William J. Brady was the sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of Lincoln County

Lincoln County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.1% White*0.5% Black*2.4% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.5% Two or more races*9.1% Other races*29.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 during the Lincoln County War

Lincoln County War

The Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...

s in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He was killed in an ambush, aged 48, in which Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid

William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...

 took part.

Early life

The Mac Brádaigh

Mac Brádaigh

-Overview:Mac Brádaigh derives from the term brádach, meaning "thieving" or "dishonest", though its original sense seems to have denoted "spirited"...

 family were prominent in Breifne since the 13th century. By Brady

Brady

Brady is a surname derived from the Irish surname Mac Brádaigh.In a listing by the U.S. Census Bureau of the Brady is ranked at #411.-Notable Bradys:*Alice Brady , American silent-film actress, Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner...

's lifetime, however, his family were members of the rural working class of County Cavan

County Cavan

County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...

, his father been a potato farmer.

He attended the newly opened local school and graduated in 1844. After the death of his father, he was briefly involved in local politics. During the Great Famine, he left for America.

Military

Upon arrival in New York, July 1851, Brady enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the mounted rifles. He spent five years in southern Texas achieving the rank of sergeant and upon reenlistment was transferred to Fort Craig

Fort Craig

Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico....

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 in 1856. His enlistment was up in March 1861 and he was discharged at Fort Craig, only to enroll in the New Mexico Volunteers as a first lieutenant in Albuquerque the following August. He fought at the Battle of Glorieta Pass

Battle of Glorieta Pass

The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26 to 28, 1862 in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by some historians, it was intended as the killer blow by Confederate forces to break...

 and stayed with his unit when it was incorporated into the First Regiment, New Mexico Cavalry. After the Confederate troops

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 left New Mexico, he was assigned as a recruiting officer in Polvadera, Socorro County, New Mexico

Polvadera, New Mexico

Polvadera is an unincorporated community in Socorro County in central New Mexico, USA. It is located on the west bank of the Rio Grande, near the mouth of the Rio Salado, and on the western spur of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.-Name:The name may be based upon a Piro name for the place, but...

. On 16 November 1862 he married Maria Bonifacia Chavez, a widow from Corrales, New Mexico

Corrales, New Mexico

Corrales is a village in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 8,329 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. With proximity to the Rio Grande, the village was founded for agricultural purposes. The Rio Grande Bosque on the eastern...

.

The following year Brady was assigned as the acting commander at Fort Stanton

Fort Stanton

Fort Stanton was a U.S. military fort built in New Mexico in the United States. It was established to protect settlements along the Rio Bonito in the Apache Wars...

, and in 1864 was confirmed as commandant there. He led several successful campaigns against the Navajo

Navajo people

The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...

 and Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

 Indians. He served as commandant at several other New Mexico forts until his discharge in October 1866 at the brevet rank

Brevet (military)

In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...

 of Major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

.

Lincoln, New Mexico

Brady and his wife and children settled on a ranch on the Rio Bonito, four miles east of the town of Lincoln. He was first elected Sheriff of Lincoln County in 1869 and took office in January 1870. In 1871 Brady was elected as the first representative from Lincoln County to sit in the Territorial Legislature. He lost his seat in the next election. In 1876 he was elected again as sheriff.

Jail

Although Lincoln sheriffs had tried for eight years to get money from the county for a jail, Brady finally got funds ($3,000) to build an underground holding area in 1877. Prior to that, the sheriff used the military jail at Fort Stanton. The new jail was twenty feet wide by thirty feet long, and ten feet deep. It was lined with rough logs and divided into two cells with a ladder and a trap door for access. Light, when available, was by candles. Conditions were so bad and escapes so common that the county anted up for a real jail in 1880. One of the causes in the lack of confidence in Sheriff Brady was the escape in November 1877 of Jesse Evans and his gang.

