Battleground Gunfight
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The Battleground Gunfight, also known as the Battleground Shootout, Carlos Tafolla's surname is spelled "Tafoya" in this article. was a
gunfight A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...
between a posse of
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lawmen and the
Smith Gang :''This gang should not be confused with the gang of Soapy Smith.'' The Smith Gang was a band of American cattle rustlers who operated in the Southwest during the late 1890s to 1901. The gang was founded by Bill Smith and included six others, m ...
. It was fought on October 8, 1901, within
Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...
's Fort Apache Indian Reservation, at a clearing in the forest known today as the "Battleground". Nine
Arizona Rangers The Arizona Rangers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, noncommissioned civilian auxiliary that supports law enforcement in the US, state of Arizona. In 2002, the modern-day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the State of Arizona when the Leg ...
and deputies caught up with the
cattle rustler 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 ...
Bill Smith and his gang. During a long exchange of gunfire that followed, Ranger Carlos Tafolla and Deputy Bill Maxwell were killed and one or two of the outlaws may have been wounded. In the end, the Smith Gang escaped the posse and fled into
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.


Background

The Arizona Rangers were established in 1901 and the Battleground Gunfight became the first major shootout to involve the new police force. The Smith Gang was one of the first targets for the rangers. In northeastern Graham County, Bill Smith owned a ranch on the Blue River, where he lived with his mother and his younger brothers and sisters. The ranch house served as a base for rustling cattle from nearby settlers, such as Henry Barrett, a former
Rough Rider The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
. In 1898, the Smith brothers were arrested for stealing unbranded calves from Barrett and Bill Phelps. Bill Smith assumed full responsibility, so he was sent to jail at St. Johns. Because of this, Bill was said to have developed a grudge against Henry Barrett. During the first week of October 1901, the Smith Gang was spotted at Pat Knoll, near
Springerville Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States, within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,961. Springerville sits at an elevation of above sea level. A ...
, heading south with a herd of fifteen or twenty stolen horses. Police informants said the gang was on their way from
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, where they robbed a train. A few days later, Bill and his brother Al came across Henry Barrett and another cowboy in the Big Cienega range. During the confrontation, Bill threatened to kill Barrett, so the latter informed the
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 ...
of
Apache County Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by part ...
, who organized a posse. The posse was led by the sheriff's deputy, Hank Sharp, and included Henry Barrett and two other locals named Pete Peterson and Elijah Holgate. Meanwhile, the Arizona Rangers Carlos Tafolla and Duane Hamblin were assigned to search for the Smith Gang. At Greer, the rangers and the posse met, and they decided to work together in tracking and capturing the outlaws. The rangers then deputized Barrett, Peterson and Holgate and they began following the outlaws' trail to the
Little Colorado River The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in ...
, which they forded at a place known as Sheep's Crossing. From there the posse went to the ranch of Lorenzo Crosby to enlist his services and that of the brothers Arch and William Thomas "Bill" Maxwell, both of whom were described as being excellent scouts. These three men were deputized as well, making the posse a force of nine men altogether. After that, the posse continued along the trail south to Big Lake and then to Dead Man's Crossing on the Black River. On October 7, at a ranch belonging to Pete Slaughter, the posse found an abandoned camp that was believed to have been recently occupied by the outlaws. The rangers decided to camp at the same location for the night and then proceed down the west side of the riverbank on the following morning.


