It Takes A Coalition

There has never been a better time than now to be a historian, researcher, armchair enthusiast, or avid fanatic of Billy the Kid and his locale and time.

Although we’re over 140 years out from the night young Henry McCarty was shot in the dark by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, we are still finding new facts and possibilities every day, further solidifying known narratives, and initiating new undertakings to honor the memory and history of all characters and places involved.

In some things, we’ve made very little real progress: we still do not definitively know where Henry McCarty was born, or who his father was. Governor Lew Wallace or Sheriff Pat Garrett could probably have told a modern listener just as much or more than we currently know about the origins of Billy the Kid.

So while, in some respects, the book is considered closed on the Kid’s life, there are, on the other hand, a number of revelations, both major and minor, that may yet reveal things about the Kid and his contexts that give us a clearer look at that “noted desperado.”

In March of 2020, while the Covid-19 pandemic was in full swing, I became obsessed with Billy the Kid. I have always loved the Young Guns movies, but through some circumstantial and seemingly happenstance twist of fate, I became further interested and, book by book by book, acquired a new passion in this niche of American frontier history.

Since I began my journey, I have met some great folks online in this community and have built some good working relationships with many.

One of the most substantial groups that I have discovered and interacted with is Billy the Kid’s Historical Coalition, an action-oriented historical preservation organization that focuses on channeling our passion for Billy the Kid into real-world impact and positive change.

The Coalition was founded in May of 2021. I joined up a few months later, in August of that year (my membership order number was “8”). A deciding factor of my decision to join was the fact that this group was making history, simply by choosing to preserve it.

Jose Chavez now has a headstone.

Deputy James Carlyle, who since his death outside of the Greathouse ranch has lain in a grave marked only by a collection of small rocks, now has a headstone.

Frank Cahill, who we believe to be the first man killed by Henry McCarty, and who since his death at Camp Grant in 1877 has lain in an unmarked grave, will very soon have a headstone.

Speaking as a Coalition member who has experienced this firsthand, I can honestly say that taking part in actually preserving this history, rather than just acquiring knowledge about it, is an extremely satisfying feeling.

I have been a genealogist for decades, working on my own family trees and helping others. It has been a fulfilling experience honoring my ancestors and keeping their stories alive.

In researching Billy the Kid, and working with the Coalition to preserve the memory of his story, and the stories of his times and communities, I’ve discovered that this historical work is just an expansion of a passion that I already possessed.

The world of Billy the Kid is entering a new era of discovery, preservation, and presentation.

As the Coalition grows, our ambitious projects to save this corner of American history will be closer within our reach.

Some things may seem out of reach to us, currently, whether it’s knowledge yet to be acquired, or the preservation of a history that we think is too rapidly fading.

But like Billy said, “it’s a long road that has no curve.” And through our actions and the publication of our Coalition Journal, we intend to drive ‘til we reach that curve.

Now is our chance to save history.

It’d be real cool if you joined us.

(Click here to join Billy the Kid's Historical Coalition.)