Who Was Marshal Fred White Of Tombstone?
On January 6th, 1880, Tombstone elected its first official city marshal, Fred White. Fred White was considered a kind and unbiased man, serving law in Tombstone for nearly a year before being shot in the streets. He was respected by everyone in Tombstone, cowboys, other lawmen, and the citizens. He arrested members of the Clanton gang and other cowboys several times without any issues from them. He had a big job on his hands, as Tombstone was a violent and lawless town, but before his job was done, he was.
Job as Marshal
When Fred White arrived, Tombstone was still in its early stages as a boomtown. White was elected in his early 30's and served faithfully until October 30th, 1880. He earned a good reputation in Tombstone for being a fair, impartial, and well-liked lawman. Fred White was close to Wyatt Earp, and they worked together on the streets very often. Unlike him and his brothers, White didn't own any saloons or have much property at all to his name.
He avoided getting too entangled with people in town, and was respected by local cowboys, even when he arrested them. Most modern media portray him and the Clanton's as having bad blood, but Legends Of America sights that they respected Marshal White, and never gave him trouble. He was evening respected by the Clanton gang leader, Curly Bill Brocious. Fred Whites calm demeanor and even-handed approach to law earned him respect from everyone in town.
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His Death
On the night of October 28, 1880, a group of drunk cowboys were firing pistols into the air. It was the middle of the night, and no one was around, but the gunfire was disturbing the peace along Allen St. Fred White and Wyatt Earp arrived on scene and found the cowboys in a lot where the Bird Cage Theater now stands. White went cowboy to cowboy collected their guns without incident, until he got to Curly Bill. Curly handed his gun to Marshal White, barrel first, when the gun fired into his lower abdomen. He lived for two days, and was expected to make a full recovery, but he didn't.
Wyatt Earp arrested Curly Bill immediately after White had been shot. The other cowboys present that day claimed Wyatt Earp had "roughed up Bill." but that isn't confirmed. On his death bed, White told everyone the gun was accidently fired, a testimony that saved Curly Bill from execution. After his death, Virgil Earp became Tombstones Marshal, but tension between his brothers, and the Clanton Gang would continue on for nearly a year.
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Aftermath Of His Death
Fred White's death set the stage for the gunfight that happened near the Ok Corral in 1881. There had been ongoing tension between the Clanton Gang, and the Earp brothers for quite some time. Both groups were businessmen and had competition over ownership of local saloons and other businesses. When Fred White was shot by a member of the Clanton Gang, the tension only grew.
Fred White's death caused the Earp brothers to seek revenge, on top of their already distasteful views on the cowboys. Had Fred White not been shot by Curly Bill that fateful night, one of the most famous moments of the wild west may not have ever happened. The history we know of the old west may have been entirely different had this one man not received a stray bullet.
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Fred White was Tombstone Arizona's first ever city Marshal. He served well and built a great reputation in the town too tough to die. His unbiased views, friendly relationship with other lawmen and cowboys alike, helped create a city people didn't mind living in. When he died, everything changed and eventually tension boiled over into the most famous gunfight of the Wild West. He was a beloved lawman, with a great relationship with his people. His story is one you only find in legends.
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