The American Old West was a tumultuous era, characterized by rapid expansion, diverse populations, and often, a struggle for order amidst chaos. While Hollywood often sensationalizes the outlaws and gunfights, the unsung heroes of this period were the dedicated lawmen who sought to bring justice and stability to untamed territories. These figures, ranging from sheriffs and U.S. Marshals to Texas Rangers and local peace officers, played a critical role in establishing the rule of law across the vast frontier.
From well-known names like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok to lesser-known but equally impactful individuals, this compilation offers a glimpse into the lives and careers of those who wore a badge. Their stories are a testament to courage, resilience, and the often blurred lines between law and legend in a period of intense social and political change.
Notable Lawmen of the American Old West
- John R. Abernathy – Wolf Catcher & Lawman
- John Hicks Adams – Sheriff and U.S. Deputy Marshal
- William Davis “Dave” Allison – Lifetime Lawman
- Burton Alvord – Lawman Turned Outlaw
- David L. Anderson, aka Billy Wilson – Outlaw & Lawman
- Peter Anderson – Killed in the Line of Duty
- William “Red” Angus – Fighting in the Johnson County War
- Orr W. Annis – Oklahoma Lawman
- Arizona Rangers
- John Barclay Armstrong – Texas Lawman
- William “Bill” Arnold – Posseman Killed
- Charles Askins – Gunfighter Legend
- Ira Aten – Texas Ranger and Cowboy
- Lee Atkins – Killed Before Duty
- Willard R. Ayers – Deputy Marshal Down
- Elfego Baca & The “Frisco War”
- Billy Bailey – Cowboy Lawman
- Bud Ballew – Gunfighter & Lawman of Oklahoma
- Adolph Barrier – San Miguel County, New Mexico Deputy
- James Barton – Los Angeles Sheriff Killed in the Line of Duty
- Charles Bassett – Dodge City Lawman
- Roy Bean – The Law West of the Pecos
- Johnny Harris Behan – First Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona
- Hamilton Bell – Transforming Wicked Dodge City, Kansas
- George Bravin – Tombstone’s British Marshal
- Dow Braziel – U.S. Deputy Marshal and IRS Officer
- William Milton Breckenridge – Lawman, Surveyor & Author
- Richard M. Brewer – Gunman and Lawman
- Elijah S. Briant – School Teacher Turned Lawman
- Jack L. Bridges – Kansas Lawman
- William “Billy” Brooks – Lawman and Horse Thief
- Henry Newton Brown – Outlaw Marshal of Kansas
- Eli Hickman “Heck” Bruner – Fearless U.S. Deputy Marshal
- Seth Bullock – Finest Type of Frontiersman
- Sheppard Busby – Marshal Hanged
- Edward “Ned” Bushyhead – Cherokee Lawman
- Hess Bussey – U. S. Deputy Marshal
- Malcolm “Old Grizzly” Campbell – Wyoming Sheriff
- Rufus Cannon – Important African-American U.S. Deputy Marshal
- William Carr – Heroic Deputy or Outlaw?
- Willard Christianson – Mormon Outlaw and Lawman
- Scott Cooley – Texas Ranger Turned Killer
- Mannie Clements, Jr. – Lawman and Cattleman
- Phoebe Couzins – Lady Law
- Robert M. Cox – Deputy Marshal Killed
- Everett Creekmore – Lawman Turned Outlaw
- William R. Cruger – Southern Lawman
- Frank Dalton – Brother to the Dalton Gang
- Billy Dixon – Texas Plains Pioneer
- Fred Dodge – Undercover Detective
- John Doherty (Death of a Sheriff – Murder and Conspiracy in the Old West)
- James C. Earp – Lesser Known Older Brother
- Morgan Earp – Killed in Tombstone, Arizona
- Warren Earp – Youngest of the Earp Brothers
- Wyatt Earp – Frontier Lawman of the American West
- My Friend Wyatt Earp by Bat Masterson
- Wyatt Earp in “Arizona The Youngest State”
- Virgil Earp – Upholding the Law of the West
- Marshal Virgil Earp’s “What If” Could Have Changed History Forever
- Frank B. “Pistol Pete” Eaton – Fastest Draw in Indian Territory
- John King Fisher – Texas Gunman, Outlaw, Lawman
- George W. Flatt – Kansas Gunfighter and Marshal
- Camillus Sidney Fly – Arizona Photographer and Lawman
- John Peter Gabriel – Lawman & Gunfighter
- Henry Garfias – 1st Marshal of Phoenix
- Buck Garrett – Gunfighter and Lawman
- Pat Garrett – An Unlucky Lawman
- Sam Gay – The Sagebrush Sheriff
- Charles Goodnight – Blazing the Cattle Trails
- Frank Hamer – Stopping Bonnie & Clyde
- John Coffee Hays – Soldier and Texas Ranger
- Jack Helm – Texas Lawman
- Wild Bill Hickok & The Dead Man’s Hand
- Wild Bill Hickok by Emerson Hough
- Tom Horn – Wyoming Killer for Hire
- James D. Houck – Arizona Pioneer & Lawman
- Neil Howie – Lawman and Vigilante
- John Reynolds Hughes – Texas Ranger
- James B. Hume – California Lawman & Detective
- John “Liver Eating” Johnson – Mountain Man and Lawman
- Bill Jordan – Gunfighter Legend
- John B. Jones – Commanding the Texas Rangers
- Fred Lambert – Lawman & Artist of Cimarron, New Mexico
- John M. Larn – Vigilante, Outlaw, Lawman
- Frank Latta – How Skill Caught a Criminal & Luck Saved the Lawman’s Life
- Joseph “Joe” S. LeFors – Fighting Battles with the Wild Bunch
- William Sidney “Cap” Light – Texas Marshal and Soapy Smith Man
- Lighthorse Police in Oklahoma
- The Death of Sheriff Tom Logan
- “Big Steve” Long, Outlaw Lawman
- Harry Love – Leading the California Rangers
- George Maledon – Prince of Hangmen
- Bat Masterson – King of the Gun Players
- Edward “Ed” Masterson – Killed in the Line of Duty
- James “Jim” Masterson – Dodge City Marshal
- Mysterious Dave Mather – Lawman or Outlaw?