Lincoln County War

Brady sided with the Murphy-Dolan

James Dolan (Lincoln County War)

James Dolan was an Old West businessman, cattleman, and a key factor in the Lincoln County War, in New Mexico, which launched Billy the Kid to fame.-Early life and Murphy association:...

 faction in the Lincoln County War

Lincoln County War

The Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...

s. This put him up against Alexander McSween

Alexander McSween

Alexander McSween was a prominent figure during the Lincoln County War of the Old West, and a central character, alongside John Tunstall, opposing the "Murphy-Dolan Faction".-Early life:...

, Billy the Kid and the Regulators

Lincoln County Regulators

The Lincoln County Regulators was a deputized posse in Lincoln County, New Mexico during the Lincoln County War, consisting of a dozen or so members who wanted revenge for the killing of their boss, John Tunstall...

. Lawrence Murphy

Lawrence Murphy

Lawrence Murphy was an Irish-American businessman of the Old West, and a main instigator of the Lincoln County War.-Early life:...

 owned the mercantile (the dry goods store) in Lincoln, and Brady owed him money. In the Spring of 1877, Sheriff Brady was beaten up by two bravados, believed to be John Tunstall

John Tunstall

John Henry Tunstall , born in England, became a rancher and merchant in New Mexico, where he became a prominent figure and was the first man killed in the Lincoln County War, an economic and political conflict perhaps compounded by ethnic rivalries.-Early life and education:John Henry Tunstall was...

’s cowboys, in the middle of the main street of Lincoln. But their identity was never confirmed. People speculated that they worked for Tunstall.

On April 1, 1878, Regulators Jim French

Jim French (cowboy)

Jim French was a New Mexican cowboy.Out of all Regulators, French remains the most mysterious. Not much is known about him, such as where he came from or how he came to work for John Tunstall. He was known to be a large, powerful man, variously reported to be either half-Indian or half-black...

, Frank McNab

Frank McNab

Frank McNab was a member of the Regulators who fought on behalf of John Tunstall during the Lincoln County War.Of Scottish origin, McNab was a "cattle detective" who worked for Hunter, Evans, & Company, which was managed by New Mexico cattleman John Chisum. McNab's job was to track down those who...

, John Middleton

John Middleton (cowboy)

John Middleton was friend of Billy the Kid and a key member of the Regulators, who fought on behalf of John Tunstall during the Lincoln County War....

, Fred Waite

Fred Waite

Fred Waite, , was a Chickasaw cowboy who joined Billy the Kid's gang. He left the gang to return to his people....

, Henry Newton Brown and Billy the Kid ambushed Sheriff Brady and four of his deputies on the main street of Lincoln. They fired on the five men from behind an adobe wall. Brady died of at least a dozen gunshot wounds, and Deputy George W. Hindman

George W. Hindman

George W. Hindman was a 19th-century American cowboy and law enforcement officer serving as a deputy sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico during the early months of the Lincoln County War...

 was hit twice, fatally. Brady was 48 years old. Once the shooting stopped, Billy the Kid and Jim French broke cover and dashed to Brady's corpse, either to get his arrest warrant for Alex McSween or to retrieve Billy's rifle which Brady had kept. A surviving deputy, Billy Matthews, wounded both men with a rifle bullet that passed through each of their legs. They still managed to escape.

Brady was first replaced by John Copeland as sheriff. Copeland refused to take sides in the conflict. Dolan used his influence to have him replaced by George Peppin

George Peppin

George Peppin was a corrupt sheriff in Lincoln County, New Mexico, who figured prominently into the Lincoln County War.-Early life:Peppin was born in either Vermont or Ohio around 1841, and later moved to California...

.

Sources

• Ball, Larry D. (1992) Desert Lawmen: the high sheriffs of New Mexico and Arizona, 1846-1912 University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, ISBN 0-8263-1346-9
• Lavash, Donald R. (1986)Sheriff William Brady: Tragic Hero of the Lincoln County War Sunstone Press, Santa Fe, NM, ISBN 0-86534-064-1