|
Post by sloanrodgers on Apr 25, 2012 21:29:02 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Allen Wiener on Apr 25, 2012 22:40:16 GMT -5
It's been a long time since I was up on my Wyatt Earp stuff, but IIRC, Ben was not such a bad sort, but he had a brother who was (Bill?). Ben got into a few scrapes with the law because he was forced into trying to bail his brother out of assorted jams. There's a famous story that has Earp disaming Ben and arresting him (in Ellsworth or Wichita I believe), but there are a lot of arguments made to the effect that it never happened. When you get into Earp's life, you may find it hard to get at the truth because of the vehement intransigence of the pro-Earp and anti-Earp factions. Think in terms of the various dug-in camps regarding the Crockett death "controversy."
|
|
|
Post by mjbrathwaite on Apr 26, 2012 2:03:11 GMT -5
It was in Ellsworth. I suspect the incident has been played up a bit: Earp might have disarmed Thompson, but I don't get the impression it was a very hostile encounter, and there is a story of a friendly conversation between them some years later in Texas.
|
|
|
Post by Hiram on Apr 26, 2012 16:44:27 GMT -5
This is an excellent account covering the Ben Thompson - Jack Harris feud and Thompson's death at the Vaudeville Variety Theatre (corner of Soledad and West Commerce Street.) www.watercresspress.com/Fatal-Corner.htm
|
|
|
Post by sloanrodgers on Apr 26, 2012 22:16:04 GMT -5
It's been a long time since I was up on my Wyatt Earp stuff, but IIRC, Ben was not such a bad sort, but he had a brother who was (Bill?). Ben got into a few scrapes with the law because he was forced into trying to bail his brother out of assorted jams. There's a famous story that has Earp disaming Ben and arresting him (in Ellsworth or Wichita I believe), but there are a lot of arguments made to the effect that it never happened. When you get into Earp's life, you may find it hard to get at the truth because of the vehement intransigence of the pro-Earp and anti-Earp factions. Think in terms of the various dug-in camps regarding the Crockett death "controversy." Ben Thompson wasn't as bad or as prolific a killer as his early biographers claimed, but he wasn't that good either. Ben was mostly known as a soldier, gambler and desperado with a inflated reputation for killing before he gained some repectabilty with his very brief service as Austin's City Marshal. Recently, I was asked to do a little research on Ben for an upcoming booklet and I've found that Maj. Buck Walton's Life and Adventures of Ben Thompson biography (which was published soon after Ben's death) is a bit unreliable in certain places. A case in point, Walton gives an account of Pvt. Ben Thompson getting into a wild affray (pgs. 21-22) while he was a member of Capt. Hamner's company at Fort Clark, early in the Civil War. Ben shot Commissary Sergeant Billy Vance in the body and a private in the legs. Lt. Haigler charged with his sword. Ben parried a few blows from the sword with his pistol, then shot Lt. Haigler in the neck. Ben surrendered to Capt. Hamner and felt justified in defending himself. Lt. Haigler died, Ben was thrown in jail and abused, but eventually he was released without being charged for the woundings or killing. I'm not saying this battle didn't happen, but I can't find any other account. The main problem with the above story is that Lt. George W. Hagler survived this alleged incident to replace Capt. H.A. Hamner as commander of H company, 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment. Capt. Hagler was hung by bushwackers in 1865 and was not killed by Thompson as stated by his first biographer. How many more stories did Walton get wrong?
|
|
|
Post by sloanrodgers on Apr 30, 2012 18:17:17 GMT -5
|
|