Two masked riders ambushed a U. S. Army wagon near El Paso, Texas, in May1878, wounding the driver and guard while narrowly missing the officer inside. The attackers fled empty-handed, but the encounter became one of the earliest documented crimes linked tengo Curly Bill Brocius, a man who would later become one of the Old West’s most infamous outlaws.
In 1878, Lieutenant Ben Israel Butler, a West Point graduate and son of Union General Benjamin F. Butler, was preparing to leave military service after only a few months at Fort Bliss… Disillusioned with the harsh conditions of frontier duty, he had submitted his resignation in early May and planned to travel east to begin a law career.. On the afternoon of May21st, Butler departed the fort in an army ambulance wagon driven by civilian George Shakespeare, with Buffalo soldier Charles Johnson assigned as guard…
Their route headed roughly25 miles north toward Las Cruces, New Mexico Territory, with a planned overnight stop at Jackson’s Ranch.. Shortly after leaving, the three men noticed two riders lingering nearby but thought little of it… A few miles down the road, however, those same two men reappeared, this time masked and signaling for the wagon to halt.. The situation escalated immediately…
Shots rang out, seriously wounding both Shakespeare and Johnson, and several bullets struck the wagon itself, narrowly missing Butler… With the driver incapacitated, the mule team became tangled and the wagon stopped… Butler retrieved Johnson’s carbine and stepped down to respond, but the attackers suddenly withdrew and rode off without obtaining anything… Butler treated his companions’ wounds as best he could, then took the reins and continued down the road seeking safety…
After about a mile, he spotted riders approaching and feared the attackers were returning… Johnson, despite his injuries, raised himself and prepared to defend the wagon… Fortunately, the group proved to be Texas Rangers led by First Sergeant Asbury Crawford Rye… Rye assigned one ranger to help Butler get the wounded men to a nearby ranch, while he led four others in pursuit of the suspects…
A messenger was sent back to Fort Bliss, where Colonel James Wade quickly organized a relief detachment with an army surgeon, bedding, supplies, and provisions… Rye’s pursuit ended at the Mexican border, where he provided local authorities with descriptions of the attackers, identified as Curly Bill Brocius and Dutch Martin… Officers of the 9th Cavalry offered a monetary reward to encourage cooperation… Within a short time, the two suspects were taken into custody in Mexico, along with Buckskin Joe Hatema, whose horse and equipment had reportedly been used during the attempted robbery…
The men were transferred back into U. S.. custody and formally charged… Johnson and Shakespeare received medical care at Fort Bliss…
Surgeon Charles Sewall treated Johnson’s wounds, and although early reports called his condition critical, he ultimately recovered and was discharged weeks later… Shakespeare also survived… The damaged wagon remained at the post as a visible reminder of the incident… Brocius and Martin were held under Texas Ranger supervision in Isleta, where a lack of formal jail meant they were secured in a room or restrainedin the yard under guard…
When their case went to trial in September, both men were convicted and sentenced to five years at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville… They appealed, claiming a potential alibi witness had been discouraged from appearing, possibly due to pressure from local authorities… Before the appeal could be resolved, however, the two escaped custody in early November with the help of an accomplice who provided a cutting tool… Dutch Martin returned to the New Mexico border region, where he resumed livestock theft before dying in late1880, his name largely fading from historical memory…
Curly Bill Brocius, however, returned to southeastern Arizona Territory and continued operating among loosely organized groups involved in cross-border livestock theft… His reputation grew, fueled by erratic behavior and several high-profile incidents… In October1880in Tombstone, a confrontation with Town Marshal Fred White ended tragically when White was shot… Contemporary testimony suggested the discharge of Brocius’ weapon was unintended, and he was cleared of wrongdoing after time in custody…
Following his release in early1881, Brocius remained active in the Tombstone region amid the broader tensions of what became knownas the Cochise County War… By March1882, Brocius’s life came to an end during an encounter with a group that included Wyatt Earp in the Whetstone Mountains near Tombstone… Accounts varyin detail, but most agree the meeting proved fatal for Brocius… Ben Israel Butler never learned of his would-be robber’s fate…
Only days after the incident, he resumed his journey east and enrolled at Columbia Law School, hoping to join his father’s legal practice… He completed his studiesbut died on September1st,1881, at just26 years old, diagnosed with Bright’s disease, a term then used for serious kidney disorders… Sergeant Asbury Rye left the Texas Rangers in August1878, worked briefly as a saloon keeper in Arizona Territory, then settled into a quieter life as a school teacher in Arkansas, where he married, raised a family,and lived until1937… Charles Johnson returned to limited duty but never fully recovered…
By1880he was stationed at Fort Concho,Texas, and in November1882, after a decade of service, he left the army… He traveled widely, working temporary jobs and seeking medical treatment… In1890he applied for a military pension, describing long-term effects of his injuries, particularly those affecting his abdomen… Despite support from Benjamin F.
Butler, his claim was denied… Records place himin Ogden,Utah Territory,in1891, after which little is known of his life… George Shakespeare returned to duty and later settled in Deming,New Mexico, where he married, established a freight business, and eventually acquired and edited the Deming Headlight… A fire destroyed the operation in1908, but he continued managing a local theater until his death in March1922…
Later accounts of his passing made little reference to the incident that had nearly cost him his life…
