John Wesley Hardin

Texas fugitive John Wesley Hardin was captured here on August 23, 1877. Wanted and dangerous, Hardin became the subject of national news that brought notoriety to Pensacola. He had reportedly killed 27 men and bragged that he had killed 40 men "all in self-defense," including one for snoring too loud. Texas Rangers Lt. John B. Armstrong and Jack R. Duncan, together with Escambia County Sheriff William H. Hutchinson and nine deputies, apprehended Hardin and his associates at the L&N Freight Depot as they boarded a train bound for Pollard, Alabama. When Sheriff Hutchinson approached him, Hardin tried to draw a revolver but was overpowered. Deputy Martin Sullivan shot and killed one of Hardin's accomplices as the man tried to escape. Hardin was returned to Texas and found guilty of killing Comanche County Deputy Charles Webb. He was sentenced to 25 years in the Texas State Penitentiary, was pardoned after serving 17 years by Governor James Stephen Hogg, and afterward practiced law in El Paso, Texas. On August 9, 1895, Hardin was shot and killed while playing dice in El Paso.

Pensacola, Florida · United States