- Daniel Boone May – Protecting the Deadwood Stage
- Sherman McMasters – Outlaw or Lawman?
- Mike Meagher – Kansas & Oklahoma Lawman
- The Men That Tamed the Kansas Cowtowns
- Jeff Davis Milton – Long-Term Lawman
- Burton C. Mossman – Captain of the Arizona Rangers
- U.S. Marshal Evett Nix – Bringing Down the Doolin-Dalton Gang
- Tom Nixon – Buffalo Hunter & Lawman
- Robert Ollinger – Killer With a Badge
- Bass Outlaw – Lawman, Gunfighter, & Texas Ranger
- Bass (Baz) Outlaw – Excerpt from the book Whiskey River Ranger
- Commodore Perry Owens – Gunfighting Lawman
- Nabor Pacheco – Pima County Lawman
- Bound by Duty – United in Friendship (the Nabor Pacheco/Harry Wheeler Story)
- Three Draws: The Grit and Gun of Arizona Lawman Nabor Pacheco
- Pacheco/Wheeler Last Chapter
- Judge Isaac Parker – Hanging Judge of Indian Territory
- Peace Officers of Arizona
- Junius “June” Peak – Soldier & Texas Ranger
- Tom Pickett – Lawman & Outlaw
- Allan Pinkerton – Private Eye
- The Pinkertons – Operating For 150 Years
- Sumner Pinkham – Dead at the Hands of a Gunfighter
- Henry Plummer – Sheriff Meets a Noose
- John William Poe – Hunting Billy the Kid
- Bass Reeves – Black Hero Marshal
- Ben Robertson – Lawman Turned Outlaw
- Porter Rockwell – Destroying Angel of Mormondom
- A.J. Royal – One Bad Pecos County Sheriff
- George Scarborough – Sheriff & U.S. Deputy Marshal
- John Selman – Wicked Lawman and Vicious Outlaw
- Lafayette Augustus Shadley – Lawman
- Charles A. Shibell – Arizona Lawman
- Charles Angelo Siringo – Cowboy Detective
- Ed Short – Cowboy & Lawman
- Sam Sixkiller – Captain of the Indian Police
- Texas John Slaughter – Taming Arizona
- James L. “Whispering” Smith – Riding the Rails
- Thomas “Bear River” Smith – Marshalling Abilene
- Wells Spicer – Tombstone Judge
- Con Stapleton – Deadwood Marshal
- Dallas Stoudenmire – Taming El Paso
- Sughrue Brothers – Courageous Kansas Lawmen
- William E. “Billy” Sutton – Rancher, Lawman, and Gunfighter
- The Texas Rangers – Order Out of Chaos
- Heck Thomas – Tough Law in Indian Territory
- Ben Thompson – Lawman and Gunman
- Ben Thompson and Other Noted Gunmen by Bat Masterson
- Bill Tilghman – Thirty Years a Lawman
- “Dangerous Dan” Tucker – Lawman of New Mexico
- Big Dave Updyke – Crooked Sheriff of Ada County, Idaho
- U.S. Marshals – Two Centuries of Bravery
- Stephen Venard – Goldrush Lawman
- Joseph “Joe” W. Ventioner – U.S. Deputy Marshal
- Fred Waite – Chickasaw Outlaw Turned Politician
- “Bigfoot” Wallace – A Texas Folk Hero
- John Joshua “J.J.” Webb – Lawman Turned Outlaw
- The Original “Dirty Harry” (Arizona lawman Harry Wheeler)
- Big Iron (Harry Wheeler)
- William Wheeler – U.S. Deputy Marshal in Montana
- Fred White – Tombstone’s First Marshal
- Harvey Whitehill – New Mexico Miner & Sheriff
- Frank Wolcott – Enforcer in the Johnson County War
- Jacob “Blake Jake” Yoes – U.S. Marshal
The legacy of these Old West lawmen continues to fascinate and inform our understanding of American history. Their stories, filled with danger, duty, and determination, highlight the complex challenges of establishing civil order in a wild and evolving land. Many faced difficult choices, and some even walked the line between enforcing the law and breaking it, yet all contributed to the rich tapestry of the frontier.
Old West Lawmen, produced by Legends of America.
Further Exploration
- Lawmen of the Old West
- List of Lawmen
- List of Old West Outlaws
- List of Trail Blazers & Cowboys
- Time Line of the American West
Sources
- Kansas Historical Society
- Many Things
- New York Public Library
- Old West Kansas
- Old West Scribe
- The Wild West
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2023.
