DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll give it to you straight — with all the weight it deserves. Now, if you've spent any time reading Texas history, you've heard the name John Wesley Hardin. One of the most notorious outlaws of the Old West, the marker says, and it doesn't mince words.
But this story isn't just about Hardin. It's about a man named Charlie Webb — a Texas Ranger, a deputy sheriff of Brown County — and one afternoon in Comanche that sealed both their fates. Let's back up.
Charlie Webb had served Brown and San Saba Counties as a Texas Ranger. By 1874, he'd been appointed deputy sheriff in Brown County, and his instructions were clear: go after the Hardin-Taylor Gang, who were operating through the southern portions of Comanche and Brown Counties. That was his assignment.
That was the job. Meanwhile, John Wesley Hardin had been busy on his own side of the ledger. He was aligned with Jim Taylor and his anti-reconstruction faction.
He'd fled De Witt and Gonzales Counties after killing a man named Sheriff Jack Helm. Hardin and Taylor had driven cattle up into Brown and Comanche Counties, where the Hardin Gang had already built themselves a reputation for lawlessness. So you've got two men on a collision course — one sent to stop the other, and the other who'd already shown he wouldn't stop easy.
May 26, 1874. Both men are in Comanche. Now, Hardin was having himself a fine day — winning money, cattle, wagons, and horses.
He was celebrating, making the rounds through the local saloons. Whatever was coming, he wasn't looking nervous. Outside Jack Wright's saloon, it happened.
Hardin shot and killed Charlie Webb. Witnesses stated that Hardin was the first to draw. That detail matters.
It was documented. It was said out loud by people who were there. Hardin ran.
Fled Texas with his wife and child. He was on the run for three years before Texas Rangers and Pinkerton men tracked him down — all the way to Florida. He was extradited back to Texas, stood trial, and was found guilty of second degree murder.
The sentence: twenty-five years in the state penitentiary in Huntsville. Here's where the story takes a turn that's hard to fully reckon with. While he was in that prison in Huntsville, John Wesley Hardin studied law.
He was released after fifteen years, and he went to El Paso and began a law practice. The man who had shot and killed a deputy sent to bring him in — now hanging out a shingle. It didn't end quietly.
On August 19, 1895, Hardin was killed in the El Paso Acme Saloon. He's buried in Concordia Cemetery. Charlie Webb, the deputy who'd been given the job of going after the Hardin-Taylor Gang, the man who was shot and killed outside a Comanche saloon on a spring afternoon in 1874 — he's buried in Brownwood's Greenleaf Cemetery, in the Masonic section.
Two graves. Two names on one marker. The law and the outlaw, and the marker makes sure you know which was which.
What the marker says
John Wesley Hardin was one of the most notorious outlaws of the Old West and Charlie Webb was a Brown County Sheriff's Deputy who was shot and killed by Hardin. Charlie Webb was a Texas Ranger and served Brown and San Saba Counties. In 1874 Webb had been appointed deputy sheriff in Brown County with instructions to go after the Hardin-Taylor Gang who operated in the southern portions of Comanche and Brown Counties. John Wesley Hardin was an outlaw who was aligned with Jim Taylor and his anti-reconstruction faction. Hardin fled De Witt and Gonzales counties after killing Sheriff Jack Helm. Taylor and Hardin went on a cattle drive to Brown and Comanche Counties where the Hardin Gang had a reputation for lawlessness. On May 26, 1874, Charlie Webb and John Wesley Hardin were both in Comanche. Having a good day and winning money, cattle, wagons and horses, Hardin was celebrating in local saloons. Outside of Jack Wright's saloon, Hardin shot and killed Webb. Witnesses stated that Hardin was the first to draw. Hardin fled Texas with his wife and child and was on the run for three years. Texas Rangers and the Pinkerton men captured Hardin in Florida and he was extradited back to Texas to stand trial. Hardin was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to twenty-five years in the state penitentiary in Huntsville. While in prison Hardin studied law and when released after fifteen years began a law practice in El Paso. Hardin was killed on August 19, 1895 in the El Paso Acme Saloon and is buried in Concordia Cemetery. Charlie webb is buried in Brownwood's Greenleaf Cemetery in the Masonic section.