Fred White (marshal)
Fred White | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of White, c. 1880 | |
| Born | Frederick G. White c. 1849 |
| Died | October 30, 1880 (aged 30–31) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Marshal |
| Known for | First Tombstone town marshal |
Frederick G. White (c. 1849 – October 30, 1880) was an American lawman and the first town marshal (equivalent to chief of police) of the mining boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. White was elected to the position on January 6, 1880. At the time, Tombstone was still an emerging frontier town with fewer than 1,000 residents, and did not become an official city, with over 1,000 residents, until a year later. Before that time, White died in office following a notorious accidental shooting, and was succeeded by Virgil Earp.[1]
Tombstone
Fred White was born in
White was regarded as removed from the complex business, personal, and political rivalries that involved many of Tombstone's residents at the time. Unlike other city employees (including Earp and his siblings), who owned or partly owned many of the town's businesses and tried to steer its populace and visitors towards those under their ownership, White had no personal stake in any such enterprises, settling instead for his regular salary as town marshal. He was respected by the town in general and by all accounts treated everyone fairly.
Death
On the night of October 28, 1880, several
Wyatt Earp, who witnessed the shooting and flash but could not clearly see the action in the dark, pistol-whipped Brocius, knocking him unconscious, and arrested him. Wyatt told his biographer many years later that he thought Brocius was still armed at the time and did not notice that Brocius' pistol lay on the ground in the dark until Brocius was already down.[5] Brocius was arrested by Wyatt Earp and his brother Morgan, both of whom were working as Pima County sheriff's deputies at the time.[6]
Brocius was said to have terribly regretted the shooting of White, whom Brocius apparently liked, and maintained that it was an accident. The next day, Wyatt Earp and another deputy took Brocius to the county jail in the county seat of Tucson, possibly saving him from being lynched when White later died (at the time, Tombstone had a one-room wooden jail very near the scene of the shooting, which was famous for its flimsiness).[4]
White lingered for two days, dying on October 30, 1880. However, prior to his death, he gave testimony that ultimately led to Brocius being cleared of any wrongdoing. White stated that the pistol fired accidentally, and that Brocius, intoxicated, evidently did not realize the pistol was cocked. It was due to White's testimony, as well as a demonstration for the court that Brocius' pistol could be fired from the half-cock position, that Judge Neugass in Tucson dismissed the charge against Brocius.[4]
Despite his regret over the shooting death of White and his assistance from Earp in being taken out of town (Earp also ended up testifying on his behalf), Brocius resented having been pistol-whipped by Earp during his arrest. This was one factor that led to increasing tensions between the Earps and the Cowboys. After the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral a year later and the murder of Morgan Earp in March 1882, Wyatt Earp pursued and killed Brocius in a gunfight in the countryside outside Tombstone.[4]
White was buried in what is now known as Boot Hill cemetery (i.e., the old city cemetery), in Tombstone.[7]
Portrayals
Although White is portrayed in the 1993 film
References
- ISBN 0-8032-5838-0.
- ISBN 978-1-57441-243-7.
- ISBN 978-0-275-98335-2.
- ^ ISBN 0-300-11527-X.
- ^ John H. Flood Manuscript, 1926, p. 85
- ^ Wyatt vs. Curly Archived December 1, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-1-4127-1279-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-2632-4.
External links
Rural outlaw cowboys and allies vs. business owners, townspeople, and the law | ||||||
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