Langford M. Peel (1829/1831 – July 21, 1867), also known as Farmer Peel was a gunman and gambler in the American Old West.[1][2] According to his grave marker, Langford was born in Liverpool, England. At age 12 he enlisted in the U.S. Army with the approval and help of his mother and stepfather.[3] At the age of 17, he enlisted as a bugler in "B' Company of the 1st US Dragoons under Captain Edwin Vose Sumner;[4] Peel killed six Indians – three at the Battle of Coon Creek in 1846; 2 in 1850 at Fort Kearney Kansas and a sixth later[5] and rose to rank of Sergeant. He traveled to Leavenworth, Kansas; Salt Lake City; Nevada; and eventually to Helena, Montana.[6] There he was killed by John Bull, his former associate.[7][8][9] The defendant was acquitted August 24, 1867.[10] Bull was later involved in the stabbing of a railroad baggageman and also in 1874 was indicted in Omaha Nebraska for involvement with others on a robbery charge [one of the defendants escaped and the rest were freed]. In 1879, he had a faro game at the Sacramento State Fair; Bull was killed in Denver, Colorado on January 9, 1882 by a fellow gambler Jim Bush.[11][12][13]
Alleged by some sources to have been Harvard educated,[14][15] Peel was known for always giving any opponent a chance in a gunfight.[16]
Mark Twain, in his book Roughing It, refers (perhaps as an inside joke) to Peel as "Farmer Pease".[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Laxalt, Robert (1991). Nevada: A History. University of Nevada Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780874171792.
- ^ Convis, Charles (22 November 2011). "Langford Farner Peel". Outlaw Tales of Nevada: True Stories of the Silver State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, and Cutthroats. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 22–30. ISBN 978-0-7627-7587-3. Convis alleges that Peel's middle name was "Farner" but this contradicts U.S. Army enlistment records which have "Langford M. Peel".
- ^ Robert K. DeArment (9 November 2012). "Farmer Peel". Deadly Dozen: Forgotten Gunfighters of the Old West. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 6–28. ISBN 978-0-8061-8470-8.
- ^ US army register
- ^ Percival Green Lowe Five Years a Dragoon ('49 to '54): And Other Adventures on the Great Plains
- ^ Spalding, Charleen. "Langford Peel (1831-1867)". Find A Grave. Retrieved November 7, 2012. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ The Montana Post August 3, 1867
- ^ DeArment, Robert K. (2003). Deadly Dozen: Twelve Forgotten Gunfighters of the Old West, Volume 1. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780806135595.
- ^ a b Gorenfeld, William; Gorenfeld, John (April 2011). "John Bull Shot Down His Gambling Pal, Soldier-Turned-Gunfighter Langford Peel". Wild West. 23 (6): 20. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07.
- ^ The Montana post., August 24, 1867, Page 8, Image 8
- ^ Carson City Nevada Morning appeal., January 21, 1882, Image 2
- ^ Eureka daily sentinel. [volume], January 25, 1882, Image 3
- ^ Bismarck tribune., January 27, 1882, Image 8
- ^ Fisher, Vardis; Holmes, Opal Laurel (1968). Gold Rushes and Mining Camps of the Early American West. Caxton Press. p. 397. ISBN 9780870040436.
- ^ However he is not listed as having graduated from Harvard Harvard University Catalogue
- ^ "Ridin' Trail Back to The Old Wild West". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 1 Feb 1942. p. 16. Retrieved November 7, 2012. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
