Battle of Lincoln (1878)

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Battle of Lincoln
Date July 15–19, 1878 Location Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, United States Result Regulators escaped and disbanded afterwards
Belligerents
Murphy-Dolan Faction Fort Stanton	Regulators
Commanders and leaders
George Smith George Peppin Nathan Dudley	Alexander McSween † Billy the Kid
Strength
150 Murphy-Dolan Faction ~60	46–53
Casualties and losses
2 killed 5-10 wounded	5 killed 4-5 wounded
Civilian casualties: 1 wounded

The Battle of Lincoln, New Mexico, so-called Five-Day Battle or Five-Day Siege,^[1][2] was a five-day-long firefight between the Murphy-Dolan Faction and the Regulators that took place between July 15–19, 1878, in Lincoln, New Mexico.^[3][4] It was the largest armed battle of the Lincoln County War in the New Mexico Territory. The firefight was interrupted and suppressed by United States Cavalry led by Lt. Col. Nathan Dudley from Fort Stanton.

By September 1878, when Territorial Governor Lew Wallace was appointed by the president, many of the Regulators and other fighters had returned to normal life, as many had left the area. Wallace tasked Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett to reduce lawlessness in the region, and, within three years, he and his deputies had hunted down and killed William "Billy the Kid" Bonney and other figures who had continued to operate in the area.