An excerpt from “Pensacola’s Finest: The Story of the men and women of the Pensacola Police Department,” available on Amazon.
Rumor has it that he shot a man for snoring too loudly. He claimed he killed 40 men – all “In self-defense”. Research has shown that many of them were killed in cold blood. His name was John Wesley Hardin, and he was one of the most infamous and feared gunfighters in the history of the Old West. One of the men Hardin killed was Comanche County, Texas Deputy Charles Webb. An arrest warrant for Hardin was issued for murder. Hardin may have been deadly with a gun, but he was no match for the Texas Rangers, who would soon be hot on his trail. So, Hardin and his gang got together to form a plan. Maybe he and his gang could get away, but where to? How about Florida? It would be quieter, and his partner, Robert Joshua “Brown” Bowen had family there. Hardin and Bowen headed east. Bowen had his own troubles, being a robber and murderer in his own right – he had active warrants in Texas for murder and escape. Since Pensacola was 797 miles away, the plan sounded good.
Hardin and his gang settled in nearby north Santa Rosa county with the Neill Bowen family near a community that later became the town of Jay. “Life will be simpler now,” he told himself. However, like many people, Hardin believed that the problem was the location. Not true. The problem was inside Hardin. Consequently, John continued in his habits. Under the alias “James W. Swain,” he began hanging around in Pensacola, occasionally gambling and getting into scraps with others, but always under the radar. Mr. Swain was even familiar with Escambia County Sheriff W. H. Hutchinson and Pensacola Police Marshal Frank Comyns.
Unbeknownst to Hardin or Bowen, the Texas Rangers, on the trail of Brown Bowen, had put an undercover Ranger on the case. Hardin’s wife, Jane, was surveilled daily. They intercepted Bowen’s mail and kept track of every person he contacted. One letter they intercepted revealed that the gang – including Hardin and Bowen – were living in or near Pensacola. A road trip was suddenly planned by Texas Rangers John Armstrong and Jack Duncan.
When William Chipley, superintendent of the Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad (and later mayor of Pensacola and Florida State Senator) learned that the Hardin gang was to catch a train at the Pensacola L&N Freight Depot, he accompanied the Rangers, Sheriff Hutchinson, and Marshal Comyns to the train. A posse of Pensacola Police Officers and Escambia County Sheriff’s Department Deputies were also on hand. Hutchinson, Duncan, Comyns, and Chipley entered the train and apprehended Hardin before he could draw his weapon. However, one of his gang members was fatally wounded in a shootout. Armstrong and Duncan escorted Hardin back to Texas where he stood trial. On June 5, 1878, John Wesley Hardin was sentenced to 25 years in state prison – finally ridding the world of the danger of this killer. He was released on February 17, 1894. On August 19, 1895, he was shot in the back of the head by John Selman, Jr., killing him instantly.
So…who took credit for the apprehension of the dangerous criminal? Was it The Pensacola Police Department? The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office? The Texas Rangers? W. D. Chipley? Yep…all of ‘em.