Gunfight

On the morning of Tuesday, October 8, the posse awoke, had breakfast, and then saddled to continue down the river. Along the way they passed the Pair-O'Dice Ranch. The area is part of the White Mountains and thus heavily forested and difficult to traverse. It was also very cold, and snow covered the ground. That day the Smith Gang was camped at Reservation Creek, just inside the western border of the Fort Apache reservation, in a canyon wide and deep, near the source of the Black River. Today the location is near the shoreline of Reservation Lake. The Smith gang were in need of food so that afternoon they killed a bear, and the shots were heard by the posse away. Eventually, the Maxwell brothers found the location of the bear shooting and blood trails in the snow led back to the Smiths' camp, which was from where the posse camped. By then it was almost night. As the posse approached the canyon, the Smiths' guard dog began barking. This alerted Bill Smith, who went up to the canyon's rim to have a better look. There he saw the posse coming towards the camp, so he ran back to tell the others. Bill Smith's gang included his brothers Al, George and Floyd, a brother-in-law named Adam Slagger, and two other unidentified men. Of the nine-man posse, only Henry Barrett had any combat experience, having fought with
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
at the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1898. At a place away from camp, the posse dismounted their horses and tied them up to some trees in order to confront the outlaws on foot. The posse then headed to the camp from the west, which meant that the lawmen would have to fire into the sunlight if a firefight began. The deep canyon was shadowed, and it provided a good defensive position for the Smith Gang. When the posse reached the camp, Tafolla, Hamblin and Bill Maxwell continued forward into a clearing to demand the outlaws' surrender while Barrett and the five others remained behind the cover of a ridge. After Bill Maxwell called out the demand, Bill Smith replied: "All right, which way do you want us to come out?" Maxwell responded: "Come right out this way." About this time, Barrett, who could see what was going on from the ridge, yelled out for Tafolla and the two others to lie down for cover, but only Hamblin took the advice. A moment later, Bill Smith appeared with a Savage Model 1895 .30 caliber rifle concealed behind his back. Then, suddenly, he revealed his weapon and began firing it. It was at this time Bill Maxwell was hit in the forehead and died instantly. Then Tafolla was shot twice through the torso and fell to the ground. He did, however, manage to pull out his revolver and returned the fire, which was followed by the others on both sides. The skirmish lasted for at least a couple of hours, and it was already dark when it ended. During the fighting, Ranger Hamblin maneuvered around the canyon where the outlaws were firing from to drive off their horses. Therefore, when the Smith Gang chose to make their escape that night, they had to climb out of the canyon on foot, which they eventually succeeded in doing. The posse captured the gang's camp, but they did not pursue the criminals any further due to the wounded Tafolla, who was in need of a doctor.


Aftermath

After the Smith Gang made their escape, Hank Sharp and Arch Maxwell left the scene for Nutrioso, twenty miles away, to summon a doctor named Rudd and spread the news of the fight. The remainder of the posse stayed at the camp with Tafolla and the body of Bill Maxwell. Tafolla died before the doctor could arrive. Before passing, he gave Henry Barrett a silver dollar and said: "Give this to my wife. It, and the month's wages coming to me will be all she will ever have." The outlaws made their way out of the canyon and into what is now
Bear Wallow Wilderness The Bear Wallow Wilderness is an wilderness area in eastern Arizona in the United States. The wilderness, located in the Apache National Forest, is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The area has been severely affected by the Wallow Fire of J ...
. On the next evening they arrived at a cow camp on Beaver Creek. The cowboys there were held hostage and ordered to prepare food for the gang. Bill Smith recognized one of the hostages, Marion Lee, who made dinner for the gang members and informed them that they had killed Bill Maxwell. Bill Smith did not realize that one of the men he had shot at was his friend, so he told Lee: "When he stood up that way we thought he was Barrett. Barrett was the man we wanted. We feel mighty sorry over killing Will
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Maxwell, he was a good friend of ours. Tell his mother for us that we're very sorry we killed him." After taking a few horses, the gang headed into the Blue River Wilderness for the ranch of Hugh McKean, where they hoped to trade horses. When McKean refused to deal with the gang he was held at gunpoint and robbed of his horses, food, and weapons. The Smith Gang then went east and crossed the Arizona border with
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
before heading south into Texas and across the
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
into Mexico. When the
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of the Arizona Rangers,
Burton C. Mossman Burton C. Mossman (April 30, 1867 – September 5, 1956) was an American lawman and cattleman in the final years of the Old West. He is most remembered for his capture of the notorious border bandit Augustine Chacon in 1902, though he was also ...
, was informed of the fight he sent three of his men after the outlaws and the
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dispatched the Apache Scouts Chicken and Josh. The scouts tracked the gang across New Mexico before losing the trail at the banks of the Rio Grande. Ultimately, the posse failed to capture the outlaws and bring them to justice, but they were successful in running the Smith Gang out of Arizona Territory. Tafolla and Maxwell were killed as result of the gunfight and one or two of the outlaws may have been wounded by Barrett, who was armed with a souvenir Spanish
Mauser Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...
rifle, which could shoot right through the trees the gang members were hiding behind. The body of Tafolla was laid to rest at St. Johns and Bill Maxwell was buried in his family's cemetery at Nutrioso. Maxwell's hat was left behind at the scene because the men of the posse thought it would be bad luck to touch it. For years afterwards, cowboys claimed they had seen the hat while working in the area.


See also

*
List of Old West gunfights This is a list of Old West gunfights. Gunfights have left a lasting impression on American frontier history; many were retold and embellished by dime novels and magazines like ''Harper's Weekly'' during the late 19th and early 20th century. The mos ...


References

{{Gunfights and feuds in the Old West 1901 in Arizona Territory Conflicts in 1901 American Old West gunfights Arizona folklore Arizona Rangers Crimes in Arizona Territory October 1901 events