Everyone knows the Red Kit cartoon, adapted from the comic book series of the same name, which tells the story of the Wild West’s fastest gun-drawn cowboy. The main character of the story, our cowboy, Red Kit’s arch-enemy is the Dalton Brothers, who are hilarious criminals. While the Dalton Brothers were pretty funny characters in the cartoon, the actual Dalton Gang they were inspired by wasn’t all that fun.
In the 1890s, when the order in the United States was just beginning to settle, gangs were swarming and one of them was the Dalton Gang. This gang, which was a large group, was sometimes called the Dalton Brothers because the three of them were brothers. Let’s take a closer look at the true story of the Dalton Gang, who was killed in the bank robbery after the bloody train robberies.
The Dalton Brothers actually sided with the law for a long time:
The Dalton Brothers’ mother was Adaline Younger Dalton, and her father was James Lewis Dalton. The Dalton family, which was left alone after their father died, consisted of 15 siblings. The fate of most of the siblings born in Missouri is unknown. The eldest, Frank Dalton, is known to have been shot in the head during a gang conflict while serving as a deputy sheriff in Arkansas.
His brother, Bob Dalton, also worked for a long time with his older brother, Frank, and later became a deputy sheriff in Kansas. However, it is known that Bob Dalton’s name was involved in many suspicious events even back then. Another sibling, Grat Dalton, also worked for a long time as a deputy sheriff in Arkansas and elsewhere.
Members of the Dalton Gang meet:
Another sibling, Emmett Dalton, worked on a farm. Meanwhile, Bill Doolin, who would later become one of the important members of the gang, William St. Power met names like Charlie Pierce, George “Bitter Creek” Newcomb, Bill EcElhanie, Charlie Bryant and Richard “Dick” Broadwell. Even though these people looked like farm workers, they were actually criminals and criminals.
In 1890, when Bob and Emmett were accused of selling illegal whiskey, it was perhaps the time that it all started. On bail, the duo took George “Bitter Creek” Newcomb, Bill EcElhanie, and “Blackfaced Charlie” Bryant to New Mexico, where they committed their first heist at a casino.
Bob and Emmett started small-scale robberies and murders in this area. Meanwhile, when Grat Dalton was dismissed from his post for unlawful behavior and accused of stealing horses, he joined his brothers. The Dalton Gang was now formed.
The train robberies begin:
Another sibling, Bill Dalton, was married at the time, owned a ranch, and even had a successful life to enter politics. However, his taste is not very good due to the problems he had with the railway company. Of course, he did not hesitate to ask for help from his brothers, who had now become a gang.
It was February 6, 1891, when the brothers Bill, Bob, Grat, and Emmett Dalton, along with their gang members, attempted an unsuccessful train robbery. After the robbery, Grat and Bill were arrested, while Bob and Emmett managed to escape with a few gang members. Grat Dalton was sentenced to 20 years in prison but escaped and rejoined the gang.
During the summer of 1891, the Dalton Gang carried out one-to-one train robberies, killing many, and some gang members captured but managed to escape. After committing a large-scale train robbery in July 1892, they dispersed and hid separately for a while. Meanwhile, Bill was evicted; Bob, Grat and Emmett Dalton were wanted.
The bank robbery that ended the Dalton Gang:
The regrouped gang had a target this time around a bank. Arriving in Coffeyville, Kansas, early in the morning on October 5, 1892, Bob, Grat and Emmett Dalton and Power and Broadwell CM Condon & Co. They split into two groups to rob the Bank. When it was 9 in the morning, the gang entered and immediately headed to the safe, but the attendant kept them busy by lying that the safe was timed. Meanwhile, someone had already shouted that the bank was being robbed.
The people of Coffeyville quickly took up arms and headed for the bank, shooting down the gang. While trying to escape from the back door, there was a bloody conflict between the gang and the people, which lasted for about 15 minutes. As a result, Bob Dalton, Grat Dalton, Bill Powers and Dick Broadwell killed; Emmett Dalton was captured wounded. Meanwhile, it is known that at least four of the townspeople were killed by the gang.
Emmett Dalton was evicted in 1907. He wrote a book about the Dalton Gang, which was later adapted into a movie. Missing brother Bill Dalton is known to have been killed on June 7, 1894, during another bank robbery in Texas. Even though the surviving members of the gang somehow tried to commit new heists, they all ended up the same.
We told the true story of the Dalton Gang that inspired the Dalton Brothers in the Red Kit cartoon and talked about the bloody end of this brutal gang. You can share your thoughts about this bloody gang of the Wild West in the comments.
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