duellists