Daltons!: The Raid on Coffeyville, Kansas

by Robert Barr Smith

In October 1892 the notorious Dalton gang concluded their days of outlawry at Coffeyville, Kansas, with a bold attempt to rob two banks at once in broad daylight. The raiders--Bob, Grat, and Emmett Dalton, Bill Powers, and Dick Broadwell--were nothing more than common hoodlums, says author Robert Barr Smith. The real heroes of the day were the townspeople, who spontaneously turned out in haste and in force to dispatch the outlaws in a bloody downtown shoot-out. Smith sorts out the truth from the legends and suggests answers to some of the perplexing questions about the Coffeyville fight--including whether or not there was a sixth man who got away. In addition, Smith recounts the violent aftermath of the the trial and later life of Emmett Dalton, the only outlaw to survive the raid; and the bloody ends of the Dalton gang’s successors, Bill Doolin and Bill Dalton.

237 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Robert Barr Smith, Colonel, USA (ret). senior parachutist; holds Bronze Star, Legion of Merit (x2), other decorations. Service in Vietnam and many years in Germany, where his fiction is laid. German speaker. Otherwise specializes in military and western history, plus several books on trial practice (under his attorney hat). Graduate of Stanford and Stanford Law; member, California Bar. Professor Emeritus, University of Oklahoma College of Law, where he also served as Associate Dean for Academics and Associate Director of the Law Center.

Reviews

[Keshia Swaim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads like an old episode of Gunsmoke. A fun book to prepare for my trip to Coffeyville.

[Claudia Mundell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and different read. Lots of info and myths about the Dalton gang here, but it also shows how many bandits there were in Kansas and Oklahoma area during this time. Amazing stuff, a little like the old 1950 westerns but with facts. A good read if you are into westerns or outlaws of the old West...